A/N: Back again! I received slightly more votes for shorter waits for shorter chapters, although I must say that the longer waits for longer chapters people had more compelling arguments. People who wanted shorter chapters were just impatient. But hey, I hear you. I am too. So, I'm going to try to go for the shorter waits for shorter chapters, BUT, if it turns out it will be a longer wait, I will provide you with a longer chapter. For instance, I went out of town for a week and didn't get any writing done while I was gone. So when I came back, I created the long chapter below. Fair enough?
X
XIX
XIXIX "Hope and Betrayal" XIXIX
Harry woke to the sounds of frantic yelling.
He opened his eyes blearily, but then leapt into action when he realized his bed and quite a bit of his dorm room were on fire. His roommates were already awake and casting water spells on everything.
Within minutes, they had extinguished the flames. The boys looked around at the soggy and sooty room, blackened with burn marks.
Dean picked up a limp and dripping textbook. He turned to Harry, red in the face, and threw it at him. "DAMN IT, HARRY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "You have GOT to start controlling your dreams!"
Harry looked at Dean, lost for words. He had no idea what was going on. "What—?"
"You were casting fireballs in your sleep, you stupid git!"
Harry stumbled backward and looked around. He had been dreaming of destroying the wandless spellcasting practice room, and in his dream had just started casting fireballs. He had never heard of anyone casting spells in their sleep. But of course, hardly anyone slept with their wand in their hand, and almost no one was capable of casting spells empty handed.
All he could think to say was, "Holy fuck."
XIXIX
The sixth year Gryffindor boys spent the next hour cleaning the room enough so that they could go back to sleep. Dean and Seamus also spent that hour swearing at Harry. Harry couldn't blame them. Ron and Neville joined in the swearing too, but they seemed to have a bit of underlying worry for Harry that helped to calm their anger at least somewhat.
Once the room was dry and his roommates were back in bed, Harry made his way down to the common room with his charmed quill and some parchment. He poured out every remembered detail of his dream, and now felt more than a bit embarrassed at the thought of Snape and Perenelle reading all about his temper tantrum.
He was also more than a bit upset at Malfoy's betrayal.
Who was he kidding? Harry could never have had a normal relationship with Malfoy. They weren't a secret because of Malfoy's girlfriend, or because they were in competing Houses. They were a secret because Malfoy was the son of Death Eaters, and Harry was Harry Potter. It had to end like this. Or worse.
Harry was furious with Malfoy, but also with himself. Snape was right. He did have better things to die for. How could he have been so stupid to have fallen for a lying, arrogant, manipulative, vicious, weak-willed, slimy, stuck-up, condescending, prick of a bastard, Junior Death Eater git like Draco Malfoy!
When he was finished writing, he sat on a couch and stared into the fireplace, throttling pillows that he pretended were Malfoy's neck. He growled softly with the idea of hexing him into the next century. Eventually he exhausted himself and went back up to bed, where he tossed and turned in restless sleep.
He knew he had slept late when he woke up because the room was flooded with sunlight. There were no curtains on his bed, as they had been burned away the night before.
Harry lay staring at the wall for several minutes wondering how he could face Malfoy without killing him. He also wondered how he could face Ginny. He had betrayed her. Now that Voldemort knew she was his sister, she would be a greater target. What had possessed him to tell Malfoy about her?
He groaned and reached for his glasses. As the world leapt into focus, he noticed Ron lying on his bed, apparently absorbed in a book.
"What's going on, Harry?" he asked without looking up.
Harry knew what he meant, and had no clue how to even begin to explain. "Nothing," he said.
Ron reached into his robe pocket and drew out his wand. He cast a locking spell on the door, and a silencing spell on the room. Finally, he looked over at Harry.
"You were throwing fireballs in your sleep, Harry. That's not nothing."
Harry looked down.
Ron sat up and faced him. "Are we still friends?"
"Of course!" said Harry, meeting Ron's eye. "Why would you ask that?"
"I know you've got secrets, Harry. I know there are things going on in the Order that you're not telling us. Maybe that you can't tell us. I know your boyfriend doesn't want you to tell anyone who he is, including us. I understand this.
"But, Harry," Ron shook his head, "The trio is falling apart. I mean, Hermione's off doing her research thing. She's only just now starting to really speak to me again since she and Victor broke up, but she's still so far away. And you, well, you're doing your 'Savior of the Wizarding World' thing with your training, and whatever else..." he waved his arms around carelessly. "But what am I supposed to do? I'm not content to be the jealous bloke on the sidelines. And I'm sure as Hades not going to sit by while my best friend slips away from us and starts casting fireballs in his sleep." They both smiled slightly. "What I'm saying is, we're a team, the three of us. The four of us, I guess, with Ginny. It's always been that way. And we've always come through.
"If it's true what Hermione's been reading between the lines in the Daily Prophet, What's-His-Name is making his way across the board, and he's intent on a checkmate. We have got to get off our arses and work together. Hermione's brains, your courage, my strategy, Ginny's strength..."
