Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related names and places are the legal property of J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, and AOL Time Warner, and have been used without permission.  No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Well we've finally made it to the end! I have many people to thank for this, so be sure to read the author's note at the end!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was there...it was still there.  The castle stood magnificently in the pale moonlight. Harry had never felt such a rush of emotions.  He could see a few people running towards the doors. People, no doubt Aurors, were gathered around the giants that had fallen. Some were unmistakably dead; others looked to be just knocked out.

Scanning the crowd for any sign of familiarity, Harry set off at a run.  It wasn't until he was nearly to the large oak doors that he saw a brunette hovering over several injured people.

"Hermione!"

Harry had never been so happy to see her face. She was alive....she was okay.

Hermione looked sharply around.  "Harry!  What's happened to you?  Where have you been?"  Suddenly she let a small scream and covered her mouth with her hands.  "What's happened to Ginny?  Where did you find her?"

Before he could answer, the weight of everything came down on him at once and his knees gave way.  Hermione fell down next to him and started looking at Ginny.

"Harry, what's happened?"  She pulled off the blood soaked pieces of robe and gasped. "How long has she been like this?"

"I don't know; awhile now."

Hermione pulled off what was left of her own robes and wrapped them around Ginny's arm.  "Sloper, get over here now!" 

Jack Sloper came running as fast as he could.

"I need you to get her up to the hospital wing as fast as you can. Run and don't stop running until you see Madame Pomfrey."

Jack nodded and bent to lift Ginny up.  For some reason, Harry couldn't let her go.  Hermione put a hand on his.

"She'll be okay, Harry.  Let Jack take her to Madame Pomfrey."

Harry loosened his grasp and watched Jack take off with Ginny. 

"Come on, you need to be looked at too."  Harry let Hermione pull him to his feet.  His legs didn't seem to want to work anymore and he had to lean on Hermione to stay upright. "Harry, what happened?  Where have you been?"

He didn't answer her, but she didn't ask again.  He had a pretty good idea that Hermione had guessed what had happened.  By the time they reached the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was working on Ginny.

Hermione led Harry over to the side of her bed.  "Is she going to be alright?"

Madame Pomfrey didn't look up.  "I don't know.  She's lost a lot of blood.  We'll have to send her straight to St. Mungo's, immediately."  She looked sharply up at Harry and Hermione.  "What caused this?  This doesn't look like it came from a giant attack."

Harry answered.  "That's because it didn't.  It was Voldemort." Madame Pomfrey's eyes grew wide.

Hermione broke the silence that followed. "Here, Harry, sit down and let me have a look at you."  She pushed him back onto the bed behind him.  He strained to look around her at Ginny's still body. "She'll be alright, Harry. There's a group leaving for St. Mungo's in just a few minutes.  She'll go with them. She'll be alright, I promise."

"Miss Granger, I'm going to leave Potter in your hands.  He doesn't seem to be severely hurt.  I'm going to gather all of the hospital bound patients together."

Hermione nodded. "What about her family?  Should I send them an owl?"

"No, Professor McGonagall will be handling the notification." And before either could ask another question, she bustled away.  Ginny's bed was moved and neither knew where.

Hermione forced some sort of foul potion in Harry, but he felt better immediately. "We should find Ron.  Where did you leave him?"

Hermione dropped the bottle she was holding.  "What do you mean?  I'd thought he was with you!"  Both stood staring at each other for a second.  Then, without warning Hermione and Harry tore down the steps and back out onto the grounds.

"People are spread out all over.  We'll just have to look around."  Harry said. Relief had flooded him when he'd found Hogwarts still standing, when he'd found Hermione perfectly alright, and mostly when Ginny had finally gotten the help she so desperately needed.  Now that relief gave way to pure terror.

Hermione looked close to tears.  "Harry...you...you don't think..."  Her voice trembled.

Harry shook his head.  "No, he's around here somewhere.  Don't jump to conclusions.  He's here...he has to be."  Harry was trying hard to convince himself.

Both scoured the grounds.  Harry finally spotted Dean and Seamus.  "Have either of you seen Ron?"

Dean's eyes grew wide.  Seamus looked around. "I saw him just after they hit, but not since."

Harry and Hermione didn't wait for them to talk anymore, but set off at a run shouting Ron's name.  Thoughts of Ron kept racing through his mind.  Ron had been the first true friend that he'd ever had in his life.  Ron had accepted him without question, without fear.  Harry would never forget that as long as he lived.  He glanced quickly at Hermione.  He had always regarded her as a sister, but not until this moment had he truly thought of Ron as a brother. And he would be damned if he was going to lose any more of his family.

"Ron!"  Hermione's voice was full of panic.

Harry turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of ginger hair.  He grabbed Hermione's arm and spun her around. 

"There he is!" There was no mistaking the tall figure climbing the steep hill.

Hermione stared only for a second.  She quickly shook off Harry's hand and tore down the hill. Her feet were slipping and sliding on the grass, but she didn't stop until she had reached Ron.  Harry watched her stop in front of Ron, and then throw herself fully into his arms.  Ron rested his cheek on the top of her head, stroking her hair.

Harry averted his eyes; he felt strange watching such a moment. At the same time, he began to wonder about them.  He had evidently missed something along the way.  Never in all their adventures had he seen his two friends act like this.  Somewhere along the line, their friendship had evolved.  Harry had always suspected it would happen, and sometimes he would have loved to hurry it along, but he'd never actually thought about how he would feel about it.  Things would be different now, without a doubt. He wondered when it had happened; perhaps if he hadn't been so busy trying to ignore the fact that his relationship with Ginny had changed, he would have noticed Ron and Hermione.

He continued to linger until he saw them climbing the hill together. Meeting them halfway, Harry gave Ron a small smile.  Hermione's eyes were red and shining and there was a great wet spot on Ron's shirt.

Hermione wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.  "We'd better get back to the school."  She looked at Ron.  "Ron, Harry found Ginny."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had barely gotten the story out when Ron took off for the castle, leaving his friends to trail behind him.  When they arrived at the hospital wing, Professor McGonnagal was waiting for them.

"Mr. Weasley, your family is already at the hospital.  Professor Dumbledore has already arranged a portkey for you.  Potter, the headmaster is waiting to speak with you about the events of this evening."

The three followed behind her until they saw Dumbledore.

"Ron, you and Miss Granger may go on to be with your family."  Dumbledore turned to Harry.  "Harry..."

Harry held up his hand and shook his head.  "No, not now. I want to know that she's alright."

Dumbledore gave him a look that Harry couldn't quite figure out.  "Very well, we can continue this conversation later."  He held up a silver and green scarf.  He laughed as the trio looked horrified at it.  "Yes, I know it wouldn't be your first choice, but it was the only thing handy at the moment.  Beggars cannot be chooser, I'm afraid."

