Disclaimer: These people don't belong to me...wish they did, but I can't write as well with them as Joanne K. Rowling does. I just own this little scene:
The next morning, the trio made their way to breakfast rather early. A good night's sleep had improved their spirits, and the future aspect of meeting Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures made them all much happier than usual--even though they were dreading the more advanced creatures they were bound to meet. Harry couldn't help but think of Hagrid meeting the class with an egg in his hands and telling them all that they were going to hatch Norbert's little brother.
Shaking away that thought, Harry sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table and began to eat. After a few minutes, the mail came, and a barn owl flew down towards them, Hermione's usual Daily Prophet clutched in his beak.
After paying the owl, Hermione unrolled the paper and stared wide-eyed at the front page. Ron, who was in between her and Harry, looked over Hermione's shoulder and nearly choked on his eggs.
"What?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed.
"It's--" Hermione began. But she couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, Ron took the paper from her hands and handed it to Harry.
Harry took a look at the front page, and instantly, his insides turned to ice. There was a picture of over 200 dementors, and none of them were in Azkaban. He read the article below the picture, and it didn't help to warm his lungs--which felt fit to freeze even without the actual threat of a dementor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DEMENTORS LEAVE AZKABAN: LOYALTY TO THE MINISTRY LIMITED
A year ago, the ministry was ensuring that the Azkaban guards would always be loyal to us, but now that loyalty is questionable. The entire population of dementors that had guarded Azkaban only yesterday has now gone missing, and there is evidence that they will harm any and all wizards and witches they meet--as well as Muggles.
Minister of Magic, Fudge, made a statement saying, "We are doing all we can to find the dementors. Whoever trusted them had a brain full of dragun dung from the start. And as soon as we catch the foul creatures, large funds will be used for research in order to destroy the things."
There haven't been any sightings of the Azkaban guards yet, and there is doubt that they will still be loyal to us when we find them. It is a strong belief of many witches and wizards that the creatures will help You-Know-Who.
It is with further worry that the ministry announces the escape of all known Death Eaters that had been held in Azkaban. Citizens of the magical community are urged to put protective spells around their houses and watch for anything unusual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry dropped his fork (which landed with a loud clatter on his plate) and turned slowly to meet the eyes of Ron and Hermione. Both of them looked very worried, but it was nothing to how Harry felt.
A silence had fallen previously in the Great Hall, but it was slowly returning to normal. Harry realized he wasn't hungry anymore, so he picked up his bag and was about to set off.
Something stopped him before he reached the doors, however. Professor McGonagall was walking towards him purposefully, and he stopped in his tracks to see what she wanted.
"Potter, you've been made Quidditch captain. You are in charge of training, choosing team members, and basically winning the Quidditch cup for me. And, as I said last year, I'm growing quite fond of that trophey."
"Yes professor," Harry said, happy and put out at the same time. It was an honor to be made captain. In fact, Harry couldn't have been happier if it weren't for a few details. There was a great deal of work involved with being Quidditch captain. Not only that, but Harry's new job was to find no less then five new players for the Gryffindor team. Time was becoming more precious to all the older students due to standardized tests, and not many people had much spare time.
The classes for the next two weeks were a blur in Harry's eyes. Nothing interesting happened, and Harry had loads of homework. With the help of Hermione, he managed to finish all his studies with time to schedule Quidditch try-outs on the second Friday since school started.
The evening of try-outs, Harry and Ron made their way down to the field early for a bit of practice.
"What I don't understand is how McGonagall could give us all that homework and still expect the two of us to win her that Quidditch cup!"
"Ron, keep in mind that she never gives homework on the week of the final game," Harry said, pulling on his scarlet robes.
"Yes, well, Snape doesn't give the Slytherins homework for the week of ANY game, regardless of if it's finals or not," Ron said, grabbing his Cleansweep 11 and following Harry onto the feild.
After a long, smooth practice, Harry and Ron landed to wait for any students willing to try out. As soon as they touched the ground--as if on que--nearly two dozen students came marching down from the castle. Hoping that five of them would soon be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and at least be decent players, Harry strode out to meet them.