Harry nodded, a fire burning in his eye. "You're right. Ron, I've been a total dipshit. But it stops now. We've got a lot of work to do, and the stakes are getting higher, and more personal."
Ginny's in more danger.
Harry hesitated, and looked out the window. How could he expect his friends to walk into such danger for him? Had he been unconsciously pushing them away so they wouldn't get hurt? He thought again about the Department of Mysteries, and Hermione going down clutching her chest, Ron getting tangled in brains, Sirius falling through the curtain... He shook his head slightly.
Ron picked up on Harry's thoughts, and said, "Harry, we're doing this with you and that's final. So don't even start with worries about danger or risk. Our lives are in danger because Voldemort is alive, not because we're friends with you."
Harry looked back to Ron, slightly shocked. "Ron, you said his name!"
Ron flushed, and then grinned. "Well, it had to happen sometime, right?"
XIXIX
Harry got ready for the day, and Ron went to find Ginny and Hermione so that they could all meet before lunch. But as they headed past the Great Hall to find a secluded space outside to talk, they were intercepted by Professor McGonagall.
"Mr. Potter," she said, "You will come with me to the headmaster's office immediately."
Harry turned to look at his three friends apologetically, and said, "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" They nodded, and watched their friend make his way down the hall with their very angry-looking Head of House.
As they entered Dumbledore's office, Harry was greeted by a group of familiar faces. Sitting in chairs that had somehow been crammed comfortably into the room, were Snape, Perenelle, Nicolas, Victor Krum, Angelina Johnson, Fleur Delacour, Bill Weasley, Tonks, and Remus Lupin.
He greeted them all with hugs and handshakes, pausing to bask in Lupin's fatherly pride as he assured everyone he had been doing well. He sat between Lupin and Perenelle who seemed to be trying to outdo each other in showering Harry with affection.
"Is this a serious meeting?" Harry muttered to Perenelle.
"Yes, I believe so," she whispered back.
"Then you might want to cool it with your sweeter emotions." Harry indicated the group in the office, who were chatting and laughing light-heartedly as though none of them had a care in the world.
"Oops! Yeah, I guess you're right." She nudged Nicolas, and Harry felt their powers subsiding to normal levels. He wondered if they purposefully raised their sweeter emotions when they met new people, or if it was an unconscious action. He was just about to ask, when Dumbledore called the meeting to order.
"We are all aware that Death Eater activity has increased dramatically just recently, against both the wizarding and muggle communities. This meeting was called so that we might bring together our knowledge of the foreign attacks, and perhaps come to understand Voldemort's plan." Everyone nodded. "Mr. Krum, why don't you begin?"
Victor nodded, and began a long list of Death Eater activity in his area. Bulgaria and Albania were both experiencing economic crises, which led to rioting in the streets. Voldemort was using the muggle financial situation to his advantage by having his Death Eaters in the area strategically assassinate both wizarding and muggle leaders. He was doing the same in Tajikistan, Turkey, Greece, and Russia, as well abducting wizards and muggles alike.
Uncertainty and fear had put each of these countries on edge, so that muggle governments were often facing risk of rebellion, and wizarding governments were overwhelmed with containing illegal uses of magic by obliviating masses of muggle memories and covering large-scale attacks by making them appear to be no more than muggle terrorism, as well as dealing with direct attacks on the wizarding world.
Fleur jumped in that France, Spain, and Portugal were having similar difficulties, although the governments were better equipped to contain such things. They were not yet reaching desperate levels.
Bill, who was currently working in Germany, agreed that things were much the same in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Of the three, Germany was having the least difficulty staving off the Death Eaters, but all three countries were swimming in fear.
Angelina and Tonks then updated the state of things in the United Kingdom. Attacks against the wizarding community were as yet only mild attacks, when compared to what was happening elsewhere, including in the muggle community in England. As the government that had previously fought the Dark Lord, the local Ministry of Magic was by far the best equipped to deal with an outright fight against the Death Eaters, but they were currently tied up with numerous minor attacks against the wizarding community, as well as covering up even more numerous, and oftentimes lethal attacks against the muggle community.
"It's as though Voldemort is trying to keep us busy, keep us from resting, but not actually trying to escalate the war in England," concluded Tonks.
Harry motioned that he wanted to speak. "I have it on good authority that that is exactly what Voldemort is trying to do," he said. "He plans to continue attacking weaker governments afar until the Ministry has no choice but to send aid. Then, while half the Ministry is tied up with muggle attacks, and the other half is overseas, the war will begin here. The plan is that by the time he gains control of England, every other government in Eurasia will have been weakened enough so that no one will pose a significant threat. He will steadily and relentlessly chip away our strength until we pose no challenge. And in the meantime, everyone lives under a shroud of fear."
Harry noticed Dumbledore's almost imperceptible glance over at Snape, who sat brooding quietly. Harry felt a pang of worry, but shoved it away when Dumbledore spoke.
