Last Hogsmeade trip of the year

Ginny Weasley couldn't believe her luck. She was going to Hogsmeade with Harry Potter. The Harry Potter, the object of her affection since she was ten. When he had nervously suggested they go together since Ron and Hermione were going on their own, (it was their one year anniversary) she had nearly passed out in shock. And now the day was here. Ginny's stomach was tied in knots. She gave her appearance a final look over in the mirror before running down the stairs to the common room. When she reached the bottom step she had to grip the stair rail to keep from falling down. Harry was standing there waiting for her with his hands awkwardly in his pockets. Their eyes met, and Ginny felt in her heart that he had wanted to ask her out, regardless of what Ron and Hermione were doing.

"Hi," Ginny said softly, afraid her voice would fail her.

"Hey," Harry replied, his own voice sounding just as weak. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Ginny said. She nearly fainted again when Harry extended his hand and took hers. She knew she was blushing the entire walk from the castle to Hogsmeade.

"So, where do you want to go?" Harry asked.

"I don't care," Ginny answered shyly.

"Honeydukes?"

"That sounds good," Ginny said with a smile. Harry led her into the store and they walked together down the rows of sweets. Harry showed Ginny what his favorites were, and she insisted that he try her favorites. They left the store after Harry had bought both of them a large bag of sweets.

"Three Broomsticks?" Harry asked, nodding towards the pub.

"Sure." They walked in and picked out a small table. Harry went up to the bar and bought two butterbeers. He brought them back to the table and sat down. He and Ginny sat together in awkward silence, sipping on their drinks.

"I've had a good time with you today," Harry said while he examined his hands.

"Me too," Ginny said. Ginny suddenly felt the urge to lighten the mood. "So, have you thought about what you're going to do after graduation?"

Harry let out a bitter laugh. "Well, if I live through graduation, I'll go into training to become an Auror. It's what everyone expects me to do."

"Don't talk like that, Harry," Ginny scolded him. "Of course you'll live through graduation, and you don't have to become an Auror unless you want to!"

"Of course I want to! I want to get all of the dark wizards off the street!" Harry said forcefully.

"Calm down, Harry. I was just saying that you should do what makes you happy!" Ginny said defensively.

"Great, so you think I should go off and be happy while people are dying? I have a job to do; I thought you of all people would understand that!"

"Harry James Potter don't you dare yell at me!" Ginny hissed. She stood up from the table. "If you can't just enjoy a pleasant day with me then I'm just going to go back to the castle!"

"Ginny, wait!" Harry called frantically, but she was already half way to the door. She was stopped, however, when Hannah Abbot rushed into the pub, her robes covered in blood.

"Death Eaters!" Hannah gasped before passing out.

Harry jumped from his seat and grabbed Ginny by the shoulders. "Stay put!" he insisted before running out into the street. Ginny watched the scene unfold before her in horror; she knew she would never be able to forget the image of her fellow students battling with Death Eaters. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle for most of the students; they were being tortured and killed. Ginny watched Harry spring into action, taking down as many Death Eaters as his spells could reach. Ginny was trying to keep count of how many lives he saved, to help his guilt complex later when he started thinking of how many had lost their lives, when it happened. Harry was busy stunning a Death Eater that was holding a third year under the cruciatus when he was hit from behind with a stunner. Forgetting Harry's order for her to stay put, Ginny ran out into the street and took the job of protecting Harry's fallen bodywhile shewaited for the Aurors to arrive.

After what felt like an eternity, the battle was over and the Death Eaters were gone. Both sides had suffered casualties, but the biggest loss was in the students. Ginny had somehow managed to escape without much more than a scratch. After she was assured that he would be okay, Ginny watched helplessly as Harry's body was taken away and prayed that the rest of her family had survived the battle.

Ginny sat nervously at her new desk in her new office. Ron had arrived at the Ministry with her that morning, laughing that it would probably be the last time she would actually use her office. She had stacks of folders waiting for her, and she was slowly working her way through them. The first folder contained a picture of the manor they would be staying in. There was a small cottage on the back corner of the property, and she assumed that was where she would be living. The house was beautiful; it looked more like a castle than a house. Three Quidditch goals could be seen peaking over the roof of the house. Ginny couldn't help but feel like she was the luckiest girl in the world to get to live there.

The second folder had contained brief descriptions of all the players. Some things were normal information, like the fact that Tank had a wife, daughter, and son, but others were extremely odd, like the note that MJ liked chopped bananas before bed.

