A/N: I apologize for the length of time this took to publish. I do write chapters after the publication of the preceding one and this time I was a little busy as well as suffered a little writer's block. If possible, in your reviews please put what you'd like to see in the story, what seems unclear, and especially what parts you liked. :) It helps to fight my sometimes lacking imagination.
Harry studied the Daily Prophet as he sipped a goblet of pumpkin juice at the head of the large table in the dining room. The morning sunlight shone in through the windows brightly illuminating the whole room. He sighed, shook his head, and put it down. Death Eater activity was rampant and the Ministry was barely able to keep it under control. There was one piece of good news though, the newspaper had finally gotten down to mentioning the name 'Harry Potter' only about five times an edition.
Ginny sauntered into the room, "Hello Harry!," she said, greeting him brightly. She walked over to the breakfast buffet the house-elves had set up for breakfast, heaped her plate full with food, and sat down at the table. She looked over and noticed the lack of a plate in front of Harry. "Do you have something against breakfast, or is it just food in general?"
"Food in general," Harry sighed. "Where is everyone? This place feels like a deserted tomb."
"It's seven in the morning Harry! Everyone is still in bed. Just because you got up at five doesn't mean that everyone should be up too. . . In fact, you should be sleeping in until eight at least." Ginny replied as she grabbed the Daily Prophet and glanced it over.
"How did you know what time I got up?" Harry asked suspiciously as he glanced at Ginny who was casually flipping through the Daily Prophet.
Ginny looked at Harry with a half-smile. "Well, there's this charm that witches use on their babies to keep track of them. Some witches even use it on their children so they can tell if they're sleeping or not."
Harry's mouth dropped open in shock, "I'm not your child!"
Ginny changed the subject, "I received a most interesting letter from Hermione last night. It seems that she's been putting her brains to use in the right direction. She now wants to know how you suffered a heart attack from merely getting hit with magical power. She seems to think that you have to wield a gigantic amount of power to suffer cardiac arrest."
"Don't tell me," Harry groaned. "She figured out that I wielded the staff's power." He set the goblet down and frowned.
"She's not quite at that point yet, but if she found out she wouldn't be overly surprised. Give her a day or to and she's going to be onto the fact that you're the High Lord of Phoenix. Then she'll figure out who I am, and then she'll know everything." Ginny responded.
"What do we do?" Harry said, asking for advice. "Have you responded yet?"
"I wrote back and said that we would explain when she arrived," Ginny acknowledged. "I suggest that we just come out in the open to them." Ginny began to dig into her plate of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast.
"You mean to her," Harry corrected.
Ginny shook her head, "To them Harry. Hermione will not keep our secret from Ron. If we try to hide it from him he will be insulted and then you'll be in one of those usual ruts you two have every once in a while." She looked over and frowned at Harry's lack of breakfast. "Are you sure that you won't have anything? You need a balanced diet to help you recover properly."
"I don't feel like eating," Harry muttered. "I don't want to." He sat back and watched Ginny eat. "What's on the schedule for today?"
"Absolutely nothing," Ginny replied grinning. "That means that we can spend the whole day for ourselves."
*
Hermione paced the front sitting room of her house frequently glancing out the front window into the street. Over the past month she had delved into her textbooks looking for answers. Facts and theories kept running through her mind. 'A wizard or witch cannot possibly wield more power than their capability without an outside power source.' Somehow Harry had channeled too much power. Is he the High Lord? Hermione asked herself for the tenth time in a row. Could he have wielded the staff without being the High Lord? Or maybe he's just a sorcerer, she mused.
A horn honked and Hermione looked up to find a black luxury sedan idling in the driveway. Hermione walked out the door dragging her trunk and bags, locked the door, and made her way to the sedan. Her parents had already left for work and they had said their goodbyes that morning.
The chauffeur stepped out and assisted Hermione in putting her baggage into the trunk. He then opened the door for her and she stepped in the sedan. Ginny was sitting alone in the back seat which had been magically enlarged to the size of a Muggle stretch limousine. "Hermione!" Ginny said in greeting. The chauffeur closed the door, stepped in the front, pulled out the driveway and they were on their way to Phoenix Manor.
