A/N: I know this is a short chapter, but it's all I wanted to include for now. Chaoter 10 will probably be a bit longer, possibly with some fluff. I'm brainstorming.... :) Anyway, it's a happy chapter, so everyone enjoy! A little H/G....? Read and see!

**************************************************************************** *********

Harry opened his eyes the next morning to find he was surrounded by a white curtain, but the smell was familiar...the hospital wing! His arms were sore and his head a mess, but he was back at Hogwarts! He took a deep breath and looked at the table beside him. No cards..no flowers..no anything. That is except a white cloth and a bowl of water. Or what looked like water anyway. It was probably one of Madam Pomfrey's potions awaiting to heal his wounds. As he thought of this, Madam Pomfrey herself appeared by his bedside.

"Oh dear! You're awake finally! It's good to see I'll have you know. How do you feel?" she asked. Harry opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't. What was wrong? He thought for a moment before motioning wildly to his mouth. Madam Pomfrey stared in confusion. She did not understand what he was trying to say. She quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. It was painful for Harry to write, as his arms were not fully back to their normal strength, but he quickly scribbled down 'Silencing Charm' on the parchment. Madam Pomfrey nodded with understanding and sighed.

"This is not a good thing. If you've been under a silencing charm this long time, it'll be painful getting your voice back up to rights. Now listen very carefully my dear to what I tell you. I'm going to take the silencing charm off of you, but when i do you'll cough quite a bit. There may be some blood, but it's nothing to get worked up over. Let me get you a bowl to get it all out in." she explained and grabbed a nearby bowl for him to put under his chin. She released him from the silencing charm and at first nothing happened. After a few moments he felt his throat burn more painfully than it had before and he was sent into a fit of coughs. As he continued to gag, droplets of blood filled the bottom of the bowl. Finally, it was over, and Madam Pomfrey handed him a glass of water. He accepted this eagerly and gulped it down quickly. He was feeling a bit better already.

"Thank you." he managed to mumble and placed his head back against his pillow.

"Now Harry, there is something else I've been asked to inform you of. No one knows you've returned yet. Things have been a bit hectic here, and we didn't want a lot of commotion while you were recovering. By the looks of things, you'll be free to go tonight and you can inform everyone you're ok yourself. I hope you don't mind not getting any visitors, it's all for the best." she said as she patted his hand. Harry sighed and nodded.

"Not even Hermione or Ron know?" he asked. Madam Pomfrey shook her head 'no'. He thoguht about how worried they must be, going to classes and not even knowing that he was safe. There was nothing that Harry could do about it. He needed his rest, and they would find out later that night. Everything would be ok. Madam Pomfrey left Harry to his thoughts and once again closed the curtain.

**********************************************************************

Hermione could not even muster up a good yell at Ron as they made their way to the hospital wing. Everything was a mess, and Ron couldn't help the fact he was struggling in Charms. Hermione herself had felt a little behind in Transfiguration the past few days. She playfully punched his shoulder as they continued down the corridor. Ron felt himself ease up a bit and smiled at her.

"Are you sure you aren't mad? If you aren't, I'd have to say that it's truely a first. Not to say I don't like it of course, it's actually a bit of a relief." he said to her as they walked together.

"Haha Ron. Very funny. No I'm not mad at you. I know you didn't mean to turn my hand green, it just happened that way. We're all a little distracted now that Harry is....well, you know." she responded. Ron nodded and sighed. They turned into the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey hurried to their side.

"What's happened here?" she asked as she stared at Hermione's hand. Ron turned red.

"Well... you see..." he started to say, but Hermione cut him off.

"I was trying out a new spell and I mixed up the words a bit. As you can see, my hand is no longer its rightful color." she said and laughed. Ron laughed too, but with more of a nervous tone. Harry shot up as he heard their voices. He wanted to call out to them and tell them he was ok, but his throat was burning painfully, and he didn't want to disobey Madam Pomfrey's request to stay silent. He sighed knowing he could do nothing but listen. Still, it warmed his heart to know his friends were still ok.

"The hospital wing sure looks empty. That's a good sign I hope." Ron said quietly to Hermione as Madam Pomfrey searched her cupboard.

"Yeah. I wonder what happened over there." she said motioning to the bed by the window. The curtains were drawn up around it so the person could not be seen.

"I don't know. Why don't we ask?" he suggested. Hermione thanked Madam Pomfrey as she soaked her hand in a lotion like substance.

"Madam Pomfrey? Who's in that bed over there? What happened?" she asked politely.

"Very sick patient. Need some alone time before they're sent on their way." she answered quickly. Hermione shrugged at Ron, who only managed a lop- sided grin. They left the hospital wing side by side, leaving Harry once again. He was dying to leave his bed and follow them, but instead he closed his eyes and returned to slumber.