Harry took the Slytherin garment and immediately felt the tug of being pulled forward. He fell hard on the stark white floor of St. Mungo's. He looked around and saw Dumbledore approaching the Inquiries Desk. He, Hermione, and Ron disentangled themselves and ran to join him.

Harry was sure he heard Hermione snort as the blonde witch jumped from her seat.  "Headmaster Dumbledore!  How may I help you?"  Her voice shook with nervousness.

Dumbledore smiled politely.  "Could you please tell me where Miss Ginny Weasley was taken?  She was brought in with several other students."

The blonde witch consulted the long list on her desk muttering "Weasley, Weasley.... "Yes, she was brought in about fifteen minutes ago.  Artifact Accidents, ground floor Headmaster. She'll be in the Critical Injury Ward."

Dumbledore nodded and set off down the corridor.  Harry fell into step behind Ron and Hermione, a sinking feeling overtaking him.  The witch had said Ginny was in the Critical Injury ward.  This didn't sound good.

Walking through the doors, Harry immediately spotted the rest of the Weasleys.  They were standing just outside a set of double doors, talking amongst themselves. Mrs. Weasley spotted them immediately and cried out, rushing towards them. 

"Oh, thank heavens!  You're all alright!  I've been so worried!"  She pulled Ron into a hug and Harry noticed that, for the first time, Ron didn't pull away. Letting go of Ron, she hugged Hermione and kissed her cheek. Then holding Harry at arms length, Molly smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry.  I don't know how you did it, but thank you again."  She pulled him into a hug before he had a chance to say anything.

"How is she, Mum?"

"We aren't sure yet.  The Healers are in with her now; we should know soon."

The door in front of them opened and several people walked out.  One man stayed behind while the rest continued down the corridor. 

"You are Miss Weasley's family?"

No one spoke, but Mr. Weasley nodded weakly.  Harry tried to read the healer's expression, but he couldn't.

"We've done everything we can for her at the moment.  We've healed her arm and replenished the lost blood."

Bill walked forward and stood in front of the healer. "And?  Will my sister be alright or not?"

The poor man swallowed hard and looked nervously around at the group.  "Truthfully, I don't know. She lost a lot of blood; I have to say I'm surprised she's hung on this long."  He stopped and gave a sympathetic look at Molly, who'd broken into tears. "Everything really depends on her right now. If she can make it through the next few hours, I think she will make a full recovery. She's still unconscious and the sooner she wakes up, the better."

Arthur, patting Molly's arm, finally spoke.  "May we go in and sit with her?"

"Certainly, I think having her family around her will help."  He pushed open the door and let everyone pass. When Harry and Hermione fell into step behind Charlie, the healer held out a hand to stop them. "I'm sorry, but I can only let family in."

Charlie turned on his heel and scowled at the man.  "They are family."

Cowering, the healer stuttered.  "But...but..."

Ron had turned to face the man, too.  "You heard him.  They're family and they come in, too."  He took Hermione's hand in his and pulled her into the room.  Harry followed behind.

The room was large and divided by white curtains.  As they walked past, Harry couldn't help but glance into the other cubicles.  He didn't recognize anyone, but all the witches and wizards in the beds lay motionless. Shaking off the feeling of foreboding, he trained his eyes on Hermione's back.

Ginny lay on her back with her head tilted slightly to the left.  Her brilliant hair was spread out over the pillow; the color vivid against the stark white.  Harry looked down and saw that her arm was wrapped in bandages, stretching from her wrist to her elbow. Her face was still deathly pale, but her lips had gone back to a soft shade of pink.

Mr. Weasley conjured enough chairs for everyone to gather around the bed.  Mrs. Weasley sat on the edge of the mattress, caressing her daughter's cheek.  No one spoke for what seemed like hours. Finally somewhere in the distant Harry noticed a little cough.  He looked up to see Dumbledore beckoning him; Harry had completely forgotten about him.  Quickly he excused himself and made his way over to the headmaster.

"I know you don't want to think about this now, Harry.  But I need to know what happened." Dumbledore led him back out into the corridor where, Harry sat in a low white chair.  The old man paced in front of him, listening intently.

"...then Ginny came out of nowhere and knocked him into a tree.  Wormtail gave me back our wands and told me which way to go to get back to Hogwarts. Sir, Voldemort knows about the Prophecy now." 

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, now that he knows, his attempts to get to you will be more intense. If I'm not mistaken by Miss Weasley's comment about Miss Granger; Voldemort attempted to use Hermione in much the same manner back at Christmas. He hoped you would trade your life for that of your friends. For someone who does not understand love or friendship, he certainly knows how to use it to find our weaknesses."

Harry sat in silence for a moment and then,   "Professor, I remembered what you said about being glad I convinced Sirius and Remus to not kill Peter."

"Yes, it seems Peter did not forget that.  I'm not sure why, but it seems that Peter's conscience has finally gotten the better of him."

Harry looked down at the floor.  "He told me that he was sorry." He looked up to see Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkling down at him. Neither spoke for a long time.  Harry continued to run through the words in his head.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "Well, thank you, Harry.  I need to go and alert the Aurors that he may still be in the forest.  You should go back in, Harry."  He turned and left. 

Harry continued to sit out in the corridor for some time.  He didn't want to go back in and see Ginny like that.  She looked so close to death...

The door opened and he looked up.  Hermione's head poked out.  "We were all wondering where you'd gotten to.  Is everything alright?"  She crossed and sank into a chair beside Harry.

Continuing to study the floor, he shook his head.  "I can't forget it.  I mean up until tonight it's always been just me; going up against him, I mean.  Then suddenly there's someone else there."  He looked up at his best friend.  "All I could think about was saving her.  I didn't even care what happened to me; I just wanted her out of there. She just kept telling me to not give in..."  He closed his eyes, "...she kept baiting him, wanting me to get away."

Hermione laid a cool hand on his arm.  "It's strange to know that someone cares that much, isn't it?"

Harry looked up abruptly. "What are you talking about?"

"You've never understood it, Harry.  You've never understood that we all would give everything we have just to keep you safe. Even our lives..."

"Why, though?  Why me?"

Hermione smiled.  "Because we love you.  You know that if it had been Ron, me, or anyone of us, we would have done the same as Ginny.  And we know that you would do the same for us." She patted the back of his hand.  "Come on, let's get back in there."

Harry reluctantly stood and followed Hermione back into the room.  They all sat around talking quietly, waiting for any sign of movement from Ginny. Bill and his mother kept talking to her sleeping form, hoping to coax her into waking up.  Percy kept making excuses to leave the room.  Harry knew he was uncomfortable being surrounded by everyone.  Just as day began to break, Harry found himself alone with Ginny.  Percy had been summoned back to the Ministry, for an emergency meeting with Fudge.  Bill, Charlie, and the twins had finally convinced their parents to go and get some tea.  Ron was sitting in his chair fast asleep, with Hermione's head on his shoulder.  She had nodded off only minutes ago.

