It was the Friday after the dance. Ron had been training the new team vigorously ever since tryouts and it showed. The three new chasers, who were superb at tryouts, now seemed invincible. Neville and Euan Abercrombie were not nearly as good as Fred and George were, but who could possibly to that? They were good in their own way. They could accurately hit the bludgers at targets most of the time and had yet to let their teammates get hit with a bludger at practice. Of course, most of the time, they only used one bludger. Ron was better than he ever was last year, thankfully. Harry, as Ron had put it was, "better than Charlie ever was, even after Hogwarts."
"We have our first game tomorrow," Ron said. "Versus Slytherin. Harry, you will have no problem 'cause Malfoy couldn't catch the snitch if his life depended on it. Malfoy, is also captain of his team this year." At this Ron smirked and the rest of the team snickered. "I've seen their practices and they are nothing. The only thing I'm a bit worried about is the keeper." He turned to the three chasers. "Their chasers couldn't get a single quaffle in. That means that the keeper is good, or the chasers suck, I'm betting both." The team snickered again. "But I'm not taking chances. This practice is all you, chasers. I want you to try that new weaving strategy some more and try to perfect that. I'm not going easy on you. I want the rest of you to fly in their way a bit but not too much. So they can prepare for the worse. Okay? Good! Get out there!"
The team practiced 11:30 to 5:30. By then the team had to nearly drag the chasers back to the castle, they were so tired. On the bright side, they had improved greatly.
Harry woke in the morning early. Ron had made the team go to bed at 9:00 the night before. After several tries of going back to bed, Harry got up and dressed and sat by the window. He had nothing to do. He couldn't go down and practice sword fighting, Ron warned him last night. "don't you dare go and practice swords… need to save your energy…" he said just before falling asleep.
He stared out of the window. It was a bit cloudy for his taste. The wind, Harry could tell by looking at the trees in the Forest, wasn't very bad. It didn't look as though it would rain, but there were still a few more hours.
Bored out of his mind, he headed downstairs. There, he found most of the team. The only one that wasn't there now was Ron. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"He sent us to bed too early," Ginny said.
"Yeah, and on top of that, we've come to the conclusion that we're all nervous," added Katherine Pythage.
Harry laughed a bit, as did many on the team. He sat down next to Ginny and put his arm around her, which was not unwelcome. They talked a bit. Harry got most of them to loosen up a bit. Then Ron came down.
"How long have you all been up?" he asked.
"Oh, just an hour and a half," said Alexis Phillips.
"Only an hour for me," said Harry.
"Well, I'm hungry," Ron said. Apparently he was just pretending to care about how long they were up. But it was comical. They all got their brooms and were dressed in their Quidditch gear before they went to the Great Hall.
The team sat patiently as Ron paced and recited his thoughts over the game that would take place within minutes.
"Okay, I'm not going to lie. From what I've seen of their practices, Slytherins are horrible. But we can't get over confident. Chasers, you guys are nearly as good as Angelina, Katie, and Alicia were just a few years ago. Do you agree Harry?"
"Yeah," he said. It wasn't a lie at all. They were almost as good as the other trio. And that was saying something, as Alicia, Angelina and Katy all had years of practice and the new ones had just a few weeks.
"See? You are great. Neville and Euan, you guys have come a long way," Ron said. Harry didn't think this was completely true. They weren't bad to begin with. But they had improved a bit. "Harry, you're better than Charlie. No one here has anything to worry about. Malfoy is over confident and there fore didn't hold nearly as many practices as us nor did he work his team nearly as much as we did. They didn't even check out the competition as far as I know."
Harry hadn't seen any of the Slytherins around the Quidditch pitch during practices either.
"Okay, we're going to win this. Harry, as fast as you can, okay? If Slytherin somehow gets more points than us, see if we can catch up before trying to get it." Ron said.
"No problem," Harry said.
"Let's get out there and kick some Slytherin arse!" Ron said loudly. The team jumped up and nearly ran out of the room.
The weather had gotten steadily worse since the morning and was all cloudy. The sun could not be seen and it was starting to drizzle. Harry quickly took out his wand and pointed them at his glasses. "Impervius," he said. They were all announced as they ran onto the pitch to the center where Madam Hooch was standing. Ron and Malfoy shook hands, albeit grudgingly.
"I want a clean game," Madam Hooch said, staring pointedly at Malfoy, then at Ron. They rose into the air as the quaffle was released. Then the snitch and the bludgers took off.
