Contra Mundum

Chapter 31

"I don't think that in all my time as a Ranger I've ever witnessed a complete recall of all the Rangers. All the ships are in, and even the longer term operatives have been recalled from their duties," Gudrun said.

The unrest had begun to brew in the week leading up to the spring equinox. All of a sudden more and more top officials from several governments of magic world-wide had started to discredit the Order of Illumination, not unlike what the British Ministry of Magic had done to those who claimed that Voldemort had returned. The basis for their allegations had been the revelation of the mission in which the Rangers had ended up freeing Princess Matsu.

Even though this wasn't Ginny's area of expertise or interest, it was clear that it hadn't been the emperor who had turned on them, simply because he would have foreseen that the current situation would ensue. The anti-Ranger sentiments had the imperial house struggling to retain their influence, since the more ambitious lords of the clans were now claiming that Mayumi was merely the Order of Illumination's puppet.

As to why so many countries had suddenly turned on them, Ginny didn't know. But she suspected that the Intel Rangers knew more than she did and that it would be the main topic of the gathering they were about to attend. She'd only been in the amphitheatre once, when she and the rest of her group of trainees had been gathered for the first time.

"Matt knows more than he's letting on, too." Gudrun frowned. "He's been very tense lately."

"He can't rise to the occasion anymore?" Lilia asked with a quasi-malevolent chuckle.

Gudrun rolled her eyes. "The way you manage to sneak sex into every conversation is so juvenile. But if you must know, it's quite the contrary. Matt is one of those men who perform even better when they're under stress. In fact I think he bleeds of some of the tension that way," she said with a smile.

"I hate you!" Lilia pouted. "Bragging about it in front of us less fortunate girls."

"There is such a concept as too much of a good thing, you know?" Gudrun countered. "What makes you think I'm always in the mood?"

"And she dares to complain about it too!" Lilia whined.

Gudrun snorted. "Anyway, he'd better enjoy it while he can. There's a good chance the doctor will order me to take it a bit easier later on. My second trimester will start next week. Where does the time go?" she sighed.

Upon arrival in the amphitheatre Ginny saw they were among the last to arrive. Nearly everyone was there already. Only Commander Ironheart hadn't arrived yet and Galatea was another notable absence.

"Looks like we're grouped by division today, girls. Are you sitting with us noble healers or with the grease monkeys?" Lilia asked Ginny.

"I've been putting two-thirds of my hours in with the Artificing division. I think I'll request a permanent transfer soon," Ginny said. She'd decided that she could be more productive with the artificers. Whether or not her choice would be approved was another matter. Galatea, now very pregnant, was already working fewer hours, and she'd continue working fewer hours for a while after the birth, which was about a month away.

"Fine. Be that way, traitor!" Lilia grinned and threw a playful punch at her shoulder.

"Honestly, Captain Sharif and Captain Yee are sitting next to each other, so we'll still be right next to you anyway!" Ginny retorted good-naturedly. The captains had arrayed themselves in a certain order on the lowermost row of the semicircle of seats, and the Rangers in their divisions spread out behind them. Surveying the semicircle while searching for a spot to sit, it occurred to Ginny that the captains had just sat down at random. Captain Faust and Captain Kovalenko sat on opposite ends to make room for their three lieutenants directly behind them and due to the size of their divisions in general.

The Martial and Intelligence divisions were each nearly as large as the other four divisions put together, and their ranks swept up into the stands, enveloping the other four divisions and linking up at the back in the persons of Ron, Gavin, Matt and Harry. She was pleasantly surprised when her stomach didn't react as violently as it used to at the sight of him.

"C'mon, Rachel saved our seats," Gudrun said.

Ginny saw the Rachel Esklove was indeed waving them over and pointing to a pair of seats on either side of her, so Ginny and Gudrun made their way up a narrow set of steps that would take them as close to those seats as possible. After stepping on some toes, they reached their spots.

Rachel slid over to one of the seats she'd been holding so Gudrun didn't have to pass in front of her too.

