DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
The next two days passed, surrounded by an uncomfortable tension. No one seemed to say anything to Harry's face, yet he got the impression that everyone was talking about him when he wasn't looking.
It wasn't that it was terribly new to Harry, in fact it seemed to be the one common thread throughout his time at Hogwarts. It was, perhaps, a new reason, but compared to being thought to be a dark wizard and a compulsive liar, the current topic seemed fairly harmless. Unlike the other two, it was even true.
That, perhaps, was the problem. He couldn't very well try to stop people from talking about it. He couldn't tell them that it was all just a misunderstanding, or that it was some scheme of Fudge's. This time, it was true, and it was current. If there was any good news, it was that it was all done quietly. For the most part, the students seemed content to whisper about it amongst themselves. This could have been out of some amount of respect for Harry, or it could have been out of some amount of fear after the display he and Ginny put on during the dueling demonstration.
Whatever it was, there was one person who it did not affect. Draco Malfoy was the same as ever, and yet he wasn't one of the people talking about him. Instead, when he saw Harry, he would simply stare at Harry with a faintly triumphant smile on his face. If he saw Harry and Ginny together, the smile would occasionally break into a short laugh.
"What do you think you're smiling about?" Ron spat at Draco that Tuesday as they exited the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They had just finished learning about a variety of Binding Charms and Draco had not had any more luck with them than Ron had. "You're lucky you're here and not stuck in prison with you're father."
"Careful what you say, Weasel. I have more powerful friends than you, now," sneered Draco.
"Oh, yeah? Are they any smarter than Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Clever," Malfoy laughed sarcastically. "You'd best run back to that hovel you call a home, while you still can."
"Shove off, Malfoy," Harry growled.
"Didn't you hear me, Potter?" Draco asked. "You don't frighten me. So why don't you go run off, like you always do." Faster than Harry could react, Malfoy stepped toward him and shoved him. Harry kept himself from falling, but not before he collided with the wall behind him. His bag dropped, spilling a pair of books across the floor.
"You don't feel so invincible anymore, do you?" Draco sneered as Harry picked the books back up. "You'll have to do better than a good Binding Charm if you want to be an Auror. If you make it that long, that is."
"Enough, Malfoy!" Ron shouted. "Leave or we'll take this to McGonagall!"
"How terribly brave, Weasley," spat Draco as he turned to walk away. "I'm sure we'll talk again, we'll see —Hold on. What's this?" Draco's arm shot out and grabbed the chain hanging around Harry's neck. It just have slipped out from under his robes when Malfoy shoved him. Draco yanked it closer and squinted at one of the edges which was worn and tarnished.
"Where did you get this, Potter? Nick this from some Slytherin, or have you been sneaking around in the Slytherin Dungeons again?" Draco smiled and let go of the pendant. "Maybe I'll just tell Professor Snape, and we'll see if he finds anything else of interest in your dormitory.
"Fine," replied Harry. "Go ahead."
Draco scowled at both of them. "That trinket is rubbish, Potter. I'd have expected that of Weasley, but not you. But then, you do have an extra Weasley around you, don't you. Maybe you could give that to her. I hear she's got a certain fondness for snakes," Draco said with a smile. "Of course, I haven't seen her around lately. Have you?"
"And what is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?" Ron shot back at him.
Malfoy just smiled and shrugged. "Nothing, Weasley. Nothing at all." With a short chuckle he turned and walked away with Nott and another of his Slytherin goons.
Ron took one last opportunity to scowl at Malfoy. "Come on, Harry," he said, "we have a Quidditch practice to go to."
The practice finally gave Harry some time to himself. As he soared above the pitch scanning the sky for any glint or blur that would betray the Snitch's position, the rest of the team whirled and bolted between the goal hoops below him.
It was relaxing. He was flying. He was alone. No one was talking about him. No one was asking for help. His nightmares didn't exist there. It was just calm and silent, without the blood curdling screams of every victim Voldemort had killed because of him. He was apart from the world. He was safe from it, and it was safe from him. No one was in danger.
He pulled his broom to a stop and just stared down at the pitch. From the height he was at, everything looked so much more peaceful. Flying felt better than sleep now. He was free. No one was bothering him. And he could keep an eye on Ginny.
He took a moment to watch the Chasers zipping around beneath him. Ginny seemed to be doing quite well. She still hadn't reached Katie in skill with the Quaffle, but she was the better flier. She also seemed to be a little distracted today. That was the third time she'd missed the hoops completely. Everyone was a little distracted today, he told himself as Katie missed a pass.
After a hour and a pair of caught Snitches, Harry shot past Ron to catch the Snitch for the third time that afternoon. Katie blew on her whistle and called everyone to the ground.
