Author's Note: I'm not going to be able to update for a few days, but I should be able to provide another installment sometime this weekend.
QueenWeasel - Thanks for the continued reviews and encouragement. MinorMistake99 - I may or may not bring Firenze and Grawp back into this narrative, as they are not really essential to my storyline. We'll see. This chapter is fairly emotional and a little bit longer - I hope you like it.
CHAPTER TEN - SHARING THE TRUTH
The month of November brought with it freezing winds and sharply dropping temperatures. The castle and grounds were covered in a thick enveloping blanket of snow, and the torches had to be lit early inside the dank dark corridors and classrooms. Argus Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker, his grumpy disposition considerably worse than usual due to his rheumatism, stalked the hallways with his skeletal gray cat, Mrs. Norris, at his side. He was currently busy mopping up puddles of melting snow that had just been tracked in by incoming students. Filch was muttering under his breath furiously and Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked by him cautiously, trying to avoid a confrontation.
Filch had been in an even nastier mood than usual this year. Harry felt that this was most likely due to the fact that Dumbledore had ousted Dolores Umbridge from Hogwarts the previous term. With backing from the ex-Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Umbridge had established herself at Hogwarts as the so-called Hogwarts High Inquisitor. She had then forcefully taken over the headmistress position, much to the chagrin and horror of the vast majority of the student body and teachers. Thankfully, Dumbledore had later come back, successfully reclaiming his rightful place at the school. Filch, however, had been very disappointed by Dumbledore's return. Umbridge had promised Filch free reign over student punishments, so that he could whip students raw for such major offenses as throwing fanged frisbees down the corridors or dropping dungbombs in the hall. Filch had completely relished the idea, but shortly thereafter Umbridge was made to relinquish her post, and Filch was left unable to exact any revenge against the students he so despised.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione managed to sneak past Filch without attracting his attention, but it was only because of a lucky coincidence. Peeves, the school poltergeist, had chosen that precise moment to fling the full mop bucket Filch had just been using over Mrs. Norris. Harry, Ron, and Hermione scampered away quickly as a now soaking wet Mrs. Norris yowled loudly, and Filch screamed at Peeves in fury. As the three of them entered their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom that morning, Moody appeared to be in high spirits.
"Yes. Yes, have a seat, now, have a seat. Hurry up, now," Moody said, apparently anxious to begin the lesson. "Today we will be beginning something new. You've already mastered the basics, so now it's time to learn elementary conjuring spells. Now a general conjuring spell can be used to conjure any number of inanimate objects, but we will be using it specifically for defense purposes in this class. Repeat the incantation after me, 'Conjurus.'"
"Conjurus," everyone chanted back at him.
"Good," Moody said, hobbling around to the front of his desk. "Now when using the conjurus spell, you must of course know what it is you wish to conjure. For example, say I want to conjure up something simple, like a book. I say the incantation, 'Conjurus Book!' and," Moody held out the book that had just appeared in his hand and showed it to the class, "so, here it is. You must picture very clearly in your mind what it is you want to appear. There are two basic rules for this particular spell. The first rule is that the object must be inanimate. You cannot conjure up living things, like a person or an animal, for instance. The second rule is that the object must be of relatively limited size. In other words, don't try to conjure a house. A house would simply be too large for this specific spell to work. A good rule of thumb is that if you can hold it in your hand, you'll be more likely to conjure it successfully."
Moody made the book he had conjured disappear into nothing as he looked at his pupils, sizing them up. This was quite a small class in comparison to the classes Harry had experienced before his O.W.L. year. The only students in this class were himself, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus from Gryffindor, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff. Apparently, the Ravenclaws had gotten stuck with the Slytherins for their N.E.W.T. level Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Moody was casting an appraising glance at Ron.
"Mr. Weasley, if you please." Ron stepped closer to Moody; he swallowed nervously as he took out his wand. "Now I want you to picture very clearly an object, keeping in mind the rules I spoke about earlier." Moody paused as Ron looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Do you have an object in mind?" Moody asked Ron.
"Yes, sir," Ron answered.
"Okay then, give it a go."
