AN: Did I say Friday? Clearly, I meant Saturday….
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Chapter 16
If Harry was a little restrained in Potions, he figured his friends would put it down to good ol' Snape's always pleasant company. He had to shove his new 'vision' aside and focus, since they were all nearly done with the Wolfsbane Potion. He'd be damned if his inattention to what he was doing would screw Lupin over somehow. He'd muttered something along those lines to Ron as they'd started class, only to loose another ten points for talking. Frankly, he was waiting for Snape to just take off points for breathing.
Next to him, Malfoy was cool and calm and sitting back, watching a probably perfect potion steam in his cauldron. Bloody Malfoy.
Harry double checked the amount of ginger root that was to go in, and then carefully stirred counter-clockwise with the twelve-inch wooden spoon. He peered into the cauldron and watched as the potion hissed lightly. Well, it looked like he hadn't screwed this one up, that was something, he supposed, sitting down in his chair.
He crossed his arms and surveyed the classroom without seeing it. In actuality, he was thinking about what had happened before class. Hogwarts… it was going to be the place. Harry frowned in though. If that was the case, then what had been with the vision about wolves and the Forbidden Forrest?
He rubbed his temples. Crickey, it was enough to send him over the edge. Hogwarts, Forbidden Forrest. Either way, it would be close to home. Probably he should tell Dumbledore.
As if in answer to his thought, there was a knock at the classroom door, and Snape barked from his desk, "Enter!"
A little third year Hufflepuff, he wasn't really sure what her name was, pushed the door open. "Sorry, Professor," she said in a timid little voice, "but Professor Dumbledore would like to see Harry Potter when most convenient."
The keen dark eyes of the Potion Master shot to Harry's. "Oh, really?" he murmured. Then he gave the girl a terse nod. "Finish and bottle it, Potter, then you may go." The girl scampered away, and Harry was left to gaze consideringly back at Snape. No nasty comment? He thought. Nothing snarky and mean to say?
A slight smile curved Snape's mouth, not a very nice one. You're slipping today, suddenly resounded in his head. Harry's eyes narrowed and with a quick mental flip he tossed Snape out. Dammit, he was.
As a result, Harry spent the rest of the time as he waited for the potion to reach just the right consistency rebuilding his walls. Brick by brick by brick, shoring them up, making them deeper and thicker and taller. He tested them a bit by probing Snape's mind just before he went to bottle. He gave a grin toward his tabletop as he felt the older man's return salvo bounce right off. Much better.
He finally packed his things and headed for the front of the classroom, bottle of Wolfsbane in hand. "For the sake of the werewolf it's going to, I dearly hope you've done the potion correctly, Potter," Snape said as he took the potion, nasty little smirk on his face. "You have read the side effects of an improperly brewed potion, have you not?"
Harry didn't give the old bat the satisfaction of watching him flinch. "Yes, sir," he said in a bored tone. "May I go now, Professor?" Snape jerked his head toward the door in response, and so Harry escaped.
He found Dumbledore wandering about in the corridor leading to his office. "Ah, Harry," the Headmaster said with a smile. Blue eyes twinkled through those ever-present spectacles. "I trust you were not too disappointed to be excused from the remainder of your potions class?"
That got Harry to crack a reluctant grin. "No, Professor," he said, rather dryly. He didn't think Snape had been all that sad, either.
Those eyes twinkled even brighter. "Well, then, let us repair to my office, shall we? I believe we have a few things to discuss." Harry looked at the old man, and then resisted the urge to sigh. All this talking. Frankly, he was starting to miss last year when he didn't have to tell anyone anything.
Dumbledore turned to the gargoyle and said, "Dairy milk," and then led the way up the stairs. Harry followed, wondering just what they were going to say.
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Ginny was more than a little distracted during Charms, and had to be nudged several times by Cara when Flitwick was looking their direction. Honestly, how could she be expected to concentrate on the Camouflage Charm at the moment?
Finally, Cara grabbed a blank piece of parchment and a quill and scribbled a note before shoving it in front of Ginny.
What's up with you this morning?
Ginny grimaced and debated not answering, but Cara poked her in the thigh with her quill and glared. Okay, that idea was no good. She bit her lip and picked up her own quill.
Harry talked to us this morning, she finally wrote.
Cara's eyebrows shot up. And?
Ginny shot a glance toward Flitwick to make sure he wasn't looking their way. Can't tell you it all, she scribbled. But we might be restarting the DA.
Cara beamed at that. Yes!
Ginny grinned. Ron even said we should ask Malfoy. Cara's jaw dropped and she bit back the snicker. Yeah, I know.
Is your brother finally growing up?
Ginny rolled her eyes. Nah, she wrote. Then she hesitated. There was another poke to her leg. She sighed and wrote again. Harry kissed me, she finally scrawled.
Now a hand grabbed her leg and Ginny jumped in her seat, glaring and blushing. Cara was grinning wickedly. And?