Harry pulled his chair closer to the bed.  Ginny's face was turned away from him, but he crossed his arms on the bed and rested his chin on them.

"You're just being stubborn aren't you? You won't wake up simply because we want you to."  He whispered, trying not to wake up his sleeping friends. "Come on, Gin. I really want you to sit up and argue with me." 

Giving a great sigh, he shook his head.  "No, I don't want to argue with you.  I want to talk to you; I want to talk about what's happening between us. I don't know what it is, but there's something.  You're all I think about lately. You're the only one who can make me forget about all of the bad stuff and just be happy. I want to figure this out, but I can't do it without you!"  He hadn't meant to get so loud.  Looking to make sure Ron and Hermione were still asleep, he went on. "You saved my neck back there, do you know that? I couldn't have held him off. You actually rescued me, and here you're always angry with me for rescuing you."  He stretched and whispered in her ear.  "I'll tell you what; you are more than welcome to rescue me anytime."

Harry nearly fell backwards when Ginny turned her head slightly and opened an eye.  "Bloody hell, can't a girl get any sleep without you lot bothering her constantly?"

Her voice was low and gravely.  She looked around the room and her eyes fell on Ron and Hermione.  "Oh, would you two get a room?  Preferably not mine!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh as Ron jerked awake, throwing Hermione off of him. The commotion was attracting attention; two healers came hurtling around the curtain.  They looked ready to tell them off until they saw that Ginny was awake. The tall woman ushered the three out of the room while the other began to fuss over Ginny.  They were just about to set off for the tea room, when the rest of the family came into view.  Molly nearly dropped her cup when she saw them.

"What's happened?  Is she alright?"

Ron laughed and took the cup from his mother's shaking hand.  "I think she's fine.  She woke up a moment ago and started telling us all off for bothering her!"

Fred and George laughed.  "That's our Ginny!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laughter was filling the room two hours later.  After a thorough examination, the healers announced that there would be no lasting damage and moved Ginny to a private room down the hall.  Harry was happy to see her propped up on her pillows, smiling. He felt strange, too.  Had she heard everything he'd said?  Was that why she was deliberately avoiding his eyes?

"...you'd be upset too if Ron was the first thing you saw when you woke up!"  Ginny giggled lightly as Ron scowled at her.

"When are they going to release you, Ginny?"  Hermione asked.

"Well, they said as long as I promise to take it easy I can go home in a few days."  She looked crossly at her mother.  "But, I don't want to go home. I want to go back to Hogwarts."

Molly shook her head. "Absolutely not!  You will go home and rest in bed until I'm satisfied that you are alright!"

Ginny crossed her arms.  "Well if that's the case, you won't let me out until I'm thirty-five!  I've got my O.W.L.'s to take!  I haven't studied night and day for the past three months for nothing!"

George leaned close to Harry and the others.  "Maybe we'd better go outside.  Ginny and Mum going toe-to-toe isn't pretty.  Trust me."  With that, everyone left the room.

The twins let to check on the shop.  "We've sent an owl to Lee to open up; Merlin knows he'll be giving stuff away to every pretty girl that looks his way."

Bill left to go home and let Fleur know that everything was alright.  Charlie decided to go home and get a little sleep.  Ron, Hermione, and Harry were left standing in the hallway.  Harry could see Ron shifting uncomfortably and Hermione looking like she wanted to say something. It was obvious that they wanted to talk to each other in private.

"I'm going to get something to drink. Do you want anything?"

Ron looked relieved.  "Uh...yeah, some tea sounds like a good idea.  What about you Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, quickly.  Harry set off, leaving his two friends standing in the middle of the corridor.

Being so early in the morning, very few people were wandering through the corridors. Healers walked in and out of rooms whispering amongst themselves. Families gathered in groups; some crying, some smiling.  Harry was just passing the Spell Damage corridor, when two people came through the doors arguing.

"I don't know what you expect!  This isn't my fault; they've never had a case like this before.  It isn't as though we've got a ward for people who've gotten mixed up with muggle medicine!"

"I'm not saying anything is your fault! I just don't understand why they've put her in the Permanent Resident Ward!  She's going to be fine!"

"We don't know that! Even if she gets well, who knows how long it will take?"

Harry tried to shrink back against the wall.  The couple came around the corner, still arguing, and the man plowed directly into Harry.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!  I wasn't watching..."  The man stopped as his eyes did the familiar flicker to Harry's forehead.

Harry noticed that the woman looked incredibly familiar.  She had long dark hair and large dark eyes. 

"Forgive me for being rude, but you're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

Giving a small laugh, Harry answered.  "Whether I want to be or not."

The woman smiled, pulling on her lime green robes.  She was obviously a healer. "I'll bet you get tired of having everyone recognizing you."  Her smile widened.  "Cho's told us all about you, of course."

Harry gave a start.  Of course, now he realized why the woman looked familiar. 

The man stuck out his hand.  "I'm Cho's father; it's very nice to meet you at last Harry."

Harry shook hands with both of her parents.  "Um...is...Cho here?  When she left school...well we weren't sure what happened."

Mr. and Mrs. Chang looked uncomfortable.  "Yes, she is."  Mrs. Chang sighed and looked at her husband.  "I'm sorry dear, but I've got to get to my rounds.  Tell her I'll stop by this afternoon."  She kissed her husband on the cheek and left.

"We heard about the attacks at the school last night.  Kiera was called in early this morning. You must be here with the Weasleys."

"Yeah, Ginny was hurt, but she's okay now."

"That's good to hear.  Would you like to see Cho?"  Harry couldn't help but notice the pained look on the man's face.  "She really hasn't had any visitors, just her mother and I.  Maybe once school is out, though..."

Harry wasn't sure.  His last few visits with Cho hadn't exactly gone well, but Mr. Chang was looking hopefully at him.  "Sure, do you think she's awake?"

Mr. Chang laughed.  "Please, she's been up since before the sun.  Cho's never slept late, even when she was a little girl.  Come on."  He held the door open and let Harry pass in front of him. 

They walked down the corridor for a bit and then stopped in front of room number six.  Harry realized that they were only a few rooms down from Professor Lockhart. Mr. Chang knocked on the door.  "Cho, I've got a surprise for you."

The door opened and Cho stood before them.  She was wearing a white bathrobe and pulling her hair back into a ponytail.  "Daddy, I thought..."  Her eyes bulged as she spotted Harry.  "Harry!  What are you doing here?"  She didn't sound exactly happy to see him.

"I was heading for the tea room when I ran into your parents.  I though I'd visit you." Harry was more than ready to run.

Cho smiled nervously and opened her door wider.  "Well come in."  Harry stepped inside, trying not to look around.  Mr. Chang stayed outside. 

