Chapter 3

Harry awoke suddenly, his scar burning fiercely, and he felt the attempt at mental intrusion he'd become so used to with Snape last year. He was sweating so much his bedclothes were soaked and he was desperate. Last year's dismal attempt at Occlumency with Snape had left him very little confidence in his abilities to block any sort of attack and while he was holding up now, he doubted it would last long. Another wave of nausea hit him as the pain in his scar and now in his head grew worse. He staggered out of the room he was sharing with Ron and moved towards the bathroom. Halfway to the door, he collapsed and grabbed his head praying for something to make it stop. As that wave passed, he got up again and made it into the bathroom and in front of the toilet. When the next wave hit, he vomited until there wasn't anything left and then collapsed against the side of the tub. As he was bracing himself for the next deluge of pain, he again started to feel the tingling, similar to what he felt while traveling through the floo network. Without knowing exactly why he did it, he reached out to the magical energy surrounding him and manipulated some of it to "wrap" around his head so to speak. He paid particular attention to his scar, envisioning the magic slipping between the link that connected him and Voldemort. With a speed that startled Harry, the pain was gone and so was the feeling of someone trying to break into his mind. He gasped with relief and tried to get his breathing under control. He allowed himself to stay connected with the magic as he calmed down enough to draw a bath. After what had just happened he wanted nothing more then to climb into a tub full of warm water and just lie there. The bath finished filling and Harry disrobed and climbed in.

The water soothed his frayed nerves quite a bit and he found himself in a semi-conscious state while he contemplated what was happening. This had been the second time he'd been able to feel the magic that surrounded everything and been able to manipulate it. He reached out experimentally to the magic that he was holding between the direct hotline to Voldemort and from there extended out into the magic all around him. He wondered to what extent he could control this magic and for how long. Deciding to go a bit further, he felt for the magic surrounding his discarded bedclothes and once he had a firm grasp of it in his mind, he gently directed the magic to levitate the clothing. He looked at his floating clothing with equal amounts of awe and reservation. He didn't know how he had come into this ability, but he was extremely hopeful it wasn't another "gift" from his dark nemesis. Harry found himself tiring a bit and suspected the levitated garments had something to do with it. Releasing his hold on the magic, the clothes fell to the floor and he sat back in the tub hoping he would not also have to relinquish his hold on the magic blocking the link. After a few minutes, he realized the link block wasn't draining him in the way the levitation had. As he explored the reasons for this, he realized without understanding when or how he had done it, he had tied off the magic, making it stable and independent of his direct control. He poked and prodded for a bit and began to understand how the tie had occurred and how he could undo it if he desired to. Before he could think about much more of it, his exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep.

"I'll be down in a bit mum I'm just going to take a shower first."

Harry was startled awake as he heard this and realized that Ginny was about to enter the bathroom. Panicked and not sure what to do about his compromised position, the room was suddenly thick with fog, so much so that Harry couldn't see his own hands in front of his face.

"What happened in here?" Ginny asked as she stumbled and almost fell, grabbing the sink for support at the last minute.

"Erm...s..sorry Ginny, I was in here taking a bath and fell asleep. If you'll give me just a moment I'll be out of here and it's all yours." Harry said as he attempted to melt into the floor. Though after thinking about what had been happening to him recently he decided not to try too hard.

"Harry? What's with all the steam? I take some pretty hot showers and I've never had it this bad." Ginny said with a hint of amusement as she carefully backed out of the bathroom.

"I accidentally overdid a warming charm I think. I was pretty tired. Anyways if you could do me a big favor and just shut that door for me, I'd appreciate it." Harry was starting to get a bit suspicious of the fog and also wanted Ginny to get out before the fog decided it had enough of this particular bathroom and went elsewhere.

"I'm shutting the door but you and I need to have a talk about your methods of hiding. It's going to take forever for this to clear out." With that, the door shut and Harry was again alone in the room. He stood up and was about to get out of the tub when he grabbed the wall for support. The drained feeling from earlier was back in force and Harry was feeling decidedly unsteady. As he reached out again to feel the magic around him he realized he was the inadvertent creator of the fog. He released the magic he hadn't realized he had been holding, and the fog began to dissipate. The energy the magic had required to control was returning to him slowly but surely and after a few more minutes, he felt fine. Not wanting to risk another dip in his energy that could take longer to recover from, Harry put back on his now dry bedclothes and opened the door.

"Sorry Ginny I didn't mean to hold you up." Harry said as he walked out, seeing Ginny leaning against the opposite wall and waiting.