"I think we've had enough for today. None of us are terribly impressive. We'll get a couple more practices in before the match against Hufflepuff. That shouldn't be too hard. So long as we work a little harder than we did today, I don't think we'll have much trouble."
The team walked off the pitch, but as Katie went for the chest which held the balls, Ron jogged over to talk to her.
"Harry and I will take care of this, Katie," he said with a nod to Harry. "Don't worry about it."
Katie shrugged and thanked Ron before strolling off the pitch to follow the rest of the team. Harry and Ron took only a minute or so to catch both of the Bludgers and put them into the case. Harry put the Snitch in its place as Ron laid the Quaffle in the box and tried to find the correct keys.
Together they lifted the case and headed toward the locker rooms. The last of the players were leaving as Ron and Harry slid the case into its place. As they pulled off their Quidditch gear Ron paused to look at Harry.
"So when are you going to do it?"
Harry stopped and looked at Ron, who had continued to take off the heavy guards wrapped around his forearms. "Do what?"
"You, know. End it," Ron said without looking at Harry.
Harry just stared at Ron quizzically. "End what?"
Ron tossed his guards in a locker and started re-tying his shoes. "You and Ginny," he said very matter-of-factly. "When are you going to end it? I figured you'd wait at least until the I.C.W left, but I don't think the week before our match against Hufflepuff is going to be a good time. I mean, it's not like Hufflepuff has a chance, but why risk it, right?"
Harry stared back at Ron until he stopped talking. "Why would I end it?"
Ron froze and looked back at Harry. "You're joking, right? Did you see what happened to Neville? Of course you did. You saw it better than anyone else."
"What does that have to do with Ginny?"
"What does—" Ron looked shocked. "Do you want that to happen to Ginny? Do you think Voldemort isn't going to find out? Or perhaps it won't occur to him that she'd be the perfect target? If you weren't together it would make it a bit less appealing."
"It's a bit too late for that, Ron," Harry replied. "Not that I'd ever considered it. It wouldn't change anything." Annoyance was starting to creep into Harry's voice, and Ron's answer echoed it.
"Can't hurt either, can it, Harry?"
"She'll be safer if I stay close to her. I can protect her."
Ron pretended to straighten up his locker. "Can you? And where is she, now?" he asked in a falsely friendly tone.
"That's not fair, Ron," Harry replied loudly. "You volunteered me to do this. I wanted to go with her."
"That's the point, isn't it? You can't follow her everywhere she goes. Are you going to give everything up just to make sure she's always safe?"
"If that's what it takes." Harry heard the anger in his voice. He didn't think he'd ever get in another row with Ron, but here he was.
"She'd be safe right now if you'd have just stayed away from her in the first place."
"This wasn't just my idea, Ron," Harry said to Ron through clenched teeth. "Ginny was as much a part of it as I was. We did it. It wasn't something we were trying to do, it just sort of happened."
"It doesn't matter anymore, does it?" Ron slammed his locker shut and walked to the center of the room. "Break up with her," he ordered Harry. "I admit that part of this could be my fault. I used to like the idea, but it's different now and you know it. It never should have started. You knew the danger you were in. You knew it was getting worse, and that she'd end up being pulled into it, too." Ron walked closer to Harry. "You knew Voldemort was coming for you."
"That's got nothing to do with it!"
"It's got everything to do with it!" Ron shouted. "This is your responsibility, Harry. You knew this would happen. You'd have to be blind not to. Now you have to fix it. I don't care what she thinks about it."
Harry was about to shout something nasty back at Ron when he heard a sharp slam of a door. He turned to see Ginny standing in the room, with a calmly threatening look on her face.
"You don't care what who thinks, Ron?"
Ron glared at his sister, then turned back to Harry as if he was expecting Harry to break up with Ginny right then. When Harry said nothing and instead closed his locker and picked up his bag, Ron sighed loudly and turned back to his sister.
"It's nothing, Ginny."
Ginny's eyebrows raised in a mockery of innocent curiosity. She smiled lightly and turned her head. "Harry?" she said lightly, not needing to ask the question.
"It's between Harry and me," Ron growled before Harry could answer.
"You're lying, Ronald. I can tell," she said acidly. "Harry, is it what I think it is?" Harry ran his hand through his hair, and nodded, saying nothing.
Ginny's eyes narrowed as she stared at Ron. "Goodbye, Ron. I have to talk with Harry."
Harry knew that it would only anger Ron even more, but at the moment he couldn't really care how angry Ron was. He slung his bag over his should and followed Ginny out of the locker room.
Despite what she had told Ron, Ginny didn't say a single word to Harry during the walk back to the castle. Harry was mostly content to let her remain quiet, though before they reached the Gryffindor common room, she had seemingly lost the anger she'd shown Ron. She was hesitant, and balked at walking through the portrait hole before Harry.