Hermione smiled and returned the greeting. "I've missed seeing you. How's Harry, and where is he?" Her instincts pounded her to ask about the staff but she observed the niceties first. Does Ginny know? Hermione asked herself. Wasn't she knocked out for part of the time?"
"Elizabeth Fawcett's sister is interviewing him for the Daily Prophet," Ginny explained. "He seems to be doing just fine. We go on morning walks together now. I'm still worried though, I just can't help it."
Hermione nodded in agreement, "I'd be awfully worried about Ron if anything like that happened. Is he enjoying his stay at Phoenix Manor?"
"Of course he is," Ginny grinned. "My brothers are enjoying it even more now that they have discovered a half-size Quidditch pitch somewhere on the grounds. Apparently the Potters have always been into the sport."
"Has Harry been playing too?"
Ginny shrugged, "A little bit, her and there. It's not a good idea for him to over-exert himself just quite yet. I fear that his heart may be a little sensitive for a little while."
"So tell me," Hermione inquired, "is Phoenix Manor all that the books on the place portray it as? A library with every book ever written and updating itself daily, stables filled with the best riding stock in England if not the world, a grand ballroom for spectacular parties, the fairest garden in the world, the most magnificent house-elves ever."
Ginny giggled, "I suppose that it is. I haven't really had a chance to explore everything that there is yet. I really like the gardens. They seem to have all of my favorite flowers and plants. The library isn't as impressive as those books describe it though. All the books are magically stored so it only seems like that there is a small amount of books in the library. The ballroom is quite elegant. Perhaps we could convince Harry to throw a ball or something."
Hermione smiled and nodded, "Did the Ministry send this car?"
"No," Ginny said as she shook her head, "I got sick of having to arrange for a car from the Ministry so I convinced Harry to simply buy a couple of these."
"I wish I had that much money," Hermione said. It was finally time to breach the subject. "Um. . . Ginny? Do you remember the letter that I sent you about a month ago? About how Harry suffered cardiac arrest?"
Ginny sighed, nodded, and looked out the window at the countryside that was passing by quickly. "Yes."
"Well, I was wondering if you would explain how and answer my questions. Who are you Ginny? You're not the girl I knew at the beginning of last year. If I didn't know better I would think that you were two years older than I am."
"Why do you think that?" Ginny whispered.
"You've grown! Your body has filled out, your mental capabilities have increased. For someone who is supposedly only sixteen you're remarkably mature. Tell me what's going on."
Ginny turned away from the window and reached up and removed necklace with a ring on it that she had been wearing under her shirt. She handed the ring to Hermione. "That's who I am."
Hermione looked at the ring in her palm. The phoenix rising, in sapphire and silver. She gasped loudly. "So you're the High Lady of Phoenix then?"
*
Elizabeth, Jane, and Phillip Fawcett stood in the entrance hall of Phoenix Manor gaping at everything in awe as the house elf who answered the door searched for Harry Potter. "Wow Elizabeth," Phillip said in a teasing voice, "you've struck it rich."
"Oh stop it!" Elizabeth countered, shooting Phillip an exasperated look, "He's a friend and one of my teachers, not a boyfriend!"
Jane, who was awkwardly carrying a quill and notepad turned to Phillip, "If you're going to make wise comments you can just go home. We only brought you along to be nice." Jane desperately tried to look as if she was in control. This was her first real story as a reporter and if she screwed up she'd be writing stuck doing nothing for the rest of her career. Her knees shook slightly. She was going to interview Harry Potter. He had not given a personal interview to anyone for over a year. Harry Potter. She had grown up with that name. When she was five You-Know-Who had disappeared thank to Harry Potter. Now she was going to meet him!
"My Lord Potter will be seeing you now," the diminutive house-elf announced as she returned with a slight pop. "Follow me please."
The trio fell in behind the house elf who led them to the back of the manor and out a back door onto a broad terrace. They found Harry sitting at a round table on which tea had been served. He stood up to greet them. "Hello, nice to meet you!"
Elizabeth stepped forward and gestured to her older sister and brother in turn. "This is my older sister Jane who is here to interview you, and this is my older brother Phillip." They all sat down at Harry's gesture and he began to pour the tea and pass around a plate of sweets and such.
"You must be the auror then," Harry guessed. When Phillip nodded he continued on. "You did an excellent job teaching Elizabeth about Defense. She's now one of the top students in the area." Elizabeth blushed at the compliment. "So what do you want to ask me Jane?"
