Chapter Five: Unfortunate Misunderstandings
"Damn, damn, damn!" Ginny muttered as she moved back through the kitchen and into the War Room through the dining room.
Harry and Hermione? Damn!
"Gin?" Ron came up behind her.
"What?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Then why do you look like you're about to explode?"
"I don't."
Ron's raised eyebrows told her she was wrong.
"I just..." she sighed. "I just walked in on... something."
"What?" Ron said.
"Look," Ginny turned to her most annoying brother, lowering her voice and glancing around to make sure they were still alone. "I just walked in on Harry and Hermione in the hall, okay? I was kind of surprised and..."
"What?" Ron spat, his face instantly turning red. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ron, relax!" Ginny hissed. "Look, if Hermione can make Harry happy, even a little bit, don't you think that he deserves a shot?"
"Harry and Hermione? No... uh-uh," Ron was shaking his head in denial, and quite obviously very, very upset.
"Ron?" Ginny looked at him, comprehension dawning. "You're jealous."
"Jealous? Why would I be..."
"Because you want Hermione!" Ginny said quietly.
"I do not!" Ron looked horrified. "That's just... that's just wrong!"
"Oh?" Ginny leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms in front of her and looking doubtfully at her sibling. "Then it wouldn't bother you if I told you they were kissing, would it?"
Ron actually looked like he was going to explode. Ginny pulled back from the wall, concerned for a moment that he really was going to lose it.
"I... I..."
"You like her," Ginny said softly. "Just admit it."
"Of course I..." Ron looked at her for a moment, every piece of exposed skin turning an even more violent shade of red. "Yes, okay? I like her."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing," Ron said in a, suddenly, very small voice.
"Nothing?" Ginny looked at him.
"Nothing," Ron shook his head, swallowing and straightening his shoulders. At that moment, Ginny got her first glimpse of the man he would become. "Like you said... Harry deserves... some happiness. Right?"
The eyes he turned in her direction were... Ginny couldn't describe it. Ron looked... crushed.
That night's meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was surprising, to say the least. At least, for those who were unaware of Harry's true role.
When the meeting was called to Order by a very tired looking Dumbledore, there were curious glances thrown at the five young people sitting to the side. As Dumbledore explained what was to happen that night, there were loud and voracious objections. Until Dumbledore indicated that the questions and objections should be directed at the group of young people.
"Mr. Potter, you are simply too young..." Minerva McGonagall began.
"Has Dumbledore revealed the full prophecy to you, Professor?" Harry asked calmly.
"I..." McGonagall looked at him, flummoxed. "I fail to see the significance..."
"Then I'll assume that he hasn't," Harry said softly. "Because if he had, you would be in no doubt of the significance."
"Mr. Potter...!" McGonagall began.
"I'm not in your classroom now, Professor. You're in my home, and everything changed when I found out that the Order had lied to me about that."
There were gasps around the room.
"Albus, did you..."
"I didn't have to, Minerva. It... managed to get out on its own."
"But Kreacher..."
"That plan is no longer viable," Dumbledore said calmly. "Kreacher has been... dealt with."
There was a stunned silence in the room, and Harry coughed. "I'm sorry. I know you all had a plan, and I had no part in it, but unfortunately, I have a larger role to play than you've been given to understand."
"Stealing the limelight again, Potter?" Severus Snape's sneering voice came from the far end of the table.
"I would trade you places in a minute, Professor, given the choice," Harry locked gazes with the Order's resident spy. He knew full well that Harry knew what he'd been through for the Order, what he'd borne at the hands of Voldemort to remain in his inner circle, with access to the information that the Order needed. Harry saw his eyes widen momentarily as he realized the ramifications of what Harry had just said, and read the solemnity of it in his eyes.
After a moment of locked gazes, Snape turned alarmed eyes to Dumbledore. "Headmaster?"
"What Mr. Potter says is true. In my feeble attempt to manipulate a better situation for us, I failed to remember the most important detail: Harry is a person, with thoughts and feelings of his own. I apologise, once again, Harry, for forgetting this very important detail. I'm an old man, and never have been a detail type of person. I've often been accused of being a visionary, someone who sees the big picture, but not the smaller pictures within it. Once again, I am guilty of this. Old habits die hard.
"Everyone in this room has my trust, Harry. Everyone."
Dumbledore was telling Harry, in his way, that it was safe to tell the prophecy to anyone here. Harry was having none of it.
"Unfortunately, sir, they do not all have mine," Harry said softly, his eyes never wavering from the old man's.
Dumbledore nodded, knowing that Harry would tell whom he felt comfortable telling, and no more, and that it was not his place to tell.
"This evening, Harry and the others you see before you will be pledging themselves to our cause and joining the Order of the Phoenix."
Harry ignored the raised voices that followed. They wouldn't change the outcome. Instead, he looked at Ron, who he was surprised to see was watching him, almost sadly, a resigned look on his face.
Laying on his bed later, Harry stared blankly at the ceiling. He really hadn't enjoyed that at all. And now Ron was acting weird. And Hermione was walking around with a smug look, just because she'd guessed...
Well.
And Ginny...
No, Harry thought. I do not want to think about Ginny.
But his mind had other ideas.
No, he really didn't want to think about her. It was far, far too disturbing thinking about her.
The knock on his door was quick and decisive.
"Yes?"
"Harry?" Ron stuck his head around the door. "You awake?"
"Yes, come on in," Harry sat up. "What's up?"
