Chapter 22: The Daily Prophet, Love Deepens, and The Marauders Strike Again

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Harry flung down the Daily Prophet in anger and cursed. He and Ginny were currently sitting in the eating area of the kitchen in the barracks, eating lunch. A few minutes earlier Hedwig had arrived carry a copy of the paper.

"Those bastards." Ginny picked up the paper and looked at the front page.

Harry Potter Dead?

By Rita Skeeter

The disappearance last month of the Boy-Who-Lived, along with several of his friends has many in the wizarding world in a panic.

Ginny stopped reading, shaking her head. They should have suspected that it would only be a matter of time before the press started making its own guesses about what happened to the Marauders. She looked over at Harry who was still shaking in anger. He sat down at a table and began to write furiously. After several minutes he put down his quill and stood up.

"I'll be back shortly." He said to Ginny. Before she could respond Harry had disapparated.

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Rita Skeeter was sitting at her desk in the newsroom of the Daily Prophet, clearly please with herself. Her latest story had helped yesterday's edition of the Daily Prophet become one of the largest selling in a long time.

I wonder what I should do for a follow up. She thought. A sudden commotion near the main entrance brought her out of her thoughts. She heard astonished whispers as several Daily Prophet employees gathered around the door.

Must be that idiot Dumbldore coming to complain to my editor. She thought. Then, as the crowd of people parted, she saw how wrong she was. Standing in front of her, with a look of pure fury in his face was none other than Harry Potter.

"Hello Rita." Harry said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "So I'm dead am I?" He threw a piece of parchment down on her desk. "This is my reply to your article. I want it to appear in tomorrow's edition, exactly as it is written. I also want you to write a retraction. You will admit you had no sources for your story and you will apologize to my friends, our families, and me and to the rest of the wizarding world. And if you ever, ever write something like that again, I'll make sure you're career is over permanently." With that he turned and stormed out of the building.

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Harry Potter Denies Reports of his Demise

Ginny grinned as she read the headline. When Harry had returned the previous day he had been remarkably closed lipped about where he had gone.

"Nice work, Flame." George said. Harry smirked at him.

"Thanks." Harry said.

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The next several weeks were very busy for the Marauders. Voldemort's forces launched several new attacks against the wizarding world, including a rather large raid on the outskirts of London. The Marauders met these moves expertly, and the end result was another fifty of his Deatheater's being captured and an equal number killed.

Meanwhile the wizarding world was abuzz with questions as to the identity the mysterious group was that was taking out Voldemort's forces and left a burning phoenix in the sky. As of yet, no one had thought to connect this group to Harry and his friends.

Hopefully they won't for a long time. Harry thought. Then, suddenly, things began to calm down. Deatheater attacks began to drop off, to the point where it had now been over a week since the last one. The Marauders all agreed that Voldemort must be biding his time, trying to come up with a plan to lure them out into the open. In the meantime, Harry decided it was time for them to get some R & R. After talking it over with the rest, along with John and Ding, it was decided that the Marauders would take turns getting away for the weekend. Harry and Ginny would go first, then Ron and Hermione, and finally Fred, George, and Neville.

It was for this reason that Harry and Ginny were now walking in a meadow just outside of the magical community of Twain, Ireland. They had just apparated a moment before and were headed towards a rather large manor. Harry had made reservations at the manor, actually an Inn, for the weekend.

"Harry, its beautiful!" Ginny said as she looked around. "This must be what heaven is like." Harry smiled at her.

"Only if you're there, my love." Harry said. Ginny blushed. They entered the inn and walked to the front desk.

"May I help you sir?" the man behind the counter asked pleasantly.

"I have a reservation. The name's Lansing." He said, giving his cover name. Ginny was suddenly struck with a panicked thought.

Oh my God. What if he only reserved one room? Ginny thought to herself. She knew she loved Harry and wanted to spend her life with him, but she also knew she wasn't ready for their relationship to go down that road yet. True they had been sharing a bed together back at base but they hadn't gone beyond kissing. But she knew if they were to stay in the same room in this place they might end up doing something they weren't ready for.

"Ah yes, Mr. Lansing. Two rooms, until Sunday, correct?" the man asked.

"Yes." Harry replied. Ginny smiled. She should have known that Harry would get two rooms. He had always been a complete gentleman with her. After they checked in, Harry and Ginny walked upstairs and found their rooms. They were right next to each other.

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Ginny took the small box out of her pocket and set it on the floor near her bed. Casting a magic masking charm over the room, she enlarged her trunk and began putting her stuff away in the dresser.

She was extremely happy. This was the first time since the night at the Burrow last summer that she and Harry had been able to get away alone for any length of time. Ginny smiled. Harry was the perfect boyfriend. He loved her deeply and worried for her safety, but let her make her own decisions. He never tried to push any aspect of their relationship beyond where she felt comfortable. She found herself desperately wishing she were a year or two older so they could get married. She didn't want to wait, but knew Harry would not marry her until she was at least sixteen. She sighed.

After putting her things away, she walked over to the door that adjoined her and Harry's room and knocked.

"Come on in." Harry's voice called. Ginny opened the door and walked in.

"So, what should we do with the rest of the afternoon?" she asked.

"We're not far from Killarney Castle. I'd really like to go see it." Harry replied. Ginny walked over and took his hand, then led him out of the room.

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Several hours later Harry and Ginny returned to the manor. They decided to change and then go to a quaint little restaurant down the street that the desk clerk had recommended. A half hour later, Harry, dressed in slacks and a blue shirt, knocked on Ginny's door. The sight that greeted him when the door opened nearly took his breath away.

Ginny was wearing a red dress, with thin spaghetti straps on her shoulder. The dress stopped just above her knees, giving Harry a view of her athletic legs. The neckline was cut tastefully low, just low enough to offer a tease of what lay beneath. Her hair was pulled up into a twist and she wore a pair of earrings and a strand of pearls that Harry had given her for her birthday.

"You look beautiful." Harry said softly, pulling her towards him.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Ginny replied, putting her arms around his neck and leaning in against his lips. After a few moments the couple separated.

"We better get going." Harry said. With that the couple walked hand-in-hand towards the elevator.

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Meanwhile, life at Hogwarts was finally settling down. The excitement over the departure of Harry and the others, as well as the events of last few months finally seemed to die down.

Classes were continuing with regularity and the entire castle seemed to settle into a dull routine. All that changed that evening in the Great Hall. As the students sat eating, a loud pop reverberated throughout the hall. Looking around, the teachers and students burst into laughter at the sight that greeted them.

All the Slytherins were now dressed in red and gold clothes, clearly Gryffindor colors. What's more, the boys were wearing women's clothing and the girls were wearing men's clothing. Hanging above the table in neon green lights was the words GO GRYFFINDOR! and underneath the words LOVE FLAME, WISE, SLY, PRECIOUS, PAWS, MANE AND FANGS.