Harry was instantly looking for the small gold ball. He thought he saw it go off towards the Gryffindor goal posts for a second and headed that way as well.
Harry got behind the goal posts and looked around. Malfoy was in the center of the pitch, as if he hadn't moved since he kicked off. But he was looking around, glancing at Harry every few moments. Harry rolled his eyes.
"Gryffindor leads 20-0. The Slytherin chasers haven't even tried to make a goal!" said an exasperated Colin Creevy, the new commentator, as Lee Jordan no longer attended Hogwarts.
The rain increased a bit. Harry took a deep breath. I'm seeker for a reason, he thought. He looked harder for the little gold ball. It wouldn't get easier until it stopped raining, and judging by the clouds, was a long time from now.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of gold. He turned slightly to see the small piece of gold speed off to the middle of the pitch, near Malfoy. Harry leaned close to the broomstick as he accelerated in the same direction. He realized just in time that the chasers were headed towards him and flew higher. Then he lost it. Malfoy didn't even see the thing.
Taking the opportunity, he raced just in front of him and went into a steep dive. He looked back and saw Malfoy follow him. He slowed up a bit so Malfoy could catch up and pulled out of the dive just after Malfoy did. Then he flew parallel to the ground for about ten seconds before stopping and turning around. He found Malfoy rolling his eyes. He realized he nearly fell for a Wronski feint.
Harry flew ten feet above the game and looked around for the snitch again. Malfoy had abandoned his watch Harry watch for the snitch act and took to watching for the snitch on his own, for a change.
Harry saw it again. The snitch was fifty feet below him. He dove down and was with in five feet from the snitch and it went back up, zigzagging back and forth the whole time. Harry corkscrewed up, following the snitch carefully. He was almost there, five feet, four feet, two feet, he got it.
Just as he caught the small gold ball, he saw a jet of light in the corner of his eye. He turned on his broom towards the forest to see a variety of colors shooting his way. He ducked and dove down. But obviously not fast enough because he blacked out.
Harry was in a short, dark corridor. He walked forward cautiously. There was a turn in the corridor. Harry got his wand from the pocket in his robes as he went around the bend. No one was there. But it was another corridor. This one was long and dark. At the end was a small door. A very dim light came through the bottom of the door.
He reached the door silently. He heard voices from inside the door. "You did?" came the soft yet cold voice of Lord Voldemort.
"Yes, master. He fell a long way. I saw him fall most of the way. Then I had to apparate away," said a timid, female voice. Bellatrix. Harry took a deep breath to keep him from barging in and attacking her.
"What curse was he hit with?" Voldemort asked.
"I'm not sure, My Lord. I thought it was the Killing Curse, but I couldn't see properly," she said.
"Can anyone confirm this?" Voldemort asked. "Malfoy?"
Harry was shocked to hear a woman's voice. "My Lord, I saw Bellatrix hit him with the Killing Curse."
"Nott?"
"Yes, Master," said Nott.
"You can confirm this?"
"Yes, My Lord," he said.
The voices were all faint and echoing. Harry thought that the room on the other side of the door was a hall, not unlike Hogwart's Great Hall. Maybe they were all at the other end. Maybe they were all faced the other way. Maybe he could just slip in and see what they were talking about.
Harry opened the small door with ease. It made no sound and Harry sidled into the room. It was indeed a Hall and they all were indeed at the opposite end, facing the opposite way. All of them, that is, except Lord Voldemort.
Even from a distance, Harry could tell the Evil Lord narrowed his eyes. From the way the Death Eaters moved about he could tell they wanted to know what was happening that their master was angry, but didn't want to risk angering him further.
"Potter," Voldemort hissed. "You're supposed to be dead."
Harry didn't really know what to say. Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was a ghost right now. If I am dead, I need to find Sirius, Harry thought to himself.
"Really?" asked Harry.
"Yes, really, Potter," Voldemort said icily. "Bellatrix hit you with the Killing Curse just a few hours ago."
"Oh, well, seeing you and your Death Eaters here, I think I just arrived in Hell. What do you think? Is this the welcoming party?" Harry said.
At this point, he didn't think he was dead. He remembered the prophecy. Either must die at the hand of the other. Voldemort had to kill him, not Bellatrix. No, now Harry was just annoyed. Why was he here?
"I almost agree," said Voldemort.