Jane set the notebook down and charmed the quill to automatically take down everything. She nervously cleared her throat and began. "Um. . . well first, how's your health since your heart attack?"
"Absolutely fine!" Harry replied brightly as he took several sweets from the tray and popped them into his mouth. "A little rest does wonders."
"Next," Jane continued, "what is the status of You-Know-Who? Is he still dangerous? What is he doing." She looked at Harry apprehensively. This was likely to be a touchy subject and she didn't particularly want to hear about atrocities and dangers.
Harry seemed to be staring off into space and contemplating his answer. He finally answered in a serious voice, "Dangerous as ever. His power is rising and the world needs to prepare to fight against him."
"What exactly happened during the riots two months ago? What were you doing and how did you face You-Know-Who?'
"I'm afraid that I'd rather not reveal that information," Harry said slowly. "All the public needs to know is that I faced Voldemort and that he retreated. He was stopped from accomplishing what he sought to do."
"Rumor has it that too many students signed up for the Highly Advanced Defense class this year at Hogwarts and that many who do need the training will be unable to receive it. Is there anything that you'd like to say about that?"
Harry nodded, "Every person who signs up will be put into the class. Arrangements have been made so that there will be enough classes and enough teachers to fulfill the need.
Jane nodded approvingly, the classes had given Elizabeth a tremendous amount of self-esteem which she had lacked before. Not only that, she was much more competent than most witches twice her age and now had a wonderful boyfriend. "What about the current administration at the Ministry. Do you believe that they're doing everything they can?"
Harry nodded, "Yes, ever since Fudge left, the Ministry has been doing terrific. He sat back in a more relaxed mood.
The questions continued on for nearly an hour. By the time the interview was over Jane was in ecstasy. This would be the best interview ever published in the Daily Prophet. How many people had the chance to interview Harry Potter? "Thank you so much," Jane said to Harry.
Harry smiled, "It's no problem at all."
At that moment they were interrupted when Ginny, Ron, and Hermione stepped out onto the terrace from the manor. It was obvious from at least the faces of Ron and Hermione that something was up.
"We need to be on our way then," Jane said. Whatever it was, she didn't want to be caught in the middle of it.
*
The quartet entered Harry's study and all took seats at the long table on the other side of the from the desk. Harry took his seat at the head of the table with Ginny on the other end. Ginny had mentioned to Harry that if things got out of hand by sitting this way it would be easier to impose authority.
"Well," Hermione began in a nervous yet demanding voice. "We all know that Ginny here is the High Lady of Phoenix. Ron and I suspect what you are Harry, why don't you explain so that it's all clear to us." Hermione sat back and she and Ron looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry casually leaned back, "Do you doubt me?" He removed the necklace that held his ring and showed it to Ron and Hermione, the rising phoenix crest in sapphire and gold. "What is it that you want now?"
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron exclaimed in half anger, half embarrassment. "You let me make such a fool out of myself! If I had known we wouldn't have had that spat and I would have never looked down on you."
Harry frowned stubbornly, "I'm the High Lord and I am not required to explain my actions. As for your arrogance, it shouldn't matter who I am or who someone else is. You shouldn't think yourself better than another because of a little power."
Ginny shot Harry and exasperated glance. "Really Harry." She directed her attention to Ron and Hermione. "It was for the best when you consider the circumstances last year. Now that Voldemort knows about Harry and most likely you and I, we are willingly revealing this all to you."
"That's just because Hermione found out about you two," Ron pointed out.
"Then what's preventing us from placing a selective memory charm on your or her?" Harry countered. "Our power is nearly absolute and nothing would stop us from doing so. If we wished to do so. Just be grateful that we're telling you about us now."
Hermione cleared her throat, "They have a point Ron."
Ron sighed heavily, "All right then. I'm sorry."
"Good!" Ginny said happily.
"Are we still friends?" Hermione asked in a worried voice. She looked at Harry and Ginny respectively. "I know that you're our superiors but that shouldn't prevent us from being good friends."
"My thoughts exactly," Ginny answered as she looked at Ron, Hermione, and Harry who each nodded in agreement. "We shall all be friends with each other despite our differences."