"Conjurus Sock!" Ron said, and a dark formless sock, looking much like Hermione's hand-knitted elf socks from last year, appeared in Ron's hand. Ron had looked excited at first when something had really appeared, but upon actually inspecting it, he looked rather disappointed.
"That's not really what I had in mind," Ron said dully, as he turned the shapeless mass of material over in his hand.
"You must speak the incantation with great authority, now, Mr. Weasley. You must feel it. You must have complete confidence and conviction." Moody explained, turning again to face the class. "This advanced level class is focused upon spells and charms that have to have powerful emotion behind them. You must be quite sure of what you want, especially in relation to defense. If someone is attacking you, you must know what you need to conjure in order to protect yourself. It must become second nature. A large part of Defense Against the Dark Arts is intuitive, instinctual. Following your own good instincts can save your life. Some of you know that already," Moody said, as both of his eyes now focused directly upon Harry. Harry looked back at Moody, giving him a grim nod. Harry knew better than any other student in the room how important those instincts could be.
Moody continued, looking back at Ron. "Feel in your gut that that object is something that you absolutely need, Mr. Weasley. Now, try again." Ron closed his eyes, concentrating hard.
"Conjurus Sock!" he said, much more firmly this time. A clearly defined crisp black woolen sock now successfully appeared in his hand. Ron smiled up at everyone excitedly, as Moody clapped him on the back with a gnarled hand.
"Yes. Yes, Mr. Weasley, much better. Now everyone choose an object and conjure it!" Moody instructed in his gravelly voice.
Everyone was able to successfully conjure an item before the end of the class. Hermione like Ron had succeeded in conjuring an object; in her case, a quill, on her second try. Harry, surprising himself, had been successful on his very first attempt, conjuring a long length of strongly knotted rope easily before any of the others had even started. Ron and Hermione didn't seem surprised at all, however. They felt that their best friend was quite exceptional when it came to defense and said so, beaming at him. Harry tried to smile back, but he was plagued by a nagging feeling of doubt. He knew that no matter what may come easily to him now in a classroom, he was still vastly under-experienced when it came to actually going face to face to Voldemort again. Ron and Hermione frowned anxiously at his reaction, but said nothing.
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That evening after dinner Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat by the fire in the common room, once more working hard on their piles of schoolwork. As the hour grew later, one by one the other Gryffindor students went to bed. Eventually, only the four of them remained. Ron was just completing his last long essay for Transfiguration. He sat exhaustedly back in his chair, tiredly rubbing his eyes. Hermione had fallen asleep in the chair next to his, her bushy brown hair flowing softly down the armrest. Crookshanks had curled up tightly in her lap, his whiskers twitching slightly as he dreamt. As Ron put away his quill, parchment, and ink, he noticed that Hermione was gently dozing. He looked at her sleeping face with a rather sappy-looking expression before he realized that Harry and Ginny were watching him.
"Oy, Hermione," Ron said loudly, nudging her abruptly awake.
"Oh," Hermione said drowsily, slightly annoyed, "I didn't mean to fall asleep." She yawned and got up, knocking a disgruntled Crookshanks to the floor by accident. Hermione gave Ron an irritated look, and thankfully he had the good grace to look apologetically back at her. Hermione gave him a forgiving smile as he squeezed her hand briefly before turning to leave. As Ron and Hermione went to bed, Harry and Ginny continued to try to finish their homework. Harry was trying to study his Charms notes, but his eyes were refusing to focus anymore. Ginny was attempting to memorize a star chart for Astronomy, but she wasn't getting any further than Harry was.
"I give up," Ginny said, finally closing her schoolbooks wearily. "How did you get through all this work last year, Harry? I feel like I can barely keep on top of it all."
"Hermione's note-taking ability, mostly," Harry answered, with a tired grin. "Well, I guess we'd better get to bed, too. It's nearly one o'clock." Harry said, looking at his watch. He was surprised at how late it had gotten.
Ginny started to get up, but before she headed for her dormitory, she looked at Harry and said, "I really had a great time on Halloween, Harry. Thank you for taking me."
