Author's note: Sorry I was unable to update for a while, here's the next installment.
MinorMistake99 - I'm glad you liked Harry's fessing up scene, and the end as well - it is a romance after all. : ) Christmas is next - I hope you find it enjoyable.
BeOt - I'd like to say that I appreciated your feedback, but you didn't really provide any. It's really unfortunate that your vocabulary is apparently unable to extend itself beyond four-letter words and empty negativity. In the future you may want to keep your criticism constructive so that your advice may be heeded rather than completely ignored.
CHAPTER ELEVEN - A WEASLEY FAMILY CHRISTMAS
The last day before the Christmas holidays brought a sort of frenzied feeling of holiday anxiousness to the school. Everywhere Harry looked, students were happily packing in preparation to go home. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had sent Ron and Ginny both small notes asking them to invite Harry and Hermione to the Burrow over the Christmas break. Harry had been very excited upon hearing this news; he hadn't gotten to go to the Weasley home since the Quidditch World Cup two and a half years before. Harry was watching Professor Flitwick as he levitated many bright shining golden Christmas baubles to the top of one of the twelve Christmas trees that were now surrounding the Great Hall when Ginny huffily plopped down beside him. She had just come in from Herbology and her fair skin was flushed pink from the cold and also from what appeared to be temper.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, as Ginny jerked her dragon-hide gloves off and slammed them down on the table.
"Oh... it's just that idiot, Malfoy." Ginny answered angrily, as she threw her hat on top of her gloves.
"Malfoy!" Harry asked vehemently, yanking his head over to glare at the Slytherin table.
"It's all right, Harry," Ginny said, letting out a long exasperated breath, "I took care of it."
"What do you mean 'took care of it'?" Harry asked, hackles raised. "What happened?"
"Oh, Malfoy decided that he was going to be clever to me about... well about us, actually, but I showed him." Ginny said, proudly.
"What did you do?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Bat-Bogey Hex... again." Ginny answered, smiling rather maliciously. Ron and Hermione had just walked up behind them hand in hand as Harry and Ginny burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked Ron. Harry was still laughing at the hilarious image of Malfoy's face covered in furry flapping wing-like objects and couldn't answer. Ginny had used that same curse to great effect once before when she escaped from Malfoy last year in Umbridge's office. Harry knew that Crabbe and Goyle probably wouldn't know the counter-curse.
Ginny answered instead. "Oh, just a bit of fun with Malfoy. Where have you two been, anyway?" Ron and Hermione were still holding hands as Ron muttered, "Er... prefect duties," and Hermione said, "Er... studying," at the exact same time.
Harry grinned up at them slightly mischievously. Ron and Hermione both blushed furiously and looked away embarrassed. Luckily for them, they were saved from answering any more questions by Hagrid's arrival in the hall. As he came bustling up behind them in his huge moleskin overcoat he asked, "Alrigh', you lot?"
"Hey, Hagrid," Harry greeted him.
Hagrid looked at the four of them. He was carrying a large festooned Christmas wreath over his huge shoulder. Hagrid's eyes crinkled merrily as he took in Ron and Hermione standing there hand in hand, and Harry and Ginny sitting rather closely together side by side at the table.
"What are you doing for Christmas, then, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, glad of the distraction.
"Oh, I'll be stayin' here this time. Got to be nearby the Fores' ya know," he said conspiratorially, as he lumbered away happily, the wreath jingling lightly as he went.
Harry looked at Ginny's lovely profile as she watched Hagrid lumber up to the front of the Great Hall. Harry was feeling exceedingly lucky at the moment. Not only was Ginny kind, sweet, and beautiful, in Harry's estimation; she was also a very intelligent and powerful witch. Ginny's petite frame disguised just how strong and powerful she really was. Malfoy had found out the hard way, twice now, not to underestimate Ginny Weasley. Harry smiled warmly at her and said, "You are truly amazing. D'you know that?" Ginny turned to look at him, surprised. As she smiled at Harry with twinkling eyes, Hermione suddenly cleared her throat.
"That's our cue," Hermione said to Ron as she tried to pull him away. Ron was still grinning at Harry and Ginny's exchange rather dumbly when he finally got the hint.
"Oh yeah, right." Ron said, smiling. "Better get going."
Harry and Ginny were so focused on one another that they didn't even notice them leave. Even though the magnificent hall around them glimmered and glittered with holiday cheer and the enchanted ceiling sent beautiful soft cascades of dry snowflakes down over their heads, Harry found that he had become lost completely in the depths of Ginny's warm brown eyes.
The next day upon reaching King's Cross Station Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were surprised to find not Mr. or Mrs. Weasley waiting for them, but Fred and George instead.
"Hello, hello," said Fred, smiling rather sardonically.
He was leaning against a dark green boxy nondescript sedan that Harry recognized as being of official Ministry issue. Once again, just like in Harry's third year, a man in a Ministry hat and garb was in the driver's seat. As Harry stepped closer to the vehicle, however, the man leaned out the window and smiled at them.
"Wotcher, Harry," said a decidedly feminine voice.
Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, "Tonks!"