"Ah, nice and toasty," Gudrun purred as she wriggled her bottom on the recently occupied seat. "Rachel, I think I'll promote you to my personal seat warmer from now on. Sure, warming charms are okay, but there's no substitute for real body-heat."

Lilia, who had indeed ended up only a few seats away on the row in front of them turned in her seat and looked up. "Yeah, she isn't used to cold seats anymore…spends too much time in her husband's lap!"

"Mreow! Someone's envious," Serafina said from beside Lilia.

"Do you blame me?" Lilia asked innocently as she turned to the older witch.

"Hardly," Serafina sighed. "Gudrun is a very lucky woman."

"I'm sure we're not the only ones who think so. I think every unattached woman in the Order has fantasies about Matt…and even some of the attached ones like Serafina here," Lilia teased. "Believe me, I've asked around."

"Not every unattached woman," Rachel suddenly said.

"You mean to tell me that you never ever even had a teensy weenie little fantasy about that big, blond Adonis-like hunk of a man?"

"Boy, it's a good thing he can't hear you," Gudrun muttered. "He'd be insufferable for a whole week."

Rachel smiled at Gudrun's comment and turned to Lilia. "I didn't say that. At first he was way too obnoxious, but later, I thought he was kind of cute when he was sad. Of course, Gudrun took it upon herself to console him and never gave the rest of us a chance, did she? But I'm talking about Jana Soldo of the Diplomatic Division and Margaret Liaw."

"Good one, Rachel." Gudrun smirked. "Everyone knows Margaret's the biggest lesbian in the world."

"Ah, that may be true, but she isn't unattached, and I said every unattached woman." Lilia grinned. "Margaret has a steady girlfriend. And Jana may only have had girlfriends lately but she herself told me she likes men equally well."

Ginny glanced at a point a few rows down to where the all-female Diplomatic division, often referred to as 'the politicians,' were sitting. The Croatian witch was in deep conversation with Claire Cruz. Both looked careworn, and Lieutenant Bertoli and Captain Sanzotti didn't look much better either. They had been the first ones to be confronted with the anti-Ranger sentiments. Ginny suddenly remembered how Heidi had burst out in tears of frustration only a few days ago. Heidi…she wasn't sitting there! Since the division consisted of only five witches including Heidi, Ginny ought to have noticed her absence earlier.

"Well, I see you've certainly done your gossipy homework, Lilia. Careful, Serafina…it looks like you're about to be replaced as gossip queen," Gudrun said.

"I was planning to retire anyway," Serafina shrugged.

"Where's Heidi?" Ginny asked.

"Been wondering that myself," Lilia said. "Galatea isn't here either."

"I know Galatea was called to Ironheart's office about an hour ago," Serafina said. "I had just finished examining her. If that little boy inside her keeps growing like that she'll have a very tough delivery with those narrow hips of hers."

"She's lucky she isn't a Muggle. We'll have that kid out of there in no time at all," Lilia said confidently.

Ginny smiled as she remembered Hannah's delivery and Percy's broken fingers. Her smile faded when she realised Wolfe wouldn't be at Galatea's delivery. She sighed, tuned out the conversation around her and chose a random spot on the far wall to stare at as she lost herself in thoughts, wondering if she'd ever have children with anyone other than Harry. She managed to conjure up a small, likely list of people who might have been worthy candidates under different circumstances.

Though she'd never really entertained any fantasies about him because she'd always been too preoccupied with Harry, Matt was one of these candidates. He was incredibly attractive, like Lilia had said. The thing that appealed to her the most were his eyes, those feline eyes with the same mesmerising quality Harry's deep emerald ones possessed. He was also courageous, never even thinking twice about leaping into action if his friends and loved ones were in trouble…like Harry. Of course, the fact that he had a wife—who happened to be one of Ginny's best friends—and a daughter, disqualified him as a realistic possibility.