"Merlin, I really am going to have to be their Mum, aren't I?" Ginny asked herself.

"Don't let them take advantage of you," Mr. Perry said as he walked into her office. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No," Ginny replied with a smile. "But I can't help but notice thatHarry Potter's file is missing."

"Well, that's because there is no file on Mr. Potter," Mr. Perry replied. "He likes his privacy, so we discussed it, and he compromised that he wouldn't have a file but he would be responsible for his own personal needs."

"Fine by me," Ginny muttered, forgetting who she was with.

"Actually, that's part of the reason I've come by," he began slowly.

Ginny felt her stomach drop. "Is he trying to get me fired?"

"Just the opposite; he tried to quit. Fortunately for me, he's signed a binding wizard contract that he can't get out of. He's exactly what this team and this country need," Mr. Perry informed her. "He gave this country hope, and if they can watch him have fun maybe they'll start having fun again, too."

"But I'm disposable," Ginny added bitterly.

"Not at all. You have a wonderful chemistry with most of the team, and they seem to respect you already despite your age," Mr. Perry said quickly. "I think that as long as your history with Mr. Potter doesn't get in the way, you'll be an asset to this team."

"But if it does?"

"Then we'll have to reassess the situation." Ginny looked at her boss gratefully. "But let's talk about something more fun. Are you ready to move into the house?"

"The actual house? What about the cottage?" Ginny asked.

"That's where Coach Mason will be staying. You'll be staying in the house with the team. You'll have your own wing, of course, but you need to be accessible to the team at all times."

"Oh."

"Is that a problem?" Mr. Perry asked.

"No, it'll be just like living with my brothers again," Ginny replied with a reassuring smile.

"So, I'll see you there after lunch? You should arrive before the team so you can get settled in before they get there," Mr. Perry told her.

"Of course. I'll meet you there after lunch," Ginny said. Mr. Perry turned to walk out of her office and Ginny turned her attention back to her desk.

"Oh and Miss Weasley, one more thing," he called, turning around in the doorframe.

"Yes?"

"You are aware that we frown upon you dating any of the team members, aren't you?"

Ginny's face flushed. "There's nothing going on between Harry and me!'

Mr. Perry's face scrunched in confusion. "I was talking about Jeffrey Collins. You did attend the banquet with him, didn't you?"

"Oh, um, yes, I did," Ginny stuttered. "It was more out of a favor to Ron." She took a deep breath and regained her composure. "Don't worry, most of the team is much too old for me to be interested in, Jeff included." Mr. Perry simply smiled at her and continued on his way.

Ginny arrived in front of the large manor levitating her trunk in front of her. She was still in awe of the building; it was the kind of place you dreamed of living as a child. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Mr. Perry calling her from the entryway.

"Miss Weasley! Hurry, come on over!" he called happily.

Ginny walked over to the door and her boss. "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, not at all. Do come in," Mr. Perry said, holding the door open for her.

Ginny walked in and her jaw dropped. If she had thought the outside was impressive it was nothing compared to the inside. "It's amazing."

"Isn't it, though? Now, your room is off of the stairs to your left. You'll have your own little wing. The rooms are a bit smaller than the team's rooms, but you should be more than comfortable. The team's rooms are on the right. Tank, being captain, will get his own room, but the other guys will have to share. It's up to you to determine the arrangements. Don't tell them, but there's plenty of room for them to live separately, but I think it will be good for their bonding." Ginny looked at her boss, trying to absorb all of the information he was spitting out. "Bonding is an important part of this team. You'll need to try and make sure they have some kind of a bonding experience every night. There are about five house elves around here somewhere, they should stay out of your way, but if you ever need to talk to them there's a bigger kitchen through the door in the back of the kitchen for the team's use." Ginny nodded her head. "Right, then the first practice is tomorrow at 9 AM, so make sure the guys get plenty of sleep. They should be here shortly, so why don't you go get settled in."

"Mr. Perry, shouldn't they be bonding with Coach Mason instead of me?" Ginny asked.

"Actually, no. I don't want them to be close to Mason. I want them to respect him, but at the same time fear him. They'll work harder for him that way. You, on the other hand, I want to be their friend. They'll need to respect you so they'll listen to you, but I also want them to be able to go to you when they have a problem, with the team or otherwise. That's why you're in the house and Mason is in the cottage. Now, go on up and get settled in."

Ginny walked up the stairs in a daze, not completely recovered from her boss's mile a minute instructions. She opened the door to her bedroom and gasped. It was the biggest room she'd ever stayed in. Not only was it big, it was beautiful. Everything went together; there was nothing mismatched, handmade, or secondhand in this room.