"Sweetheart, I've got to get to work.  You're mother said she would stop by this afternoon."  He hugged his daughter and walked back down the corridor. "Have a good visit, you two."

Cho turned back around, facing Harry.  "Well..."

"Well..."

She made a noise halfway between a laugh and a snort.  "This is a bit awkward, isn't it?"

Harry sighed. "Just a bit.  I'm sorry for this, but I don't think your father would have taken no for an answer."

"They feel sorry for me.  I haven't had any visitors or letters from my friends.  For some reason, they think that seeing people will make me feel better."  Cho sank onto the bed, tucking her feet under her body.  "Have a seat, Harry."

He sat in the chair, still feeling uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to..."

"I'm crazy, Harry."  Her voice was full of sarcasm and amusement. 

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times, not sure what to say to that.

"Well, that's the technical diagnosis."  Reaching back, she began to play with her hair.  "I'll bet there have been a ton of rumours floating around the school about me."

"A few; the prefects were just told that you'd gotten sick and had to come here."

"Well, they were close." Cho moved to sit on the edge of the bed, closer to Harry. "I'm sick, but not how they think." She gave a great sigh, and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees.   "See, last summer my parents sent me to stay with my grandmother.  They thought a change would be good for me. I felt horrible about what had happened between us, I still couldn't get past Cedric; things just seemed to be getting worse.  Then I made friends with a girl that lives close to my grandmother.  She's muggleborn and her mother is a muggle doctor.  After I told her everything, she gave me these pills. 'They make everything seem a hundred times better.' Amy said.  I started taking them and it seemed to work, I felt really good for the first time in a year.  I hid them from Mum and Dad, afraid that they would take them away.  When I got to school, I though everything would be alright.  Then everything started coming down on me.  Head Girl duties never ceased, having Quidditch practice every time I turned around, and everyone expecting me to be perfect at everything!"

Cho jumped off the bed, pacing around the room.  "I ended up having to take more and more of those stupid pills just to get through the day without cracking up! I had to keep writing to Amy to send more."  She stopped and pressed her back against the wall, looking at Harry. "Then that Saturday morning, I forgot to put the bottle back inside my trunk.  One of the house-elves came in to clean that afternoon and found it.  He took it to Flitwick and...Well, you know the rest of the story."

A pregnant silence filled the room. What was he supposed to say now? He wasn't sure how, but he knew somehow this was partly his fault.

Cho crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, again.  "Harry, I want you to know that whatever I said or did this year, please understand I wasn't myself." Her face flushed a little.  "Don't get me wrong, I do like you.  Last year, I was still so mixed up and hurt over Cedric's death that I was just looking for someone to make the hurt go away. I was looking for some sort of understanding, and since you were the last person to see him..."  Eye's shining, she looked up at Harry.  "I'm sorry for using you like that. And I'm sorry about what I said about you and Ginny in the Three Broomsticks that day.  I guess I was a bit jealous of losing another guy to her."

Harry lifted an eyebrow in question and Cho gave a little laugh.

"I guess you know about what happened between her and Michael? Well, when he came after me, it seemed like a good idea.  You know, I used you to forget about Cedric, why not use him to forget you? Too bad, it didn't work that way.  Half way through the summer, he wrote me a long letter saying that he couldn't forget about Ginny and that he wanted her back. So there I was all alone, again. Blaming Ginny seemed the right thing to do at the time."

"So the only reason you went out with me was to forget about Cedric?"  Harry felt anger rising.

"Well, a little.  Truth is, I did really like you. I kept waiting for you to ask me to the Yule Ball that year; I was even about to get up the nerve to ask you.  Then Cedric asked me, and so I figured I might as well."

Harry sat back.  "Well, I guess that's what waiting gets me. I'm sorry for being snappish with you last year.  Things weren't going well..."

Cho shook her head.  "Don't apologize, Harry.  After everything that happened, I'm surprised you aren't in the room next to mine."

They both shared a laugh, but then fell back into an awkward silence.  Eventually Harry thought he should be getting back to Ron and Hermione. "I should be going; everyone's probably out looking for me."

"Yeah, Mum told me about the attack last night.  She said that one of the Weasleys was brought in."

"It was Ginny, but they say she's going to be fine. She was arguing with her mother when we left."

Cho looked thoughtfully at him as she pulled open the door.  "I'm glad she's alright. Thanks for coming to visit.  It's nice to know that at least one person still admits to knowing me."

Harry smiled a little.  "Well, we crazy people have to stick together.  Would it be alright if I wrote to you?"

Cho's face brightened.  "I'd love that!  The healers told Mum and Dad that I'll be here at least until Christmas; maybe hearing from people on the outside will make the days go by faster." 

She followed Harry down the hall until they reached the doors that led back out into the main hospital.  Harry was just about to walk through them, when Cho called his name.  He turned around.

"Do me a favor; tell Ginny that I'm sorry for treating her the way I did this year." 

Harry nodded, and turned to leave.

"And..."  He turned back to see her standing in the doorway of her room.  "...Tell her she's really lucky."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he got back to Ginny's room, he found Ron and Hermione sitting in chairs, both smiling broadly about something.

"I though you were going to get us something to drink?"  Ron asked.

"Oh, I completely forgot!  I ran into Cho's parents and ended up visiting her." At his friends astonished looks, he explained about their conversation.

"Poor Cho; I feel really bad.  At least she will get better now."

"I feel really bad for saying all those things about her now."  Ron said, his ears turning a bit red.

Hermione stood up.  "Well, I'm getting a bit hungry. Anybody want to go with me to the tea room?"  Ron immediately agreed.  Harry stood up to go with them.

"Actually, Harry I think you should stay here.  Mum and Dad went back home, Ginny said she wanted them to bring her back a few things.  Someone should probably stay with her to make sure she doesn't try to break out of here." 

So, Harry watched Ron and Hermione set of down the corridor.  He pushed open the door to Ginny's room and stepped inside.  She was sitting up in bed, flipping through the pages of an outdated issue of The Quibbler.  

"How are you feeling?"

Ginny looked up only for a second, and then returned to her magazine.  "Fine."

Harry felt annoyed.  Why was she acting this way?  "Ginny, are you angry with me?"

Still not looking up from her magazine, she answered.  "Should I be I angry with you?"

He pulled a chair close to her bed, and snatched the magazine from her hands.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

"Too bad!  Now, I want to know why you are refusing to talk to me, or even look at me for that matter!"

Ginny crossed her arms and looked at him directly.  "I don't want to do this now Harry!  I'm just not ready for this!"

"Ready for what? I haven't any clue what you're talking about!"

"Yes, you do!  This...us..."  She waved a hand between them.  "I don't know what's going on, but I can't do it!  I can't be that person again!"

Harry stood up quickly from his chair, causing it to tip over.  "What person?"