"Okay--er--I need you all to split into two groups. I need Chasers on my left and Beaters on my right," Harry said, watching as the witches and wizards immediately seperated. He caught eyes with Ginny, who was walking to his left side, and she grinned.
Once the group was seperated, Harry took notice that there were only 2 people trying out for Beater. He sighed. Willing himself not to think about what would happen if neither of the two were very good, Harry took the Chasers and started to talk to them about the skills they needed to be on the team. Ron was doing the same with the 2 Beaters.
When they started to do actual try-outs, Ron decided to guard the goals for the chasers while Harry watched. There were about 20 people trying out for the position, and Ginny was the best. She scored 8 times out of 10--which was good, as Ron had become a superb Keeper since last year. There were two other students who got 7 out of 10, and Harry let told them that they made the team. One was Dennis Creevey, and the other was a third year girl Harry hadn't talked to named Natalie McDonald.
Having Ginny, Dennis, and Natalie as chasers, Harry now paid his attention to the two hopeful people waiting to try out for Beaters. One was none other than Colin Creevey, and the other was a feeble second year named Corey Thompson.
It didn't take long for Harry to realize that Colin was almost as good as the Weasley twins and Corey was about as accurate as a blast-ended skrewt. While Colin would obviously make the team, Harry had to tell Corey that he wasn't looking for someone with his skills. Harry took a look at the Chasers that had showed up--the ones that hadn't made the team. There weren't many who were the right build for Beaters, but Harry caught sight of Dean among the other students, and he decided to try something.
"Hey, Dean, mind trying out for Beater?" Harry asked him.
"I don't mind, but I can tell you now that I haven't exactly played Quidditch. I just came here to see if I could."
"Yeah, well you might be a good Beater. After all, I got the spot of Seeker not even knowing what Quidditch WAS. Here--" Harry said, handing Dean a bat and setting a Bludger loose.
Dean swung back, whipped his arm forward, and hit the Bludger clean through one of the goal hoops. Harry turned to look at him in surprise.
Dean's ears turned red, and he muttered something about being lucky, but Harry wouldn't take it. Dean had made the team as far as Harry was concerned.
Leading Ginny, Colin, Dennis, Natalie, and Dean into the locker rooms, Harry decided to explain the basic time schedule and get them ready for a year of training.
"Team, our first practice is next Saturday, a week from tomorrow at 5:00," Harry said after putting up the equipment. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they walked back up to the castle as a team.
Harry and Ron decided to stop by the kitchens for a bit of food before bed. Tickling the pear, they entered the room to a hundred bowing house-elves. Dobby rushed over hand jumped on Harry.
"Harry Potter is coming to sees Dobby, sir!" he squeaked.
"Hi, Dobby," Harry said, pushing the little elf off him.
"Would sirs like some tea?" a house-elf asked, bowing.
"No thanks, just a bit of toast," Harry said. But, of course, Harry and Ron could never go to the kitchen without the house-elves bringing them a ham and a few loaves of bread at least. This time, they brought them a cake, a plate of mashed potatos, and the toast Harry asked for.
"Er--thanks," Harry said, wondering what to do with the extra food.
After leaving, the two boys carried the food up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. After saying the password, they entered to find that Hermione and Ginny were still up, the latter of the two smiling and talking elaborately about Quidditch try-outs. Harry walked over and sat in a large, overstuffed armchair.
"Why do you have all that?" Hermione asked when they sat down, pointing to the food.
"Want some?" Harry asked the girls.
"Yes, please. I couldn't eat, I was so nervous for try-outs," Ginny said, taking a bit of cake.
"Did you take that from the kitchens?" Hermione said, frowning.
"Yeah, we were hungry," Ron said, waving off her lecture and breaking a loaf of bread in half.
Hermione evenutally began to eat as well, and the four of them were just talking about the first match of the season when an owl started tapping it's beak on the window nearest to them. They opened it, and the owl flew towards Harry. He opened the letter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Harry,
We've jest heard that you made Quidditch captain. Good job, mate. Send us a reply with who you've replaced us with as well. Oh, and Mum wishes you well also. She's been "so proud" when she heard you were made captain. Honestly, would you stop making her rant about you? She talks nonstop--almost as much as Ginny.
Anyway, tell Ron and Ginny that they're supposed to visit for Christmas. You're invited too, of course. See you in a few.