Next there was Max Wolfe. Also devastatingly handsome, though in a way different from Matt, who was the charming type while Wolfe was the classic 'mysterious' type. Despite his gruff demeanour, Max had proven himself capable of acts of great love, self-sacrifice and friendship… just like Harry…and he'd paid a very high price on her behalf. Ginny cringed at the thought. They really were Soul Brothers in the respect. She suppressed a rueful smile when she realised that it was something all the men she liked had in common. The urge to sacrifice themselves for the common good. But of course, Wolfe wouldn't do either. Even if they managed to capture him alive and subdue the parasitic personality inside him, assuming he had one, he still belonged to Galatea, another of Ginny's better friends.

The third candidate was Gavin Carey. Though he wasn't ugly like Gregory Goyle, Marcus Flint or Quasimodo, he wasn't particularly handsome. He had a mild but irreversible case of ptosis, caused by having been struck in the eye with a nasty curse when Death Eaters attacked his family in his childhood. Aside from the slight drooping of his right eye-lid, she'd describe him as plain and unremarkable with the freckles on his pale face matching the thatch of rust-coloured hair on his head. And like Harry's hair, it never lay flat, making her wonder whether the Careys and the Potters had it from a common source. He was also very short for a man, but remembering his uncle, Cyrus Carey, who had taught her healing magic after she'd left Hogwarts, she knew his family was known for their short statures. She also remembered her mum telling her about the time she had briefly dated Cyrus, and how kissing him had actually been kind of nice in retrospect, because he didn't have to bend down awkwardly to kiss her, being only a little taller than she was. However, since Ginny had still grown a surprising number of inches after her fourth year she was a bit taller than Gavin was. Not that it would really bother her to be taller than a boyfriend. It was true that she couldn't see herself end up with a man as ugly as Goyle, but she didn't attach that much importance to looks, or how couples looked together. Forcing herself to be objective, Ginny could acknowledge that Harry, while better looking than Gavin, was no heartthrob either.

No, it was definitely the inside that counted in the end, and Gavin was very smart, sweet, every bit as brave as Harry, Wolfe and Matt when it mattered, and he'd turned out to be very wise and understanding. In the unlikely event that she'd ever get over Harry enough to consider getting involved with another man, it could very well be Gavin…or could it? Ginny shook her head, knowing that she'd been deluding herself. She'd experienced perfection with Harry and she'd never get over him. She'd probably remain completely and utterly celibate for the rest of her life.

A nudge in the ribs from Gudrun drew her out of her musings. She saw Commander Ironheart and an unfamiliar witch with dark brown hair enter the amphitheatre, followed closely by Heidi and Galatea who were both looking rather distraught and were supporting each other. Ironheart gestured for both of them, and the strange woman, to sit next to the captains on the front row.

Then Ironheart stepped onto the dais in front of the semicircle. Ginny knew that standing on a certain rune would magnify the occupant's voice, and Commander Ironheart's voice soon rang through the amphitheatre. "Rangers, I'll cut to the chase. Our situation is dire. As all of us know, Anastasiou has recently begun a campaign to discredit the Order of Illumination and turn the worldwide wizarding community against us. We've recently discovered exactly how he managed to mobilise all those high-placed government officials to oppose us. It would seem that Tetsuo Yamato has succeeded in synthesising a drug that enables normal wizards to briefly become Mind Readers without the aid of Legilimency…Mind Readers like myself. As all of us know, too many politicians gather skeletons in the closet as time passes, and too many of them develop a reluctance to part with the power granted by their stations. As such, they would do anything to retain that power. Yes, with an army of temporary Mind Readers, Anastasiou uncovered many of these skeletons and used them as blackmail material.

"A handful—regrettably, only a handful—of wizards and witches, the ones with some decency left, refused to co-operate despite the threat of blackmail and contacted us instead, which is how we know what Anastasiou has done. Three of them were abducted before we could get to them, and by the time they turned up again, they'd had their memories altered and were no good to us."

Ginny had heard about a couple of surprising retirement announcements by certain top Ministry of Magic officials from around the world. Now she knew why.

"Yesterday evening, another one was found dead not far from his mountain cabin in the Austrian Alps. Killed by a rockslide, or so they would have us believe. They conveniently forgot to tell the public about the fact that this wizard was the 1959 European Apparition Champion for both distance and accuracy. Apparating out of the way should have been easy for him," Ironheart said grimly.