"I told you!  I can't be that girl anymore; the girl who needs to be rescued..." Ginny paused and then turned her head away from him.  "...the girl who would give anything for you to..."

She never got to finish her sentence, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had just walked into the room.  Both Harry and Ginny tried to look like nothing had happened.  Harry picked the chair up and sat back down in it. Ginny smoothed the wrinkles out in her blanket.

Mrs. Weasley bustled about, taking things out of a large bag.  "I brought you the pajamas you asked for dear, and the books you wanted."  She looked between Harry and Ginny.  "Is everything alright? You two seem awfully quiet."

"Everything's fine, Mum.  Thanks for bringing this stuff."

Mr. Weasley smiled and patted her hand.  "You're mother and I talked about this and we've made a decision.  As long as the healers say that it's alright, you can go back to Hogwarts when they release you."

Ginny's face lit up and she jumped up hugging her mother and father.

"Yes well I still don't approve, but as long as you promise to check in with Madame Pomfrey every day, you can go."  She smiled at Harry.  "Oh dear, we just saw Professor Dumbledore.  Now that everything is over; you, Ron, and Hermione will return to school this afternoon. There's really no need for you to stay at the hospital for the next few days."

Harry was just about to leave to go and find Ron and Hermione, when Hermione burst through the door, Ron hot on her heels.  She was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"Harry, look at this!"  She threw the paper onto Ginny's bed and everyone gathered around to read it.

Pettigrew's body turns up at Ministry

            When Ministry workers reported for work this morning, they were greeted by a gruesome sight.  The body of Peter Pettigrew was lying in the middle of the Atrium. Along with the body was a piece of parchment stating "Betrayal is not tolerated, neither is defiance."

No one is sure how or why Pettigrew's body ended up in the Ministry.  For nearly sixteen years, Peter Pettigrew has thought to have been a victim of the notorious mass murderer Sirius Black. This development has led to the Minister being faced with unanswerable questions.  In a statement given early today, the Minister had this to say:

"We've no idea what's happened.  For sixteen years, we've been under the impression that Peter Pettigrew was murdered in an attack by Black. Until now, we've had no evidence suggesting otherwise."

Contrary to the Minister's statement, the Daily Prophet has uncovered evidence that three years ago a story surfaced that Sirius Black was possibly innocent of the crimes he was sentenced to Azkaban for.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School, presented testimony to the Minister himself that Sirius Black was indeed innocent. Headmaster Dumbledore gave our reporters a brief interview this morning.

"In June of nineteen-ninety four, Sirius Black was captured on the Hogwarts grounds.  During my interview with him, he told me a rather fascinating story about Peter Pettigrew's apparent murder.  It turned out that Pettigrew had managed to stage the entire event and ensure that Black was framed for many murders that he did not commit.  Unfortunately, Black managed to somehow escape before anything could be done. I do hope that this new development will open the eyes of the Ministry, and an investigation into the possible innocence of Sirius Black will be opened."

The Ministry has been searching for Black since his escape from Azkaban three years ago. Several suspected Deatheaters, captured during last June's Ministry break-in, reported that Black was there, but there has been no proof of that to date.

Several people have been called in to identify Pettigrew's body, including his former childhood friend Remus Lupin.  The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary (aside from the fact he has been thought dead for sixteen years) is that his right hand was missing.  Ministry officials are promising a full investigation into this latest development.

Everyone could only stand and stare.  Harry kept reading and re-reading the story.

"So that's why Fudge called that emergency meeting this morning." Mr. Weasley said, quietly.

Harry looked up at him.  "The Ministry doesn't know that he's dead?"

No one spoke immediately.  Mr. Weasley sighed sadly and ran a hand through his thinning hair.  "We had a meeting the night that it happened..."  He stopped when Mrs. Weasley gave a little warning cough.  "Molly, he needs to know.  We should've told him long before now.  The Order decided that telling people wasn't necessary.  Fudge is still looking to discredit Dumbledore, and aiding a known felon is a one way ticket to Azkaban. And, we didn't want to give them all the satisfaction of knowing.  So as far as they know, Sirius is still on the run."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts later that afternoon.  The article still buzzed about in Harry's head as he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower.  Ron and Hermione stayed down in the common room answering questions about Ginny, while Harry climbed into bed, still fully clothed.  The day had been confusing, irritating...unbelievable.  Harry knew he was lucky for having escaped certain death once more, but he couldn't.  Nothing had changed; Voldemort would be pursuing him even worse now. Strangley, that was the least of his worries though.  He kept running over his conversation with Ginny.  

I can't be that girl anymore; the girl who needs to be rescued...the girl who would give anything for you to..."

What had she meant?  He knew that things would be awkward between them now, even more so than before.  Would they still remain friends?  Could he simply be her friend now?

The next morning Harry found Ron and Hermione waiting for him, in the common room. 

"Why didn't you go down to breakfast?"

Hermione tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  "Harry, you know the real truth about Professor Bombeck, right?"

Harry was taken aback.  He had kept his promise and not told anyone. He tried to look confused.

"Oh, Harry, this is no time to play dumb!  I know that you know who she is!" Hermione shouted, irritably.

"Yeah, I now.  Wait, does Ron know?"

Ron nodded.  "Hermione told me last night."

"Okay, but why do you want to know?  Has something happened to her?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked strangely at him.  "Well, no one knows for sure.  She disappeared the night of the attack and no one's seen her since."

"Does Professor Lupin know?"

"I don't know. Something sounds fishy, though.  Why would she just leave like that after all this time?"

Harry pondered that question for a moment.  "What if she didn't leave on her own?"

Ron's eyes pooped.  "You think You-Know-Who could have gotten her; like he did Ginny?"

"It's possible."

"She wasn't there with them.  At least not where I could see her."  Harry began to sort through the jumble of memories from that night.  "Maybe Ginny remembers seeing her."

In the end they agreed to ask Ginny if she knew anything about Nicole's sudden disappearance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of the week, Ginny returned to school.  She was the last of the St. Mungo's patients to come back.  Ron kept making a fuss over her; not allowing her to even walk the corridors by herself.  Anytime Malfoy got near, Harry and Ron threatened to curse him all the way to Azkaban.

Harry was angry that Malfoy was even still at school. He'd told Dumbledore about what Malfoy had done, but Dumbledore hadn't chucked him out.  

"I'm sorry, Harry.  There is no concrete evidence that Mr. Malfoy has done anything wrong.  I can assure you that he will be closely watched from now on.  I had hoped that he would refrain from falling into his father's footsteps, but I'm afraid that was too much to hope for."

Harry had stalked away before Dumbledore could say anything else.  Hermione and Ron assured him that Malfoy would get what was coming to him sooner or later.

At last they entered June, and the entire school seemed to be returning to some semblance of normality. One Saturday Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were gathered on the grounds under a large tree.  Hermione was helping Ginny study for her O.W.L.'s, which were only a few days away. 