"It's nothing Harry, I've lived with six older brothers and it's not like I've never had to wait before." Ginny smiled shyly at him as she said this and Harry smiled back causing her cheeks to tint a bit. She reached out tentatively and touched his arm "We've missed you here. Been right worried about how you were fairing with your relatives. It's good to see you smile. It's good to have you home Harry." With that, she smiled at him again and walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Harry leaned against the wall for a minute as he rubbed his arm where she had touched him. He decided he quite liked it when she touched him and when she talked to him, and when she smiled and found he would have to explore all of this in further depth. He walked back to Ron's room with a silly smile on his face and decided that further conversation with Ginny Weasley was going to be required. He quickly changed clothes and headed downstairs as he smelled Mrs. Weasley's cooking, looking forward to a large breakfast. He had left Ron asleep as it was still early and Ron often favored sleep over food if only by a narrow margin.

When he arrived in the kitchen Mrs. Weasley was standing at the stove cooking and there was already a small stack of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and hash on the table. She noticed Harry enter and greeted him warmly.

"Good morning Harry dear. Have a seat at the table there and dig in. Did you sleep well?" She dropped more pancakes and bacon on the table and went back to the stove.

"Thanks mum for breakfast." Harry said happily as he added some eggs and sausage to his plate. After pausing for a moment, he went back for some hash and started eating.

"As for sleeping, well, I was wondering if there was some way we could contact Professor Dumbledore. I had an incident early this morning that I'd like to talk to him about a bit if it's possible." Harry looked up at Mrs. Weasley as he heard the sounds of her cooking stop.

"Did...did you see anything?" Mrs. Weasley asked nervously

"No mum, he tried to break in here" Harry pointed at his head "but wasn't able to. I was able to stop him completely but the way I did it is why I wanted to talk to Dumbledore. Mum the stove, something's burning." Mrs. Weasley startled and looked back to the stove in time to save most of the currently cooking sausage. After she had gotten the cooking back under control she turned back to Harry. "We'll attempt to reach him by floo after breakfast if it can wait that long." She looked at Harry for affirmation before going back to the cooking. Harry ate breakfast silently for a bit longer and was only interrupted towards the end by the arrival of the Daily Prophet owl.

"Harry if you could, pay the owl from the tin by the window and get the paper from him please."

"Sure thing, mum." Harry got up and paid the owl, relieving it of its parcel. He sat back down at the table and opened the paper only to laugh a bit before he could control himself.

"Something in the paper funny dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she glanced over at him to find him smiling but looking a bit guilty at the same time.

"Rita Skeeter was faster with this bit of news then I thought she would be considering how late it was last night."

"Harry dear you know you can't trust anything that woman says." Mrs. Weasley said with a hint of a blush as she remembered two years ago when she had believed everything Rita had printed.

"Except for when I give her the interview directly, mum. Last year I gave her the interview involving Voldemort's Death Eaters and what had happened during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. It was truth what she wrote then, and today's article is truth as well. Last night, I had a run-in with Peter Pettigrew while riding the Knight Bus. I captured him and turned him over to Dumbledore after I used Ms. Skeeter's talents to help clear Sirius' name." At this Harry looked rather sad as he contemplated again, the death of his Godfather. Mrs. Weasley came over and hugged him close.

"When will trouble learn to find someone else for once eh? At least, Harry, you've always come out on top and you saved my daughter's life once doing so. We all have our bad moments in life but how we deal with those moments is what shapes our character as a person. I've always been very proud of you Harry, even if you've scared me near death sometimes. Never give up child, you are stronger then whatever life throws at you."

Harry sniffed a bit as he cleared his eyes of a few unshed tears, as much for Mrs. Weasley's kind words as for his Godfather. After he cleared up a bit he smiled shyly.

"Thanks mum, it means more then you know." He said quietly as he returned to the last of his breakfast. He thought about the time he had spent at the Dursley's, a week and two days, and marveled at the concept of his first birthday away from his relatives. Two weeks from tomorrow in fact, he thought as he checked the calendar in the kitchen. He gathered his breakfast dishes and put them in the sink much to Molly's pleasure.

"I think I'm gonna go outside and have a fly for a bit. I missed it a lot last year when Umbridge had me banned." With that Harry ascended the stairs to get his broom. He was so caught up imagining how good it would feel to fly again when he ran smack into someone in the hall. He steadied himself on the wall and looked down to see Ginny on the floor looking up, slightly upset that she had been knocked over.

"Harry, I know that our family has accepted you as the black haired member they never had but always wanted, but this doesn't mean you have to act like one of my brothers." Ginny said with a hint of amusement and exasperation vying for the use of her face.

"I'm terribly sorry Ginny. I was lost in thought and I didn't see you and I just ran smack into you...and well I'm sorry anyways." Harry said looking incredibly cute with his guilty face and big pleading eyes. Ginny couldn't stand it any longer and she laughed out loud.

"Harry you don't have to worry about it, it's not the first time I've been knocked to my arse and it won't be the last. I appreciate your apology though, makes it hurt a bit less."