Heidi had begun to sob when Commander Ironheart said that. A wave of nausea swept over Ginny as she realised that Commander Ironheart had been talking about Heidi's father. This was followed by a wave of fear for Percy's life.

"Only two countries still give us complete support. Anastasiou failed to exert influence over these governments because in both cases there were too few people with significant exploitable dark secrets left. I'm talking about the Ministries of Magic in Britain and India. However, this stalemate won't last. Once Anastasiou tightens his grip on the other governments further, he'll devise means to break the resistance of the British and Indian governments. I don't deem it likely that he'll attack directly since that would undermine his propaganda. He'll probably resort to means like trade embargoes, diminishing the populace's quality of life and thus turn them against the Ministries, leaving them no choice but to denounce us as well. He's very patient that way. A waiting game is more advantageous.

"He's been one step ahead of us the whole time after launching his smear campaign. He's anticipated our responses and passed them on to his collaborators so they could come up with ways to twist our words to seem suspicious. The most recent allegation against us suggested that we ourselves caused trouble behind the scenes only to show up and clean up our mess, creating the illusion of our usefulness. This morning Anastasiou orchestrated a raid in Portugal. The raiders pretended to be Rangers, and they were led by Wolfe. He was conveniently unmasked in the fight, after which the ersatz Rangers retreated, repelled by the 'mighty' Portuguese Magical Law Enforcement squads."

Ginny gasped. That explained why Galatea was so upset. Ironheart had been forced to tell her lest she'd learned about it some other way.

"Damn it!" a young witch next to Serafina erupted. It was Vania Goumas, a trainee for the Medical division. There were expressions of outrage all over the amphitheatre, but she looked positively livid. Ginny knew this was possibly due to the fact that the Greek witch hated Anastasiou with a passion. Her family had opposed the Greek vampire for centuries. "We also have some knowledge of the secrets of the politicians on that bloodsucker's leash. Why not pass it to their local opponents to discredit them?"

Ironheart shook his head sadly. "Didn't I tell you that Anastasiou was always one step ahead of us? Doing that would backfire. It would only convince those opponents, people who still have some faith in us, that Anastasiou's collaborators have been right all along. And even if they don't, and actually use that information, the effect would be devastating. It would tear their nations apart. Ministries all over the world would collapse, making it so much easier for Anastasiou to pick up the pieces. Not only that, but the wizarding world would become exposed with no Ministries to keep it hidden. There are too many of us these days to rely on separate wizarding families arranging for their own concealment effectively, not to mention the rampage the Muggle-baiters would go on with no Ministry to keep them in check. No, for the moment passive reactions are the only option.

"And now the worst news of all." Ironheart's shoulders sagged wearily. "We've been given a week to leave Concordia. The Lord Mayor warned me about the possibility of this happening about a week ago, so I've had some time to start looking for an alternative base. Ranger Kelly offered Caer Sidi as a base of operations"—Gudrun stirred next to Ginny uneasily— "given the fact that it already has some powerful wards in place, and after some research we've discovered that it is possible to put the whole island under the Fidelius Charm. No Secret Keeper has been chosen yet, but the common consensus is that it ought to be someone who will never leave the base."

Rachel let out a low whistle. "An entire island under the Fidelius, wow."

Ginny agreed. She knew the current Citadel was also protected by the same charm, but to place a roughly fifteen-square-mile island under the Fidelius? Apparently size didn't matter.

"You said that as if the Lord Mayor is on our side," Tarana Oliseh, who had given Ginny a great portion of her instruction on Cruiser maintenance, said disdainfully.

"He is," Ironheart says seriously. "But he needs deniability. Actually, it's better for us if he has it. We can ill afford to lose him as our ally just to soothe our egos. If he publicly takes our side he's finished, because the people of Concordia are growing ever more afraid of us. The raid in Portugal was the final straw. He can't protect us any longer."

"Sir," Ramos rose from his seat in the third row, behind Lieutenant Poliakoff. He respectfully waited for Ironheart to acknowledge him and continued after a nod from the commander. "Since most of the world is against us, I suppose I'm right to assume that the bulk of our funds have been cut off?"