She was in an extremely foul mood today.  Her mother had sent her a letter absolutely forbidding her to even think about playing in the final Quidditch match.  Ginny had made the mistake of showing up for training with the rest of the team, and Professor McGonnagal immediately sent her back to the school.  Harry agreed that she shouldn't be flying, but he dare not say to her. She hadn't spoken a single word to him since her return to school, and Harry didn't press her.

"I'll never figure out how you three managed to get through these exams without going over the edge."  Ginny said.  She was lying on her stomach, reading through her Transfiguration notes. Her arm was still bandaged.

Hermione smiled.  "Oh, you mustn't have been paying attention then.  If you had, you would have seen you're brother falling to pieces."  She ducked as Ron flung a balled up piece of parchment at her.

"Well, you seem to forget that you were the one snapping at everyone who even looked like they were going to speak when you were reading."

Hermione giggled lightly.  "Harry, on the other hand, was perfectly calm and collected. You'd have thought he could have cared less."

Harry continued to stare out over the lake.  "That's because I was too far gone to realize what was happening.  I can't even remember studying anymore."

Everyone, including Ginny laughed.  A sudden thought occurred as he saw Firenze walk across the grounds.  "Ginny..."

She only looked up to wave at Hagrid, then back down at her notes.  "Hmm?"

"Um, well in forest that night, there were some centaurs..."

Ginny looked up quickly and gave a quick smile. "You met Malaya?"

"Yeah, she was the only reason they didn't kill us both on the spot, I think. She said to tell you thanks."

"I wish I could see her again."

Hagrid came over to join them before Harry could speak.  "Hello, you four.  Good ter see yeh out and about, Ginny.  Yeh had us worried."

"Thanks, Hagrid.  I was just telling them about Malaya."

Hagrid smiled at Ginny.  "Were yeh now?  When did yeh see her?"

"I didn't actually; Harry did."

"When we were trying to get back to the school.  A big group of centaurs surrounded us, but Malaya recognized Ginny and they took us to the edge of the forest."

"Well, it's good to hear that they helped yeh.  Centaurs never forget a good deed, an' Ginny here helped Malaya."

"One day during third year, I was out walking around the grounds, and I heard something funny.  I walked around to the edge of the trees and found a couple of first year Slytherins huddled around something.  As soon as they saw me, they all took off running back to the school.  Then I saw poor little Malaya lying on the ground. I went over to her, but she was so scared she kept telling me to get away. Poor thing, she'd wandered away from her parents and gotten lost.  She came out onto the grounds hoping to find Hagrid, but the Slytherins found her first.  Somehow they manage to tie her legs up so she couldn't walk.  Finally she let me cut her lose, and I took her to Hagrid."

"I got her back to the forest and back with her dad. Good to know tha' at least Malaya remembers kindness."  Hagrid made an aggravated sound in the back of his throat.  "Well, best be off.  Gotta go see Dumbledore.  See you four, later!"  He waved and set off for the castle again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All too soon, term ended. Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup; Ravenclaw hadn't put up much of a fight.  The seeker they had chosen was nowhere near in Harry's league.  The game had only lasted ten minutes before Harry had caught the snitch. Ginny managed to get through her exams without falling apart. Neither of them had spoken directly to each other since their conversation about he centaur.

The Hogwart's Express was rattling along, making its way back to London. They were going home again.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a compartment, but Ginny was sitting alone in the Prefect's car. They had spent the earlier part of the journey talking to Ginny about Bombeck.

"I don't really remember a lot about that night.  Can we not talk about this, please?"  That's when she had left their car.  None of them went after her, agreeing that she just need time to herself.

Harry sat, staring moodily out of the window. Hermione and Ron were playing a game of chess across from him.

"Ha; checkmate!  Hermione, I thought you were supposed to be brilliant?  You can't even beat me at chess!" 

"Well, I'm not used to playing with pieces that keep shouting at me!"

Just as Ron was about to put it away, the Queen called, "Well, perhaps if you actually listened to us, we wouldn't shout at you!"

Ron grinned sheepishly and shoved the offensive piece back in the box. Hermione made a tutting sound and turned towards Harry.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"Fine."

"That's seven 'fine's' since Ginny left the compartment.  Why don't you just go talk to her?"  

Harry looked around at Ron.  "Why should I go and talk to her?  She doesn't want to talk to me."

Hermione stood up and took the empty seat next to Harry.  She smiled warmly at him. "Harry, you know that you're my best friend and I love you."

He couldn't help but give a tiny laugh and smile back at her. "Well thanks, Hermione.  I...ow!  What was that for?"

Hermione had just slapped him in the back of the head and was now scowling at him.  "That was for acting like a complete idiot!  You are the most ignorant person, I've ever met!  Instead of going and telling Ginny how you feel about her, you're just sitting here convincing yourself that she hates you!"

Harry squirmed uncomfortably; he didn't like having this conversation in front of Ron.  Hermione apparently knew what he was thinking.

"Oh, don't look like that!  Ron knows perfectly well that you and Ginny are more than friends!"

Ron's ears turned bright red.  "Thanks for not involving me, Hermione."  He looked at Harry.  "She's right, mate.  I know you like my sister; don't worry I'm not going to kill you for it.  Matter of fact, I'm glad it's you and not another idiot like Corner."

"That's right!  And I know that Ginny feels the same way about you, Harry.  She's just confused and doesn't want you to think she's still a silly little girl with a crush!"  Hermione pulled Harry to his feet and shoved him out the open compartment door.  "Now, get your sorry self down to that Prefect's car and tell her!"

Harry found himself standing out in the middle of the corridor facing the compartment door.  Hermione was right, he had to tell her or things would only get worse.  He knew it would make thing seven more awkward, but at least the truth would be out there.

Entirely too soon, he found her leaving the bathroom, heading back to her seat. "Ginny!  Wait a moment; I need to talk to you!"

Ginny stopped and gave him an irritated look. "Harry, please I don't want to talk about this."

He reached her at last.  "Just listen, please.  There's something I need to tell you."

She held up both hands to stop him.  "Look, don't.  I heard what you said that morning at the hospital. Things have changed between us; trust me I know that.  But whatever this is, I can't do it!  I can't be what you want be to be!"

"Ginny, I don't want you to be anything but yourself.  I'm not asking for anything, I just wanted you to know that I can't just go back to being your friend!"

Reaching up, she wiped her eyes which were brimming with tears.  "I know. I didn't want this to happen.  Everything's changed between us, and we can't go back. Please, can't we just forget about it?" Ginny turned and started to slide open the compartment door.  Harry reached out and pulled her back.

"No, I can't forget about it!  You kept Voldemort from killing me on the spot that night in the forest! You expect me to forget that?  You think I can just forget hearing your voice in my head telling me to get away?"