"Er ... Thank you ... I mean, thank you for going with me," Harry said awkwardly, the blood rushing to his face. "Oh, brilliant," Harry chastised himself silently, "that sounded really smooth, you idiot!"
Ginny had turned away again and was now halfway up the stairs. Harry bent to load his own supplies into his bag when suddenly Ginny came running back down the stairs towards him. Harry didn't realize what she was doing until she had already done it. Ginny ran into Harry's arms, nearly knocking him over. As she did, she reached up and kissed him quickly on the cheek, a slightly mischievous smile on her face.
Harry was quite surprised, but he smiled, too, still holding her loosely in his arms. They looked into each other's eyes, their grins gently fading. Harry had never held a girl in his arms face to face like this for this long before, and before he had any time to really think about what he was doing, Harry was kissing Ginny on the lips warmly. Luckily, unlike the teary-eyed Cho Chang, Ginny responded in kind, kissing him back just as intensely. Still holding one another they smiled gently, looking into each other's eyes in the soft flickering light of the dying hearth fire. Harry had never felt such an immediate unspoken connection to another human being as he had at that moment with Ginny. He felt a powerful surge of emotion as he continued to hold her in his arms; it was a safe feeling, and he didn't want to let her go. Slowly, though, after a few endlessly breathless moments, Harry and Ginny broke apart again. He watched her as she began walking back up the stairs. Ginny turned back, giving Harry a smile that was somehow both shy and playful at the same time, as she continued to slowly ascend to her dormitory.
Later, Harry lay awake in his four poster, blissfully reliving what had just happened. He had never felt this way about anyone before. The powerful emotion that Harry was now feeling towards Ginny was amazingly strong. Her glowing face was permanently imprinted on his mind, and he felt the happiest he had ever felt in his whole life. For the first time in months, Harry's heart was not aching at the loss of Sirius; it was currently filled with a much more happy and joyful emotion. As Harry drifted off to sleep, he felt so wonderful that he didn't even think to build the Occlumency barrier in his mind as he had carefully been doing every night....
Harry entered a somewhat familiar large and very dark room. The room was extremely cold and drafty, with the only light coming from the fire blazing in the fireplace. The room had a chair upholstered in black and red velvet, but it was extremely worn and threadbare; it appeared quite old as he glanced at it. Harry thought he heard the soft creak of a door opening behind him and he shivered slightly as he turned around. The sight that met his eyes was almost too horrible for Harry to fully accept.
Voldemort was walking quickly into the room, his abnormally long white fingers wrapped around his wand as he pushed a completely white-faced Ginny in front of him. Before Harry could do or say anything, Voldemort pushed Ginny roughly away from him down onto the floor and pointed his wand directly at Harry's heart.
"CRUCIO!" Voldemort said, his voice an icy cold hiss as Harry felt the spell hit him. Though he tried, Harry was unable to stop himself from screaming and writhing, clutching his scar in agony upon the floor. Voldemort then released a purely evil high-pitched laugh as he pointed his wand at a now sobbing Ginny crouching terrified against the wall.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" he cackled cruelly, as the green light hit Ginny squarely in the face. Harry, still half blind from the pain, looked over into Ginny's now cold lifeless face and felt all the good feelings and happy memories of his life evaporate as completely as if they had never existed at all......Suddenly, though, a cold realization hit Harry's conscious mind, he realized that he was dreaming - that Voldemort was once again trying break into his mind, that Voldemort was attempting to control him. "This isn't real," Harry told himself, as he abruptly threw the powerful barriers up in his mind, blocking the horrific scene and stopping it from infiltrating further into his consciousness.
Harry woke with a start. He had broken out into a cold sweat and was trembling despite the warmth of the hearth fire. Harry felt a deep penetrating cold that seemed to go to the pit of his very being as he sat up in bed, gasping for breath. He felt so stupid, how could he have forgotten to build the barrier? How could he have let Voldemort back into his mind again? How could he have made such an idiotic mistake? As Harry continued to berate himself mentally, Ron stirred in the next bed.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Ron said, noticing that Harry was awake.
"Sure," Harry lied, "I'm fine. Just woke up, that's all." Ron was staring at him curiously, but apparently decided to take him at his word.
"All right, then.... 'night," Ron said, as he turned back over and was soon snoring lightly again.
As Ron went back to sleep, Harry turned carefully on his side facing away from Ron's four poster. Voldemort was attacking his mind again, but that wasn't the worst of it. Because of this foolish lapse, Harry realized, Voldemort was continuing to pump his mind for information; information that he would attempt to use against him. Voldemort already knew about Ron and Hermione being his best friends, and now he knew how Harry felt about Ginny, too.
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Saturday morning as Harry woke up, sleet was pounding ferociously against the castle windows. Harry was restless and distracted as the images from last night's dream and its repercussions kept stubbornly resurfacing in his mind. Harry was unable to keep his dark brooding thoughts completely hidden, and as he joined Ginny at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione a short while later, Ginny asked him what was wrong.
"Wrong?" Harry asked, trying harder to conceal how he really felt, "Nothing's wrong."
Ron and Hermione had chosen seats across from Harry and Ginny. Hermione, too, had noticed Harry's abrupt change in mood. She turned inquisitively to look at Ron, but he just shrugged. Ron was not one to push unless there was no other way around it. Ginny, however, was another matter.
"Harry, we all know you better than that," Ginny said, with her usual directness. "You're upset about something, I can tell. What is it? Maybe we can help."
Harry sat there silently for a moment, watching numbly as the other students ate their breakfast and chatted unconcernedly with their friends. He wished wistfully that he could feel as carefree as they. Ginny was still staring at him stubbornly, not to be easily thwarted. Ron and Hermione were watching him, too.
"It's nothing," Harry lied again, shutting them out.
Over the next three weeks, Harry tried to behave normally, but he wasn't quite successful. Ever since the dream, Harry had decided that it wasn't safe for him to drop the barrier in his mind again. Unfortunately, this was making him appear detached and distant, and Harry was unable to ignore the suspiciously worried glances coming from Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny in particular seemed especially watchful; her gaze deeply searching, almost as if trying to read his thoughts. Each time he noticed these anxious looks coming from his friends, Harry tried to block them out and endeavored to look very busy, either with schoolwork or some other readily available excuse.
Harry was only really able to concentrate completely on one thing at the moment, and that was defense. When Professor Moody announced that they would next be conjuring items specifically concerned with defending oneself, Harry carefully focused solely on the task at hand. He was in fact focused so intently that when Moody used the stunning charm on him as an example to the class, Harry quickly ducked and conjured a gleaming red metal shield with such incredible speed that Moody hadn't even had the chance to finish saying the incantation. The red beam of the stunning spell then hit the shield and fizzled into nothing.
Everyone in the class gave an audible gasp. Even though they had all been in the D.A. meetings with Harry last year, none of them had ever seen Harry do something like that before. When Moody had turned both his real and his magical eye upon Harry, the professor looked completely surprised and also rather pensive. Harry peered at the shocked faces ranged around him. As he registered the concern evident on Moody's face, Harry looked down at what he had actually conjured. He hadn't really thought about it; it had been instinctual, almost a knee-jerk reaction. Harry then realized that he had just conjured the same kind of shield that Voldemort had when he had dueled with Dumbledore in the Ministry of Magic last June. Harry was at first shocked by what he had done, but then his expression became bleak as a grim realization hit him. "If I'm doing the same kind of magic that Voldemort does, then what does that make me?" Harry wondered, fretfully.
Feeling somewhat nettled and tightly-strung, Harry didn't even look at Ron and Hermione as they followed him out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom that day. If he had, Harry wouldn't have been able to miss the stricken looks of fear and worry on their faces. It was now mid-December and as Harry entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, most students were making plans for the upcoming Christmas holidays. Harry glanced at Ginny. She appeared to be going out of her way to be near Harry whenever possible, almost protectively hovering over him.
Harry realized that his feelings for Ginny had now grown beyond any simple childhood friendship or innocent flirtation; their feelings were much more powerful and permanent than that. But Harry felt that caring for Ginny in the way that he did meant that he might be putting her in danger, and Harry promised himself that he could never let that happen; he must protect her at all costs. Even though Ginny was again sitting very close to him now, Harry was distant, distracted, and remote. His shadowed green eyes appeared almost haunted as he pondered these things over and over again within his own mind. Suddenly their was a small fair hand right in front of Harry's face, waving as if to get his attention.
Harry blinked and looked at Ginny as she said, "Harry....Earth to Harry... Can you hear me?"
"Sorry," he muttered numbly, "were you saying something?"
Ginny let out a sigh of frustration, "Only for the last five minutes, Harry. You've been so distant over the past few weeks, it's like you're not even here with us."
"Sorry," Harry said again, sincerely this time.
"I don't want an apology, Harry, I want to know what's going on. We all do." Ginny said, glancing at Ron and Hermione across the table. They were all three looking at him now, their expressions taut and tense. As Harry glanced at each of them in turn, he realized that he wasn't really being fair to any of them. He looked at Ginny last and as he gazed into her concerned brown eyes, Harry realized that he was going to have to be honest with her, with all of them. He was going to have to tell them what was going on. "Okay," Harry whispered, finally giving in, "But not here."
Harry took Ginny's hand and quickly led her out of the dining hall, Ron and Hermione right on their heels. Harry took them all to the same exact passageway he had hidden in when Voldemort had first attacked his mind at the beginning of term, knowing that that part of the castle would be mostly abandoned at that time of the day. As the four of them sat on the cold stone floor, Harry tried to figure out how to express what was happening and what he had now decided to do about it without really frightening or upsetting them. He wasn't even completely sure that he could. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were the most important people in his life, and he knew that this was going to be difficult. As Harry continued to sit there trying to figure out what to say, Ginny took his hand in hers again and looked up into his shadowed face.
"We're worried about you, Harry, please tell us what's wrong." Ginny said, imploringly. Harry took a deep breath.
"I've told Ron and Hermione about some of this already, Ginny, but I think you have the right to know now as well." Harry proceeded to tell her about the prophecy.
"You and you-know-who are going to have to try to ... to destroy one another?" Ginny gasped, her expression distressed and disbelieving. She looked over at Ron and Hermione who were now looking at Harry, their pale faces full of anxiety. After a moment, though, Ginny seemed to gather herself together again. She looked calmly back into Harry's eyes. "There's more, isn't there, Harry," she asked, just above a whisper.
Harry nodded silently. At Harry's nod, Ron and Hermione subtly leaned forward, even more attentive than they had already been. Harry hadn't originally planned to tell anyone, not even them, what he was about to say, but he now felt that he owed his friends the truth. They needed to know what they were up against. They needed to be able to make their own decisions.
"By being close to me, you may all be putting yourselves in danger," Harry said, carefully keeping his voice steady. He pulled away from Ginny and began to pace in the small confines of the hidden passage. "I know that you don't know this because I haven't told any of you, but Voldemort did possess me last June." Hermione gasped suddenly, putting her hands over her mouth, and Ron and Ginny had identical looks of utter shock and apprehension on their faces. Harry turned away from them and stared at the cold gray stone wall.
"It was... it was horrible, I was sure I was dead. The problem is that ever since that night, Voldemort has been attempting to break into my mind; he's even succeeded a few times." Harry paused, he still couldn't look at them. "I've gotten a bit better at keeping him out, but you should know that Voldemort has still had access to my mind. He knows who is close to me; he knows who I care about the most. That means that it may not be safe for you to be around me anymore. It means that you'd actually all be a lot safer if you, well, if you stayed away from me entirely." Harry kept facing the wall. It was killing him to tell them these things, but he had to. He had no choice.
"All that really means, Harry, is that you need us even more than ever," said a soft voice, it was Ginny's.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Harry roared, rounding on her, almost losing control. Harry clenched his hands tightly, trying to settle down; the last thing he wanted to do was to yell at Ginny. "Listen to me, I know what Voldemort's going to do, and I don't want any of you to be involved. He's coming after me to kill me, and the only way I might have a chance is if I fight the same way that he does." Harry peered at Ron and Hermione. "Remember that shield I conjured in class the other day? Voldemort conjured one just like it when he dueled with Dumbledore in June. I wasn't even thinking about what I was conjuring, it just seemed to happen automatically. It's like I'm becoming like him. It's like I'm becoming the same kind of monster that he is," Harry said plaintively before looking back at Ginny again. "That's why you may not be safe around me anymore. That's why I have to do this alone."
"Harry, no...." cried Ginny, raising her hands to her mouth in horror, too. Harry was taking another deep breath.
"If anything ever happened to any of you, it'd be all my fault! And I just couldn't take that....." Harry's voice was full of anguish and pain as he turned back to the wall, breathing hard. The strong barrier that he had kept up since Voldemort had sent that last dream three weeks before was slipping down, crumbling away against his will.
Ron and Hermione had their backs against the opposite wall. Ron's face looked completely lost and fearful as he sat there helpless; he didn't know what to say or do. Hermione was looking down leaning against Ron for support, silent tears running down her frightened face unchecked, as she shook her head, sadly. Ginny on the other hand was slowly getting to her feet. She walked over to Harry and put a small hand on his shaking shoulder.
"Harry...." Ginny whispered, turning him around once more. "Harry, listen to me. I know you've been going through hell lately, we all do, but what makes you think that we would be in danger just because we're close to you? Why would V-Voldemort come specifically after us?" Harry jerked his head up quickly to look at her; she had just said Voldemort's name.
"I've seen it in his mind! I saw Voldemort kill all of you. It was in images and nightmares that Voldemort's been forcing into my mind. It was just like that vision of Sirius I had last year. He'll come after you to get to me.... I know he will. I can see it in his mind," Harry said desperately, his voice catching.
"But Harry," Ginny argued, "don't you see, if you can see into his mind, that means that you'll be able to sense him. Maybe you'll have some kind of warning, maybe this is something that you can use against him..."
"IT MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH .... I STILL MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO STOP HIM," Harry interrupted, raising his voice again. "I have to fight Voldemort, but there's no guarantee that I'll win! In fact, there's a damn good chance that I'll lose, that I'll ultimately fail..... " Harry trailed off, thinking hard. He had to make them see, he had to make them understand that he had to protect them all somehow, even if it meant that he had to separate himself from them forever.
"Harry," said a voice of forced calm, it was Ron. "There's no bloody way that we're letting you go through all of this alone. You've got to defeat Vol...." Ron swallowed, "You've got to defeat V-Voldemort and we're going to help you to do it." Though Ron was pale, he still looked solidly resolute, determined. He had said the name for the first time, too, just as Ginny had.
"Ron's right, Harry," Hermione spoke up for the first time since they had left the Great Hall. She wiped the tears from her face as she stood fiercely crossing her arms over her chest. "You're not going to do this by yourself. We've been with you in this since the beginning, and you need us now more than ever. It's time that you realize that you've got to win this battle, Harry. Voldemort will continue to torture and kill people if you don't. We're going to help you, Harry. We couldn't bear losing you any more than you could bear losing us. We'll just be there to make sure that somehow you can win, whatever it takes."
Hermione paused, and everyone became completely still and silent. Suddenly, apparently realizing something, she looked sharply back at Harry and asked him, "Harry, in the prophecy, what is the power you have that Voldemort doesn't?"
Harry blinked, trying to think. "I'm not sure. Dumbledore just said that Voldemort didn't have any of it at all.... And that I, well, that that was the power that led me to try to save Sirius that night.... " Harry stopped, wondering. He realized that he really had no idea what Dumbledore had meant by that.
"I know what it is," Ginny said very quietly, looking up at Harry. He, Ron, and Hermione all stared at her. As Harry looked into her eyes he was amazed that she could look both very strong and terribly vulnerable at the exact same time. "It's love, Harry." Ginny said, simply. "'Love' is the power that you've got and Voldemort doesn't. You care about everyone around you, Harry. You care so much that you're willing to risk your life for them and often have. That's why you're not a monster like he is and never could be. That's why you always feel so compelled to save people in trouble. Despite everything that's happened to you, Harry, you're a very good and loving person. That's your power."