"I could stay here forever," Ginny whispered as she collapsed onto her big bed. She didn't know how long she had been lying there when she heard a familiar noise coming from downstairs. It was the unmistakable sound of a large group of boys storming into a house with trunks. She knew it all too well. She got out of her bed and straightened her clothes before heading back downstairs. She reached the bottom of the stairs just as Mr. Perry walked out the front door. She gulped as she realized that this was it, she was on her own.

"There she is!" MJ called happily. "How's the wee one doing?"

"Much better than you'll be if you don't stop calling me that," Ginny replied sweetly. She took a quick survey of the room; everyone was there, but Harry was expectedly hanging towards the back of the crowd.

"So what's the plan, other than practice tomorrow?" Jacob asked nervously.

"Well, you all need to get settled in I suppose," Ginny said, sending Jacob a warm smile. "Tank, you've got your own room, one of the benefits of being captain."

"Woohoo!" Tank called, shaking a fist in the air triumphantly.

Ginny chuckled. "Wesley and Jeff will be living together, no need to break up a team that works." They nodded appreciatively. "And that leaves MJ with Dustin and Jacob with Harry. Now if there aren't any problems…"

"I have a problem," Harry called, walking over to where she was standing.

"And what would that be?" Ginny asked, obviously annoyed.

"I need my own room," Harry informed her.

"Oh, is that all? Let me think… NO!" Ginny said.

"I have to have my own room," Harry insisted.

"You don't have to have anything. You will get no special treatment from me because of who you are." Ginny turned her attention away from the frustrated seeker and back to the rest of the quiet team. "Now that that's settled, go unpack, and then come back down. We'll have a 'bonding activity,' as Mr. Perry likes to call it, before dinner." Everyone could tell that the issue wasn't open for discussion, and they silently made their way up the stairs. Ginny walked into the living room and settled herself down on one of the couches. "What am I going to do with you, Harry Potter?"

An hour later the team had gathered again in the living room. Ginny was still sitting on one of the couches with Tank and Wesley, Jeff was lying down on the floor, Jacob and Dustin were sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall, and Harry and MJ were sitting in arm chairs. Ginny could sense the tension in the room that had been there since her fight with Harry earlier. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

"I've been looking through all of your files today, and it's obvious that while some of you know each other very well, some of you don't know each other at all. I figured we could start out our time here just telling each other a little bit about ourselves," Ginny paused, noticing no one was jumping up offering information. "I guess I'll start. Well, you all know my name is Ginny Weasley and I had six older brothers. You all know that I just graduated from Hogwarts and was in Gryffindor, but you probably don't know that I was Head Girl. I didn't make prefect my fifth or sixth year, but I guess once the bad influence of my brothers was gone I cleaned up my ways a little bit." Ginny stopped, and decided to be completely honest; hoping the team would follow her lead. "Also, I guess that the last year of the war really made me grow up. I mean, you can't help but grow up when you suffer as much loss as my family did; it's unavoidable."

"What are your parents like?" Tank asked.

"Well my dad, Merlin bless him, is a bit muggle obsessed. He's a wonderful man, and a wonderful father. He still works at the Ministry." Ginny snuck a quick glimpse at Harry and saw he was looking at the ground, but smiling. "My mum was the greatest witch I ever had the pleasure of knowing. She wasn't overly powerful, but she loved everyone who ever entered her home, and she mothered anyone who would let her. She was fiercely protective of her family and those she loved."

"Was?" Jacob asked quietly.

"She died during the battle where Voldemort was defeated, protecting her children," Ginny explained, fighting back her tears. "On a more cheerful note, I started sneaking out to our broom shed at the age of six to ride my brothers' brooms, and I've loved Quidditch ever since." Ginny smiled at the team. "Alright, Mr. Captain, would you like to be next?"

Tank grinned at her. "Absolutely. I'm not quite as fresh out of Hogwarts as the lovely Miss Weasley. I guess I'm technically old enough to be her father, but I'd say I'm more in the older brother range. When I was at Hogwarts I was in Gryffindor, and I made the house team my third year. I've been playing professional Quidditch since I was twenty, and I haven't missed a season except for the year it was cancelled. I had an older brother who also played Quidditch, but he was killed during the Death Eater attack at the Pride's game two years ago. I always thought that he would be happy that he died while playing Quidditch, and that canceling the rest of the season would enrage him so much he'd come back and haunt the people at the Ministry." Tank chuckled softly. "My mum and dad live in London, and they try to make every one of my matches. I married my sweetheart from Hogwarts, Marissa, and now she and I have a beautiful daughter, Helen, and a handsome son, Eric. Marissa will be quick to tell you that I snore like a demon and that dessert is the way to my heart. I like to think I'm pretty even tempered, unless, of course, you threaten someone that I love."