Harry decided that since Voldemort was agreeing with him, something was wrong. He grasped the door handle and walked out of the Hall, shaking his head. Then he heard a clamoring from in the Hall.
"Colloportus!" Harry yelled, directing his wand, still in hand, towards the door. It was sealed, at least temporarily. He ran down the corridor and turned the corner. Remembering the last time he talked with Voldemort, he said aloud to himself. "I have to get out of here! I'm leaving!" Just as he said that, blackness engulfed him and he was out of that corridor.
Harry heard someone sobbing. No, there was more than one person. He almost opened his eyes, but found that it was too bright. He hurt all over. The borderline uncomfortable bed didn't help at all either.
"Are you sure it was the Killing Curse?" said someone, Ron, Harry could tell.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, it was the Killing Curse," said someone else, old, knowing: Dumbledore. The sobs increased.
"H-he couldn't have! The p-prophecy! H-he told us the p-prophecy!" said yet another person. It was a girl, Hermione.
"Ms. Granger, there are many ways to interpret prophecies. It is possible he could have died from someone on Voldemort's orders," Dumbledore said tiredly.
"He isn't dead," said Ginny in a soft voice, almost too quiet to hear.
"W-what?" said a new voice filled with love and hope. It was Mrs. Weasley.
"He's not dead!" Ginny repeated, much louder. She ripped through the hangings that were obviously surrounding the bed he was laying on. She grasped his hand tightly and started sobbing louder. "He c-can't be. He w-wouldn't leave us all like that!"
"He wouldn't have had a choice," said someone else as though it took all of their strength so say it. Remus.
Harry had to do something! They all thought he was dead, when he clearly (to him at least) wasn't. He couldn't move much. He ached all over. He couldn't open his eyes; it was too bright. He didn't know why, but his lungs ached horribly, but it was more on the surface.
Gathering what he could of his strength, which oddly enough, seemed to be returning to him as he awoke, he squeezed Ginny's hand. Instantly, she stopped sobbing.
"Ginny, dear, what is it?" Mr. Weasley asked, sniffling.
Ginny's breath was short and ragged, Harry could hear. "Harry?" she said softly.
He squeezed her hand again. He tried opening his eyes again, but it was too bright. Ginny had somehow caught this and blew out all of the candles near the bed and shaded his eyes for him. He opened his eyes and looked at her.
She shrieked and threw her arms around him.
Harry gave a soft, "Oof." But that didn't stop her. She hugged him tightly and started sobbing into his chest. Although it hurt, Harry put his arms around her and leaned his head on hers. "It's alright, Gin," he said quietly to her.
After a little while, Ginny got off of him and said loudly, "Don't you ever do that again!"
Harry was sure she would've gone further had he not interrupted. "Oh, come on Gin, it's not like I died or anything."
Ginny took a deep breath before giving a smile. "No, you didn't," she said softly. She went and lay next to him on the bed on top of the covers and curled up next to him.
Just then, Hermione and Ron came threw from behind the curtains. They smiled at the sight and sat next to the chairs.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione said, smiling softly.
"Sore everywhere. Hard to breathe a bit and talk," Harry said.
"I'd imagine. The spell hit you in the chest, mate," Ron said. Harry nodded with understanding. "You had us worried for a minute there." Harry smiled.
"That you did," said Dumbledore, as he, Remus and Ron's parents entered the closed off area. Harry blushed as Mrs. Weasley smiled at him and her daughter. "How are you feeling?" he said, eyes twinkling.
"Sir," Hermione said, a bit shy. "He just told us it was hard for him to breathe and talk right. He said he was sore all over."
The old Headmaster nodded understandingly. "I'd imagine so. That was quite a fall. Not to mention the spell that you were hit with."
"Voldemort said Bellatrix Lestrange hit me with the Killing Curse," Harry said in little more than a whisper.
Dumbledore nodded, his eyes weren't twinkling nearly as much now. "I assume you visited Voldemort because you had no time to do Occlumency," Dumbledore said.
Harry nodded.
"Well, it's getting quite late. I suppose we should leave you so Madam Pomfrey can fix you up. Good Evening!" Dumbledore said jovially. Harry knew that Dumbledore didn't ask him of the rest of his visit-type vision because Hermione told him off his difficult time talking. He knew that when he was better he would have to tell.
Dumbledore left. "Are you hungry dear?" began Mrs. Weasley at once. "Yes, of course you are. You were out all afternoon until now. No lunch, no dinner. You're starved. I'll go get something right now. Don't worry." She left with out another word.