She blushed again. He asked me to meet him after dinner, she confessed, feeling the excitement and nerves bubble up again.
"All right!" Cara crowed, and then froze, eyes huge and horrified. Every eye in the room had turned to her, and Professor Flitwick was looking bemused and curious.
"Yes, Miss McDouglas?" the tiny professor asked, flitting towards them.
Cara hastily laid her quill over the scribbled notes and swallowed. "Um, yes. Well. I, uh, was…"
"Excited because she thinks she's finally figured out how to do the Camouflage Charm, Professor," Ginny supplied.
"Exactly!" Cara said in relief. Then realized what she'd said. "Oh. Wait. Um…"
"Well, then, Miss McDouglas, let's have you step up to the front of the class and be our first demonstrator," Flitwick said cheerfully. "Come on now, we've plenty of class time to spend on this."
Cara gulped, because they had most definitely NOT been discussing the Camouflage Charm, and got up, giving Ginny a glare as she did. Ginny just sat back and grinned. Hah. Maybe she could concentrate on Charms now.
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Harry strolled into the dining hall for lunch, thoughtful. Dumbledore had started their 'talk' by telling him about what the Order was doing. Various people were trying to find Peter Pettigrew, in the hopes of squeezing some kind of weakness about Voldemort out of him. Dumbledore had mentioned research that was going on about the spell used to resurrect him, that they were trying to find a flaw in the process. Harry had sat and listened, taking it all in with narrowed eyes.
What had finally decided him had been the fact that Dumbledore hadn't pressed him at all. No, he'd discussed and informed Harry of the facts as if he were the crucial member of the war that he truly was. That bit of inclusion, of… respect, he guessed, had tipped the scales for him.
Harry had told Dumbledore of Lucius Malfoy's journal, how it was full of his notes on the resurrection spell. They'd agreed to make a copy and send it off to the people studying it. Harry didn't have names, but that didn't bother him so much. It was more that he just needed to know it was happening.
They'd discussed the spells he'd sent to Dumbledore. Harry mentioned that he'd given Hermione a copy, and somewhat to his surprise, Dumbledore has agreed it had been a good decision. He had no doubt that Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger would insist on their involvement, the headmaster had said, and spell research was certainly an area Miss Granger could be of great help in.
Then Harry'd sat back and considered. He'd been comfortable so far. He'd felt a part of things, felt that Dumbledore was keeping his word and not holding things back. And so he'd told him about the two visions. The first, the one that had come piece by piece of the wolves and Deatheaters and the Forbidden Forrest, and the second, of Hogwarts destroyed.
Dumbledore had gotten very quiet at that, sitting back and considering. The old man had finally shook his head and told Harry that he had no answers for him, only questions that could no be finished. And now Harry was heading for lunch, still contemplating the whole thing.
"Oi, Harry," Ron hollered. "What are you doing, you're walking right past the food!"
Harry blinked and then grinned, sure enough, he'd walked ten feet past where Ron and Hermione were sitting.
Hermione looked at him anxiously as he sat down beside her. "How did it go?" she asked, a bit cautiously.
Harry gave her a reassuring look as he reached for the platter of sandwiches. "Fine," he said. "We talked." He looked at Ron and rolled his eyes. "I seem to be doing an awful lot of that lately," he muttered, taking a bite of turkey and bread. Yum.
"You're making up for lost time," Ron smirked, his own mouth full.
Hermione daintily ate a few slices of fruit. "So what next?" she asked.
Harry swallowed and shrugged. "He thinks you working on the spells is a good idea," he said.
Hermione blushed. "'Course it is," Ron said. "Bloody hell, who else could they get who'd understand what was going on?"
"Now Ron," Hermione began, still looking very pleased. "You know they probably have lots of very talented researchers working on those spells. I AM still just a student, you know."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Hermione, saying you're just a student is like saying Harry's just a wizard." Harry grinned as Hermione pinked up again.
He glanced about the table, realizing he didn't see Ginny. "Where's Ginny?" he asked, taking another bite.
"She and Cara were in and out a few minutes ago, bickering about something in Charms," Hermione said. "They took sandwiches and left."
Ron was looking very, well, crafty, Harry supposed. "Any particular reason you're interested in the whereabouts of my sister, Potter?"
Harry gave him a bland look. "No more than why you're always wondering where Hermione here is." That sent both people bright red. My work here is done, he thought with a grin. Grabbing a second sandwich, he got up from the table. "I'm going to run back to the dorm," he said to the top of Ron's bent head as he stared down at his plate. "I forgot my Herbology book for this afternoon." He gave Hermione, who was blushing and had a definite gleam in her eye, a wicked look. "You two have fun now. I'll see you in class."
Whistling, he headed out of the Great Hall. Ah, sometimes it was good to be him.
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Quidditch practice had been agonizingly long. Ginny had spent the whole time trying not to fall off her broom as her eyes were glued to the Captain and seeker. Bloody hell, she'd gotten a nasty whack from a bludger as she'd watched Harry talking plays with Ron. Stupid, she berated herself.