Ginny looked at him with wide eyes.  "What are you talking about? You couldn't have heard that!"

"I did!  It was like you were right there beside me.  How did you do it?"

"I...I don't know! I was only thinking it.  I knew I couldn't just say it, but I just kept thinking it, hoping you would understand..."

"I did, I heard you like you were right there inside my head."  Harry looked down the corridor.  "Why would you do that?  Why would you risk your own life for mine?"

Ginny didn't answer right away.  She kept her hand on the door handle.  "I don't know...because it was the right thing to do."  She slid open the door.  "Now, please can we forget this conversation happened? Let's just go back to the way thing were before; when I was Ron's little sister and you were my brother's best friend...nothing more."

Harry stood, staring at the door. he seemed to keep ending up on the wrong side of doors today. Unsure of what to do or think, he made his way back to his own compartment.  His brain didn't seem to be working, his feet guided him in an unknown direction, and he dreaded being asked questions.  Somehow he made it back to his own compartment. Before he opened the door, voices drifted out to him.

"Ron, we have to tell him. It's not as if we could hide it, and even if we could I don't want to."

"I know Hermione; I'm just not sure how he's going to take it.  We can't pretend that nothings going to change.  Things will be different between the three of us."

"I know, but we have to have faith that Harry will understand.  He's our best friend and I know he wants us to be happy as much as we want him to be."

"Alright, we'll tell him when he comes back."

Harry took two steps back.  He had guessed that something like this had happened, but he'd never actually had any proof. And they were worried that he would be angry.  He made a great deal of noise to announce his arrival then slid open the door, trying to act as though he hadn't heard anything.  Hermione and Ron looked incredibly nervous as he took his seat across from them.

"Um...how...how did it go?"  Hermione asked, quietly.

Harry kept his face neutral and stared out the window.  "Just lovely."

Harry saw that Hermione was going to say something more, but Ron stood on her foot.  She closed her mouth then opened it again. "Harry, Ron and I have something we need to tell you."

Ron's ears were redder than Harry had ever seen them, and Hermione (for once) was at a loss for words.  Finally she turned to Ron. "Go ahead Ron, tell him."

If Harry had been in a better mood, he would have found Ron's reaction hilarious.  His mouth kept opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"Well...uh...you see, Harry...well the thing is..." He was looking everywhere except at Harry. "See...we...it's just that...Hermione and I..."

"Finally pulled your heads out of you rear ends and realized you like each other?" Harry finished the sentence for him.

Their reactions were just as he had imagined. Both looked shocked, confused, and thoroughly embarrassed.  Hermione was the first to recover.

"How did you know?"

"Just because I wear glasses doesn't mean I'm blind, Hermione.  It's been pretty obvious for years that the bickering was more than just two hot-tempered people pushing each others buttons."

Ron's ears began to go back to normal.  "So you aren't upset with us?"

"Why would I be?"  Harry felt his defenses slip and sat up to look at them both.  "I know things are going to be different from now on, but I'm really happy for you.  Really."

Harry had to admit that he felt better, knowing that his friends had finally gotten over being stubborn. He was also glad that Hermione didn't push the subject of him and Ginny.  She seemed to understand that things didn't go well, and let him be. He watched Hermione pull a St. Mungo's brochure out of her bag, and suddenly thought of something.

"Hermione, how come Madame Pomfrey was letting you help with the injured people that night?"

She looked at him strangely then laughed, sitting the paper aside.  "I'd completely forgotten to tell you both.  I've decided I want to be a healer.  She's been teaching me some things about healing spells and potions. Professor McGonagall thought it would be a good idea."

"Well it looks like Ron's the only one who'd undecided about his career." 

Ron shook his head. "Nope.  I've been writing to Charlie since I got my O.W.L. scores back.  I've decided to be a dragon-keeper, like him.  He says as long as I do well on my N.E.W.T.'s, I could get a spot at the dragon sanctuary he works at."

Hermione smiled at him.  "Well, I guess we've all got our futures settled then.  When Ron gets bitten by another dragon, I'll be the one to heal him, and Harry will be the Auror who's assigned to keep Molly from killing Charlie for encouraging you!"

Harry laughed along with them, but he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get to be a part of that future.  How long would he have before Voldemort came after him again?  How long would it be before he had to stand before him and "kill or be killed"?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The train finally pulled into Platform nine and three-quarters.  Ron and Hermione pulled their trunks along the corridor.  Harry was behind them, trying balance Hedwig, who had gotten restless during the journey.  She kept pecking at the bars, and screeching at him. 

"Will you please calm down?  You're going to have the muggles staring at us!  I promise I'll let you out the second we get home."  That caused Harry to feel even worse. He was going to have to go back to the Dursleys', and who knew for how long this time.

Stepping down from the train, he was Ron and Hermione standing next to the gate, waiting for him.  Ginny was standing close by, feeding Pig owl treats.

"Come on, Harry.  Everyone should be waiting for us."  Ron said as he pushed his trolley through the barrier.

Ginny went through after him, followed by Hermione.  Harry took one last look at the train and pushed his way back to the muggle world. The Weasleys were all grouped together close to the barrier.  Harry fought through the crowd and joined them.

 Mrs. Weasley hugged everyone, welcoming them back. "Ginny, dear, you look tired.  We should get you straight home."

Ginny didn't argue with her mother, but Harry noticed she looked on the verge of tears again.  He wanted to say something to her, but he wasn't sure of what else to say.  Before he could think, Mr. Weasley had approached him.

"Harry, I've talked to Dumbledore and he says that you will be able to come and stay with us this summer."  He laughed as Harry's face brightened.  "I'm not sure when, but someone will be coming to your aunt and uncle's to collect you."

"Thanks, Mr. Weasley, but are you sure it's okay?  I mean is it safe?"

Mrs. Weasley took his hand and gave it a squeeze.  "Don't you worry about that. Everything will be taken care of.  Promise me something, Harry?"

"Sure."

"Promise me that if your aunt and uncle don't treat you well, you'll write to us immediately."

Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley was no longer looking at him.  He followed her gaze and saw that she was looking at Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley.  They looked to be in extremely foul moods, and were making a point to stay clear of everyone.

"I don't think they'll give me too much trouble, but I promise I'll write."

Mrs. Weasley pulled him into another hug.  "Well, we'll see you soon then."

Harry said goodbye to Ron, got a hug from Hermione, promised the twins to come by and see the shop, and then turned to Ginny.

"Well, goodbye Ginny." 

She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, then simply nodded and turned away.

Harry wheeled the trolley around and met his aunt and uncle.

"It's about time, boy!  Get to the car!"  Uncle Vernon bellowed, walking towards the exit.

Harry was putting his trunk into the back of the car, listening to Dudley. 

"So you managed to come back again, Potter.  Every year I keep hoping you'll have some horrible accident at that freak place and never come back."