"So, no threatening Tank's dessert," MJ joked.

"For that you can go next," Ginny piped up.

"I'm not one to shy away from talking about myself!" MJ jumped up from his seat and stood on the coffee table. "My name is Matthew Johnson, graduate from Hogwarts and chaser from the Quidditch Cup winning Gryffindor team with the great seeker Charlie Weasley. I guess you could say that with my combination of rugged good looks and amazing Quidditch talent, I've always been a bit of a ladies man."

Everyone laughed and Wesley threw a pillow at him. "Stick to the facts, mate!"

"Before I was so rudely interrupted," MJ continued, "I was saying that I'm still single because I can't seem to pick just one girl to settle down with. I'm an only child, but my cousin Angelina shares my love for Quidditch."

"She's a drill sergeant," Ginny commented, causing everyone to start laughing again.

"Anyway, my dad died when I was young, he had an unfortunate run in with a dragon. So it was pretty much just me and Mum growing up. If we're being completely honest, my mum says I use humor as my defense mechanism. She says it's always been my way of handling things."

"And you don't like the twins?" Ginny asked with a grin.

"Nah, I love those gits. I just like to give Fred a hard time about Angelina. I wouldn't be a good mate or a good cousin if I didn't," MJ explained.

"Why didn't Angelina ever mention that she had a cousin that played professional Quidditch?" Harry asked, speaking up for the first time.

MJ looked at him surprised, but quickly recovered. "I guess because I never made a team until after she graduated. Quidditch has always been my passion, but to be honest it never came as easily to me as it did to others. When the war started to get bad and Quidditch players started quitting, I finally made a team. I worked my arse off so no one could say that I didn't deserve my spot on the team. When they cancelled the season, I kept training, determined that when things got better I was going to make a team again, and here I am today." Harry nodded and resumed his prior activity of examining the floor.

"Okay, who's next?" Ginny asked.

"I'll go," Wesley said. "Well, I also went to Hogwarts. I think I was there about the same time as Charlie and MJ, but I was in Ravenclaw. My family was big, but about the opposite of Ginny's. I was the youngest and I had four older sisters. We're all married now; my wife's name is Lori and we have a son, and I have five nieces and three nephews. My parents are getting on up there in age, but they spend all of their time traveling, stopping by from time to time to stay with one of us kids."

"I can't wait for my brothers to have kids," Ginny mused. "Actually, I can't wait for my brothers to stop acting like kids." Harry snorted and quickly fought back his chuckle.

Wesley shot Harry an odd look. "Anyway, I started playing Quidditch professionally when I was about 22, after realizing that a desk job simply was not for me. In my first game I was so nervous I swung my bat with all my might, missed the bludger, and got knocked off my broom. I had broken my leg, but the healer knew I was okay when I asked her out. A year later that healer married me and the rest is history."

"That's so sweet," Ginny gushed. "Alright, Dustin, you're up."

Dustin sighed before he started talking. "Well, I'm probably closer in age to Tank than the rest of you youngins. To continue all of the Hogwarts and house talk, I was in Slytherin. Before you go jumping to any conclusions," he shot Harry a look, "I never was nor will I ever be a dark wizard. My parents weren't the best kind of people, but they weren't Death Eaters either. They were just very into blood lines. I always thought it was rubbish, but it was hard to voice an opinion that contradicted that crowd. After graduation, my parents wanted me to worm my way into the Ministry so they could have more influence, but I refused, so they cut me off. I had never been without money before, so I turned to the one thing I was good at: Quidditch. I haven't talked to my parents since they cut me off, and they've never met my wife, Beth, or our sons, Marcus and Davis."

"I'm sorry," Tank said sympathetically.

"Don't be," Dustin said bitterly. "I'm a better person for leaving my parents. Alright Jake, you're up. I know your life was a bit more cheerful than mine."

Jacob flushed slightly. "Well, I too went to Hogwarts. I was in Hufflepuff. I played against MJ during his seventh year. I would have been playing against Harry his first year, but my parents thought it would be best if I concentrated on my N.E.W.T.S."