"It appears we have a great many things to account for while we plan our resistance. Is anyone opposed to eating here while we discuss our options?"
Harry thought about his plans to meet with his friends, but they would have to wait. This was a meeting at which Harry had to be present.
Dumbledore conjured some sandwiches and pumpkin juice, and the group spent the next several hours arguing over the various tactics they could use to stop the Death Eaters.
While Harry listened to his friends and fellow Order members speaking about the difficulties with fighting the subversive Death Eaters, what felt like a muted panic grew within him, eating at his stomach. So many people were out risking their lives, so many people were living in fear, so many people were dying, waiting for Harry to get his act together and vanquish Voldemort once and for all.
As Voldemort grew in power and his Death Eaters grew in number, Harry stumbled through his training at the very safe Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. He felt guilt pressing in on him.
'Harry,' he heard. He looked over at Snape, who was not speaking. How had he gotten past Harry's Occlumency shields?
'What, Severus?'
'It's going to be okay. Don't rush your training, or you will not succeed. Voldemort has sixty years of magical experience on you. The world can wait until you are ready.'
Harry nodded just slightly. 'Thanks.'
'And Harry, get your heart off your sleeve.' Snape's lips twitched with a slight smile.
Harry put on his mask of confidence and returned his attentions to the conversation.
They decided that Eurasia would have to appeal for aid from other continents. This would not be easy, as very few alliances from so far away were strong enough that a large number of witches and wizards would willingly travel half a world away to fight a dark menace that had nothing to do with them. As yet, there was no indication that Voldemort planned to spread his reign beyond continental boundaries.
Harry would never have thought they would be good candidates, but Nicolas and Perenelle immediately volunteered to help seek aid. Having lived for over six hundred years, they spoke many languages without the use of a Translation Charm. They were good with words, and hopefully, their sweeter emotions would come in handy as they tried to convince foreign ministries to help.
Harry agreed to their reasoning, but objected nonetheless. "Leaving Hogwarts means leaving security. We've already established that Voldemort means to gain control of you in order to obtain a Sorcerer's Stone. Traveling to foreign ministries leaves you wide open for attack."
"Then they won't go alone," said Tonks. "I'll appeal to the Ministry to be assigned as one of a number of bodyguards. We'll appeal to every wizarding government in Eurasia who desires foreign aid, to send the services of a bodyguard. It's time that the Ministries begin working together, and with the Order of the Phoenix as well."
"There is far too much by way of politics that divides the Ministries," said Lupin. "I don't know that they are ready yet to unite."
"Damn it, this is no time for politics," exclaimed Angelina. "We have a common enemy and we must unite or we will be destroyed!"
"Quite right," said Professor McGonagall. "We are at war, and we cannot win standing separately. So how do we go about uniting the governments?"
"And vhat do I say to my people vhen I return?" asked Victor. "That aid is coming and they should vait? Even vith foreign aid, that only offers my people a hope of a longer var before they die. They need more hope than that. They need an end to be in sight."
"We all know where this ends," said Harry, with more confidence than he felt. "The problem is that I don't want to think that people are fighting a war, dying in battle, just to buy time so that I can finish training."
"But you can't fight until you've finished training," said Bill reasonably. "Everyone knows that. You're our last hope."
"Hope is vhat ve need," said Victor.
"'Arry," said Fleur, "I know zat, cooped up in zis school, zat 'ou may be unaware, but ze world outside ze school is behind 'ou. I zink zat people will come togezer in support of 'ou, and give 'ou whatevair time 'ou need, if 'ou just give zem some hope."
"What? Do you mean that Harry should hold a press conference and tell everyone that he's training hard, and to just keep fighting those Death Eaters?" asked Angelina.
"Zat is exactly what I mean," replied Fleur.
"That is not a bad idea," said Victor. "My people hear rumors of a prophecy about the Boy Who Lived, that he can stop this var. Is this true, Harry?"
Harry looked to Dumbledore who nodded with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, Victor. It's true."
"Then you must tell the people," said Victor.
"Yes, 'Arry. 'Ou must tell ze people!"
"Now wait just a minute!" interjected Lupin. "I agree that the wizarding world needs to unite, but that doesn't mean that Harry has to become the icon they unite behind!"
"Remus," said McGonagall, "He has been since he was one year old!"
"He already has his own fan club," agreed Angelina.
Harry nodded purposefully. "I'll do it."
"Harry!"
"Remus," Harry said quietly. "We all knew this was coming. And Victor and Fleur are right. People need hope. Things are getting so desperate now. If there isn't an end in sight, then what's the use of even bothering to fight?"
Lupin shook his head.
"What did you tell me in the hospital?" asked Harry. "You said people would unite behind me. Well, now's the time for unity."
Lupin put his hand on Harry's shoulder, and Harry could see his eyes were tearing a little as he said, "You really are a perfect mix of James and Lily, you know that?"