Remus chuckled.
Harry had no time to tell her off before she left. In truth, he wasn't hungry in the slightest. He figured he'd have to eat at least half of what she brought back. He didn't look forward to this.
"At least we won the game," Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts. Harry smiled and nodded.
"By how much?" Harry asked.
"200 points," came Ginny's muffled voice. They were both so comfortable, he nearly forgot she was there. Harry smiled again.
"If we do this well for the next few games, we'll win the Cup for sure!" Ron said excitedly.
"So I was out all afternoon?" Harry said.
Hermione nodded her head. "Yes. And until about a half hour ago. It's almost nine o'clock now."
Harry nodded. "When did you guys get here?" he turned to Mr. Weasley and Remus.
"It was going to be a surprise, we were all there for the game," Remus said.
"I didn't know," Harry said.
Remus and Mr. Weasley both smiled. "You weren't supposed to. It was a surprise for afterwards. You might've gotten nervous if you knew," Mr. Weasley said.
Harry shrugged and nodded at the same time. Then Remus said, "You fly better than your father did."
This hit Harry as a surprise. He had heard many times from people that knew him that he was an excellent flyer. "Really?" Harry couldn't help but say.
"Really," Remus confirmed.
"Except that last dive," Harry said, smiling a bit.
Remus chuckled. "Yeah. I thought that was quite stylish, though."
"Yeah, right," said Harry. Just then, Mrs. Weasley came in with a huge tray of various foods.
"I want most of that gone," she said, pointing to the tray. Harry took a roll, now getting a bit hungry, took a bite out of it. "Good boy," she said.
They all talked for a while after, touching on various subjects. Then Mr. And Mrs. Weasley left. "It is getting quite late, dear. You wouldn't mind, would you?" Mr. Weasley said, just before the two left.
"You should leave too, Moony. You need to sleep," Harry said, a bit reluctantly. He liked the company, but he understood that people needed to sleep.
"Are you sure, Harry?" he said. "I could stay here overnight. It would be no trouble at all…"
"It's okay. I'll be fine. You can see me in the morning if it makes you feel better," Harry said. He really didn't want Moony to feel guilty. Plus, he knew that sleeping in a chair- an uncomfortable one, nevertheless- wasn't very pleasant.
Moony gave him a concerned stare for a minute, then stood up and gave him a hug. "I'll be here in the morning, okay?" he said.
Harry smiled. "Okay. Don't worry about me either," Harry said, giving him a look.
Moony smiled a bit too. "I'll try not to." Then he left.
"We don't have class tomorrow, mate," said Ron. "Can't get rid of us!"
Harry chuckled. "Never could."
"That's right," said Ginny, still lying on the bed, facing him.
"But you should all get to bed. It's just past midnight now," Harry said.
"Alright," said Ginny, getting under the covers and closing her eyes. Harry smiled.
"Ginny!" Ron and Hermione said at the same time.
She opened her eyes. "What? You don't honestly think that I'm going to leave him here alone, do you?"
"No, none of us plan to," Hermione said.
Then Ron cut in. "But you can at least get your own bed!"
"Fine!" said Ginny, throwing the covers off of her and getting out of the bed. She walked over to the next bed over, took out her wand and muttered, "Wingardium leviosa!" The bed floated up a bit and she levitated it right next 1to Harry's. Then she climbed in and said loudly and irritatedly, "Happy, Ron?"
"A bit," he grumbled. Ginny and Hermione both rolled their eyes.
"Well, you should get to bed," Harry said.
Hermione nodded and scooted her chair forward to the end of Harry's bed and lay her head down.
"Are you sure you don't want a bed, Hermione?" asked Ron. "There's about fifty extra," he said, looking around the Hospital Wing.
"I'm fine," she said.
"Okay." He took his chair and the one his dad sat in previously and moved them against the wall. He put his feet on one of them and lay his head against the wall.
Harry would have said something, except he was trying to clear his mind. When he did, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Harry spent all day Sunday in the Hospital wing as well. He had many visitors including the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team, and through out the day the D.A. He might have had to stay in there for the night as well, but with some convincing, Madam Pomfrey let him go back to Gryffindor tower, where he was welcomed back with a small party.
Monday went by quickly. Defense against the Dark Arts was not spectacular. They learned two new spells and their counters and received an essay on the pair of them.