She remained equally quiet all through supper, saying only the smallest amount necessary. Ron spoke barely more than she did, and never to Harry. Hermione seemed upset at all three of them, but Ron more than anyone else. For once, he didn't fail to notice that fact. Harry was not eager to deal with any of them, and instead picked lightly at his food.
It would have been bad enough if he only had to deal with his friends' arguments. However, Harry was treated to the extra happiness caused by the gleeful smirks of Draco Malfoy and the fact that Colin and Dennis Creevey had taken it upon themselves to compensate for the lack of conversation provided by Harry and his friends.
It was a rough night for Harry. He spent the night re-reading his Potions text and trying to study the next charms they would be attempting in Transfiguration. Ron and Hermione were sitting in a corner, talking quietly to each other. Judging by the worried looks she occasionally gave Harry, Ron was no doubt explaining just how unfair and irresponsible Harry was being, and how horrible a person he was for not listening to his best friend.
Harry went up to bed early that night. Ginny had left some time before then, speaking only to wish him good night.
The next day seemed a little better than the last. Ron was less cheerful than he normally was, but it was no longer directed at Ginny and Harry. Hermione was back to herself, though she was intelligently not asking Harry about what happened the previous day. Harry hoped that she'd forced Ron to tell her everything she wanted to know.
On the outside, Ginny seemed to be ignoring the whole situation. Harry still knew that something was bothering her. She didn't look at him as much as she used to. It was harder to make her smile. She seemed to switch from her cheerful laugh to a reserved quietness too quickly.
He tried to ask her about it, but she'd ignored his questions and changed the subject. The next day was just more of the same, and that night Harry finally gave up. Ginny had acted like she'd almost wanted to talk, but instead she just asked if Harry would stay up and help her with her History of Magic essay.
It was mind-dulling work, but Harry did it. Normally, others might have at least joined them for the company, but few students had the stomach to listen to an extra hour of information about goblin rebellions and stuffy wizards making silly decrees.
Eventually, everyone had gone off to bed, leaving Ginny and Harry alone at their table. Less than a minute after the last student had left, Ginny set aside the parchment her essay was written on, declaring it to be done. Harry looked over it, but couldn't find anything remotely wrong with it.
With a nod, Ginny announced that she was going up to her dormitory. Harry had been tired for over an hour, with only the most boring subject at Hogwarts to keep him awake. Sleep had sounded like a good idea quite a while ago.
To his surprise, Ginny followed behind him as he headed toward the stairs.
"Er... Goodnight, Ginny," Harry said to her at the foot of the stairs. She was acting strangely, like she was confused or distracted by something.
"Yeah, goodnight, I suppose..." she trailed off. She looked up, and her eyes met Harry's. "None of them have died, have they?"
"None of— What are you talking about?"
"You've told me about all of the victims, haven't you? The one's he marked," Ginny said in an artificially calm voice. "How many of them died?"
"Ginny—" Harry started.
"How many of them!" Ginny snapped with such intensity that Harry was caught off guard.
"How many? What—" Harry stammered as he tried to recover. "Don't you remember all those families? The Muggles at King's Cross—"
"Those were different, Harry," she interrupted. "They weren't... weren't marked. They aren't the same," she said, shaking her head as she stared at Harry's chest.
"They were marked. With a bloody great burnt lightning bolt!"
"It was different, Harry. We both know it," she replied. She looked over to the large windows overlooking the grounds. "How many since then?"
"Celeste Warrenton."
Ginny winced as if hearing the name stung her ears. She pressed her lips together and stared up at Harry. "She wasn't marked. That was for Claire, not you. How many did he try to kill because they were connected to you?"
"You know how many," Harry said in a low voice. "This isn't some game to gamble at, this is—"
Before he could finish, Ginny had shoved him against the wall of the staircase. "This is the just the way it is, Harry," she said in a harsh whisper. For a second Harry felt honestly afraid of Ginny. Was Voldemort affecting her as well?
It seemed that Ginny had the same thought, and she backed away almost immediately. "How many, Harry?" she asked, her voice quiet and filled with anxiety. "They all lived, didn't they? There haven't been any others that you haven't told anyone about? No one outside Hogwarts? No one Dumbledore is hiding from us? I've heard about them all? They all lived?"
Harry stared back at her. "Yes, they've all lived —so far."
Ginny slumped against the wall across from Harry, and whispered to herself: "...but at what price?"
"Ginny, we don't know that you're—"
"They don't know, Harry," Ginny said with a nod toward the stairs, "but we do," she finished, her voice returning to the same passive tone she'd been using. "You don't want to admit it, but you feel it just the same as I do. You can feel him. You know he's working on a plan. That's why you've been trying to follow me everywhere. That's why you keep the Map in your robes and why you and Ron were fighting."