"Thanks Ginny, I really am quite sorry. I was going to go flying out back for awhile. Would you like to come?" Harry was hoping for some reason, not entirely unknown to him, she would say yes.

Ginny looked at him for a bit as though gauging his intentions. "You want to hang out with me? Just me? Not me and Ron?"

Harry's heart almost broke with the realization that he'd never really talked to her independently of Ron or Hermione and so never kindled an independent friendship with her.

"Ginny I know I haven't been a real good friend for the past few years and I know I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to you. I guess I was always so involved in other things. I don't think I would have been friends with Ron and Hermione like I am really if they hadn't gotten involved in stuff with me from year one. I mean we battled a Mountain Troll in a girls bathroom within the first two months of our magical education. Kind of makes it impossible to leave them out of anything anymore and believe me I've tried. Sometimes I do things I know are dangerous and I don't want to get anyone else hurt. I can't seem to shake them though and that friendship has taught me a lot about the love that friends can share between each other. I've not had the opportunity or inclination to exercise it before but I'd like to be your friend if you'll let me. Apart from Ron and Hermione I'd like to be your friend outright because I think you're a wonderful person and last year you showed me that you would stand by me through anything. Now before I get really sappy on you, I'd like to go for a fly with you if that's alright."

Harry smiled at her as she stared at him for a few moments, wondering what she was thinking. Suddenly she rushed forward and hugged him tightly not letting go for a good minute. She stepped back afterwards and told him quietly "I was always your friend Harry Bloody Potter even if you were too thick to see it. That was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me though and I readily accept your friendship. I'll just get my broom and meet you outside." With that she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. Harry stood there for awhile, thinking about Ginny and the way she made his insides squiggle just a little. Finally he walked on towards Ron's room thinking that further conversation with Ginny was not only required but now an absolute must on a day-to-day basis.

When Harry made it outside, Ginny was already out there and waiting for him, staring into the sky aimlessly with a smile on her face that reached all the way to her eyes.

"What's got you so cheery this morning?" Harry asked with a smile of his own as Ginny's had been decidedly infectious.

"Life, Harry, life has me this happy today." Ginny said no more as she mounted her broom and flew low to the ground until she got to the paddock at which point she shot into the sky with an almost unparalleled grace. Harry stared at her for a minute and then hopped on his broom and followed her out. He had used the superior speed of his broom to catch up to Ginny and follow her into the dive she had started. He matched her move for move as she dipped in and out of the edge of the woods. They flowed around the boundaries of the paddock as fluently as any masterpiece in art and grew only more daring as time went on. Finally Harry pulled ahead of Ginny slightly and broke out of their pattern as he shot up a couple hundred feet. Ginny immediately followed him, not one to back out of a challenge and once she had caught up Harry let gravity take control of his broom. He did a perfect One-Eighty and started plummeting towards the earth. Ginny followed him as fast as she could but as the ground got closer so did her sanity and she pulled out of the dive before it was too late for her broom to control her fall. Harry however continued diving until he was roughly six feet off the ground at which point he pulled up hard and leveled his broom off with his knees grazing the tips of the grass.

"WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!" Harry yelled as he let the feeling of freedom flying gave him engulf his spirit. He pulled up to about eight feet and leveled his flying as he slowed down and calmed his heart rate. Once his breathing had evened out he landed his broom and threw himself to the ground, lying on his back and staring up at the sky and feeling the most at peace with himself that he ever had. Ginny landed next to him and sat near his feet.

"Feel better?" She asked with amusement taking in Harry's expression and noting the redundancy of her question.

"More then ever." Harry answered blissfully. "Flying gives me the kind of freedom I dreamed about for 11 years in a cupboard under the stairs. It's the perfect escape from the world. If muggles could do this I don't think drugs would ever be a problem. Flying made me first realize I was worth something to the world I love. Flying gave me myself."

"Sometimes Harry, you can speak with more power then any wizard has ever displayed with magic."

Harry was silent for a time and then, feeling mischievous he reached out to sense the magic surrounding them again and was going to tickle her with the grass surrounding where they lay. Instead he was shocked to find he could feel Ginny's magical presence. It was a serene pool of intense magical energy flowing around itself next to him. He withdrew his sense to just her and focused on that with this mind while he continued to stare at the sky. With that there was a comfortable period of quiet as they enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the morning.

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A/N: I wanted to bring time forward a bit with this chapter but it simply didn't want to go. Next chapter though will bring us much closer to his birthday if not the day before it. We'll see what the characters want to do as they dance around in my head. I keep trying to shake them out my ear but they won't go.

Lady of Masbolle: Thanks, your comments and support have meant a lot to me.

Markhp: thank you as well for your kind words.

Lady of the Dragons2: I'm hoping the dialogue will balance out a bit. This is my first attempt at writing anything other then poetry.