"Yeah, it's me," she whispered, continuing to smile up at Harry as Ginny, Ron, and Hermione came closer. Tonks was an Auror with the Ministry as well as being a member of the Order. She was also, amazingly, an animorphmagus, which meant that she could assume any form that she wanted just by thinking about it hard enough. Suddenly, though, she assumed the stiff demeanor of a Ministry official as another group of students passed by.
"Let's get going," George said, helping everyone get their trunks and owl cages into the back of the car. The trip from London to Ottery St. Catchpole was fairly uneventful except for the fact that this particular Ministry car hadn't had any enlargement charms placed on it. This meant that while Fred and George sat up front with Tonks, Crookshanks possessively nestled in the front floorboard between them; Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all rather crushed together in the back seat, their heavy winter cloaks making it a tight fit. As Harry lifted his arm to make more room, a smiling Ginny grabbed it and wrapped it snugly around her. Ron had his arms around a very happy looking Hermione as well, so that even though it was quite a long trek by car, Harry found that he didn't mind it at all.
Upon arriving at the Burrow, Harry's heart soared. It had been a long time since he had laid eyes upon the oddly shaped ramshackle and clearly magical Weasley homestead, and he found that he had greatly missed it. Harry watched as Hedwig and Pigwidgeon winged slowly around the house, they had been following just slightly behind the car. Harry smiled brightly when he saw the garden gnomes sneaking through the snow-covered grass like a strange bushel of potatoes come to life. As they all unfolded themselves out of the car, Harry took a deep breath of the fresh, cold country air. As Fred, George, and Tonks bewitched their belongings to float out of the trunk and into the house, Mrs. Weasley suddenly apparated in front of them with a small "crack."
"Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't make it back before now, or I would have met you at the station," Mrs. Weasley said fussily, coming forward toward them all. As Tonks came back out of the house looking like her bubblegum pink-haired self again, she ran up to Mrs. Weasley. "Oh Molly, you made it back..." Tonks was saying, but then her foot caught on a spot of ice and she almost fell on top of her. Mrs. Weasley caught her almost automatically; it appeared that she had grown quite accustomed to Tonks' clumsiness now.
"Did you have any signs of trouble, dear?" she asked Tonks in a low voice.
"Oh, no. No problems at all. Unless, of course, you count the fact that Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione didn't seem all that anxious to untangle themselves from each other in the back seat once we got here," Tonks answered mischievously, her voice at regular volume.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all standing side by side nearby. At Tonks' comment, though, they all blushed profusely and looked away. Apparently, however, Fred and George had already let the cat out of the bag because Mrs. Weasley didn't appear surprised, instead she seemed perfectly delighted.
"But I think it's wonderful," she said elatedly, smiling broadly at the four of them. "Goodness knows that Harry and Hermione are as good as family anyway and have been for a long time, now." Mrs. Weasley continued, putting an arm around both Harry and Hermione and steering them towards the front door of the house. "Besides, it's such a relief to see you happy again, dear," she whispered specifically to Harry.
Harry was still a bit pink in the face, but he smiled at Mrs. Weasley anyway as she released him and Hermione and entered the house. Although Harry knew that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been busy with the Order, somehow they had still managed with Fred and George's help to find time to decorate the house for Christmas. A gigantic Christmas tree stood gleaming by the hearth, filled with an eclectic assortment of handmade ornaments created, Harry later discovered, by the Weasley children as they were growing up. There were holly garlands lining the large fireplace mantle and the staircase railing and lovely glittering holly wreaths on every door in the house, similar but smaller in size to the one that Hagrid had been carrying back at school. They had also placed scented peppermint stick candles throughout the house that never melted or went out, so that no matter what room you went into, there was always some soft flickering light to see by. Another decoration that Harry had noticed appeared upon first sight to be plush little white snowmen dolls hidden among the ivy in a couple of the wreaths. Upon actually walking by the snowmen, however, one was deluged in a wad of white confetti as the snowmen cried "HAPPY CHRISTMAS!" in a obnoxiously loud voice.
The snowmen were obviously Fred and George's idea, because the first time Mrs. Weasley happened to walk by one of them, Harry thought that she might have just had a heart attack. After recovering slightly from the fright, Mrs. Weasley turned her furious face towards Fred and George, who were doubled up laughing nearby. Upon seeing her outraged face, though, they apparently saw fit to make themselves scarce and disapparated from her sight. They had then stayed gone for the rest of the evening.
On Christmas Eve, the Weasley's along with Harry and Hermione, roasted marshmallows in the huge fireplace as large amounts of snow fell outside, turning the local countryside into a vast sparkling wonderland. Christmas morning brought, along with presents, a few visitors from the Order who had come to celebrate the holiday with them. Tonks, Lupin, and Shacklebolt had all come together, but Shacklebolt, being the new Minister of Magic while also still secretly being a member of the Order of the Phoenix, didn't have as much time as the others and had to leave early. Mrs. Weasley, however, had insisted on loading him down with turkey, dressing, ginger carrots, and a large plum pudding before he could leave. She had also handed him some warm winter gloves she had carefully hand-knitted for him for Christmas. Shacklebolt had smiled appreciatively and wished everyone a Merry Christmas in his deep resonating voice as he left.