"What good are test scores for a professional Quidditch player?" Wesley asked.

"Well, my parents thought Quidditch was a waste of time. They wanted me to do something important in the Ministry; maybe one day be Minister of Magic," Jacob explained. "But when we got my test scores back they were terrible. My parents were so disappointed in me; I think Mum sobbed for days. When she was finally talking to me again I told her that I was going to try out for Quidditch, and she started crying again. My dad was okay with it, but Mum's never been to a game. I think the happiest I ever made them was when I married Chloe because she has a great job at the Ministry."

"Okay, my turn," Jeff said suddenly. "I did not go to Hogwarts, therefore I have no house. My dad was an Auror and my mum died when I was a baby, so I had to go with my dad wherever the Ministry wanted him to go. We moved to France when I was like six, and we stayed there until I was 19. I got a Hogwarts' letter, but my dad wanted me to stay closer to him, so I went to Beauxbatons."

"So you're bilingual?" Jacob asked.

"Yep."

"You know my brother's girlfriend was French, Fleur Delacour," Ginny said sadly.

"I know her, or at least of her," Jeff said with an odd look on his face. "You don't forget a part veela very quickly." His face glazed over and Wesley threw one of the remaining pillows at him. "Sorry. Anyway, I had a great childhood, I met a lot of interesting people, and I played a lot of Quidditch. Actually, I'll probably know most of the French National team. Don't worry; I was the best beater in that school the whole time I was there!"

"Self confident, isn't he?" Ginny asked Tank loudly, causing the room to erupt in laughter. "Alright, so only one more."

"You might want to get parchment and a quill so you can take notes, Jake," MJ teased. Jacob blushed and a scowl crossed over Harry's face. "Go ahead, Potter."

"I went to Hogwarts," Harry began, staring at a blank space on the wall. "I was a Gryffindor and I graduated a year ago. I made the Quidditch team my first year, got a lifetime ban during my fifth, then got the ban revoked during my sixth, and then nobody got to play during my seventh." Jacob made a noise like he was going to say something, but Harry glared at him.

"Come on, mate," Tank said gently. "We all just gave you the down and dirty on our lives. There's got to be a little more you can share."

"What do you want me to say?" Harry asked bitterly. "That my parents were killed by a dark wizard when I was a baby because there was some stupid prophecy made about me? That I spent my childhood growing up with people who hated me living in a cupboard under the stairs? That I never had a friend until my first year at Hogwarts?" Harry's face was growing red as he spoke and his voice level was rising. "Do you want to hear about the seven times I faced Voldemort in one way or another before I turned eighteen? Do you want to hear about how I lost almost anyone and everyone I ever loved?"

Ginny jumped up from the couch. "These people are just trying to be your friends! You have no right to talk to them like this!" she yelled.

"What would you know about being a friend?" Harry spat, now standing as well.

"Oh, you're one to talk, Potter! Do you think that you were the only one who suffered during the war? You need to get over it. Better yet, you need to get over yourself."

Harry let out a bitter laugh. "You think you know me so well, don't you?" But he didn't wait for her to respond; he ran out of the room and up the stairs to the room he shared with Jacob.

Ginny felt the tears filling her eyes. She looked apologetically at the remaining team members. "I'm sorry about that. The house elves should have dinner ready in a few minutes. Get plenty of sleep before practice tomorrow." She turned and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, making sure the door was closed tightly behind her before she started to cry.

Tank, Wesley, Jeff, Dustin, MJ, and Jacob sat silent in the living room, trying to figure out what they had just witnessed.

"So much for team unity," Jeff said bitterly.

"Give him time," Tank said. "He's been through so much, and he's still so young. He'll open up to us eventually; he just needs to see that he can trust us."

"Yeah, but that's no excuse to talk to Ginny like that," Jeff argued.

"I agree, and if he does it again I'll smack some sense into him," Tank said. "MJ, you probably know the most about their history, what can you tell us?"

MJ thought about it for a moment before speaking. "Well, Angelina never had anything but praise for him, except for when he got kicked off her team. She forgave him when they won the cup anyway. Ironically enough it was Ginny who saved the team. I know that Fred used to talk about him all the time the first couple times I met him, before the end of the war. But after that it was like every time he was mentioned the room went quiet and he and George both just had very dark looks on their faces. I don't know what happened, but I think it had something to do with a girl."

"Ron and Harry fought over a girl," Jeff spoke up. "Ginny told me after the banquet. Apparently, Harry was really part of their family, but in the end he left with the girl and lost the family."