At lunch, Professor Dumbledore announced that they school would hold a Dueling Tournament. It wouldn't count for a grade and would start next Monday. Four people would be selected during class to go to the Finals, which would be viewed by the school. The winner would receive sixty points for his or her house. The runner up would earn forty. The third place winner would get twenty. And lastly, everyone was to participate.
"He's telling us now, so we can prepare," said Hermione afterwards. "We shouldn't pass up this opportunity."
"Count on her to make us study," Ron said softly to Harry, who laughed quietly.
"Sure Hermione," Harry said. "We'll go prepare this afternoon."
Hermione smiled and didn't talk until they finished with Transfiguration.
Later, after class, they went to the library to look up spells. Ron, however, went to extra Transfiguration.
"Look at this one Harry," Hermione said, flipping the book upside down so he could see properly. "It creates this shimmering mist. When the person walks through it, they get the illusion that the sky is under them." This sounded familiar to Harry. "Then, when they take their foot off they ground, which apparently takes a great deal of effort, they are released from the spell."
"I know that spell. It was in the Triwizard Tournament; in the maze. I was stuck there for a while. But how would we use it in a duel?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. But I wanted to show you because it looked cool," she said, flipping the book back towards her again and writing the spell down on parchment. "I suppose if there was something they needed on the other side, they would walk through it." Or around it, thought Harry. Who would walk through something like that if they didn't know what it was? "Oh, never mind, it's useless!" she said, turning the page.
They found a few other spells before Ron came. Then it was time for dinner and had no more time.
"We should do this tomorrow. That way you can be there too, Ron. It's a lot of fun actually. There are so many spells that we don't know. And we might find more," Hermione rambled.
The rest of the week past by like that. They would go to classes and in the afternoon, they went to the library.
That weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend. So the castle was nearly empty as students third year and higher went to the village.
Harry asked Ginny to go with him. They hadn't talked much all week, what with classes and studying.
"What's your favorite, Harry?" Ginny asked, staring at the wall of candies in Honeyduke's.
"Hmm… I think I like the Chocolate Frogs the best. What about you?" Harry asked, taking a few boxes of the chocolate.
"Definitely the Fizzing Whizbees," she said, taking some of them. They paid and went to walk around. They held hands and walked close together down the street.
"So how's your week been?" Harry asked.
"Absolutely crazy!" Ginny said. "Classes are enough. The teachers are trying to get two days work of lessons into one class! Then, believe it or not, they give us two days worth of homework," she said with a small smile. "How's yours been?" she asked.
"A breeze compared to you. There hasn't been as much homework. I think it's because we don't have O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s and they want us to prepare for the Tournament. How are you coming with that, by the way?" Harry asked.
"I haven't done anything for it yet. Too much homework. I'll probably be disqualified first off," she said downheartedly.
"You? A D.A. member? My amazing girlfriend?" he said the last part quietly in her ear. "Never." He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Ginny blushed and smiled.
"Okay, maybe second round. But I haven't prepared at all! If it was sword fighting, I could do that. But not this- I haven't studied enough," she said.
"Tell you what," said Harry. "Let's go back to the castle. You can go over the notes Ron, Hermione and I took and then I'll help you practice."
"Really? Okay! Thanks, Harry," she said. They walked towards the castle.
For the rest of the day and on Sunday, they practiced and studied.
Harry and Ginny decided to take a break and attend dinner that night. Harry had insisted, "I know you want to do well, Gin, but you can't win on an empty stomach." Ginny laughed and they walked down to the Great Hall.
"You're doing really well," Harry said as they entered the Hall. "You just have to remember it all. You got all of the seventh year spells right with in the first few tries, too. Even if you don't win, which is unlikely at this point," Harry said this with a smile, "you'll put up a good fight."
Ginny blushed and told him, "You too. For the first few hours I couldn't get many curses to hit you at all."
"Right up until you learned the cutting curse. Then I couldn't use my arm and hand to switch hands. That would be a really good spell to use right off, you know. It would give you a huge advantage," Harry said thoughtfully. They said this all in whispers as not to be overheard. That way, no one could prepare for what they were planning to use.
"Yeah. I suppose," Ginny said. "I can't believe it starts tomorrow!" Ginny said exasperatedly. "I know we practiced a lot, but I'm still nervous."
"You shouldn't be. I'm nervous for all the people you go up against. And you don't have to worry about it until Friday. I have it first thing in the morning!" Harry said.