--Fred and George
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginny stood up and stated she was going to make a Howler for her elder brothers, and she ran up the girl's staircase to the dormitories.
Harry liked the idea of going to the Weasley's for Christmas. He ate the last bit of cake while working on his potions essay--about Polyjuice potion--and decided to get to bed.
The next morning, Harry went downstairs and saw that the notice board had a new bit of parchment on it stating the first Hogsmeade weekend--just before Halloween.
"I can't believe that as soon as I get out of Potions class, Snape starts on Polyjuice. The one thing I actually know about!" Ron was saying, walking sleepily down the stairs.
"Ron, shh..." Harry said, hoping no one had heard. It was still unknown that Harry, Hermione, and Ron had brewed an illegal Polyjuice potion in their second year.
Harry and Ron went down to breakfast to meet Hermione and Ginny in the Great Hall. It was fairly empty, as most of the students had slept in. When mail arrived, Harry looked up instinctively and caught sight of Hedwig. He had sent her the night before with a reply to Fred and George, but now she came back with a small parcel and letter.
Harry first read the letter, which was from Remus.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Harry,
Keep your head down. Don't do anything rash, and make sure you stay indoors as much as possible. Dumbledore's told us everything. Like I said, stay down.
Congratulations on being made captain. We've just heard.
With greetings from everyone here in you-know-where,
Remus
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry was bewildered for a moment. Why was Remus sending warnings to him? Harry wasn't being rash or stupid. And why did it matter if he was? He was at Hogwarts. He was perfectly safe. Who was to say he wasn't?
That's when Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth. She had been reading the daily prophet, and Harry caught a glimpse of the Dark Mark on the front page.
"'Ermione, what is it?" Ron asked.
"They--they're looking--for--" she tried to say, but nothing came out.
Harry took the paper out of her hands and read.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DEATH EATERS LIGHTING STRIKE: ARE THEY LOOKING FOR POTTER?
The Death Eaters have made their presence known, and with every body they leave behind, there is something that terrifies everyone.
As before, when they killed, they left the bodies unblemished. There were no marks of any kind on the victoms. Now, however, they find it amusing to carve lightning scars in their victoms after--or before--death.
Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody told us just yesterday, "They all deserve to be locked in a trunk as far as I'm concerned. And stop interviewing my men, we have a job to do already without you idiots coming round interrogating us!" He was cleaning up the scene at the Arnold Dovalo's home (for information on Arnold Dovalo's death, turn to page 4) at the time we interviewed Moody.
Many have already made the connection between these deaths and the famous Boy-Who-Lived. It is a belief that the Death Eaters are looking for young Harry Potter, but no one can answer why.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry felt sick. The rest of the artical went on like that, and he couldn't bare to read any more of it. He pushed his plate away from him, feeling like if he ate any more, he'd get sick right there.
"Harry--"
"This is what Remus was talking about. He told me to keep my head down because the Death Eaters are all looking for me."
"No, Harry, this isn't your fault--"
"WHO'S FAULT IS IT THEN?" Harry yelled. He stood up, took the parcel Hedwig had brought from the table and left the Hall. Ron and Hermione--as well as the rest of the school--stared after him, but Ginny followed a few yards behind Harry, obviously intent on talking to him.
But Ginny turned out to know that Harry didn't want to talk. He strode out towards the lake and sat down under the usual beech tree, thinking about all the havok brought to the wizarding world because of him. And Ginny had simply followed. She didn't do anything or utter a word, but just stood away from him and watched him for what seemed like hours.
Harry wished it would all be over. He wanted to finish it. To just meet Voldemort and either die or kill, whichever would end the pain. He didn't care anymore.
But the truth was that he did care. Dumbledore had explained that to him last year. He remembered it clearly...
He had yelled at Dumbledore at the top of his lungs, "I DON'T CARE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
And Dumbledore had answered calmly, "You do care. You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."
"I--DON'T!"
"You have now lost your mother, your father, and the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course you care."
Harry was recalled back to reality by Ginny, who was sitting down on the other side of the beech tree.
But Dumbledore had been true of course. Harry had lost everyone that had been a parent to him. And now, because of Harry, people throughout the country were dying at the hands of Death Eaters. It was enough to make Harry want to die or kill. To end it. To finish it.
"I know what you're thinking about," Ginny finally said. Her voice made Harry relax some, and he answered, keeping his face trained towards the lake.
"No you don't."
"Harry, it isn't your fault."
"Yes it is."
"No, Harry, if you need to blame someone, blame Riddle."
Harry tried not to get upset, but it didn't quite work, even with Ginny there.
"You don't understand! If it weren't for me, my mum and dad wouldn't have died! If it weren't for me, Neville's parents would still be here! Cedric wouldn't have been killed! Sirius would still be here! You wouldn't have been held hostage in the Chamber of Secrets! How can you sit there and say it isn't my fault?!"
"Because all of that happened because of You-Know-Who."
"BUT HE WOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED MY FAMILY IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME!"
"Harry, this isn't your fault! And you'd better get that through your head, because no one blames you for what's happened."
Harry took a few deep breaths. After a while, he calmed down greatly and looked at the lake. The wind was making the water whip up and splash against the rocks.
"Harry, are you going to open your package?" Ginny asked, coming around the tree and sitting next to him.
"I suppose," Harry said, picking it up and unwrapping it. Inside was a mirror with a note on the back. It read: "Harry--this was Sirius's other two way mirror. He told me he'd given the other one to you, so I thought you should have this as well--Remus"
"You have another one of these?" Ginny asked, taking the mirror and turning it in her hands.
"Yeah, it's--in my trunk. But it's broken, I don't know if I could fix it."
"Want me to try and help?"
Harry decided to try, so they went up to the castle. The sun made her hair look like fire for a moment, and Harry's heart lept. He stopped in his tracks.
"What is it, Harry?"
"It's--nothing," Harry said. But he thought he'd just felt something deep in his heart for Ginny Weasley.
A/N: Okay, here's some more boy/girl stuff for you, but only a bit at the moment. Right now, Harry's going to be a bit preoccupied with other stuff.
Like I said last time, D.A. information is coming up (very soon), as well as some stuff about Harry's N.E.W.T. classes. R/R please!
The next morning, the trio made their way to breakfast rather early. A good night's sleep had improved their spirits, and the future aspect of meeting Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures made them all much happier than usual--even though they were dreading the more advanced creatures they were bound to meet. Harry couldn't help but think of Hagrid meeting the class with an egg in his hands and telling them all that they were going to hatch Norbert's little brother.
Shaking away that thought, Harry sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table and began to eat. After a few minutes, the mail came, and a barn owl flew down towards them, Hermione's usual Daily Prophet clutched in his beak.
After paying the owl, Hermione unrolled the paper and stared wide-eyed at the front page. Ron, who was in between her and Harry, looked over Hermione's shoulder and nearly choked on his eggs.
"What?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed.
"It's--" Hermione began. But she couldn't finish her sentence. Instead, Ron took the paper from her hands and handed it to Harry.
Harry took a look at the front page, and instantly, his insides turned to ice. There was a picture of over 200 dementors, and none of them were in Azkaban. He read the article below the picture, and it didn't help to warm his lungs--which felt fit to freeze even without the actual threat of a dementor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DEMENTORS LEAVE AZKABAN: LOYALTY TO THE MINISTRY LIMITED
A year ago, the ministry was ensuring that the Azkaban guards would always be loyal to us, but now that loyalty is questionable. The entire population of dementors that had guarded Azkaban only yesterday has now gone missing, and there is evidence that they will harm any and all wizards and witches they meet--as well as Muggles.
Minister of Magic, Fudge, made a statement saying, "We are doing all we can to find the dementors. Whoever trusted them had a brain full of dragun dung from the start. And as soon as we catch the foul creatures, large funds will be used for research in order to destroy the things."
There haven't been any sightings of the Azkaban guards yet, and there is doubt that they will still be loyal to us when we find them. It is a strong belief of many witches and wizards that the creatures will help You-Know-Who.
It is with further worry that the ministry announces the escape of all known Death Eaters that had been held in Azkaban. Citizens of the magical community are urged to put protective spells around their houses and watch for anything unusual.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry dropped his fork (which landed with a loud clatter on his plate) and turned slowly to meet the eyes of Ron and Hermione. Both of them looked very worried, but it was nothing to how Harry felt.