"I just wanted..." Ron looked uncomfortable. "I thought..."
"Ron? What's going on?"
"Are you... do you have everything you need?" Ron asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... I want you to be happy, Harry," Ron's ears turned pink as he managed to get that out. "I want you to be happy, and I'll do whatever I can to help."
"Thanks, Ron," Harry looked oddly at his friend. Something was very, very wrong, but it was clear that Ron wasn't comfortable talking about it, and Harry was in no mood right now to try and drag anything out of anyone. "Did anyone hear back from Neville or Luna yet?"
"Oh, uh... yeah. Neville sent a note saying he'd be here tomorrow, and Luna's sent a note saying that she was away at her grandmother's for a couple days, but she would be here by the end of the week. They both want to know what is going on."
"We can't tell them by owl, Ron. It's too... the owls could be intercepted."
"Do you really think... Percy?" Ron asked quietly, obviously pained at the thought of one of his family being involved with the Dark.
"I don't suspect Percy of anything other than being an arrogant ass with really misguided priorities," Harry said, yawning. "But others know of his connection to the Order through your family. He'll be watched closely from both sides."
"Yes," Ron looked down at his shoes as he leant against the door frame. "I suppose. I just never thought of that before. I mean, he's just Percy, you know?"
Harry smiled. "I know."
"So... you and... well," Ron's ears pinked again. "You like her, don't you?"
Harry turned startled eyes on his friend. Hermione had said she thought that she was the only one who noticed, but...
Well, it would appear that Ron had noticed how Harry felt about his younger sister, as well. Perhaps all that talk in the summer about Ginny's innocence had been Ron's way of...
Well.
"I.." Harry stammered. This felt very wrong, but he had to be honest. He'd said no more lies, and he meant it. "Yes. Yes, Ron, I do. I like her a lot, and... are you okay with that?"
Ron turned his gaze to the window for a moment. When he turned back, Harry was surprised to see what looked to be tears in his eyes. But Ron's shoulders straightened.
"Yeah, of course I'm okay with it. I..." Ron swallowed. "She's a great girl, Harry. Don't hurt her."
"I wouldn't... I would never do anything to hurt her, Ron. Not intentionally."
Ron nodded, then hastily turned, reaching for the door handle. "I'll see you in the morning, then?"
"Yeah... Ron...?"
But Ron was gone.
Yes, yes, yes... I know. James has already told me that he wants to bash some heads around in this chapter.
CQ
Treck: Thanks for the info on Ginny's birthday. Some have it in August, and some have it as October 31 – I was unsure whether JKR had clarified that or not. Glad to see someone is keeping up with the news better than I! As for the prophecy, consider anything that JKR says as gospel, and then add my little bit on!
Sugarbear68: Thanks! I like exploring the stuff that seems secondary to the storyline in canon. I think that, as Harry becomes an adult, the lies are going to stop being such a nuisance, and really become an issue for him. If only Dumbledore could see what he's doing... well, I hope the scene at the end of OotP holds true, and he DOES give Harry the information he needs from now on. I just wondered "what if he doesn't?" and this story was born.
Shotgunn: Relax. He's just found out that he's been lied to by the ENTIRE Order, he's seventeen, and he's going to react differently than a fourteen year old would. He's not becoming TOO authoritative, he's just... had enough. Things will adjust again when he gets back to Hogwarts. I think that James and I have very different writing styles. I kind of purge out huge chunks in a single sitting, and James is much more methodical than I. It would take some doing, but it's something I'll think about, for sure!
Merlindamage: Control freak? Nope. Not here. Just an angsty seventeen year old who is sick to death of being lied to by pretty much everyone. TRUST ME! Or trust my muse, at any rate, considering that I seldom recognize the tangents she drags me on until we're on them!
Kordolin: H/G is so much fun to write. Harry is scared stupid, and Ginny is... well, she's Ginny! Trust is the theme... and there will be issues, not only for Harry, when Ginny's lies are "outed".
Sabine Strohem-Moss: Here you go – daily updates good enough for you??? I tend to update in the morning on weekdays... sometimes I just HAVE to post something, though... so I probably average about five or six updates a week.
Dkandmax: Where the heck are you? EST? I'm on Mountain time... Alberta. The Weasley family members that have not been focused on so much in canon are some of my favorite. Bill and Charlie are great "big brothers" and I imagine them much like my two eldest brothers. They're adults, but can give a sibling perspective to things. It's kind of neat to write. Thanks for the praise... it's always nice to see readers enjoying a story you've written!
Heather: Harry is still at Grimmauld Place, in what he now knows is his home. Certainly when he gets back to school, things will be less confrontational. Yes, they do rather need to get along for the Order to work as it's set up, don't they?
FiFio: Glad you like it!
Eris, Queen of the Shadows: Well, thank you! Most of the comments about the characters being a bit different are from people who have been reading and reviewing my stuff for a LONG time... familiarity, and all that... so I'm certainly not taking any offence. These folks know the canon characters inside and out, and generally like what I do in the end. And, like you said, we haven't seen the canon characters at this age yet. I remember seventeen, and it wasn't pretty sometimes!
Larna Mandrea: There she is! Well, we have something in common, we're both sick. We had a birthday party for my son on Saturday, and now we're all down with the flu. You know, you have this ability to pick out bits of the storyline that really are quite important, but hide it well. Keep it up, my dear. It's always interesting to see the story through your eyes.
CQ