Luckily, Lupin and Tonks were able to stay the whole day. Harry had spent the day as near to Ginny as possible. Harry smiled; he thought that she was without a doubt the best gift he had ever received. She had given Harry a very soft, quilted red and gold throw blanket to go over his bed at Hogwarts. She had knitted it herself and while Harry would never say this within earshot of Hermione, it was obvious that Ginny, unlike his best friend, was a true expert at knitting and needlework. Ginny had embroidered several intricate gold lions into the thick soft red lining and the throw looked as though it had taken forever to create. When Harry thanked her and told her how beautiful he thought it was, though, Ginny just shrugged.
"Well, Mum taught me to knit when I was really young, so I've had a bit more practice than.... er, some."
Hermione had just entered the room with Ron, and Ginny trailed off, smiling rather impishly at Harry. Hermione's knitting ability or lack thereof, even with magic, had been a constant source of amusement to him and Ron. Harry, on the other hand, had carefully chosen for Ginny a very fine delicate gold bracelet, small enough for her tiny wrist.
"Harry!" she exclaimed, "It's so gorgeous, thank you. But it looks so expensive," Ginny said as she looked at Harry, a small line of worry gently creasing her forehead. The Weasley's had always been very poor, financially.
"Don't worry about it," Harry said, leaning closer to her and whispering in her ear so that only she could hear him. "You deserve it, besides I wanted it to be special. I wanted to show you how much I love you."
Ginny looked away from him and didn't say anything at first, and Harry feared that he had just said something wrong. Just when he was getting ready to say something else, though, Ginny turned towards him again, her eyes sparkling affectionately in the candlelit room.
"I love it, Harry. And I love you," she whispered, hugging him tightly.
Even though Harry and Ginny had their own secluded corner to themselves for the moment, the Weasley's large living room was full of people. Ron and Hermione were sitting arm in arm by the window watching the snow fall outside. Bill had arrived midday after spending the first part of the day with his girlfriend, Harry's former Triwizard opponent, Fleur Delacour. Charlie was still working with dragons in Romania, but he had sent a basket full of goodies home for Christmas. Harry and everyone else carefully avoided the subject of Percy, the Weasley's third son, who hadn't been on speaking terms with the family for some time now. Harry wondered what Percy was up to now that his boss had essentially been sacked from the Ministry. Fred and George were having fun trying to trick more people into walking by the confetti-throwing snowmen. Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Lupin were discussing Muggles in front of the fireplace.
"Your father's Muggle-born, isn't he, Tonks?" Mr. Weasley asked, the excited expression he always got when discussing Muggles lighting his face. "How on earth do Muggles prepare something as large as a Christmas feast?"
"Oh, well," Tonks answered, "See, my Dad's not much of a cook, but my Muggle grandmother told me once that she would spend hours and hours in front of a hot stove preparing everything. Can you imagine? I don't know, though. I guess I'm a bit like my Dad. I don't fancy cooking much, even doing it our way."
Lupin was standing next to Mr. Weasley and Tonks, but he wasn't really participating in their conversation. Harry had noticed out of the corner of his eye that Lupin had glanced over to where he and Ginny were; they were still sitting snuggled up together in an overstuffed armchair. Lupin was wearing a faint smile on his tired face, but his eyes looked wistful. Just as Harry had noticed this, Mrs. Weasley's loud voice called from the kitchen.
"I could use some help in here, please. Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione could you come in here for a moment, please?"
As the four of them headed towards the kitchen, Lupin discreetly followed them. "Harry... Merry Christmas," Lupin said, rather haltingly. He looked like he had wanted to say more, but had decided not to. As Lupin stepped back towards the wall again, Harry gathered silverware and plates along with Ron and began to set the table as Lupin lingered near the entrance to the dining room. Ginny and Hermione were carefully loading Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking onto her special Christmas serving platters and tureens. Harry knew that that might take a little while due to the sheer amount of food that Mrs. Weasley had prepared, so as soon as Harry had finished setting the table, he walked back over to Lupin.
"Are you okay, sir?" he asked, looking anxiously at his former professor. Lupin's hair had gotten even grayer than it had been six months ago when Harry had last seen him during the summer. The lines that were gouged into his young face seemed deeper and his eyes had dark shadows beneath them. Lupin's face was full of pain and sorrow. Harry easily recognized that particular look, as he had worn it himself not all that long ago.
Lupin seemed distracted, and Harry suggested that they go upstairs for a moment. Once in the upstairs hallway, Harry turned to Lupin again. "What is it, sir?" he asked, sensing that something was wrong.
"Oh, it's nothing really, Harry. It's great to see you again. You look a lot better than when I last saw you." Lupin said quietly, looking around a bit erratically.
"I am better, now," Harry said. It was the truth. Harry felt that he may never completely get over losing his godfather and the weight of responsibility that he was under wasn't likely to go anywhere soon, but with Ginny's love and support Harry had found a way to deal with it, at least for now.