"Our known private assets that have previously provided part of our funds have also been frozen. Thankfully we still have a handful that can't be traced back to us, so those should be safe."

"Yes sir…" Ramos hesitated, unsure of how the phrase his next question.

"I know you're not in this for the money." Ironheart nodded. "You're worried about your relatives who depend on your pay. Again, we have Mr Kelly to thank. He sold off all his father's assets for several billion Galleons." Gudrun stirred in her seat again. "That should cover the compensation if something happens to you. But I'm afraid your regular pay must be discontinued," Ironheart continued, and turned towards the rest of the crowd. "If anyone has a problem with this, you're free to leave. Society will probably think you saw the light and accept you back."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say that the mere suggestion is insulting," a voice from behind Ginny said. She knew the distinctive voice to be Doc's. Murmurs of assent rose from the gathered crowd.

"Besides, what good will that gold do our families if Anastasiou wins?" Quist yelled from the fourth row on the Martial division's side, piercing the murmurs.

Ironheart gave them a shaky smile and wiped his sleeve across his eyes. "Thank you," he said with a shaky voice. "Whichever way this may go, I want you to know that I'm very proud of you all." He took a steadying breath. "Anyone who wishes to try to make special arrangements for the safety of their relatives can see Commander Nomvete afterwards.

"Now, the way I see it, the only way to beat Anastasiou would be to find him and to hit him with everything we've got. With their blackmailer and backer out of the way, Anastasiou's collaborators will fold. If we offer them a way out, say, by allowing them to claim they were under the Imperius, they'd gladly take it. I'm not saying we'd let them get away with it, but we'd put the bulk of them in the preservation box to deal with them individually, at a later time and in a more subtle manner. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to find Anastasiou, and he's certainly not going to be careless now that he's so close to victory. If any of you have ideas, you can come to see me in my office."

Ironheart stepped down and made room for Commander Nomvete, who began telling them about the move out of the Citadel and into Caer Sidi. They were all going to be very busy enlarging some already present caverns beneath the castle. Even so, things were going to be cramped, and the luxury of everyone having their own quarters would be lost. With the exception of the commanders and the captains, it was back to the old dormitories, males and females separate, unless the couples were formally engaged or better.

Ramos and Wong simultaneously proposed to Lilia and Lieutenant Li on the spot, drawing amused laughter from the rest of the Rangers.

"Sorry boys, you're too late," Nomvete said stiffly, though there was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Okay people, that's it for today. We'll start packing things for transport tomorrow. The team that will be responsible for preparing Caer Sidi will be selected later, depending on how quickly we find a suitable secret keeper for the Fidelius Charm. Are there any questions?"

"Some of us own homes in Concordia," Hermione began.

"Ah, thank you for reminding me," Nomvete said. "I'm afraid putting them up for sale is the only option, and only after we're already gone. We don't want to give away our exact time of departure. If you see another way out, please share it with me," she added, when she saw Hermione's unhappy look. "Any other questions?"

A general negative murmur answered the question and the meeting ended.

Ginny and Gudrun remained in their seats, waiting for the crowd to clear. Matt, Ron, Harry and Gavin were among the first to descend, but they didn't leave the amphitheatre. Instead, they immediately went over the Heidi and Galatea. Ginny only felt sympathy for Heidi when she saw the Austrian witch cry into Harry's shoulder, and not a shred of jealously permeated her feelings. She knew how it felt to have her father murdered, and she hugged Heidi right after Harry had released her. Her sympathy towards Heidi temporarily drowned out any unease she might otherwise have felt when being only a few feet away from Harry.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and Heidi barely had the time to nod before Gudrun pulled her into a hug.

Then Galatea caught Ginny's attention. Harry and Matt were both stammering apologies with guilty faces, but Galatea didn't harbour any resentment. Then again, being an empath she could probably feel their remorse, and so put on an understanding face just to make it stop. But Ginny had never expected her to smile and take Harry's hand, placing it on her belly.

"Hey, he kicked!" Harry exclaimed.