Harry smiled, but then felt a wave of upset feelings wash over him. Just as soon as he felt it, it was gone, but Harry had noticed that it had Snape's 'feel' to it. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later.
XIXIX
After the meeting, Harry hung around to talk to everybody for a short while. Victor asked a lot of questions about Hermione's well-being. Harry assured him that she was fine.
Before Harry left that afternoon, Professor McGonagall gave him a detention for destroying his room the night before. She informed him he would serve it tonight with Professor Snape.
Harry hurried back to the common room to find his friends. They finally made their way outside for a private talk.
Harry told them everything he had learned in the Order meeting that afternoon. He also explained to him about how the Death Eater activity discussed fit in with the dream he had had in Voldemort's head the night before.
"Was he casting fireballs at Lucius Malfoy?" asked Ron hopefully.
"No," said Harry, his eyes darkening. "But I need to talk to you all about that too."
He looked at Ginny. 'I've betrayed you,' he thought, 'And now you might be in danger.'
"What?" she asked, regarding Harry and the strange look he was giving her.
"Lucius also reported to Voldemort that... um..." he paused. This was really hard. "Malfoy knows about how you're my sister, and he told his dad that we're going to become twins. Now Voldemort knows as well."
"Oh, Merlin," whispered Hermione.
"Bloody Hell," said Ron.
Harry held eye contact with Ginny, oceans of guilt flowing through him. He would tell her later how Malfoy found out. But he wasn't ready yet. Thoughts of Malfoy still tasted like bile in his throat. His eyes began to well up with tears.
"Harry, it's okay," said Ginny.
Harry shook his head. "It's not, really. All these people are dying. And everyone I care about is in danger, because of me."
"Harry, you're not killing people," said Hermione sensibly. "We have no control over Voldemort or his Death Eaters. And we can't help that time has given him a bit of an edge."
"Luckily though," said Ginny, "Your power has given you a bit of an edge. And we're not going to lose that edge by letting a guilty feeling Harry Potter jump into battle before he's ready."
"I have an idea," said Ron. "How many people are in the DA now? 150?"
"Yeah, just about," said Ginny.
"Well, we've been training them to fight. What about training them in strategy. We can stage mock wars, all over the grounds of Hogwarts. And this way we can help map out strategies for the real battles to come. If we hit on anything really useful, we can send it on to the Order, and to the Ministries. They're going to need all the help they can get trying to figure out how to unite witches and wizards from so many different places."
"Ron, that's brilliant," said Harry. "Ginny, can we do this?"
"Absolutely," she said. "Hell, we can start tomorrow. Tonight, we should plan—oh, wait, I guess you'll be with your boyfriend tonight."
Harry glowered. "We broke up. I'm all yours." Ginny startled, and stared at Harry for a moment, distinguishing between what she heard and what he meant.
"Okay then, tonight... Are you okay?"
"Not really. We left things on really bad terms."
"Just tell us who it is and we'll hex him to oblivion," said Ron.
Harry smirked viciously as he thought about the four of them engaging Malfoy in battle, and cursing the hell out of him. But first, his friends would curse the hell out of him for ever having gone out with Malfoy. And later, Lucius Malfoy or Voldemort, one, would torture Malfoy and then cast the Killing Curse on him. And as angry as Harry was, he did not believe that Malfoy deserved to die.
"As tempting as that is," began Harry, "I think I'll pass."
"Alright then," said Ron. "We'll just go ahead with the battle plans, and with any luck, he'll get caught in the crossfire."
Harry smirked.
"Battle," whispered Hermione.
"Huh?" said Ginny.
Hermione was lost in a daze. The others stared at her expectantly, knowing that something brilliant was coming together in her mind.
Ron leaned over and whispered very quietly into Harry's ear, "I bet she runs off to the library as soon as she comes to."
Ginny shot them a curious glance, and was about to inquire about their whispers when Hermione suddenly jumped up and declared, "I have to go see Trelawney!" She grabbed her things and ran off, the other three watching her go.
"Well, that's a new one," said Ron.
XIXIX
Harry, Ron, and Ginny walked back up to the common room deep in conversation about their various plans. Harry and Ginny sat down to write a letter to Rita Skeeter about doing another interview that would be translated and internationally distributed. They made sure to flatter her respectfully by reminding her of the success of their last interview and telling her that unless she was too busy, they couldn't think of asking another reporter.
Harry was amazed at Ginny's revisions, and joked that maybe she should just go ahead and write the article herself.
"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "Rita Skeeter is a name in the reporting world. And she's known for being quite vicious. So when she writes something good about someone, people listen, and they believe. Harry, if she pulls off this article, the wizarding world will be filled with so much hope and determination that the Death Eaters may as well just lay down their wands and crawl to Azkaban."
When dinnertime arrived, Hermione had still not returned from her visit to Trelawney.
Ron looked up from his chess set. "Do you think she's okay?"
Ginny shrugged. "You know how Hermione gets when she's reading. And you know she didn't go up there for the conversation."
