Harry Potter, Heir of Gryffindor

Lunch with Ginny, Mark Evans, Quidditch and The Prophecy

As they walked out of the forest, Harry with the Sword of Gryffindor resting on his shoulder and Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny with their wands out and lit, Ron said, "You were right, Harry. I didn't want to know what Firenze meant when he said you would have to exercise all of your authority as the Heir of Gryffindor to get Bane's attention. If I had known you were going to do that lightning thing I would have stayed home."

Harry mumbled something about not knowing what he would have to do until the last minute and continued walking, only glancing up every now and again to make sure they were on the right path. Hermione stayed close to Ron and Ginny stayed close to Harry while Neville and Luna brought up the rear, Neville with his wand drawn continually scanning for signs of trouble. Every so often Hermione and Ginny would exchange furtive glances of concern as they recognized the symptoms of Harry starting to shut down and withdraw into a self-imposed cocoon of isolation.

As they were nearing the edge of the forest and drew within sight of Hagrid's cabin Ginny extinguished her wand and took hold of Harry's free hand. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Harry looked into her eyes and nodded. "Yeah," he sighed. "I'm fine. I just need a little rest. I've got to get this sword back up into the library and then I'm going to go lay down and take a nap."

At the sound of Fang's excided barking Harry stopped and looked tiredly up at the rapidly approaching dog. Ron and Neville, realizing that their friend probably couldn't handle another body tackle from the boarhound just now, stepped in front of Harry and braced themselves for impact. When it came they wavered slightly but held their ground as Fang crumpled at their feet. Hagrid came running up a few seconds later with an expectant smile on his face but when he saw how tired Harry looked he looked from Ron and Neville to Hermione, Ginny and Luna searching for an explanation. "Tired," Ginny finally said, looking up into the friendly half-giant's face.

"Yeah," Ron added. "That lightning storm took a lot out of him."

Hagrid, who was now scratching Fang behind the ears, stopped and looked at Harry with an awed expression on his face. "Tha' was you?" he asked.

Harry looked up at his old friend and nodded. "Yeah," he whispered, "that was me. He wasn't listening so I had to let him know that I meant business."

Hagrid shook his head. "Bu' a lightning storm? On a day like this? You scared the studen's and mos' o' the teachers. They almos' canceled quidditch tryouts. I don' know wha' they woulda done if it had gone on much longer."

Harry lowered the sword, burying its point in the ground, and leaned on it for support. "Sorry about that," Harry shrugged. "I didn't mean to scare anyone but Bane . . . I guess it got a little out of hand."

"A little out of hand?" Ron laughed nervously. You should see what's left of that clearing!"

Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs who looked at her in disbelief. "What?" he asked. "I'm going to have to go change my robes before I go in for lunch."

Harry laughed softly at this. "Sorry about that, Ron." "That's okay, mate," Ron said as a blush rose into his cheeks, "You were successful and that's all that matters."

"You were successful then?" Hagrid asked.

"Yeah," Harry sighed again. "We were successful."

"And that's not all," Hermione said. "Harry got Bane to agree to let you go in and bury Grawp."

A tear came into Hagrid's eye. "Than' you," he said.

"Yeah," Harry said softly. "I wouldn't go running in there right away if I were you, though. They're still a little upset so I think you should wait until they come to you."

"I will," Hagrid said. Then, noticing the sword Harry was leaning on, asked, "Where'd ye' get th' sticker?"

"Dumbledore's office," Harry said simply.

"Bu' . . ." Hagrid was about to say that they hadn't had it with them earlier when he saw Ginny shaking her head and stopped. Then, looking up at the sky to check the position of the sun, said, "They should be goin' in ter eat in a bi'. If ye' wan' to ye' can wai' in m' cabin."

Harry thanked him and Ron stepped over and slipped his arm under Harry's free shoulder. Harry looked up into Ron's eyes and wordlessly thanked him with a small smile. Ginny took the sword from his other hand and carried it up to Hagrid's cabin where they stopped and waited, resting on the steps, until the other students had gone in for lunch.

Walking up to the castle several minutes later, once more in possession of his sword, Harry said, "You guys go on in. I'm just going to take this up to the library and then head back to the dorm."

"Oh no you don't," Ginny said pointedly. "I'm going with you and you are going to eat. Then I'll take you back to the dorm."

"Told you she was just like Mum," Ron snickered.