"I'm truly glad, Harry. I was really worried about you when I saw you this summer. I see you and Ginny are... together, now," Lupin said, sounding a bit strained.
"Yeah," Harry said, with just the slightest bit of color on his cheeks. "She's the reason I'm doing as well as I am, if you want to know the truth."
"I saw you and her just now, sitting together, and I was reminded so strongly of a long time ago. For a moment I thought I was looking at your parents again." Lupin whispered.
Harry was surprised. He had in his possession many pictures of his parents, but it had never occurred to him that Ginny might actually look a bit like his own mother. Harry paused, considering that piece of information. Now that he thought about how much he looked like his father, Harry could understand why Lupin had been struck by the odd similarity.
"I never really thought about it, sir," Harry said, honestly. "Though from what I've heard about my Mum, she and Ginny would probably have a lot in common."
"I must tell you something, Harry," Lupin began, but then paused as if considering what he was about to say. Eventually he said, "You know I knew your parents quite well."
"Yes, sir," Harry said, "I know my Dad and Sirius were your best friends." Harry felt a small pang at his own mention of Sirius, but it passed fairly quickly.
"What you don't know, Harry, is that at one time I was in love with your mother." Lupin said, looking at Harry directly.
Harry stared at Lupin, completely astounded. He didn't know what to say to that; he had a sudden horrible image of his mother being in this terrible love triangle with two men and began to say something, but Lupin beat him to it.
"She never knew, Harry. Neither did James."
Harry continued to stare at Lupin. Harry had always revered him as a wonderful teacher and mentor. If it hadn't been for Lupin, Harry never would have learned how to do the Patronus Charm, which had saved his life twice, now. Harry had never seen this side of his parent's old friend, and he really wasn't sure of what to make of it. As Harry continued to stare open-mouthed at his old professor, Lupin finally spoke again.
"Siri.... Sirius was the only one who knew, Harry, until now, anyway. He swore he would never tell either of them and as far as I know, he never did. That may have been the reason why he thought I was the one, instead of Peter, that was leaking vital information about your parents to Voldemort. I really don't know. I just needed for you to know, that's all. I guess I thought that you deserved to know." Harry was still unsure of why Lupin was telling him all of this.
"James and Lily Potter, along with Sirius, of course, were the best and closest friends I had ever had, Harry. My life before meeting them was... difficult, to say the least. When I became friends when James and Sirius, I had hope in my life for the very first time. I was still a werewolf, but at least that wasn't all I was anymore." A question suddenly popped into Harry's mind.
"Sir, no one's ever told me, but did my mother know that my father was an animagus?" Harry asked.
"She did not know until after they had gotten engaged, but yes, Harry, James finally told her." Lupin answered.
"Did she know about you and Sirius as well?"
"James sat down with her one night with all of us and told Lily everything. He had asked us to come and be there because he said he didn't want there to be any secrets between them once they were married."
"How did she take it?" Harry asked, wondering.
"Oh, she was surprised, of course." Lupin paused, then said, "Unfortunately, Harry, what you never got to find out about your mother, was how kind and accepting she was of things. Even after hearing all of these strange things about people that she thought she knew and in your father's case, loved, she still accepted everything without too much difficulty. James was understandably relieved, as you can imagine."
Harry considered this. His father hadn't been completely honest with his mother until after they were engaged. Harry found himself wondering how Ginny would take vital information like that if he were to keep it secret until the last moment.
"Why did he wait, then?" Harry asked. "If he was already in love with my Mum, then why did he not tell her everything from the start?"
"James was afraid of losing her, Harry." Lupin explained. "As you may remember from what you saw in Dumbledore's pensieve that time, it took a couple of years for Lily to even go out with James. Once they finally did, it didn't take very long for the sparks to fly, but James hadn't told her about everything for a reason. We had all made a secret pact when all of this started to never tell another living soul. By the time James finally asked all of us about it, they were newly engaged. He just wanted to come clean, you might say."
"How did you fall in love with her, then?" Harry asked, slightly afraid of the answer.
"Oh, I promise you, Harry, she never knew. I certainly never told her. It happened slowly while she and your father were first dating. I was having a hard time in our seventh year and she happened to come across me one time when I, well... when I was at my worst. She was very kind and comforted me until I could make sense of things again." Lupin said, "I don't know if that makes any sense, but...."
"Sure it does," Harry interrupted suddenly, "I mean... " Harry hesitated, wondering how much he should really say about how he had felt over the past several months. Harry looked at Lupin's sad face and realized that he would understand. "I know what you're talking about when you say you were at your worst. You see I've, well... I've been there myself, actually."
Lupin looked at his former pupil appraisingly for a moment and then whispered gently, "Yes, I bet you have, Harry." After a moment, Lupin went on to say, "Look, Harry. I don't really know why I felt so compelled to tell you all of this, except to say that I guess I needed to tell you. I know there's a lot of holes in the information that you have about your parents and I just want to fill one, I suppose."
"Both of your parents were amazing people, Harry. Especially when one of them got past being fifteen," Lupin said, smiling, "and I guess I just wanted you to know that. The James that you saw in the pensive was not the man that he turned out to be. Lily had quite a bit to do with that, I think. Women often have a way of mellowing the men they love."