She'd opted out of going to dinner, knowing she'd never be able to eat. Cara had dashed downstairs, saying she'd be right back to help Ginny get ready. And so now Ginny was standing in the shower, scrubbing and shaving and basically trying to drown herself.
With a sigh, Ginny shut the water off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around her head and another around her body. She wiped steam off the mirror and glared at her reflection. What had happened to the bold girl who'd walked up to Harry in the common room and planted a kiss on him in front of the whole house? Honestly, here she was, dithering and nervous because he had finally and realized what had been staring him in the face for six years?
"Get a grip, Ginny," she told her reflection. "You're a Weasley. Where's that Gryffindor pride?" She gave a decisive nod. "No more wishy-washy. You give as good as you get, and make sure you get what you want."
She grinned, and then started for the bedroom to get dressed. Oh, this would be a good night.
She was still thinking that as she walked up to the door of the Room of Requirement and carefully turned the handle. Taking a last deep breath, she smoothed her hair, and then opened the door and stepped inside.
This time it wasn't a bare practice room. No, this time it was small and cosy, with a deep, soft couch in front of a dancing fire. She looked around bemusedly.
From the shadows by the window, a tall figure straightened and started toward her. "Ginny," Harry said softly, and her breath caught.
She gave a small smile and said back, "Harry."
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AN: Aren't I awful? Heh heh heh…
Crookshankx – hee hee hee… I'm so evil. And I recommend lots of chocolate to deal with writers block.
Lillypotterfan – Neville and Luna will get involved soon, but not a great deal. Or rather, you're not going to see a lot of them. Aw, heck, you just keep reading and see. Lol.
Child-of-scorpio – You got your computer fixed? Huzzah! (passing out party hats) And Ron. Ah, yes, Ron. My sister's completely obsessed with Weasleys, and I think I'm getting a little crush on Ronniekins myself. Lol. He's such a typical boy: 'manly' outside, marshmallow inside. (sigh)
Shahrezad1 – Cookies!!!
Ferggirl99 – Now since when have I ever written anything that allowed the course of true love to run smoothly? And I would hope Marion would have enough, um, imagination, to write that scene. (coughs lightly) Did I mention that 'I' could have written it at that age?
IceSugarHigh – No worries, Harry doesn't get a magic ring. Lol. He's going to have to do everything the hard way… hee hee hee…
Ariana15 – Glad you enjoyed the previous tales as well! Keep reading and reviewing…
Siriuslover – Look under my author profile for the two prequels, "Hidden Intents" (SSOC), and "Undercurrents" (DMOC).
A Harry and Ginny Dreamer – (grins) I can assure you, all chapters are completely mine. Yeah, I can sometimes let a little time go between updates (looking sheepish), but sometimes that lets me go back and reacquaint myself with what I've already written. I find that helps me not loose the various plot threads I have going.
Maurauder23 – A friend recommended it? Tell them thanks! As for Harry being a bit angsty… he's a teenager. And lord knowns (rolling eyes), teenagers have just the SLIGHTEST tendency to make a big deal out of everything. (ducking as all teenaged readers fling half-eaten donuts) And Ron and Hermione… I've got a thing or two up my sleeve for them. I don't want to give away secrets, but I'll just say three words: Ron attempts romance. Heh heh heh…
S – I actually don't maintain links, it's all They sometimes do work, or change various things and that will mess with links for a little while. Give it a day or two, then try again.
Psycho-punk – You know people who know people? Do those people know the people who know my people? Lol. Just kidding. Keep reading!
Barbelibou – Ron is… slow. Yes. Slow. But please see comment to Maurauder23…
Charmeuse – Ah, suspense. I do love it. Heh heh heh.
Kokopelli5287 – How very insightful of you! Keeping Harry a teen in some real sense is exactly what I am trying to do. I mean, sure he's got to save the world and go kill some homicidal red-eyed jerk, but he's still seventeen. And anyone who's known a seventeen year-old knows what I'm talking about. (Again ducking the half-eaten donuts)
Social-flutterby – I just love all these word of mouth, friend recommendations! All you friends who are passing along my story, THANKS!
Severus' Wife – Hmm, can I guess who your personal fav character is? Lol. And if you're the boss, then you're not wasting time. You're… maintaining managerial moral. (nodding decisively) And, um, can you put the wand down now?
Foxyginny, hazardous, twins-rule, hawkeyessabre, mary-v, cherryblossom08, she-hobbit, MrsSakuraPotter, Liz, Lozzie, mynameispinky, hplovah, lluvatar, MusicMonkey88, Tooki, Moonglaze, obsessed87, Openspy,VirginiaLilyPotter713, flaming pinecones, kpxiceboi, elijah'stheone, xayne – All of you, thank you so much! It's your ego-stroking enthusiasm that makes me get up on Saturday morning, when I'm supposed to be doing other things, to finish this chapter and get it posted. Well, that and the opportunity to torture you all. Heh heh heh…