Ginny glared at her brother. "You be careful, buster, or I'll hex you into next week," she growled. Then turning to Hermione said, "Hermione, could you tell Dobby that Harry is very weak and tired and have him bring two orders of whatever Harry is having up to the Headmaster's Library?"

Hermione said she would in a tone that suggested she really didn't want to cross Mrs. Weasley's daughter. Harry just shook his head and, laughing softly to himself, started walking towards the main stairs. "What's so funny?" Ginny scolded when she caught up with Harry at the base of the marble steps.

Harry smiled and, shaking with a mountain of suppressed laughter born of fatigue, looked at her and said, "He's right, you know. You are a lot like your mum."

Ginny stopped and stared at him for several seconds. "Now you listen to me, Harry Potter, I'll have you know that the Weasley women may be strict from time to time but its only because we have the best interests of our men at heart."

This was too much for Harry and he had to sit down to keep from falling over he was laughing so hard. Ginny stood in front of him with her hands on her hips glaring at him. Every time Harry looked up at her he burst out laughing again. Ginny finally relented and walked over to sit next to him. "I'm sorry, Gin," he gasped. "To hear it is one thing but to see it is almost too much." They sat on the stairs and laughed for several minutes, earning more than just a few curious glances from the students in the Great Hall, before picking themselves up and headed off to the Headmaster's Office.

They were still laughing when they reached the entrance to the headmaster's office where the gargoyle sprung aside to let them enter. At the top of the stairs they entered the outer office and then the private library.

Harry carefully replaced the sword and turned to look at Ginny who was standing on the far side of a small circular table that Dobby had apparently set up off to one side. The table was set for two with a single white candle set in a golden base burning brightly in the center. Ginny smirked. "It looks like Dobby is a romantic."

Harry stumbled away from the larger table and looked apprehensively at the arrangement, remembering his experience with Cho Chang in Hogsmead the previous year. "Er . . . yeah," he said at last, uncertain as to what he should say or do.

"Well," Ginny said, smiling sweetly. "Shall we?"

"Er . . . yeah. I guess," Harry said as he cautiously approached the smaller table.

"It's not going to bite you," Ginny laughed as she watched Harry's guarded approach.

"It's not the table I'm worried about," Harry said glancing up at Ginny.

"Oh. Well, I won't bite you either," Ginny said lightly, not realizing that that was exactly what Harry was afraid of.

After they had seated themselves and started eating Harry made several attempts at small talk but failed miserably. Finally, after exhausting all other possible topics of conversation that he felt comfortable with he said, "Ginny?"

"Mmm?"

"Erm . . . Albus and I were talking the other night and he seems to think you are going to be the one to teach me how to harness and use the power of love."

Startled, Ginny looked up and watched Harry as he made his confession.

For his part, Harry shifted uneasily in his chair and played with his food while he summoned up the courage to continue. "Er . . . um . . . What I mean to say is . . . um . . ." Looking across the table into her eyes he silently pleaded with her to understand what he was trying to say. "I mean, I already know how I feel about you and I have a feeling you feel the same way about me. I have been calling it love because it feels so right and I don't know what else to call it. The problem is that I really don't know if it is love or not; I mean, the Dursleys didn't exactly teach me anything about it and . . ." he trailed off, looking nervously over at the beautiful girl sitting across from him.

Ginny smiled pleasantly and reached out, taking hold of his hands which were now fidgeting nervously with his napkin, much the same as his aunt Petunia had done earlier that summer and for a moment Harry could not help but wonder if he had inherited that from his mother as well as his eyes. "It is love, Harry," Ginny said softly. "I've felt it and I've known that feeling for years. What you are feeling is love at its most magical. What else did Albus tell you?"

Harry let out a sigh of relief then, gently taking hold of Ginny's hands and rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs, looked into her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Ginny Weasley," before dropping his eyes and continuing his confession.

"He told me not to force or rush into anything because he said that for it to work it would have to come naturally and be freely given. He told me that it had to come from the heart - your heart - or it wouldn't work." Harry stopped and looked up at Ginny who was still watching him then went back to playing with his food. "The thing is, is that I really don't know anything about love. I mean, like I said, the Dursley's didn't exactly teach me anything about it and I've never really had a girlfriend or anything so, um, if you want to go ahead with this thing then I'm going to have to ask you to please go easy on me.