"Can you tell me more about my Dad, Professor. I've heard a bit, but you were actually there. I mean, I know you were all in the first Order and everything, but I never really got a chance to ask Sirius like I wanted to." Harry said, his curiosity overwhelming him, and then wished he hadn't. Lupin was looking especially melancholy now.
After a moment's pause, Lupin sighed, "Your dad was a very powerful wizard. He had started working as an Auror at the Ministry right after he and Lily had discovered that you were coming. I still remember the look on his face when he told us about you," Lupin said, reminiscently. "Your parents couldn't wait for you to be born, Harry. I know that they never dreamed that they wouldn't be able to be here to raise you. Your father loved you and your mother with his whole being, Harry. That's why he was willing to do what he did that night when Voldemort came after you at Godric's Hollow. He was trying to protect those he loved the most... " Lupin trailed off rather painfully. Eventually he smiled wistfully and spoke again, "I remember seeing them just a couple months after you were born. I can still see the way both of their faces lit up while they were holding you, showing you off, really. I wish they could see you now, Harry. Trust me when I say that I know they would've been extremely proud of their son."
Harry stood there quietly for a moment. Lupin had just given him more information about his parents in these few moments than he had ever been given before. Harry felt he needed time to mull it all over. When Harry didn't say anything for a while, Lupin spoke up again.
"I know that losing Sirius has been especially hard on you, Harry. I'm just glad that you're doing... well, that you seem to have made it okay through the worst of it. I know this has been a difficult time for you, Harry."
"For both of us," Harry said, quietly, looking into Lupin's eyes. Lupin looked at Harry for a moment, apparently surprised by Harry's insight. Lupin smiled then and clapped Harry on the back.
"Definitely," Lupin said shortly, letting out a sigh as he led Harry back down the stairs and into the noisy kitchen again.
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Christmas dinner that night was a very noisy happy affair. Everyone ate until they were completely stuffed full and then headed upstairs to bed, Mrs. Weasley insisting that for once, the dishes could wait until morning. Harry lay awake in Ron's bright orange Chudley Cannon's decorated bedroom, listening to Ron's snores and thinking about Remus Lupin. Lupin had led a very solitary and lonely life, and Harry felt bad for him. Why Lupin had never sought out anyone to be happy with, Harry didn't know, but he figured that being a werewolf would probably scare off most potential partners. Harry began to think about his mother, again, and how wonderful a person she appeared to have been. He wished that he could remember her, that he could have spent a little more time with her before she had been taken away. At least it sounded as though his parents had truly loved one another, Harry thought. And that was important, considering what they had been facing once he had been born.
Harry then wondered about his father. Lupin had said that he had been an Auror, just like Moody, Tonks, Shacklebolt, and the Longbottoms. It seemed that Harry had been following in his father's footsteps without even knowing it. Harry smiled at that. Harry had seen that his father had been rather conceited and even arrogant in his youth, but his father also sounded as though he had had a good influence in Harry's mother. Harry wished that he could talk to them, not just because he had not gotten to know them; but also because he felt that he could really use their guidance about now, especially in regard to the prophecy.
Harry found himself wondering if he and Ginny would be facing a very dark future ahead of them specifically because of that prophecy, but then he decided that at the moment he was feeling entirely too peaceful to dwell upon such a negative train of thought. Harry turned over and drifted off to sleep. About an hour later, Harry woke suddenly, not really remembering why. He thought he had just had a dream of something vaguely frightening, but he couldn't remember what it was. Harry tried to go back to sleep, but he was now feeling too restless and he decided to go downstairs for a glass of water.
As Harry quietly tiptoed down the stairs in his pajamas, he thought he heard a noise in the kitchen. Harry slowly looked around the corner, peering through the darkness. Harry could hear water running in the sink and as he reached the last stair he saw that it was Ginny. Apparently, she had had the same idea that he had. She looked very sweet standing there is her pajamas and pink terrycloth bathrobe.
"Ginny," he whispered, trying not to startle her.
Ginny jumped, but didn't cry out, though she did put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Harry. You just about scared me to death," she whispered, trying to calm down.
"Sorry, I just didn't want you to scream and wake up the others," Harry said.
"Are you okay, Harry? What are you doing up?" Ginny asked, her face slightly anxious.
"I just had the same idea you did, I guess. I wanted a glass of water." Harry shrugged. "What are you doing up, anyway?" Harry asked with a grin, jokingly turning the tables on her as he entered the kitchen. Harry stopped teasing, though, when she continued to seem jumpy and upset. Now that he was nearer to her, he could see how pale she was. "I'm sorry, Ginny. What happened, did you have a nightmare or something?"
Ginny looked at him surprised, the frightened look was slowing ebbing from her face, now. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. I just thought..." Harry thought about what Lupin had told him earlier and decided to be honest with her. "Look, I have them pretty often, okay. You just seemed a little shaky, and I thought that might be what it was."
"Yeah, I did." Ginny finally answered. "Did you?"