"Did you come up with anything, Ron?" asked Harry.
Ron had been pouring over his chess set as a means of developing battlefield strategies to try out tomorrow. "As a matter of fact, I did. And, I think I've come up with a new Quidditch tactic that we might be able to use against Slytherin."
Harry groaned at the thought of facing Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch. The game was still two weeks away, so he still had time to get himself ready.
For now, he mentally prepared himself for dinner. It would be the first time he saw Malfoy today. Harry thought about what Snape might suggest, behavior-wise. He had to project strength and confidence. The best thing to do would be to ignore him, to sit with his back to the Slytherins. He could hurt and be angry on the inside, but if he let this show, and someone figured out why... too many bad things could happen.
Hermione didn't show up at dinner, and Ginny kept telling Ron not to worry. Harry wondered idly if Ginny knew something they didn't. He wondered if Hermione and Victor were meeting up this evening.
Ginny kept her eyes on Harry for almost the entire meal. She had the same calculating look Hermione often wore when trying to figure out a particularly complex problem. Harry kept waiting for the ball to drop, but Ginny said nothing to him.
As they joined the mass of students leaving the Great Hall after dinner, Harry pretended not to notice as Malfoy made his way toward him through the crowd. Ron wound up being swept a few people ahead of him, but Ginny stayed fast at his side.
As Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle shoved their way through the crowd, Malfoy pushed against Harry, quickly giving his behind a squeeze. Harry knocked his hand away, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Watch it, Malfoy," he spat angrily.
Malfoy kept his face masked pretty well, but Harry could see through it now. He seemed taken aback by Harry's reaction, knowing he wasn't pretending.
"What crawled up your arse and died?" snarled Malfoy, who then proceeded to shove his way through the crowd. Harry watched him go, seething with anger. He barely processed that he stumbled when Crabbe shoved violently past him.
Ron was waiting with Neville at the bottom of the Gryffindor Tower stairs for them. Harry made for the stairs, but Ginny grabbed him firmly by the arm.
"Guys, we'll meet you up there in a minute," she said pointedly. "Harry and I have something to discuss."
Harry felt his heart sink into his stomach. Ron gave Harry a sympathetic look. He knew that Ginny's tone indicated that Harry was in trouble. He motioned to Neville that they needed to get out of there, and fast.
Still holding his arm, Ginny led Harry through the hallways until they found an unlocked classroom. It was Firenze's.
Ginny glanced around and sighed, seemingly at the trees themselves.
"Ginny, what—?"
"Ssh," she said. She pulled out her wand and said, "Retegere Hominum!"
A light began to glow off in the corner of the room. Ginny and Harry made their way to it, and found two third year Ravenclaws snogging behind a tree. The broke away embarrassedly, scrambling to their feet.
"We have a DA meeting tomorrow afternoon outside," said Ginny authoritatively. "Don't be late."
The two lovebirds nodded, flushing bright red, and quickly left the room. Ginny cast a locking spell on the door, and a silencing spell on the room. Then her calm demeanor diminished almost instantaneously, and she turned angrily on Harry.
"Draco Malfoy, Harry!" she nearly screamed. "Draco Malfoy! What in Merlin's name are you thinking!" She swatted at him, slapping his shoulders and head while Harry ducked away.
"Ginny," he said weakly.
"Don't even try to deny, you prat! He grabbed your arse! I saw it!" She stamped her foot. "You told him, didn't you? Didn't you!" She swatted at him again.
He looked at her from between his arms that he held up to block her attack. "Yes," he admitted. "I told him."
"Why?" she asked, her voice breaking.
'Please don't cry,' thought Harry. 'Scream and hit all you want, but please don't cry.'
"He was asking about you. I thought he was jealous, so I was telling him there was nothing to worry about. I didn't... I thought..." Harry was beginning to choke up, himself. "I just..."
Ginny narrowed her reddening eyes at him. As she realized what he was trying to put into words, her face dropped for a second, revealing a sadness that she had been holding in for some time.
"Oh, Merlin, Harry," she said brokenly. "You're in l..." She turned away, and the tears started to fall.
Harry was trembling, his own heartache growing, compounded with the sight of Ginny in tears.
Suddenly, Ginny's sadness turned to rage, and she caught Harry off guard with a punch in the chest. Harry staggered backward slightly, and Ginny kept hitting him about the torso, this time with closed fists.
"How dare you! How dare you fall in love with him!" she screamed.
Harry didn't back away this time. Instead he grabbed her, and pulled her close until she stopped hitting him. She buried her face in his chest, clinging angrily to his robes, and cried.
"I'm so sorry, Ginny," Harry whispered hoarsely.
"How dare you," she whispered.
They stood together, clutching each other desperately, crying against each other, letting out their hurt.
Eventually, Ginny pulled away, wiping her eyes with her fingers, and sniffing dejectedly.
"Are you okay?" asked Harry, wiping his face with the sleeve of his robe.