"Well, I've still got one year left. Maybe you'll get lucky next time."  Harry slammed the lid and walked around to open the door.  Just as he had lifted the handle, he heard someone shout his name.  Turning he saw, Ginny darting between cars, waving at him.

"Ginny?  What's wrong?" 

He stared down at her.  Her eyes were still shiny with unshed tears, but she was smiling broadly.

"Harry, I've..."  She stopped and bit her lip.  "Look, I've acted like an idiot! I was just so scared and stupid that I kept pushing you away!  You were right; things have changed between us and we can't just go back to being friends.  I couldn't just be your friend, not now.  I just..."

And before Harry had time to register what she'd said, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. An instant later, her lips were pressed against his.

I'm kissing Ginny!  Bloody Hell! I'm kissing Ginny!

She was the first to pull away and looked at him, waiting for some sort of response.

"Harry...do you still want to figure this out?"

His voice didn't want to work, but he was trying desperately to say yes.  In the end, he only managed a weak smile and nodded his head.  Ginny beamed.

"Well, I'd better get back inside; Mum will send out a search party shortly."  She kissed him lightly on the cheek.  "I'll write; I promise."

Harry watched her run back into the station, her long red hair swaying behind her.  He turned around to get in the car, and found Dudley staring after Ginny.

"That your girlfriend, Potter?"

"Uh...well..."

"Is she one of your kind?"

Harry turned around and saw Ginny wave again before she disappeared in the crowd. Grinning, he looked back at Dudley.

"Put it this way, Dud.  Let her catch you looking at her like that, and you'll find out soon enough."

Horrified, Dudley climbed into the car.  Harry followed him, still feeling the sensation of her kiss.  His last year at Hogwarts was certainly going to be an interesting one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*throws confetti*  Yay!!  Well, it's finally over. I've got a lot of people to thank for making this story possible.

First to my reviewers: Hekl, Dave the L's gal, Spaci Ireth, Porphyrophobic Grape, Marcello**, Kelei, Hermione Green, F75,  Alwayz Ally, &^&$%^$, Tabula rasa2, Steph, Molly Morrison, Jedi Buttercup, sweetgirl, paul, tanstaafl, The Yellow Dart, sternchen, freakyfairy, k00lgirl1808, wonky werewolf, Lucia, siriusforeva, Raven, Tessa66, Sara Malfoy, Pablo52801, susan, raiining, Emily, moonystruck, Marggie, moony391, Rainbow-Star in the Sea, Wytil, Roxie Potter, moonlightandroses, amy, beak, micki, and Susan B.---Without you guys, this story would be nothing. You were all my motivation to keep going when I felt like throwing in the towel.  Thanks so much!!

To my Bethy:  If it weren't for you, I would still think that Harry Potter was just as silly kids' book.  Thanks so much for threatening me with bodily harm until I read Philosopher's Stone!

To my wonderful husband:  Thanks for putting up with me hogging the computer, the innumerable cups of tea and coffee, and for putting up with me jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to jot down a sudden idea.  Mostly thanks for understanding why my writing means so much to me.

And last but certainly not least, Miss J.K. Rowling:  I thank you so much for creating such a brilliant universe. Thanks for letting all of us play freely in your wonderful playground.  You are truly a gifted woman and you deserve far more praise than you get!

**marcello: I'm so glad you questioned me!  I love when people actually ask why I did what I did at a certain part.  My reasoning for that whole section was this; I simply took the liberty of playing with time on that one. I figured Dumbledore arrived at the Ministry mere minutes before Sirius's death.  No one knows when exactly.  I figured he could end up going through the brain room.  I have Ginny as the first person he sees, so he brings her to, tells her to do what she can for the others, (not knowing that her ankle broken and she's pretty much of no use) and then Dumbledore skips on down to the fight. Ginny, being of a very curious nature and knowing that Harry is down there, drags herself across the floor and looks down on the scene. (Never mind that she should be attempting to help the others. Damn curiosity!) And of course, as say they say, curiosity killed the cat, so she ends up having the misfortune of seeing Sirius fall through the veil.

As for Neville and Luna, I didn't include much of them for the same reason there aren't many Snape and Hagrid moments.  If I had put in everyone I would be writing form now 'till kingdom come.  Plus I'm not creative enough to figure out scenes for them.  (Let's face it... J.K. I ain't... lol!)  I see Ginny understanding Harry better, because she knows how it feels to have her mind and body invaded.  She's been touched by the same evil Harry has.  Regardless of whether it was Tom or Voldemort that Ginny had an encounter with, she knows how it feels to feel responsible for things that are beyond her control.  Agreed, there are many others that have been controlled or possessed by Voldemort, but I can't see Harry getting "friendly" with Mad-Eye or anyone of the like.

I hope I she d a bit of light on why I wrote this story the way I did.  Some of it may not make sense, but you'll have to bear with my twisted little mind sometimes!**

So, ladies and gentlemen, here we are at the end.  I know I left a big gaping hole in the story concerning Nicolette. The original role I had intended her to play simply didn't work out.  After running her character by a friend, we ended up coming up with a completely new role for her. Fear not, we will see her again and she's going to have a mega huge, gigantic effect on everything.  And just as J.K. I simply couldn't answer every single question in this story; several things will have to carry over to the sequel.

Speaking of which, I thought I would give you all an idea of what to expect in the sequel. Here you are:

Harry Potter and the Fight for Freedom

What happens when the world around you is divided?  Can true love exist during a war fueled by hate? How far would you go to protect the people you love?

During their next year at Hogwarts, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, will discover the answers to these questions.  They will not only fight for freedom from the most evil wizard to ever walk the earth, but they will each have to fight for their own freedoms.

Hermione will fight to be no longer seen as a "mudblood".  She's tired of being labeled as low-class simply because her parents were muggles.  She'll prove that she's a witch if it's the last thing she does; and it very well may be.

Ron is determined to prove that he's more than just "Harry Potter's ever faithful sidekick".  He's determined to prove his worth to the Wizarding world, but what will it cost him?

Ginny has finally realized that caring for someone doesn't mean weakness.  She's proven that she can face down Voldemort and live. Now she must find freedom from her greatest enemy—fear.

Harry Potter has spent the past six years building a life for himself in the wizarding world. He's found friendship, family, and love.  He's lived with the constant fear of Voldemort swooping down and destroying everything he holds dear. When the time comes to stand and fight, he's going to give everything he has for the greatest freedom of all---the freedom to live.

In just one short year, the wizarding world will be divided by evil, families will be ripped apart, love will be crushed, and friendships will end forever.

Hee-hee...sounds pretty cool huh?  It's going to take some time to get it up.  I'm hoping to write a lot before posting the first chapter; I want to stay at least one chapter ahead of you guys so that there's none of that waiting! Thanks again for your support!