"I know I've been pretty much of a prat over the past few years but - and I'm not trying to make excuses or anything - but it hasn't really been all that easy. I mean, I learned a lot about myself in my Maturo Auctus but I still have to learn how to love someone. I'm not good at it and to be quite honest with you it frightens me. I can take on basilisks, centaurs, dragons and Death Eaters without batting an eye but love . . ." Harry glanced up briefly. "It scares the heck out of me, Ginny. So if it's all the same to you I would like to take it slow and easy. Like I said, I want to get to know you for who you are on the inside; but I'm afraid . . ."

Ginny reached out and took hold Harry's hands again. Harry looked up, startled. "I understand, Harry," Ginny said softly. "I understand." And something in her eyes told him that she really did understand and that she would patiently guide him through what lay ahead.

For the next several hours they ate slowly, talked about their lives, joking about some of their misadventures, laughing at some of Fred and George's pranks and generally getting to know one another. They had lost all track of time when Dobby and Winky suddenly appeared beside their table. "Er, . . . Harry, Ginny," the faithful house elves squeaked.

Harry and Ginny both stopped laughing at the story Harry had been telling about one of the pranks the Marauders had pulled on a group of Slytherins and turned towards their friends, surprised at their presence but neither angry or upset in any way. "What can we do for you?" Ginny asked.

"Do for us?" Winky squeaked in surprise.

"Nothing, Ginny! Nothing," Dobby added. "Dobby and Winky is just here to tell you that it is nearly five o'clock and time for dinner."

"Would you like to eat here or will you be eating in the Great Hall?" Winky asked.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a moment then Ginny turned back to the two house elves. "Would it be too much trouble if we ate up here?" she asked.

"No, Ginny," Winky said confidently. "Winky and Dobby is glad Ginny and Harry is finally getting some time alone," Winky said boldly.

Harry was slightly taken aback by this revelation but quickly recovered. "Winky, Dobby?" he asked, "since we will be eating up here this evening could you please come and get us at about a quarter to six, and bring our brooms? We have quidditch try outs at six and we really don't want to miss them."

Winky and Dobby both nodded their heads vigorously and five minutes later, after taking their orders and returning to the kitchens to prepare their meals, the two house elves were back with two steaming plates of their master and mistress' specially prepared dinners. Even though neither of them would ever admit it to either Ron or Hermione, Harry and Ginny were both secretly glad that they could eat dinner in private and Harry decided that he might be taking advantage of the fact that he had a fully furnished Wizard's Kitchen in his trunk sometime in the not too distant future. A candlelit dinner at sunset with a view from the top of the Astronomy Tower sounded like just the thing to get their relationship off the ground and the privacy of his trunk would give them time to get to know one another and work their way through whatever issues might come up, away from the prying eyes of their friends and classmates.

At fifteen minutes to six, after another forty-five minutes of delightful and enlightening conversation, Dobby and Winky appeared with Harry and Ginny's brooms in hand. After thanking their friends for the wonderful dinner and for bringing their brooms Harry and Ginny left the library and then the Headmaster's Office. A dark haired student Harry didn't recognize at first - a first-year by the looks of him - was walking past as they exited the hidden stairs. Upon second glance, however, he thought he recognized the boy from, of all places, Little Whinging. "Mark?" he asked. "Mark Evans?"

The skinny boy turned quickly around and looked at Harry, his hazel eyes bulging slightly and his mouth falling open in surprised recognition. "Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah," Harry said brightly. "I don't need to ask why you are here but, what house are you in?"

"I'm in Gryffindor," Mark said proudly.

Harry glanced at Ginny, who looked mildly surprised that Harry and Mark seemed to know each other, for confirmation. Ginny nodded her head then asked, "Do you two know each other?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately for Mark, he was one of Dudley's punching bags last year."

Ginny winced. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mark," she said.

Mark looked down at his shoes and shuffled his feet. "That's alright," he said. "I understand 'Big D' and his parents died in an accident on the road to London last month."

A suit of armor snapped to attention as they passed and Harry scowled at it briefly before responding to Mark's unasked question. "I don't think if was an accident, Mark," Harry said dismally. "I think it was murder."

"Murder?" Mark asked, astonished.