"Yeah, but nothing too terrible. I can't remember what it was or anything. I was just feeling restless." Harry looked at her. She still seemed a bit pale. "Are you okay, now?"
"Yeah, I feel fine now. It was just a pretty bad one this time." Ginny said, looking at the floor.
"Do you have them a lot?"
"Sometimes. Look, I really don't want to bother you with this, Harry." Ginny remained secretive.
"Ginny," Harry said, as he came closer to her. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I wish you would. If anyone understands about bad dreams, it's me."
After a small pause, Ginny decided to speak up. "Well," Ginny said, leaning towards him slightly, "You remember the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Kind of hard to forget it," Harry said, a small grimace on his face.
"Well, sometimes I still have these dreams that I'm in there, that Riddle's got control of me again." Ginny paused, "It's stupid, I know...."
"No, it's not." Harry interrupted. "I know how horrible they can be, trust me."
"Oh, Harry, I shouldn't have brought this up. It'll just remind you of... before," Ginny said anxiously, looking ashamed.
"Ginny, listen to me. I've pretty much got a handle on stopping... well, on stopping the ones that Voldemort's trying to force on me anyway. It's just the regular ones, now. I just want you to be able to tell me anything. I want to be there for you, like you've been there for me." Harry said, reaching for her hand.
"What do you mean by 'regular ones,' Harry? Are you still having nightmares even with Occlumency?" Ginny asked. Harry decided that it might calm her down if he tried to make some of his bad dreams sound more innocuous.
"Well, I still have some about what has happened to me in the past, sometimes they're like yours are - about Riddle or the Basilisk. Sometimes they're about dementors or," Harry decided not to go to the graveyard with this, "or sometimes it's about some of the other things that I've seen. Those I've pretty much learned to deal with. I try to remember that they're not real, that they're just a jumble of past memories, really. I try to remember that they can't really hurt me. Just try to remember that they can't hurt you, either. Mind you it's easier said then done, I know, but you can do it."
Ginny was quiet for a moment; she seemed to be considering something important. Harry waited patiently, hoping that she would really open up to him. Eventually, she seemed to make up her mind. She looked up at Harry, trembling slightly in the chill night air.
"Do you remember when that dementor came aboard the Hogwarts Express that time?" Ginny asked. Harry most definitely did. Harry couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed now; he had passed out right in front of her that night. Harry tried not to cringe and hoped that the darkness around them would hide the flush that was now crawling slowly up his face.
"Er, yeah," Harry said, trying to sound normal.
"As soon as the dementor entered our compartment, I started to remember when Riddle possessed me during my first year, Harry. It was so terrible, running around and doing all those horrible things, without having any control at all over what I was doing. He could have made me kill someone, Harry. I certainly made it easier for that basilisk to try to kill people. It was all my fault, Harry, I was just too... too weak." Ginny looked away from Harry, now. There were tears running down her face.
Harry remembered the way he had felt when Cho had come to him with tears in her eyes, and somehow this felt completely different. Cho had seemed to be crying all the time; almost every time that she and Harry had been together, in fact. But Ginny was another story. Harry knew that Ginny was strong, that she didn't often break down like she was now. Harry pulled her to him and let her cry into his shoulder. After a moment, the tears stopped and she seemed to come back to herself again. When she began to apologize, Harry stopped her.
"Don't you dare be sorry, Ginny. You are not weak at all; you're one of the strongest people I know." Harry said, trying to comfort her. "Sometimes, the problem is just, I dunno, bigger than you are. It doesn't mean that you're weak, it just means that you're human. We both are."
"I'm so glad that you're here with me right now, Harry. I think you're the only one in the whole world who really understands me," Ginny whispered, sniffing slightly.
"I feel exactly the same way about you, Ginny," Harry said, brushing her soft red hair out of her eyes and wiping her tears gently from her pale face.
Harry stood there holding Ginny for a long time before going back to bed. As Harry lay back down again, he found that his thoughts were completely focused on Ginny. Harry hoped that no matter what the future held for each of them, they could be together. With Ginny at his side, Harry felt that he could face almost anything, maybe even what scared him the most - his destiny.
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The next day, Harry was awakened by an extremely bright beam of sunlight that was shining through the frozen windowpane of Ron's bedroom, hitting him directly in the face. It was now mid-morning and Ron had already gone downstairs. Harry rushed into a fresh sweatshirt and jeans and then ran back downstairs to check on Ginny; he wanted to make sure she was okay after her nightmare last night. Harry's mind was focused on Ginny entirely, and he wasn't really looking where he was going. Suddenly, Harry collided abruptly into two people who were standing there together, apparently kissing in the middle of the staircase. All three of them yelled "OW!!" - their arms and legs went everywhere as they all slid in a tangled mass down the last few rough wooden steps of the staircase to stop with a resounding thud on the landing below.
"Bloody Hell, Harry! What'd you do that for?" Ron exclaimed angrily, trying to get out from under Harry and Hermione's weight.
"Well, I didn't really expect anyone to be right there," Harry answered with an annoyed scowl as he tried to sit up, rubbing his now bruised left shoulder.