"Is it over?" she asked.
"Yes. I betrayed you, Ginny. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."
Ginny shook her head. "You didn't realize... You never do." She sighed. "Damn it, Harry, you lie to yourself way too much, you know that?"
They looked into each other's eyes, and Ginny said, "No, of course you don't know that. Look, we'll get through this. We know that Voldemort knows, so we just won't be caught off guard. That's one more thing to plan for, is all."
"You're not mad?"
"What, are you joking? Of course I'm mad! I'm ready to beat the ever-living shit out of you. And Malfoy. But that won't solve anything, and as it happens, I've sworn myself to help you as much as I can, and landing you in the infirmary would be kind of counter-productive, don't you think?"
Harry couldn't believe his ears. "I don't deserve this kind of loyalty."
"Yes you do, Harry. You screw up royally sometimes, but you are most definitely worth the trouble. I'd stand with you even if there were no prophecy. You remember that."
Harry just looked at her. He didn't need to use Legilimency to know she was telling the truth.
"I'm keeping your secret, just like I swore I would," she continued. "But I'm still mad at you. So don't expect a lot of sympathy from me right now, okay?"
Harry nodded. "Thanks, Ginny. You're too good to be true, you know that?"
"As a matter of fact," she said dryly, "I do."
XIXIX
They sat down in the common room with Ron and Neville, and began planning out battle strategies to try out in their DA meeting Sunday afternoon.
"We're going to have to tell Dumbledore about this before the meeting," said Ginny. "Can you imagine what would happen if some teachers stumbled onto an all-out battle among DA members? If it was Snape, he'd have the lot of us expelled and then thrown into Azkaban."
"Don't worry about Snape," said Harry.
"Harry," said Ron quietly, "I know he's on our side, but he is still Snape."
Harry shrugged. He didn't feel like arguing the point. "Anyway," he said, "Five sickles says Dumbledore already knows what we're planning. I swear he knows about everything that happens at this school."
"Everything?" asked Ginny just a bit snidely.
Harry's eyes widened just a bit as he looked at her. 'Oh shit,' he thought.
"What?" asked Neville suspiciously, looking between Harry and Ginny.
Harry looked at his watch. "I've got to get to detention." He gathered his things, and headed out the door.
He didn't realize he had gone alone until he was heading down the stairs to the dungeons, and he heard Malfoy's voice behind him.
"Hey, Potter!"
Harry pulled out his wand and turned to face his enemy.
"Cool it," said Malfoy, with his hands in the air. "Where you headed?"
"Detention with Snape," snarled Harry.
"Why?" asked Malfoy. His forcibly friendly voice revealed that he knew Harry was mad at him, and was trying to get on his good side.
"Setting my dorm room on fire," he replied simply.
"Oh, Merlin," said Malfoy with a smile, "You weren't trying to brew any potions, were you?"
Harry turned away and continued down the stairs. He didn't think he could handle friendly banter with Malfoy.
"Potter, wait!" he called, jogging down the steps after him. "I was just joking. Come on." He grabbed Harry's arm gently, and tugged him around. "What's wrong?"
Harry was breathing heavily in his anger. He looked in the eyes of his betrayer, and fought down the hurt. He wouldn't give Malfoy the satisfaction of crying in front of him.
"I can't do this anymore, Malfoy. It's over."
Malfoy stared at him for a second, and then stepped down so that they were sharing a step. He carefully moved into Harry's personal space, and breathed, "Don't say that. It's really not as bad as all that, is it?" He leaned forward to kiss him, but Harry turned his head away. He stood solidly, unmoved by Malfoy's advances.
Malfoy straightened, his gentle, hurting eyes growing cold as he covered himself with his mask. "Whatever," he said, but his voice shook slightly. He cleared his throat and continued angrily, "It was just sex anyway. You're not even that good of a lay. I could have anyone at this school, Potter. I don't need you."
Harry held his eye. "Apparently not," he said.
Malfoy's eyes flickered, surprised. Harry took a chance, and continued down the steps with his back to Malfoy. He listened hard for any movement that might signal an attack, but he heard none.
He entered Snape's dungeon classroom silently.
Snape regarded Harry for a long moment before leading him into his office. He placed a Silencing Charm on the room, and an Alarm Charm to alert them should anyone enter the classroom.
Harry slumped into a seat, and gave the floor a surly glare. Snape handed him a stack of first year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw essays. Harry understood that the essays were just a cover if anyone entered, but he began to grade them anyway. He didn't feel like talking just yet.
Snape began grading essays as well, as though that were the whole reason behind Harry serving detention with him after destroying his dorm room while he slept under the influence of Snape's potion.
After a few minutes in silence, a tone sounded. Harry continued to grade essays without looking up. He was only somewhat surprised when he heard Malfoy's voice just behind him.
"Professor Snape," he said, walking toward his desk, "Vincent spilt and entire bottle of ink on my essay." He held up a six-foot roll of parchment that was almost completely covered in black ink. "I was wondering if you would grant me a 24 hour extension to re-write it. I've been working on it all week."