"But.... but that's not going to help. That's why Siri... Sirius died in the first place....." Harry stammered, his voice full of guilt as a painfully hard lump rose suddenly in his throat.
"But that wasn't your fault, Harry... Besides... that's also why you once saved me..." Ginny whispered, looking piercingly into his face.
Harry looked at Ginny and to his horror he realized that there were tears in his eyes, but he couldn't help it. A heavy horrible weight was pressing down on him, the all-consuming responsibility of it all was just too great. He felt woefully unprepared for what he had to do, for what was expected of him. He knew he wasn't ready to deal once again with this horror, this creature of pure evil.
"Harry," Ginny said, imploringly, her voice now full of emotion as well, "Somehow, love is the power that will ultimately defeat Voldemort. He never experienced it, so he can't understand it. Voldemort doesn't know what love is. He doesn't know how it feels to really love someone, to be willing to do absolutely anything to help them, to save them. You're everything he's not, Harry. That's why you will win."
Harry stared at Ginny. He wasn't sure of what to think or believe, but he knew one thing for certain. Harry knew that no matter what he said, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were going to insist on staying with him; that they would insist on facing all of this at his side. He had told them everything, the whole truth, and as horrible as it was they still wanted to be there with him. Whatever happened, whether he lived through this or not, he knew now that at least he wasn't going to be alone. And if the time came when he did have to face Voldemort alone, he would make sure that the three of them were completely out of danger first; he would have to find a way. In the meantime, he would try to prepare himself as best he could.
A moment later, the four of them carefully slipped out from behind the tapestry, once again standing in the vacant corridor. Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione. "We'll catch up, okay," Ginny said, pointedly. They nodded. Ron's face was set as he wrapped a protective arm around Hermione's shoulders; they gave Harry one last look as they slowly wandered back up the hallway.
"Harry," Ginny said, looking deeply into his eyes, "I think I'm beginning to understand just how heavy your burdens are, and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about your parents, about Sirius, about what Voldemort is doing to you now. I don't know where you've found the strength to keep going. It just shows me how strong a person you really are."
As Harry slowly lifted his eyes to Ginny's face, he was unsure of how to respond. Coming from someone else what she was saying might have sounded like pity, which he couldn't stand, but it didn't sound like that coming from her now. Harry felt drained and exhausted - he was still not completely sure of what Ginny seemed to be trying to tell him.
"I don't feel very strong," he admitted, slowly looking away from her.
Suddenly Ginny wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her in a warm embrace. Harry felt a strong sense of security coming from her, and as they held each other he realized that something very powerful was happening between them. Ginny somehow understood him; she understood him in a way that no one else ever had. And despite all the strain that he was under at the moment, Harry now knew what it was that he was feeling towards Ginny. He pulled back just enough so that he could look into Ginny's face again. She put a small hand up to his face and gently touched his cheek.
"I want to help you, Harry. I have to," Ginny whispered.
"Have to help me?" Harry asked, feeling confused, "Why?" Ginny eyes were shining brightly with unshed tears as she continued to look up at him.
"Can't you see? I've fallen in love with you, Harry Potter."
It was as if time itself had ground to a complete halt. Harry dared not believe what she had just said. He looked into her face and could see the powerful truth of it in her eyes. Harry had been completely honest and open with her just now; Ginny had seen all of his flaws and weaknesses and yet she loved him anyway. Even after pushing her away again and again, Ginny had still fallen in love with him, just as he had with her. Harry's heart was filling with intense emotion as he pulled her closer to him. He held her tightly for a moment then gave her a slow gentle kiss.
"I love you, too," Harry said, softly.
Harry knew that he would always remember that amazing moment. Something profoundly strong had awoken in him for the very first time. Some part of Harry realized that this would change his life forever. That night Harry knew he had experienced the most magical, powerful emotion that there was, he had experienced love. And future events, no matter how horrible they might be, could never ever take any of that away.