A silence had fallen previously in the Great Hall, but it was slowly returning to normal. Harry realized he wasn't hungry anymore, so he picked up his bag and was about to set off.
Something stopped him before he reached the doors, however. Professor McGonagall was walking towards him purposefully, and he stopped in his tracks to see what she wanted.
"Potter, you've been made Quidditch captain. You are in charge of training, choosing team members, and basically winning the Quidditch cup for me. And, as I said last year, I'm growing quite fond of that trophey."
"Yes professor," Harry said, happy and put out at the same time. It was an honor to be made captain. In fact, Harry couldn't have been happier if it weren't for a few details. There was a great deal of work involved with being Quidditch captain. Not only that, but Harry's new job was to find no less then five new players for the Gryffindor team. Time was becoming more precious to all the older students due to standardized tests, and not many people had much spare time.
The classes for the next two weeks were a blur in Harry's eyes. Nothing interesting happened, and Harry had loads of homework. With the help of Hermione, he managed to finish all his studies with time to schedule Quidditch try-outs on the second Friday since school started.
The evening of try-outs, Harry and Ron made their way down to the field early for a bit of practice.
"What I don't understand is how McGonagall could give us all that homework and still expect the two of us to win her that Quidditch cup!"
"Ron, keep in mind that she never gives homework on the week of the final game," Harry said, pulling on his scarlet robes.
"Yes, well, Snape doesn't give the Slytherins homework for the week of ANY game, regardless of if it's finals or not," Ron said, grabbing his Cleansweep 11 and following Harry onto the feild.
After a long, smooth practice, Harry and Ron landed to wait for any students willing to try out. As soon as they touched the ground--as if on que--nearly two dozen students came marching down from the castle. Hoping that five of them would soon be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and at least be decent players, Harry strode out to meet them.
"Okay--er--I need you all to split into two groups. I need Chasers on my left and Beaters on my right," Harry said, watching as the witches and wizards immediately seperated. He caught eyes with Ginny, who was walking to his left side, and she grinned.
Once the group was seperated, Harry took notice that there were only 2 people trying out for Beater. He sighed. Willing himself not to think about what would happen if neither of the two were very good, Harry took the Chasers and started to talk to them about the skills they needed to be on the team. Ron was doing the same with the 2 Beaters.
When they started to do actual try-outs, Ron decided to guard the goals for the chasers while Harry watched. There were about 20 people trying out for the position, and Ginny was the best. She scored 8 times out of 10--which was good, as Ron had become a superb Keeper since last year. There were two other students who got 7 out of 10, and Harry let told them that they made the team. One was Dennis Creevey, and the other was a third year girl Harry hadn't talked to named Natalie McDonald.
Having Ginny, Dennis, and Natalie as chasers, Harry now paid his attention to the two hopeful people waiting to try out for Beaters. One was none other than Colin Creevey, and the other was a feeble second year named Corey Thompson.
It didn't take long for Harry to realize that Colin was almost as good as the Weasley twins and Corey was about as accurate as a blast-ended skrewt. While Colin would obviously make the team, Harry had to tell Corey that he wasn't looking for someone with his skills. Harry took a look at the Chasers that had showed up--the ones that hadn't made the team. There weren't many who were the right build for Beaters, but Harry caught sight of Dean among the other students, and he decided to try something.
"Hey, Dean, mind trying out for Beater?" Harry asked him.
"I don't mind, but I can tell you now that I haven't exactly played Quidditch. I just came here to see if I could."
"Yeah, well you might be a good Beater. After all, I got the spot of Seeker not even knowing what Quidditch WAS. Here--" Harry said, handing Dean a bat and setting a Bludger loose.
Dean swung back, whipped his arm forward, and hit the Bludger clean through one of the goal hoops. Harry turned to look at him in surprise.
Dean's ears turned red, and he muttered something about being lucky, but Harry wouldn't take it. Dean had made the team as far as Harry was concerned.
Leading Ginny, Colin, Dennis, Natalie, and Dean into the locker rooms, Harry decided to explain the basic time schedule and get them ready for a year of training.
"Team, our first practice is next Saturday, a week from tomorrow at 5:00," Harry said after putting up the equipment. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they walked back up to the castle as a team.
Harry and Ron decided to stop by the kitchens for a bit of food before bed. Tickling the pear, they entered the room to a hundred bowing house-elves. Dobby rushed over hand jumped on Harry.
"Harry Potter is coming to sees Dobby, sir!" he squeaked.
"Hi, Dobby," Harry said, pushing the little elf off him.
"Would sirs like some tea?" a house-elf asked, bowing.
"No thanks, just a bit of toast," Harry said. But, of course, Harry and Ron could never go to the kitchen without the house-elves bringing them a ham and a few loaves of bread at least. This time, they brought them a cake, a plate of mashed potatos, and the toast Harry asked for.
"Er--thanks," Harry said, wondering what to do with the extra food.
After leaving, the two boys carried the food up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. After saying the password, they entered to find that Hermione and Ginny were still up, the latter of the two smiling and talking elaborately about Quidditch try-outs. Harry walked over and sat in a large, overstuffed armchair.
"Why do you have all that?" Hermione asked when they sat down, pointing to the food.
"Want some?" Harry asked the girls.
"Yes, please. I couldn't eat, I was so nervous for try-outs," Ginny said, taking a bit of cake.
"Did you take that from the kitchens?" Hermione said, frowning.
"Yeah, we were hungry," Ron said, waving off her lecture and breaking a loaf of bread in half.
Hermione evenutally began to eat as well, and the four of them were just talking about the first match of the season when an owl started tapping it's beak on the window nearest to them. They opened it, and the owl flew towards Harry. He opened the letter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Harry,
We've jest heard that you made Quidditch captain. Good job, mate. Send us a reply with who you've replaced us with as well. Oh, and Mum wishes you well also. She's been "so proud" when she heard you were made captain. Honestly, would you stop making her rant about you? She talks nonstop--almost as much as Ginny.
Anyway, tell Ron and Ginny that they're supposed to visit for Christmas. You're invited too, of course. See you in a few.
--Fred and George
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginny stood up and stated she was going to make a Howler for her elder brothers, and she ran up the girl's staircase to the dormitories.
Harry liked the idea of going to the Weasley's for Christmas. He ate the last bit of cake while working on his potions essay--about Polyjuice potion--and decided to get to bed.
The next morning, Harry went downstairs and saw that the notice board had a new bit of parchment on it stating the first Hogsmeade weekend--just before Halloween.
"I can't believe that as soon as I get out of Potions class, Snape starts on Polyjuice. The one thing I actually know about!" Ron was saying, walking sleepily down the stairs.
"Ron, shh..." Harry said, hoping no one had heard. It was still unknown that Harry, Hermione, and Ron had brewed an illegal Polyjuice potion in their second year.
Harry and Ron went down to breakfast to meet Hermione and Ginny in the Great Hall. It was fairly empty, as most of the students had slept in. When mail arrived, Harry looked up instinctively and caught sight of Hedwig. He had sent her the night before with a reply to Fred and George, but now she came back with a small parcel and letter.
Harry first read the letter, which was from Remus.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Harry,
Keep your head down. Don't do anything rash, and make sure you stay indoors as much as possible. Dumbledore's told us everything. Like I said, stay down.
Congratulations on being made captain. We've just heard.
With greetings from everyone here in you-know-where,
Remus
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry was bewildered for a moment. Why was Remus sending warnings to him? Harry wasn't being rash or stupid. And why did it matter if he was? He was at Hogwarts. He was perfectly safe. Who was to say he wasn't?
That's when Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth. She had been reading the daily prophet, and Harry caught a glimpse of the Dark Mark on the front page.
"'Ermione, what is it?" Ron asked.
"They--they're looking--for--" she tried to say, but nothing came out.
Harry took the paper out of her hands and read.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DEATH EATERS LIGHTING STRIKE: ARE THEY LOOKING FOR POTTER?
The Death Eaters have made their presence known, and with every body they leave behind, there is something that terrifies everyone.
As before, when they killed, they left the bodies unblemished. There were no marks of any kind on the victoms. Now, however, they find it amusing to carve lightning scars in their victoms after--or before--death.
Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody told us just yesterday, "They all deserve to be locked in a trunk as far as I'm concerned. And stop interviewing my men, we have a job to do already without you idiots coming round interrogating us!" He was cleaning up the scene at the Arnold Dovalo's home (for information on Arnold Dovalo's death, turn to page 4) at the time we interviewed Moody.
Many have already made the connection between these deaths and the famous Boy-Who-Lived. It is a belief that the Death Eaters are looking for young Harry Potter, but no one can answer why.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry felt sick. The rest of the artical went on like that, and he couldn't bare to read any more of it. He pushed his plate away from him, feeling like if he ate any more, he'd get sick right there.
"Harry--"
"This is what Remus was talking about. He told me to keep my head down because the Death Eaters are all looking for me."
"No, Harry, this isn't your fault--"
"WHO'S FAULT IS IT THEN?" Harry yelled. He stood up, took the parcel Hedwig had brought from the table and left the Hall. Ron and Hermione--as well as the rest of the school--stared after him, but Ginny followed a few yards behind Harry, obviously intent on talking to him.
But Ginny turned out to know that Harry didn't want to talk. He strode out towards the lake and sat down under the usual beech tree, thinking about all the havok brought to the wizarding world because of him. And Ginny had simply followed. She didn't do anything or utter a word, but just stood away from him and watched him for what seemed like hours.
Harry wished it would all be over. He wanted to finish it. To just meet Voldemort and either die or kill, whichever would end the pain. He didn't care anymore.
But the truth was that he did care. Dumbledore had explained that to him last year. He remembered it clearly...
He had yelled at Dumbledore at the top of his lungs, "I DON'T CARE! I'VE HAD ENOUGH, I'VE SEEN ENOUGH, I WANT OUT, I WANT IT TO END, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"
And Dumbledore had answered calmly, "You do care. You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."
"I--DON'T!"
"You have now lost your mother, your father, and the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course you care."
Harry was recalled back to reality by Ginny, who was sitting down on the other side of the beech tree.
But Dumbledore had been true of course. Harry had lost everyone that had been a parent to him. And now, because of Harry, people throughout the country were dying at the hands of Death Eaters. It was enough to make Harry want to die or kill. To end it. To finish it.
"I know what you're thinking about," Ginny finally said. Her voice made Harry relax some, and he answered, keeping his face trained towards the lake.
"No you don't."
"Harry, it isn't your fault."
"Yes it is."
"No, Harry, if you need to blame someone, blame Riddle."
Harry tried not to get upset, but it didn't quite work, even with Ginny there.
"You don't understand! If it weren't for me, my mum and dad wouldn't have died! If it weren't for me, Neville's parents would still be here! Cedric wouldn't have been killed! Sirius would still be here! You wouldn't have been held hostage in the Chamber of Secrets! How can you sit there and say it isn't my fault?!"
"Because all of that happened because of You-Know-Who."
"BUT HE WOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED MY FAMILY IF IT WEREN'T FOR ME!"
"Harry, this isn't your fault! And you'd better get that through your head, because no one blames you for what's happened."
Harry took a few deep breaths. After a while, he calmed down greatly and looked at the lake. The wind was making the water whip up and splash against the rocks.
"Harry, are you going to open your package?" Ginny asked, coming around the tree and sitting next to him.
"I suppose," Harry said, picking it up and unwrapping it. Inside was a mirror with a note on the back. It read: "Harry--this was Sirius's other two way mirror. He told me he'd given the other one to you, so I thought you should have this as well--Remus"
"You have another one of these?" Ginny asked, taking the mirror and turning it in her hands.
"Yeah, it's--in my trunk. But it's broken, I don't know if I could fix it."
"Want me to try and help?"
Harry decided to try, so they went up to the castle. The sun made her hair look like fire for a moment, and Harry's heart lept. He stopped in his tracks.
"What is it, Harry?"
"It's--nothing," Harry said. But he thought he'd just felt something deep in his heart for Ginny Weasley.
A/N: Okay, here's some more boy/girl stuff for you, but only a bit at the moment. Right now, Harry's going to be a bit preoccupied with other stuff.
Like I said last time, D.A. information is coming up (very soon), as well as some stuff about Harry's N.E.W.T. classes. R/R please!