Snape reached forward and examined the still-wet parchment carefully.
"That will be fine, Mr. Malfoy. Please have it in to me by dinner on Tuesday."
Malfoy hesitated for a moment.
"Is there anything else?"
"No, sir," he said, and turned to leave. He glanced down at Harry and spat, "You dropped something, Potter." With that, he swept out the door.
Harry looked down to see a folded piece of parchment by his foot. When he heard Malfoy leave the classroom, closing the door behind him, he carefully opened the note, and read it with shaking hands.
The haunting continues
It's your words that get to me
You heard me like no one else
I thought you had listened
I thought you understood
Was I fooling myself to think you were different?
Don't make me miss you
Come to me tonight
Harry crumpled the parchment and shoved it in his robe pocket. He made to continue grading essays, but instead covered his face with his hand and began to cry bitterly.
Snape sighed. He stood up and locked the door as he made his way around his desk. He sat in the chair next to Harry and pulled the heartbroken youth into his arms.
"I'm sorry, Harry," he whispered.
"You were right," Harry choked. "He betrayed me, first chance he got."
Snape nodded, holding Harry tighter. "I assume you found this out in your sleep last night?"
"Yeah. Lucius was reporting to him about it."
"About what?"
"That Ginny's my sister; that we're going to be twins."
Snape stiffened. "Do Arthur and Molly know this?"
Harry pulled away. "I don't know. I haven't told them."
"Harry, she's going to be a prime target now, especially if you go through with the bond. If he can get to you through her, he will."
"I know," said Harry sourly. "I'm not sure I could go through with the bond now. Ginny's life could be at stake. I can't risk losing her."
"I'm afraid that her life is already at stake. Voldemort will assume that you are going to complete the bond, whether you do or not. We'll have to be careful."
Harry slumped back into his seat once again. The sat in silence for several more minutes.
"Why the fireballs, Harry?"
Harry reached into his bag and pulled out the account of his dream. He handed it to Snape. "I was angry and afraid I would lose my focus and slip up, so I went to the wandless spellcasting practice room, and proceeded to destroy it."
"Hmm," said Snape, glancing over the parchment. He raised an eyebrow as he read over the destruction Harry was dealing to the room. "It was wise of you to remove yourself from the Dark Lord's head, rather than pushing yourself while upset. As far as spellcasting in your sleep, all I can say is that you should perhaps come up with another way to vent your anger while dreaming."
Harry rolled his eyes. "I graded all those papers, and that's the best advice you have?"
Snape glared at him. "Mr. Potter, grading a measly five papers does not warrant the effort of better advice."
Harry smirked.
XIXIX
Ron and Ginny were arguing over the chessboard when Harry returned from detention.
"Harry!" said Neville thankfully when he entered the common room. "Please help. They're about to come to blows!"
Harry made his way to the two yelling redheads and realized immediately that they were just blowing off steam. For one thing, even though they were yelling at each other, they were agreeing with everything the other said.
"Guys," said Harry calmly. "Could you calm down? You're scaring the first years." He indicated a group of younger students huddled in the opposite corner doing their homework, casting fearful glances in their direction. Ginny glared at him.
'Okay, still mad a me,' thought Harry.
"Where's Hermione!" shouted Ron.
'And that's what he's upset about.'
On cue, the portrait door opened, and Hermione climbed in.
"Harry!" she exclaimed. "We got big problems."
"What else is new?" he mumbled, as she made her way over to him, her arms loaded down with books.
"What are these?" asked Ginny.
"Sybil loaned me some books."
"SYBIL!" they exclaimed.
"Yes, Professor Trelawney!"
"We know who you mean, Hermione," said Ron. "But since when do you call her Sybil?"
"And since when is she letting you take books from her tower?" asked Ginny.
"Since today," she answered exasperated, ignoring the shocked looks on their faces. "Honestly. All this time, the woman's been sitting on the answers, and no one ever thought to look for them!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Harry.
"Battle, Harry! War. I kept researching prophecies about people's downfalls. But this is greater than that! This isn't about whether one man lives or dies, this is about a war that could potentially be the fall of wizard-kind. Seers have been foretelling this war for thousands of years, each seeing a varying degree of disaster."
"What!"
"Look," she said, opening one of the books and flipping through the pages. "In 1483 BC, Briant the Blind foretold of a battle that would determine the fate of the wizarding world. Of course, they used a wholly different set of calendars at the time, but when you transfer it to our modern calendar, the war begins in 1995."
"When Voldemort returned to power."
"Right! That was the earliest mention of this battle that I could find, but there are countless others. The dates of the battle vary, as do the results, but we are clearly on the cusp of something huge, and potentially disastrous! Elionne of Everywhere envisioned the Darkness taking over, standing over the Green Death of the Lightning Storm. She had no idea what that vision meant, but she related it to a battle that would lead to the deaths of many thousands, and the eventual decline of the wizarding world to nothing. Her timeline places the battle beginning one year from now."