***************************************************************************

Ginny, Hermione, and Ron sat in silence in the common room. It was getting very late, and they couldn't afford to stay up much longer. Ron urged Ginny to go to bed soon and she waved her brother away. Hermione and Ron wished her goodnight and disappeared up into their dorms. Ginny couldn't sleep when she thought about where Harry could be. What if he was..well..gone? Somehow Ginny knew he was still out there alive. He had to be. She stared at the fire as Harry had once done waiting for Sirius, but she knew no image of Harry would appear through the flame. It was only a little of Ginny's hope, her hope for Harry's safety. After many nights of staying up late and waiting for a sign, she finally let loose and cried. she let the tears soak her face, and her throat swallow hard. She was filled with emotion for Harry, everything she had inside of her. Fear for his life, worry for his safety, sorrow for his pain, sympathy for his situation, but the most powerful of all.love. She loved Harry with all her heart, and no matter how much she tried to deny it to herself she knew it was there. If there was no love on his part, she was ok....she was ok if Harry was ok. She sighed as she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder. Ron was back again to scold her for being up so late no doubt. She didn't bother to turn around, just waited for him to say something. To her surprise, Ron's voice did not reach her from behind.

"I'm not worth your tears," Harry said as best as he could. His voice was still not fully healed. He smiled at Ginny as her face lit up with joy.

"Oh Harry! I knew you were alive!" she whispered excitedly and hugged him tight. He hugged her back as best he could, not caring his arms still pained him. He was happy to see the youngest Weasley again, her hair as fiery red as ever.

"It must have been horrible! How did you....? I mean are you...? I know I shouldn't ask.....it's just...." she continued on and on. Harry let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"I guess it wasn't as bad as breaking a nail or anything, but it hurt." he said to her and sat down. She was filled with so many different thoughts, she didn't know how to reply.

"You're joking! My god! You send me into a frenzy of tears and pain because i have no idea what had happened to you and then you come back and joke!?" she yelled. Harry stared at her with curiousity. Was she truely angry with him? he felt an odd feeling at the pit of his stomach. Guilt? What was it?

"I didn't...I was...well..." he mumbled a bit before coughing. Ginny's eyes gleamed and shined a chocolate brown as she sat down beside him.

"You truely just amaze me Harry." she said and stared at him warmly. He felt his face grow a bit hot as he stared back at her, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah...uh...well.' was all he could squeak out. She laughed and hugged him again. Harry noted that even though her eyes were red from crying, she still looked somewhat beautiful. Not that he liked her or anything, she was Ron's sister! But she did smell really good....

"I have to go get Hermione! I can't believe I've been so selfish and just kept you here...and oh...I'm sorry! I was just so...It's just that I... I'll go get her!" Ginny said flushing a bit red and running up the stairs. Harry eyed her as she did so and shook his head as he smiled. She was definately an interesting member of the Weasley family. She had grown quite a bit....

"Ginny? What the bloody hell are you doing down here? Harry's head is not going to magically appear in the fire anytime soon... so please stop obsessing and just go...." Ron said coming down the stairs and rubbing his eyes. He stopped short as he saw a tangled mess of black hair on the couch instead of brilliant red/orange. He stared in bewilderment for a moment before rushing to his side.

"Harry! Oh my god mate! You're ok! What in bloody hell happened? What did you do with my sister?" he yelled all at once. Harry gre wide-eyed at the last comment. what did he do with Ginny?

"Uh.....huh?" he asked in confusion. Ron laughed.

"I mean where'd she go? I mean...god it's good to see you!" he said happily. Harry smiled and hugged Ron before turning to hug Hermione as she rushed down the stairs followed closely by Ginny.

"Why didn't you tell us you were back!? I know you've been in the hospital wing! You were the one behind the curtains weren't you?!" she shouted at him before hugging him again. He stumbled backward a bit before responding.

"Yeah, I wasn't allowed. They wanted me to get better." he answered. He wished he could say more, but it was getting to be too much. His throat seared with pain. Luckily, Ron and Hermione did most of the talking as they stayed up through the early hours of the morning. Everything was explained. Ginny listened intently as they conversed between each other. There had been so much history between the three of them that it was hard to fit in. Harry took notice of her presence more than the others she noticed. He was just so caring and considerate toward everyone. He would smile at her and ask her questions like she was one of his best friends. He even told her to come and sit down beside him if she was tired of standing. She accepted gratefully and blushed as he brushed her hair out of her face. Eventually though, they decided that sleep was a necessity and they dragged their feet behind them as they parted. Lucky for them tomorrow was Saturday!