"He's a fighter, just like his father. It will be all right. I know it will. Max will come back to me."

Harry swallowed. "But the prophecy—"

"—Is wrong. Both of you will come back," Galatea said with an expression that told Ginny she wouldn't believe otherwise.

Harry pulled his hand out of Galatea's grasp as if it had begun to burn him. "Right…" He clenched his fists and marched out of the amphitheatre.

"You don't approve, do you?" Ginny heard Matt ask Gudrun.

"It's all your gold, so you never needed my approval. And you have plenty of good reasons to donate your wealth to the Order. Besides, I do approve."

"Then why do you look so angry?" Matt asked uncertainly.

"I'm your wife, you idiot." Gudrun shook her head at Matt's denseness. "I'm angry because you should have told me about it."

"Actually, that would be my fault because he was under my orders not to tell anyone about it," Ironheart said.

Still preoccupied with Harry's obvious distress, Ginny followed the direction Harry had taken outside the amphitheatre and found him leaning with his back against the wall, staring at the banner with the Order of Illumination's emblem on it. He turned his head to look when he heard her footsteps, and was visibly startled when he saw it was she.

He straightened and reflexively ran his hand through his perpetually messy black hair. "Ginny, is there anything I can do for you?"

*

He immediately regretted the businesslike tone he'd used. But just seeing her standing there with her fiery tresses cascading down her back and that odd look in her bright, brown eyes completely scrambled his thoughts and actions. What was it about that look anyway? It strongly reminded him of the look she used to give him back when they were at Hogwarts. But that was impossible, wasn't it? She didn't love him anymore, did she?

"You looked upset. I wanted to know if you're okay?" she said softly.

"Do you want the sugar-coated version or do you want it right between the eyes?"

"I'll leave that up to you."

Harry swallowed away the lump in his throat. "I'm trapped in a no-win situation. If Wolfe kills me, I'll leave lots of people at the mercy of a really powerful enemy. If I kill him, I'll have to come back and face Galatea and her son. Have you had any moment where you felt like you'd be better off dead?"

"Do you want the sugar-coated version or do you want it right between the eyes?" she asked evenly. "Harry, we all end up in certain situations we'd rather not be in. I suppose you know that better than anyone because you were born into such a situation."

"We all were."

Ginny sighed. "You're right. But it all revolved around you…and it still does. I don't think there is anything I can say about it. But when the time comes, please don't let those feelings cloud your judgement. God, I can't believe I'm doing this to you…as if you could use the added pressure. Harry…"

He knew what she was about to ask him. He understood, but it didn't make things easier. He really hated his life, hated being the axis around which everything seemed to revolve. "I hate this. Everyone expects me to be this perfect hero. But I'm not perfect. If I were, you'd still love me…"

"I do love you."

"…But I won't get angry over it, not anymore. I know it has to be done. At least I have good reason to, because of you and your family, and of course Holly and—" Waitaminute. Had she just said… "What?"

"I'll always love you. I have no choice. We're connected that way." Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she said those words, those very confusing words. But how could she? The diamond, the hardest substance in the world, had shattered.

"You don't have to say it to make me feel better," he whispered morosely.

"Are you a Mind Reader?"

"What?"

"I think you understood me. It was a very simple question. Are you a Mind Reader?"

"You know I'm not," he said, feeling really stupid and even more confused.

"Then you don't know what I'm thinking, do you?" she said, locking her eyes with his and jabbing him in the chest with two fingers for emphasis.

"I guess not. But the diamond…you said—"

She broke their eye contact and dropped her hand to rub his arm soothingly. "You asked me to look you in the eye and tell you that I didn't love you anymore. I couldn't do that, so I answered evasively. I'll always love you, but we can't be…" Her hand had moved from his arm to his chest. "You're more muscular than I remember you…" Her voice trailed off as the words registered in both of their minds, and Harry felt his stomach doing flip-flops over how easy it had seemed for her to say it. She did love him! But before he could say anything, Ginny shook her head violently and a blush flooded across her cheeks as she repeated, "But we can't be—"

"Together?" Harry asked huskily. Her touch was maddening and he longed to drag her off to his room and show her exactly how wrong she was, sequestering her there like a caveman until she changed her mind.

"Harry, I'm sorry…" Ginny stepped away from him quickly. She'd probably deduced what he'd been thinking through expression and body language.

"Sorry for what? For telling me the truth?" He stepped towards her, closing the distance she'd created.

"Harry, please don't do this," she pleaded. "I'm sorry I made things more difficult for you just now."

"You didn't make things more difficult. You made things very clear." He cupped her face with his hands and brushed her tears away with his thumbs.

"Please, don't…" she mumbled weakly.

"Then why aren't you putting up much of a fight?" he asked as he leaned in ever closer. He could feel her warm breath against his skin. It smelled of chocolate.

"Because I expect you to respect my wishes."

That sentence hit him like a bucket of ice-cold water, except that the water would have been much more pleasant. He'd nearly ruined things again. But at least he had something to cling to now. "I respect you."

"All right, that's good," Ginny said.

"And I love you."

"I know."

"We love each other."

"Yes."

"So forgive me if I don't understand why you're doing this."

"What I said at Caer Sidi…the part about Holly, was true. That's why."

He remembered. Ginny was afraid that he loved Holly more than he loved her. "Ginny, are you a Mind Reader?"

"What?"

He grinned. Despite the gravity of the situation he was taking perverse pleasure in this. "I think you understood me. It was a very simple question. Are you a Mind Reader?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "All right, I'll play along. No, I'm not a Mind Reader."

"So how can you possibly know if I place you second to Holly?"

"Because that's in the heart, not the mind."

Harry blinked. She'd weaselled out of that one rather handily. "Okay, but you're no Magical Empath like Galatea either, so my point stands."

"You said Holly was the best thing that ever happened to you."

"And if you'd been in Hermione's position, you would have agreed with me. Ginny, if Captain Sharif rather than Holly had healed Hermione like that, I would have hugged and kissed him and said that he was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Harry said in exasperation.

"This isn't funny," Ginny said gloomily.

"No, it isn't," Harry agreed. "You're basing your entire decision on what I told Holly at that precise point in time, in an emotional moment after she gave my two best friends the opportunity to have children together?"

"Oh, am I?" Ginny growled. Her brown eyes were ablaze with anger.

"If I'm wrong, I'd like you to tell me why," Harry pleaded. "When you told me you didn't love me, hurt more than anything I've ever felt. It was worse than the pain I felt at the deaths of all my friends. If you value our friendship—and I know you do—I want to know why you're not willing to give us a chance."

"It…it isn't me," Ginny said finally. "Ever since I've known you, it's like the universe is trying to give me a hint…give us a hint, don't you understand? Harry and Ginny equals disaster."

Taking everything they had been through into account, Harry could see why she'd think that, even though he would interpret things differently. But he wasn't her. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong and that she was imagining things, but he bit his tongue. Telling her that now might undo everything he'd accomplished so far. He'd just have to let time change her mind, and do everything in his power to change her perception of the universe. "Thank you…for finally telling me what you've been thinking"—and here his mouth twitched in a rueful grin—"although I think we both know that I don't agree with it."

Ginny looked relieved, though Harry noted that the relief didn't quite seem to reach her eyes. She stepped back, as if to leave. "Thank you, Harry. Well…good night."

"Night," Harry replied. "Are you going home?"

Ginny nodded.

"Could you wait in the Entrance Hall for a moment? Concordia isn't the friendliest of places right now. I'd feel better if you, Heidi and Galatea go back together. Maybe I should take you three home."

"Thanks Harry, but I'm sure Galatea, Heidi and I will be fine by ourselves," she smiled. "I'll wait for them in the amphitheatre. See you tomorrow, I guess."

Harry returned her smile and turned on his heel. As depressing as the Order's predicament was, he was in high spirits. There was a bounce in his step as he strode away and he resisted the urge to whistle. Ginny still loved him. That was something he could build on.