"The Green Death of the Lightning Storm? So I am going to fall."
"No! Not necessarily, at least. For every vision of our failure, there is another of Voldemort's destruction. A man who called himself Creed in the first century AD wrote that the Dark Riddle would fall to oblivion, being destroyed body and soul. Many others don't even see past the battle. They merely say that the survival of our world depends on the outcome."
"But we still don't have any answers. All we have are more prophecies with conflicting information about whether I kill Voldemort or not!" snapped Harry angrily.
"Harry, don't you see!" asked Hermione. "We have the answers here. Thousands of years of prophesy of this battle. We can't be sure of when it happens, because as far as I can tell, the prophecies vary time-wise from three years ago to one year from now. But we can find the differences between the ones where we fail, and the ones where we succeed. We'll know which mistakes to avoid, which actions to take! This is hope, Harry! In our hands!"
Harry sat quietly, staring at the books while the others watched him, waiting for his reaction.
Finally, he said, "Well, then, what are we waiting for?" He reached forward and opened a book.
XIXIX
XIX
X
A/N: Thank you everyone for reading! Please review! If you do, I'll do a little dance in your honor!
Simply Slytherin- I concur. I feel really sorry for both Harry and Malfoy. And I feel especially sorry for Malfoy because I know what is going on from his point of view. I know what Harry doesn't, and unfortunately therefore, what my readers don't. But for now, Malfoy will be Malfoy. And there's nothing we can do about it.
Wintermoon2- Oh, girl, you are good! Your review was... Like when you said... and... And I just about died when I read... Are you psychic or just...? Kick ass! And give us some more fight for the future, damn it!
LizBethy- Wow! Thank you! I am very glad you are enjoying it. I hope you keep reading, and continue to enjoy it.
Snake-boi- Don't hate me for making you wait! I couldn't help it! But I agree. I didn't like it when Draco told Lucius about Ginny. I went grr too. I even tried to talk him out of it, but he said just what you said, "come on, it's important." And I couldn't stop him. He's got a mind of his own, you know. Thanks for coming back!
Ravenfrog- That is a great two cents. A very well thought out two cents, I might add. I'll pass on your requests to the 'boys', but they don't listen to me much anymore. Half of what they do nowadays they do without even consulting me first. But I love them, so I'm not complaining. But thank you thank you for letting me in on your preferences. Enjoy.
CS WhiteWolf- Thank you. I do feel complimented. But Snape's discovery of Harry and Malfoy's relationship didn't have anything to do with the Death Eaters. He just happened to be around while Malfoy was projecting unbridled lust for Potter. So Snape picked up the memory and decided the best thing to do with it was to confront Harry, for the reasons he listed last chapter. And Harry and Snape are obviously becoming closer than they were, but that's not really saying a whole lot seeing as how they were moving away from unmitigated hatred of each other. I think it's kind of amazing they became friends so fast, but you know, extreme circumstances and all. We'll see what happens. Thanks for reading/reviewing!
Usually Immaculate Aristocrat- Thank you. I like the whole password thing too, and I agree, Harry is very special. If he and Ginny become friends, though, she won't be as powerful as him unless they link themselves together magically. But they will have a mind link to rival what's going on with Voldemort, and more recently, with Snape. Thanks for reading.
LindsayPotter03- Thank you! I put up 12 chapters before someone pointed out that Krum was from Bulgaria! And I looked at that and thought, I knew that! I'm going back and fixing it now. Thank you for telling me.
Tsyuno- What does XD mean? I'm not real hip to the online lingo, but I'm working on it... But yeah, Harry is hella pissed off, and Draco is an idjit. We'll just have to wait and see if they ever wind up shagging each other again. See you next review!
LindsayPotter03 (again)- Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and the comic relief. I've been trying really hard to keep the flow workable, so thank you for mentioning it! Thank you for reading/reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy.
Celedriel-greenleaf- Thank you, and hear hear!
Shadow Bandit- Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and my depiction of Draco. To ease your wonderings, no Draco did not resist the veritaserum, although, to be fair, he didn't really try that hard. He just assumed it couldn't be done. Harry's got a rough road to travel, emotionally speaking. I think he's up for it, but it's not going to be easy. He appreciates your support, though. And so does Ginny. Draco said he was happy you were slamming your fingers in a drawer, but I hit him over the back of the head. Thank you for reading/reviewing!
Wolfen-alysha-draco-dragon- Thank you, and hear hear!
Silent-sounds- How about longer waits for shorter chapters? No? How 'bout this chapter, and I'll update as soon as I can? Yes? I'm glad you like Harry. He's my boy. Thanks for reading/reviewing.
Meggplant- Yay! Thank you! I'm glad you love it! And let me say that I love your suggestion, and you will probably see some of that coming up, just as soon as I convince the 'boys' to play along. Because that is a good idea. So thank you for reading/reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy!