Chapter 1: Night Meetings

Harry Potter woke up screaming for the umpteenth time that summer. It was a good thing he was back at Grimmauld Place, or the Dursleys would have kicked him out by now. Or was it a good thing? This place held so many memories of Sirius. Harry found little flashes of his godfather at every turn. That was why he was always weighed down with the guilt.

The guilt. It had started when he'd first learned that his parents had died to save him. It had deepened after it had been Cedric and not Harry that Lord Voldemort had killed...and now...

From the depths of his thoughts, Harry heard a pair of bare feet padding down the hall towards the room he shared with Ron. Instinctively, he tensed, but when Harry realized who was coming, he relaxed.

Ginny Weasley had been lying awake staring at the ceiling when she heard, yet again, the screams coming from the room on the floor above hers. Yes, that's definitely Harry, she thought to herself. For the first week he had been at headquarters, Ginny had wondered what the screaming had been. It had unnerved her, hearing those anguished cries almost every night, but she hadn't investigated it. By the end of the first seven days, Ginny had gone to find out who was screaming.

Of course, she wasn't stupid. Ginny had guessed it was Harry the first time she'd heard it. She just hadn't wanted to believe it. Harry was too good a person to be going through such torture. He had shared with them the reason Voldemort had needed to lure him to the Department of Mysteries over two months ago, as well as the details Prophecy, shortly after his arrival. It was easy to see why he'd be having nightmares with that kind of responsibility hanging over his head. For the past week and a half, Ginny had been going to the boys' room to talk to Harry. It was never anything more. Except for last night, she thought.

Ginny had come dangerously close to kissing Harry. As much as she tried to tell herself she wasn't, she was still desperately in love with him. But it's different now, she thought, Before, I was just a lovesick fan wishing for what I couldn't have. Now I know Harry as a person and a friend. But the thought did not put her at ease. You have a boyfriend, she'd always remind herself. But Dean Thomas did not care for her much anyway, and Ginny had the feeling he was trying to make someone jealous. Serves you right, Gin, she thought, isn't that exactly why you were going out with him? Making sure Hermione was safely asleep, Ginny slid out of bed. She knew what her friend would say if she found out: "Ginny! What would your parents have to say? And Ron's not going to be that thrilled either..." Hermione was always either working or worrying.

As she walked down the darkened hall, she wondered what her family would do if they knew. Her parents would probably understand, but they'd make her promise not to do it again. Ron would either laugh at her saying, "I knew you still fancied him! What's Dean gonna think?" or he'd just beat Harry up. No, she thought, that would be awful. It's better if no one else knows about it.

Harry didn't know how he'd have survived if it hadn't been for Ginny. Hell, he probably wouldn't have if she hadn't started coming. She would just come in, pull up the chair that was usually in front of the desk, and they'd talk. Harry felt he could tell her anything and everything. They'd both agreed that no one else should know. The twins, even though they weren't around as much, would treat it like a big joke and drop hints to Ron until he finally got it. Ron would either torment Ginny until it would be so awkward between her and Harry that they'd start to avoid each other, or he'd beat Harry senseless. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley probably wouldn't get mad or anything, but they'd definitely end their nightly meetings. Hermione...well, Hermione would just worry. Harry sighed angrily. It's not as if they've got anything to worry about, he thought, Nothing's ever happened.

Unless you count that little kiss you almost gave her, said a nasty voice in Harry's head.

Shut up, Harry told it. The voice was right, though. Harry had almost kissed her last night. It was a really stupid thing to do, as Ginny was dating Dean Thomas. Not really dating, he pleaded with himself to believe this, it's just a few letters every now and then...It was then that Ginny slowly opened the door and entered the room.