***

Gogirl: I'm not sure about anime references, but there will be some references to other works. The whole stories already packed with 'em, so why stop now? Yeah, the battle will be in this story, and I'm not going to give you any bull this time. :-)

D.Torres: If you like that, you'll love the ending to the next chapter.

Lord Dreadnault: As you can see, you've been a bit hasty about your judgement of Ginny. She isn't completely beyond reason. Hoom, hum, so many hasty folk reading the story.

walter34: Gee, you act as if have the female Rangers are pregnant. ;-)

GinnyPotter5: Your name looks familiar. Have you reviewed EaL once? Should you review again, if it isn't too much bother, try and add a short list of any problems you might have with the story so I can compare it to my other feedback.

nycgal: Ah, you're talking about the unfortunate incident between Padma and Quist. Yeah, they were sort of together.

][cewind: Cool way to form a capital letter.

Philip: LOL, this isn't the Blue Lagoon, pal!

LadySiri: Oh, in that case you should put that bit of info in the summary. It'll give people the choice not to read it. Anyway, I'm still working on that e-mail. I want to make it worthy of your saving it on a diskette to use it as future reference.

Lioness-07863: The next chapter will have Wolfe in it again.

Jake: Actually, I may need one more chapter. The story isn't done yet. Usually I'm about two chapters ahead of posting.

bane: Dude, there are lots of TV and movie referenced throughout the story.

lill_one: Not too complicated, I hope?

CatatonicReaction: Ah, well physics was never my strong suit. Thanks for the info.

Calen: Manners, manners! I know I gave another reviewer a pretty good lashing with similar words. (which was wrong. I should have controlled my temper) Unlike you, however, I had something that came a bit closer a good reason to be upset.

You said you do understand why Ginny is doing it but that she's wrong? And how did you manage to do that? Are you clairvoyant? Because I didn't reveal to core of the matter until this chapter, though the more discerning of my readers caught the subtle nuances. Back to the point, the fact that you condemned Ginny merely proves that you don't understand. What Ginny is doing often happens in real life. She's shielding herself from ever being hurt like that again, and her mind is looking for ways to rationalise it. In light of Harry's past, that isn't too hard either.

Now, you called Harry a dog. That's interesting. So you'd rather have Harry ruin his chances of happiness just feed his ego on the short term? Not only that, but you want him to dump a girl who is in psychological distress, for which he is partly responsible?

In case you haven't noticed, in canon, Rowling is setting Harry up to transcend that stage in his psychological evolution. (Otherwise he won't be able to cope with what needs to be done.) At this point in time in my fic, Harry's character is simply mature enough to Ginny's wellbeing above his own ego and do everything in his power to save his relationship, instead of abandoning it, like you would have him do. You're still welcome to disagree despite my explanation, of course.

As for calling you stupid, I think Foxfur had the right idea. Stupid is a multifunctional word. Granted, it isn't the most flattering of words, but your choice of words in the earlier reviews wasn't very proper either. It wasn't meant as an insult, yet your perception of it as such made it one. There's nothing I can do about the way you perceive things. So basically, you insulted yourself by giving the word a negative charge.

Taking everything into account, my answer was actually rather polite, even though I kindly asked you not to use that sort of insulting language again in your reviews. That asterisk didn't change anything. It still perverted the essence of the review, which is what it's all about.

On to the contents of your second review; Of course you can voice what you want to happen in the fic, as long as you realise that it is futile, which, given the way you phrase your reviews, I'm not entirely sure you do. Either way, the manner in which you write your reviews is very annoying. You may speculate on what you think is going to happen, though. There are others who also make 'suggestions', yet they obviously don't mean it, and/or know that it won't change anything.

Terra: No blood, no report. Let it go.

Melanie: Don't worry about it.

Stefanie: I'm glad I'm making the world a nicer place for you. ^-^

Foxfur: I guess this chapter fulfilled some of your expectations.

Casual Reader: He just might.

Blue Moon2: I wasn't insulting him. He did that well enough without me.

Chelli Potter: A new face, welcome. Thanks for trusting my judgement.

angel-fire8789: Depends what you mean by back together.

Siri Kat: Patience, grasshopper.

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