"Yeah," Harry said sollemly. "You see, there are some pretty bad wizards out there who have trying to kill me essentially since the day I was born. They'd already killed my parents, a friend and my Godfather trying to get to me and the only way they could get to me at the Dursleys' was to kill my aunt. The reason I think it was murder is because as soon as the protective wards came down twenty-tree Death Eaters attacked the house and I had to run for it."

They were now walking down a staircase that was notorious for sending people in the wrong direction but which was currently taking them on a direct route to the Entrance Hall. "Is that what that standing ovation was for at the Welcoming Feast?" Mark asked.

Harry grimaced but nodded. "Yeah. Some friends and I developed a rebounding charm over the summer that is effective against the killing and pain curses and, if our research is correct, every spell ever invented and I was the first to test it in an actual combat situation."

"Oh," Mark said softly. Then brightening, said, "Say, do you mind if I write a letter home and tell my parents that you don't go to Saint Bruno's?"

Harry laughed and said, "Sure. You can also tell them that my friends and I will be here for you if you should ever need any help."

"Hey, thanks!" Mark said excitedly. "For a while there I was afraid I wasn't going to make any friends."

"What about your dorm mates?" Ginny asked.

Marked shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, there's them; but there are only three of them and they aren't very exciting."

Harry smirked at Ginny then looked back at Mark and said, "Mark, this if my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. She has a pair of twin brothers I think you should meet."

Ginny almost choked as she started laughing at what she felt sure Harry had planned.

Mark looked up worriedly. "What?" he asked.

Harry smiled and said, "Fred and George are a couple of pranksters the likes of which Hogwarts hasn't seen since my father's day. I just think it might be a good idea if you met them and started building a reputation for yourself."

"Harry!" Ginny said in mock outrage. "What would Albus say if he knew you were contributing to the delinquency of a minor?"

Harry looked up innocently. "What?" he said. "All he said is that he drew the line at the destruction of school property. Besides, with everything Remus told Neville and me this summer, creative pranking is a sure way to catch your enemies off guard. And besides, it could easily lead to a career as a Spell Crafter."

Ginny was silent for several seconds then nodded her head. "Yes. I can see where that might be useful."

As they were walking across the Entrance Hall Harry asked, "So what are you up to today, Mark?"

"Oh, I was just out exploring, finding my way around really. Why?"

"Well I was just thinking that since Ginny and I have quidditch try outs in a few minutes you might want to come down and watch for a while."

Mark's face immediately brightened. "Can I? Is it allowed?" he asked excitedly.

Harry and Ginny both smiled and nodded then Harry added, "Since I'm one of the captains I think we can allow it."

"Brilliant!" Mark almost shouted. "I've never seen a quidditch game before. Is it fun?" Harry and Ginny both laughed. "It's the most excellent game in the world," Harry said enthusiastically.

As they were approaching the pitch Ginny took hold of one of Harry's hands. "Are you going to be alright," she asked. "I mean you were going to take a nap after all and I kept you up all afternoon."

Harry grinned. "I'll be fine," he said softly, try not to let Mark hear. "Most of it is the company I keep but the way Albus explained it, because of who I am I have a special kind of relationship with the castle and I am able to draw energy from its reserves."

"Cool," Ginny said.

"What's cool?" Hermione asked, coming up behind the three.

"Oh, nothing," Harry said with a sidelong glance at Mark. "I'll tell you later." Then turning to Mark he said, "Mark, I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger. She's the smartest witch in our class if not in the entire school, and she is one of the Gryffindor sixth-year prefects. Hermione, I'd like you to meet Mark Evans. Mark is from Little Whinging and, unfortunately for him, was one of Dudley's punching bags last year."

"Evans?" Hermione asked, shifting the book she was carrying to her other hand so that she could shake Mark's hand.

"Yes," Mark said, mildly surprised at Hermione's interest in his last name. "Why?"

"Do you think it's possible?" Hermione asked, looking between Harry and Mark. "I mean, I know it's a long shot but do you think you two could be related?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I never thought about it before but I guess it's possible."

"Are you an Evans?" Mark asked, looking suspiciously up at Harry.

"My mum's maiden name was Evans so, yeah, I guess you could say I'm an Evans."

"Really? My dad's really into that genealogy stuff so I'll ask him. What was your mother's name?"

"Oi! Harry, Ginny!" Ron called from the center of the pitch. "Come on! We've got try outs!"