Hermione sat up and groaned slightly, rubbing the back of her head as she gingerly pulled herself off of Harry and Ron's legs. Harry heard several pairs of footsteps approaching and looked up to see Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Fred, and George all coming to the foot of the stairs to look down at the three of them.
Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were looking anxious as Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "What happened? Are you all right?"
"What did you do, fall down the stairs?" Ginny then asked, leaning closer.
Fred and George, however, were taking in Harry, Ron, and Hermione and the jumbled and awkward positions that they were all in on the landing. About a second later they were both rolling on the floor, roaring with laughter. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all three shot them a nasty look as they continued to try to untangle themselves and stand up again. After a moment, though, Ginny begin to giggle and Mrs. Weasley's face began twitching with suppressed mirth. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally succeeded in getting to their feet again, they looked at the other four and then at each other, beginning to grin now, as well. Soon all of them were laughing as loudly as Fred and George were.
Ron and Hermione looked a bit sheepish as Mrs. Weasley asked, "Just what were you two doing standing there on the stairs, anyway?"
As Harry walked over to stand next to Ginny, he looked over at his two best friends again. Harry was still rubbing his sore shoulder. "Er... Sorry, guys, didn't mean to interrupt," he said, grinning widely.
Ron and Hermione were now turning matching colors of scarlet as they looked anywhere but at each other. Fred and George were looking as though they were about to hatch another attempt to humiliate them further when Mrs. Weasley judiciously stepped in.
"That's enough, now. Let's get to breakfast before it gets cold," she said, and then gathered everyone in front of her like a mother hen and pushed them all towards the kitchen.
"Where's Dad?" Ron asked as they reached the kitchen doorway. He was quite anxious to get the spotlight off of himself and Hermione.
"Oh, they called your father in early this morning," Mrs. Weasley said, attempting to sound nonchalant. Her face had suddenly assumed a tightly closed expression. Harry and Ginny glanced at each other and then at Ron and Hermione suspiciously. Ron was still looking embarrassed and was finding himself and Hermione a seat together at the table, but Hermione had apparently noticed Mrs. Weasley's odd expression just as Harry and Ginny had.
"Is everything okay at the Ministry, Mrs. Weasley?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, not quite meeting Hermione's eye. Hermione looked unconvinced, but Mrs. Weasley had already turned to the stove and reached for a large skillet full of scrambled eggs. When Hermione opened her mouth to say something else, Mrs. Weasley suddenly asked, "Who wants toast, now?" Apparently, Hermione decided to drop the subject, but she continued to send anxious glances across the table at Harry and Ginny as they all ate their breakfast. After breakfast, Hermione whispered something to Ron and they both beckoned to Harry and Ginny as they left the room.
"Do you think that something is going on at the Ministry?" Hermione asked, nervously pacing back and forth. "Mrs. Weasley didn't seem too forthcoming."
"I don't know," Ginny answered, "They never seem to want to tell us anything, anymore."
"Like they ever did," Ron said, looking irritated.
"Do you think it's because I'm here?" Harry asked with a frown, feeling a bit paranoid. Harry knew that many people had believed the rubbish that the Daily Prophet had printed about him last year and thought him a bit mad, after all. Even Mrs. Weasley had seemed to specifically avoid his gaze all through breakfast as she spoke in carefully light tones. Hermione was still pacing. She shook her head, however, as she said, "Oh, Harry, it's not just you. They never tell anything to any of us." Just as Hermione had said this, Fred and George came into the room, their expressions strangely secretive.
"Something big is going down this morning," George whispered excitedly, keeping a cautious eye out for his mother.
"What?" Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione asked loudly all at once.
"Shhhh..." Fred shushed them all, "We don't need Mum to hear, now do we?" He said as he moved them all toward the opposite side of the living room.
"We got out the extendables early this morning when we heard Mum and Dad talking downstairs," George explained.
"Yeah," Fred went on, "Apparently there's been some new Death Eater activity in a few of the Muggle communities over the holiday. There are all these strange reports on the Muggle news about darkly robed figures moving through neighborhoods starting fires and scaring everyone. One family reported that some of their relatives went missing in one of the neighborhoods where the Death Eaters were sighted. The Muggle Prime Minister is asking Shacklebolt for assistance from the Ministry."
Harry looked at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione's anxious expressions. Hermione in particular looked especially pale. Her parents, of course, were Muggles themselves, and she had chosen to accept the Weasley's invitation for Christmas rather than spend the holiday with them. Harry's stomach clenched painfully as he remembered the nightmare he'd had just a few months before involving Ron and Hermione. Harry hoped against hope that Voldemort's interest in his best friends wouldn't ever extend to their families, as well. Guiltily, Hermione turned her worried eyes upon Ron and asked to borrow Pigwidgeon so that she could check on them. Ron ran upstairs and snatched the small gray overexcited fluff-ball that was his owl and brought him downstairs to her. Ron then held him as Hermione shakily attached a short note to his small feathered leg. As Pigwidgeon took off haphazardly, Hermione fell into Ron's arms.