"That doesn't make any sense," Wesley said. "I mean, Potter definitely doesn't act like a guy who won the girl. He always uses only one of his guest passes, and then gives the rest to one of us with a family. It's the same thing at every game; a different girl sitting in the stands cheering him on, although they all tend to have fairly radical appearances and the few I've met were all very clumsy."

"I remember reading about him moving in with a girl right after he got out of Hogwarts," Jacob added. "It was reported that they'd been dating on and off since their fourth year, if I remember correctly."

"So why hasn't she ever come to anything with him?" Dustin asked.

"Because he likes his private life? Maybe the random girls are just friends," MJ suggested.

"Wasn't he with a girl in that picture in the Prophet from the memorial a couple of weeks ago?" Jacob asked.

"You would be the one who knew," MJ teased him.

"I don't think our new Mom was being completely honest about their past relationship, regardless of what Potter's current relationship status is," Dustin said.

"Looks like we have a bit of a mystery, boys," Tank said. "Let's just hope it doesn't interfere with our game."

Ginny lay in her bed, exhausted from crying. She had worked so long to create a tough exterior, to forget about all of the pain, and in one night it all came crashing back. She felt her stomach rumble and realized she hadn't eaten anything since her lunch hours ago. She rolled out of bed and headed out of her room, not really caring what she looked like. She trudged down the stairs and made her way into the smaller kitchen. She was so exhausted she didn't even notice Harry standing at the counter eating a biscuit. She looked at him awkwardly before she noticed he looked as miserable as she felt.

"Hey," Harry said quietly.

Ginny knew it was a temporary peace offering. "Hey," she replied, accepting the offer.

"I missed dinner," Harry said.

"Me too," Ginny replied.

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk. I shouldn't have blown up like that," he said. Ginny couldn't help but chuckle. "What?" Harry asked, obviously offended.

"You've grown up. It would have taken the old Harry at least a week to apologize, if he apologized at all," Ginny said with a small smile. Their eyes met and Ginny was reminded of all the pain he had caused her family. She turned away from him and began rummaging for food. "How's Hermione?" she asked coolly.

"She's fine as far as I know," Harry replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I haven't talked to her in over a year, I was just curious," Ginny answered.

"Actually, I haven't talked to her in about a month," Harry informed her.

"Too busy with all of your little tarts to talk to her?" Ginny asked without thinking. Harry glared at her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

"I'm just surprised, that's all," Harry said, unable to mask the hurt in his voice. "I thought you of all people knew me better than that." Harry recollected himself. "So, what happened to becoming the best healer in England?"

"I wasn't ready to go back to school and live at home. What happened to becoming England's top Auror?"

"I was…" Harry's voice trailed off and he shook his head. "Didn't want to settle down yet." The kitchen filled with an awkward silence.

"Do you think we can get past our problems and be civil?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not the one with the problem," Harry retorted.

"Then why did you just cut yourself off from our family? You could have at least sent a letter or something. Even if Ron didn't want to hear from you doesn't mean the rest of us didn't."

Harry looked and her and sighed. "You don't know what you're talking about." Ginny gaped at him as she watched him disappear back up the stairs. She had turned her attention back to finding something to eat when she felt something tugging at her skirt. She turned around and gasped. "Dobby?"

"Miss Wheezy! It's good to see you again!" the house elf exclaimed happily.

"Did you come here with Harry?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Oh, no!" Dobby cried, fidgeting around nervously. "Harry Potter mustn't know Dobby is here!"

"Why not?"

"Dobby is here to take care of Harry Potter; to make sure Harry Potter takes care of himself. But they don't want Harry Potter to know; they think it would make him angry!"

"Who's they, Dobby?" Ginny asked patiently.

"Miss Granger and Headmistress. They pay Dobby to secretly look out for Harry Potter when they can't," Dobby explained.

"Oh," Ginny said softly.

"Dobby would be happy to get Miss Wheezy anything she needs, just don't tell Harry Potter."

"Thanks Dobby. Don't worry, I won't say anything." As Dobby disappeared into the larger kitchen Ginny sighed. "Why are you such a mystery, Harry?"

A/N I really didn't mean to go this long between posting, but when I went to update the site was down. Oh well, the best laid plans... Anyway, I'm about to leave school to go celebrate the holidays with my family. Unfortunately that means I won't have internet access until next weekend. At least this was a long chapter, right? Anyway, thanks as always for all of the reviews! They really make my day! I hope when I come back I'll be several chapters farther into the story.