As Harry and Ginny mounted their brooms Harry turned to Mark and said, "All I know about my mother's side of the family is that my Mother's name was Lily and my aunt's name was Petunia. Sorry, Mark, but I gotta go."

As Harry and Ginny rose into the air and the wind began whipping through his hair Harry felt the familiar thrill of freedom and rush of adrenalin that had always accompanied him on his flights. He smiled over at Ginny, who smiled back, then, nodding in silent agreement, turned his attention to his Firebolt and shot up into the sky.

This was freedom! There was no other way to describe it. It was pure, unadulterated freedom. Harry shot high up into the air, pushing his broom to its limits, and then turned around and, performing a twisting, spiraling dive, drove his broom back down to the uppermost reaches of the playing field before dropping into a steep, vertical dive reminiscent of the Wronski Feint. With mere centimeters to spare he pulled out of the dive, the toes of his shoes gently brushing the grass as he skimmed the surface, then soared back up and did several loops around the pitch, spinning, swirling and twisting all the while. On his third pass he noticed a single, solitary figure, a familiar face really, sitting in the Ravenclaw section. He flew over and stopped, hovering a few meters in front of her. "Luna?" he asked.

Luna smiled. "Hi, Harry. You're really very good you know."

Harry blushed slightly. "Thanks, Luna." The smile on his face from flying was almost frozen on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching."

"Neville?" Harry asked.

Luna nodded shyly as a smile and blush spread across her face.

"Alright then," Harry said brightly. "I'll see you around."

The tryouts went amazingly well considering they only had three hours to audition thirty people. Ron only let one goal through the entire time and that had been on one of Ginny's stalling approaches where she had flown in at an angle and stalled in front of the goal while Ron, trying to anticipate her move, had flown just enough out of her way to let her score. Ron had screamed in frustration and Ginny had laughed, teasing him by calling out that she knew him too well as she flew back out to join her teammates.

Harry scared almost everyone buy diving through the players at breakneck speeds to catch the muggle golf balls that were being thrown for the Seekers. He and Ginny had each caught every ball that had been thrown for them. The next closest Seeker was Dennis Creevey who had caught eighty percent of his.

Of those who were trying out for the Beater positions, however, Neville proved to be the most determined as well as the most lethally accurate. Neville unseated several players, who had been rescued by Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall, and disrupted more Chaser formations than anyone else. He even helped his team's keeper a few times by knocking the Quaffel out of the hands of approaching chasers. Ron was secretly glad that Neville was on his team in the final game - they played three, short elimination games to give everyone a chance to play - because of the beatings the other Keepers had taken from Neville's Bludgers.

When it was all over Ron walked over to Neville, who was being congratulated by Harry and Ginny on his excellent showing, and said, "Fred and George would be proud, Neville. I don't know where you got it from but I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Neville said, smiling. "I just needed a little motivation to bring out the Beater in me."

At that moment Hermione walked up and started talking to Ron as Luna ran over from the Ravenclaw stands and tapped Neville on the shoulder. "Hi, Neville," she said. "I was watching you from the stands and you were really good."

"Erm . . . Thanks," Neville said glancing uncertainly up at Harry as a blush started to fill his cheeks. Harry just smiled and nodded his encouragement.

"Can we talk?" Luna asked.

"Erm . . . Sure," Neville said bashfully.

"We'll see you later," Harry said and motioned for Ron, Hermione and Ginny to follow him up to the castle so Neville and Luna could be alone. "Don't be too long, though, or Filch will have a fit."

"Yeah, thanks," Neville said.

Half an hour later Harry glanced up from the game of chess Ron and Hermione were playing as Neville walked through the portrait hole. "I'll be right back," he said, squeezing Ginny's hand as he stood up. Walking over to Neville he smiled and said, "How's it going, Neville?"

Neville, who looked to be on cloud nine, just smiled and said, "She likes me. She actually likes me."

"Er . . . good," Harry said. "I'm really happy for you, Neville, but we need to talk."

Snapping out of his reverie Neville looked at Harry and said, "Huh? What?"

"We need to talk," Harry said urgently and pulled Neville over to their table. Then, glancing around the common room and seeing how crowded it was said, "Maybe we had better go up to my trunk for this."

Looking curiously up at Harry Ron, Hermione and Ginny could see the tension on his face and seemed to sense Harry's urgent need to talk to the four of them alone and in private. So, levitating the chessboard in front of them, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny followed Harry up into the sixth-year boys' dormitory.