"What if something has happened to them and I wasn't even there?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes. Ron tightened his arms around her comfortingly as Ginny placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"I'm sure it wasn't them, Hermione. It probably wasn't anywhere near them," Ginny said, trying to comfort her friend.
"Don't worry, Hermione," Fred said, confidently. "I'm sure Dad and Shacklebolt will get control of it and sort it all out."
"Yeah, Ginny's right. There's no reason to worry, I'm sure they're fine," George added, but he was wearing an uncharacteristically grave expression on his face.
Harry and Ron exchanged a grim look. It had really begun now. The second war that Harry had been expecting all last year was now actually coming to fruition. As Harry glanced at Hermione's terrified face once more, he felt strangely helpless. Everyone remained standing, they all felt too edgy to sit down. They were all waiting now for Pigwidgeon to return with news. Instead, however, a large gray and very befuddled-looking owl flew out of the fireplace. It was Errol, the Weasley's family owl, and he was carrying a copy of the Daily Prophet is his beak.
As Errol landed rather pitifully on the Weasley's living room floor, Harry reached down and unwrapped the parcel quickly, before Mrs. Weasley could walk in and see what was going on. Harry scanned the front page carefully, keeping his face as neutral as possible.
MUGGLES SHOCKED BY SIGHTING OF HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED
Today in London, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers were seen by many wizard and Muggle eyewitnesses as the criminals worked their way through several Muggle communities, causing damage and mayhem as they went. One Muggle family was severely injured in an explosion caused by a Death Eater's spell as they were fleeing their burning home. The family was rushed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries to receive healing and memory-modification. They are all expected to make a full recovery. In a related side note, one Death Eater was allegedly reported to be the notorious escaped prisoner, Bellatrix Lestrange. Lestrange was said to be shrieking insanely as she ran through the streets in another village near Surrey this same morning. "This horrible woman was cackling and screaming madly as she ran through the streets setting fire to the local shops and cottages nearby," reported a local wizard eyewitness. "She seemed almost feverish - she ranted on and on at the top of her voice about 'The Boy Who Lived,'" he went on. "She was yelling something like, 'He will die! I shall kill him for my master! Harry Potter will die!' Obviously, she was barking mad, and by the time the Aurors showed up, she was gone. She must have disapparated." Unfortunately, Lestrange was able to escape the scene and has been apparently hiding out of sight since. If anyone has any information about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Lestrange, or any other Death Eaters, please contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement immediately.
Luckily, Harry had the presence of mind to hide the paper before anyone else could see it, saying as casually as he could, "Oh, don't worry, Hermione, there's nothing in there about your parents. I'm sure they're okay."
Now Harry knew why Mrs. Weasley wouldn't look at him at breakfast, she must have already known about what Bellatrix Lestrange had been up to. This also explained why Mr. Weasley had had to go into work early. Thankfully, before Ginny could ask Harry for the Prophet, Pigwidgeon came hurdling in through the chimney, his tiny gray feathers slightly soot-covered as he landed in Ron's waiting hand. Hermione's nervous fingers rapidly unwrapped the small return note.
"They're fine," Hermione gasped weakly, her voice full of relief as she leaned against Ron once more. "They said they saw something on the news, but that the sightings weren't in our neighborhood or anything."
Ginny went over to hug Hermione once more as Mrs. Weasley came bustling in. Since her arms were full of clean laundry, Mrs. Weasley didn't notice the incredible amount of tension in the room as she advised everyone to go upstairs and get packed for their return journey to school. Harry took advantage of everyone's momentary inattention and hid the paper in-between the cushions of the overstuffed armchair he and Ginny had snuggled up in on Christmas day. Because everyone was still focused on Hermione, the paper was not mentioned again until they were dragging their school trunks and owl cages back downstairs.
"Harry, where's that copy of the Daily Prophet you had earlier?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, I dunno, must be around here somewhere," Harry said, not looking at her. "The important thing is that Hermione's parents are all right."
"Yes," said Ginny, sincerely, "I'm so glad, it must be such a relief to her. I wouldn't even want to think about something like that happening to my family, especially if I wasn't even there to help stop it."
Harry kept his expression carefully guarded as they loaded their trunks into the back of the same Ministry car, Tonks once again on driving duty. As Ginny snuggled up against Harry again in the back seat, he felt slightly guilty about keeping things from her. Harry knew, though, that it would only upset her, and that was the last thing that he wanted. Harry realized that eventually she would discover the contents of the article, but he wanted to prevent that worry for as long as possible. Everyone was already anxious enough about current events, without adding a Death Eater's insane ravings about him to the mix.
In the meantime, Harry couldn't wait to get back to school. He wanted to discuss all of this with Dumbledore; Harry knew beyond a shadow of doubt that the dreaded second war was now upon them. Voldemort and Death Eater sightings were likely to start becoming more commonplace now, andHarry knew it was ultimately up to him to do something about it. As Harry contemplated the darkening sky outside, he knew that it was time to begin preparing himself for that final confrontation. Harry knew he was going back to school now to learn what he knew would be the most important lesson of his life, how to destroy Lord Voldemort.