Ginny winced. "That's too bad. First thing on a Monday. Wow. I didn't think people were so cruel." She laughed a bit.
"Yeah," Harry said. "Oh, and I just thought of something," he lowered his voice even more than before. "How are you coming with your animagus form?"
"I finished three of the books and I understand the material and all that. But I don't know what I would be," Ginny said, a little downheartedly.
"Well, I'd imagine you'd be something that flies, because you like Quidditch just as much as I do," Harry said, pondering Ginny's personality traits. "You'd be a nice creature, though, you'd be able to attack efficiently, I'm sure," he said.
"Hey!" she said defensively.
"It's a good thing," Harry reassured her. "You can take care of yourself."
"I suppose," Ginny said, nodding slightly.
"So put all of that together," Harry said.
Ginny closed her eyes for a minute, thinking of what she could be. "An owl?" she said uncertainly.
"Your guess is as good as, if not better than, mine. I'd imagine that's about right," he said shrugging. "We'll try it next weekend okay? Then we can make the potion for you," he said. Ginny nodded and they finished their dinner.
Later, they practiced for a few more hours. Then Ginny went to her dormitory to sleep, insisting that they had to practice tomorrow if they got a chance. Harry cleared his head and fell asleep minutes later.
Author's Note- PLEASE READ THIS! I am so incredibly sorry. First you have to wait nearly a week after the date I gave to you. Then you get a wimpy little chapter chapter. You must feel cheated. I feel completely horrible. I was gone for so long that I got out of my writing groove and was suffering from a mild bout of writer's cramp. And I must confess. I did not try to write as much as I should have. Once I got back from my vacation I had to set up for my party, which was on Saturday. (I am now at the old age of… 14.) Then I had two parties to attend on Sunday. (One was for my uncle, and myself for our birthdays are very close together and I was blessed with two birthday parties.) And when I had extra time, you could have found me reading on my computer and listening to Enya (whose music I have recently taken a liking to.) So what's more? I leave next Saturday and doubt I will post another chapter before then. Then a week later I return! Yeah! I doubt I will be able to post another chapter a week after I return. But I will try. I will try much harder. Please forgive me.
Tara6- I am so sorry. This is such a short chapter. I took my time and I didn't write nearly as well as usual, in my own opinion (and in many I'm sure.) I just wanted to get it out as soon as I could because I was taking so long. I wanted to end on a cliffie, but clearly that didn't work out. I also wanted this longer, but it is only seven pages of story, when last time, it was eleven. Thank you so much for reviewing.
Runaway Spirit- Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like my story. I changed that part so they glare at her and stuff. I hope it's better! Please keep reviewing!
absentmindedgenius- I added what he was wearing. Dark blue robes that Fred and George bought him, if I can remember correctly. But I' not completely sure, as I corrected that as soon as I read your review and am only just now (just before this is posted) am writing this. You can check for yourself if it pleases you. If you do check and find that I was rewriting history as I wrote this, tell me, and I'll make sure I fix it. He did look nice, by the way. Thanks a bunch for reviewing and sorry for the long wait for the chapter.
Sithspawn-13- I'm completely horrible. Haven't updated this soon enough. So sorry. Thanks for reviewing!
Harry/Ginnyfan4ever- Yeah! Go Harry/Ginny! Anyway, I gave my muse a carrot and minutes later, I had a big bruise where the damned vegetable hit my head. But, yeah, celery did the trick, thanks! Harry and Ginny danced a bunch, but I didn't write it all… very lazy of me. Yes, I should incorporate Hunter more. I find it hard to write everything in one chapter that I should and tend to stick to one topic through the whole thing! Ah, bad habit of mine. But I strive to do well. (You can't tell in this chapter though.) Thanks for reviewing!
TheoGreece- That's a really good idea. I was planning on it. What interview was it, do you know? Maybe she ment that someone was switching Houses in school? I doubt that though. Yeah, I plan on Harry going to his parent's house. Thanks for reviewing!
Mystical036- I keep trying to add in a cliffie. That was part of the long wait. But I will try again next chapter. I'm so happy you like my story. It is cliché. I really think it is. But I'm glad you like it enough to read it! Thanks a bunch for reviewing!
shamanogler- Thanks for reviewing even though you hadn't yet read it. I know readers like long chapters, as before I wrote, I read and I hated short chapters. I figured that I should try to write long chapters if I could. Thanks so much and hope you enjoy the story. (And sorry about this chapter- It's rather pathetic.)
friends-16uk- Yes, I must get those two back into the story! I find it hard to right so many topics and forget the basics. Ah, the joy of writing. Thanks for reviewing! And sorry for the long wait!
nandhp- Glad you like the story! Thanks for reviewing!
The Forest Ranger- I don't think that J.K. mentioned whether or not Zabini was a girl or boy. In case that she did and he is a boy, I am wrong and I like him better as a girl. I really don't think that he'd be gay though. I'm glad you like my story and thanks for reviewing.
insanechildfanfic- Glad you like! Thanks for reviewing!
delores- I appreciate the compliment! Yes, I wanted Ron and Hermione together as well. Thanks for the review!
Panther28- Thanks for reviewing. Yeah, I didn't know how snakes talk (except for the one from Brazil. Hunter, however, is not from Brazil.) so I had to make up how he would talk.
Charmed-angel4- Sorry for not posting quickly. Thanks for reading. Glad you like it.
bast4- I'm planning on more Wordless and Elementas stuff later on. But I haven't yet found the ideal place to put it. I can't have him pranking all the time though. He didn't want to be like his father- pranking every few hours on unsuspecting people. But there should be more pranks later on. As for animagus forms. They have to come into play slowly, because it takes time. One, is coming up quickly. As you read at the end of the chapter. Dueling Tournament should quench the thirst for action until the winter holidays. There will be a bit in between (maybe) but you will have to be patient. I try for long chapters, but I had writer's block and this was taking entirely too long (sorry). Thanks for reviewing!
JeanieBeanie33- I'm a Slytherin (and proud of it!) and am sick of the prejudices. So I think people should get over it some time. (They're not all bad.) Thanks for reviewing!
GhostMagic19- In my story, Lily and Ginny look similar. Though, not for many others, I suppose. Well, you'll soon find out the animal Ginny will take. Thanks for the review!
C. Rose- Sorry about the wait! I feel terrible! I do not very much like Ron, you're right. I should start putting him in more. I'm going to have more of the Slytherins in the Dueling Tournament. I hope it turns out okay. I wish my story was like the books. That is my goal. I don't very much expect it though. Thanks for the compliment though. Thanks for reviewing!
SkyFireZero- Ha! Addicted! Excellent! That's great! Thanks for reviewing!
Huggiebear- Okay, okay, I changed the long hair a bit. It's not overly long. No worries. I'm going to have it cut really soon, too. Over the Winter holidays, I plan. I don't know, Harry's been acting weird lately… ;) What about joke sweets at the dance? It's just some fluff I decided the story needed. Hmm… the animals potion thingy. Yeah… It's not worth explaining… Am I off the hook? It really isn't anything to be concerned about. Don't' worry! Thanks for reviewing!
Melian Maia- Cool name. Sorry about the wait. That's pretty much explained in the author's note at the bottom. Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like.
Hermey- Thanks so much! I'm so happy you like this! I am planning to be a writer when I'm older (but I've only just turned 14!) Thanks for reviewing!
lisakura- Thanks for reviewing! Sorry I didn't update sooner!
JustSomeWierdo- Thanks for reviewing! It would be funny if they got together. But, no, this is a Harry/Ginny story. Ha, ha, that actually would be funny…
Lildrummergirl- Glad you like. Thanks for reviewing!
Michelle- Wow, what a compliment! Thanks a bunch! I'm so happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing!
darkangel46- I added Quidditch! I went back and changed the story! I hope you like it better. If I find time (which I now have) I'll try to get to reading your story. I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing!
skeeter007- Glad you like! Thanks for reviewing!
wadeva- Thanks for reviewing!
Satanic Head Bitey- I do hope you haven't gone crazy yet… Thanks for reviewing!
StarGirl- Glad you liked the story so far. takes a napkin and wipes off the butter Thanks for reviewing. Can I have my cookie by the way?! Nearly catches the cookie as StarGirl threw it, but got hit in the head Takes the cookie off of the floor and takes a bite. Still good. Thanks!
katsuya102- Thanks for the review!
hogwartsfreak- Thanks a bunch. I agree. That doesn't disappoint you does it? No, no, no. Just kidding. Thanks for reviewing!
To anyone else that might've read my story (though I doubt there is anyone else. That's a lot of people that read and reviewed my story!)- Hope you enjoyed it!