When Harry opened the seventh chamber of his trunk the other four looked down and their jaws dropped in amazement. "Wow," Ron said, as his eyes grew round. "Nice trunk, Harry."

Harry sniffed. "Yeah, right. It's only nice if I use it."

Leading the way down into his private quarters Harry descended the ladder and levitated Ron and Hermione's chess game down onto one of the nearby tables and waited as the others scrambled down the latter. As Neville was the las one down Harry called up to him and said, "Hey, Neville, could you close the lid, please. This is kind of important and I don't want anyone knowing who doesn't have to."

Neville nodded and pulled the lid closed as he descended the ladder. As soon as the lid was down a soft, warm glow filled the rooms and the light adjusted to a comfortable level for all. When they were all safely down Ron looked around and said, "Whoa, Harry! Where'd you get all this stuff?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Dobby says most of it is from the Potter Family Vault," he said noncommittally. "I didn't even know the Potters had a family vault so I really don't know."

Walking over to the chess table Ron looked at the pieces and gasped. "These are antiques, Harry!" Then, picking up one of the pawns and inspecting its base, said, "Not only that but they are Checkman originals. They must be at least five hundred years old!"

Harry sighed. "Yeah, fine, Ron. I didn't bring you down here to brag. I'll give you a tour later but right now we need to talk."

When they were all seated comfortably in one corner of the sitting room Harry cast an extra privacy charm on the trunk so that Neither Dean nor Seamus could hear them if they should enter the room while they were talking.

As he was about to begin speaking Dobby and Winky appeared out of nowhere and asked if they could get them anything to drink. After goblets of pumpkin juice and water were distributed Harry and Ginny shook their heads at their faithful companions and friends before turning their attention to the more serious matters at hand.

When Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville were all looking at him Harry inhaled deeply and said, "I had a little talk with Snape last week, Neville, and he asked me to explain something to you." Harry hesitated as he tried to gauge the reaction he would get from Neville upon hearing that Snape was a former Death Eater. When he realized that he didn't really know Neville well enough to know how he would react he decided to plunge ahead and hope for the best. "Neville, Professor Snape is a former Death Eater." Watching Neville's face for any signs of action or reaction Harry saw the first signs of anger boiling to the surface. Reaching across the table to stem the flow of anger Harry quickly added, "Before you get all excited, Neville, let me explain. Snape is spying for our side and Dumbledore trusts him. He is in a difficult situation and I honestly think he is beginning to regret some of the choices he's made. The reason he is so hard on us - you and me in particular - is because he cannot afford to blow his cover. I think he suspects some of the Slytherins may be spying on him and since our parents were, as he said, 'formidable forces in their day' he cannot afford to let anyone think he favors us in any way. In fact, I am almost certain he would be reported if he showed anything short of contempt for us. He doesn't really have anything against either of us personally but it's the position he's in that makes him have to treat us the way he does.

"He wanted me to explain that to you so that you will at least begin to understand where he is coming from."

Harry watched Neville's face and breathed an inner sigh of relief when he saw the anger begin to dissipate and drain away. "He's a good actor, then," Neville said quietly.

"Oh, it's not all an act," Harry reassured him. "A lot of it is genuine but that's just who he is."

"Is that all then?" Neville asked hottly, starting to stand up.

"No it's not," Harry said quickly. "There's more. There's a lot more."

Neville sat back down and looked around the table at the close-knit circle of friends. "Alright," he said. "Go on."

Harry looked apprehensively around at his closest friends and then back at Neville. He hadn't told anyone the full prophecy yet and he didn't know how they would react. "Alright," he sighed. "I guess the best place to begin is with the prophecy."

"How much of it do you know?" Neville asked as Ron, Hermione and Ginny turned to look more intently at Harry. "I mean I dropped it in that room and it broke, didn't it?"

"The recording broke, yes," Harry nodded grimly, dreading what he would have to say next. "But that was only a recording. The original is upstairs, in Dumbledore's office. I listened to it after Dumbledore returned from the Department of Mysteries at the end of last term."

Ron, Ginny and Hermione were staring at him in shocked disbelief. "Why didn't you tell us?" Ron almost shouted and Harry was thankful for the privacy charm.

Harry bowed his head and studied his hands for several seconds then looked up at Neville who was watching him with an almost blank expression on his face. "I didn't tell you because it's not something I like to think about and because at the time the prophecy was recorded there were two possibilities as to who the second person in it could be." Harry looked tiredly across at Neville. "I was one and Neville was the other."

Hermione and Ginny gasped and Ron let his mouth fall open as he looked from Harry to Neville and back again searching for something, anything, that would explain what he had just heard. Neville's eyes grew wide as he sat disbelievingly back in his chair. "Me?" he squeaked.

Harry nodded. "Yes. You, Neville.

"The prophecy said that the one who had the power to vanquish the Dark Lord would be born at the end of July and that they would be the child of those who had defied the Dark Lord three times. At the time of the recording your parent's as well as my own had each had three run-ins with Voldemort and escaped. The prophecy also said that this child would be born at the end of July. You and I were both born at the end of July, Neville. The thing that put my name on that prophecy was when Voldemort marked me as his equal."

Neville looked at him curiously so Harry lifted his bangs so that they could see his lightning bolt scar.

"What else did the prophecy say?" Ron asked.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. He then looked at Ron, across at Neville and over at Hermione. He then looked at Ginny who could see the worry and concern etched on his face. "It said that neither could live while the other survives. It said that, ultimately, I am either going to have to either kill him or die trying."

Hermione let out a little scream; Ron flung himself back in his chair muttering to himself; Neville's face drained of all color; and Ginny tensed up at his side as her breathing came in irregular gasps. "My job is to recruit members of the magical community to our side and take care of Voldemort. Ginny's job is to recruit and to help me learn to harness the power of love." Turning to look into his girlfriend's eyes he said, "I hate to say it like that, Gin, but . . ."

"That's okay," she said. "I understand."

"Ron and 'Mione are our logistics and battle strategy team. Ron is in charger of what Albus calls the 'soft logic' of psychology and behavior while 'Mione is in charge of the hard logic of both the muggle and magical sciences. You two," he said looking at Ron and Hermione, "are a team and Albus is hoping that you can balance each other out."

Turning back to Neville he said, "A part of your job, as you probably already know, is to help Severus stockpile the potions we will need in case of an emergency. But there's more to it than that. While my main task is to take out Voldemort we need someone in our generation, someone who has a real bone to pick with the Death Eaters, to lead the fight against them. And that, my friend, is you."

As an angry and determined look rose in his eyes Neville looked across at Harry, set his jaw and firmly nodded his head and at that moment Harry knew that they were now even more of a team than they had been that morning.

"What about Luna?" Hermione asked.

"Luna is being trained as a healer and a field medic," Harry said. "And we are all going to be trained to fight. Neville and I have a little bit of a head start on that front but I have a feeling you will all catch up fairly quickly. I mean, we all know what we are up against and we all know what the stakes are so I have no doubt that you three and Luna," Harry said glancing around at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, "will catch up fairly quickly. Besides, after next week we are going to start dueling in D.A.

"I hope you'll be ready for a major demonstration next weekend, Neville. Remus, Tonks, Kingsley and Alastor told me that that next Saturday it is going to be you and me against the four of them in the quidditch pitch after lunch and after that it is going to be me against Albus. The same rules of engagement we used this summer are going to apply: As soon as you are disarmed you are out."

Neville shook his head and grinned. "They really are gluttons for punishment aren't they."

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, they are. The one I'm worried about, though, is Albus. I've never dueled him before and if you've ever seen him in action ... It's amazing. I wonder what he's playing at?"

Half an hour later, after giving his friends a tour of his trunk and assuring Hermione that she could use his library whenever she wanted, Harry lifted the privacy charm and started climbing the ladder. When he opened the lid to his trunk and stuck his head out Seamus and Dean jumped up from their beds in surprise, both of them half clothed, wands at the ready. Harry blushed slightly. "Sorry, guys," he said. "We were just having a little meeting. Er, you might want to cover up, though, because there are girls on the premises."

"Girls on the premises?" Seamus asked loudly. "Who?"

"Ginny and Hermione," Harry said as he climbed out of the trunk an reached town to help Ginny.

When Ginny was high enough to poke her head over the edge of the trunk she looked over and smiled mischievously at the two startled teenagers. "Hi, boys," she said seductively before smiling up at Harry and bursting out laughing as Seamus and Dean scrambled to cover themselves.