"I worry about everyone who's close to me," Harry countered. "I think that's what Voldemort wants. He wants Dumbledore and I to be so distracted that we won't be ready when the real attack comes. He wants everyone to be so afraid of a couple Death Eaters in the forest that we don't notice the rest of them sneaking into the Ministry. He doesn't need to attack anyone so long as he keeps everyone thinking that they might be next."
"You're probably right," Ginny agreed. She turned and started walking toward the stairs to her dormitory. "Justin is alright, though?"
Harry tried to hide his annoyance. "Except for a great bloody scar across his neck? Yeah, he'll be okay, I guess."
"And Susan? She'll walk again?"
"Pomfrey says she should be walking in a week or so." Harry didn't like the way Ginny was asking these questions, but he answered them honestly nonetheless.
"And Neville will be alright in the end. I know he will. It'll just take time..." Ginny seemed to relax a bit and the nervousness that Harry had seen in her the last few days seemed to melt away. "I'll be alright, too. I just—"
"Ginny, don't say that," Harry interrupted. "You're safe with me. They won't attack me. I'll protect you. I won't let them get to you." Ginny's face brightened into one of the first genuine smiles Harry had seen since the Ball.
"I know you will, Harry. That's the only thing I'm afraid of anymore."
With that Ginny turned and walked up the stairs gracefully, as if she had left all her worries behind her.
Over the next few days Harry tried to keep a closer eye on Ginny. At first he thought he was simply imagining it, but after enough time he began to notice the small changes.
Ginny seemed to spend almost every moment outside the Gryffindor common room in the company of at least two other people. When she left the castle, her eyes would scan the area around her constantly. At first Harry thought she was simply being cautious, but over time he realized that she wasn't acting nervous or afraid. It looked instead like she were simply searching for something. Or someone.
It occurred to him that she might have realized that she was being watched. He'd caught the occasional disgusted look from her as he took pointless detours throughout his day to follow her through the corridors.
He needed to try and be a bit more discrete. He would only upset Ginny if she found out he was following her. The Invisibility Cloak would certainly fix that, but it would be much more difficult to use during the day. There were simply too many students around. So he decided he'd have to find ways to watch her without her knowing. The idea made him feel slightly guilty, but he needed to be certain that she was safe.
The obvious answer was the Marauder's Map. He could easily watch her whenever he was away from other students with it. When students were around, he would just have to settle for watching from a distance, or simply letting himself be seen.
He found the Map to be somewhat less useful than he had hoped. Ginny spent most of her time outside class either in the Great Hall, the library or the Gryffindor common room. During the day, there were few times that Harry was able to use the Map. The one best method he had was the Tower itself. From his dormitory, he was able to see quite a bit of the grounds, and he began spending more time looking out of it.
Slowly he began to see new patterns that worried him. He began to catch Ginny walking alone in situations where she never had before. One night she stayed back after Care of Magical Creatures to help Hagrid, and Harry watched as she walked from the edge of the forest back to the castle completely alone.
With the Map he caught her walking alone through the corridors on a number of occasions. She wasn't doing anything dangerous, usually just trips to the library or the Great Hall. Yet this only happened if he wasn't there to see it.
The conclusion was fairly obvious. Ginny knew that Harry had been watching her, and she was trying to convince him that she was being safe. When he wasn't around, however, she acted as if nothing were wrong. It was annoying and worrisome. She needed to take her own security more seriously. Once again, Harry returned to following her around. If that was the only way to make sure that she was safe, he'd simply endure whatever angry looks she gave him.
Other than those times when Harry's activities became embarrassingly obvious to her, Ginny's spirits seemed to have brightened from the temporary depression she'd fallen into after Neville had been attacked. It had become quite common for the two of them to spend the nights sitting together at a table, or on a couch. It didn't seem to matter if they were each working on essays, or if they were trying to teach Andrew Kirke's cat new games to play. Nights were simply more enjoyable with Ginny around.
Their relationship had become much less complicated now that everyone knew about them. Ron would still get annoyed at the two of them if they were ever simply enjoying themselves, but it was much less stressful than having to constantly worry about smiling or laughing too much. The freedom from Hermione's disapproving stares was worth it alone.
The days quickly fell into a pattern that Harry had come to accept. He'd try to keep as close an eye on Ginny as he could during the day, and at night they'd sit together in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny never mentioned the fact that Harry followed her, and he never reminded her of the danger they knew she was in.
As the next round of Quidditch matches approached, they spent more and more time at the pitch practicing and running all manner of drills. Some practices ran all the way to sundown, prompting Hermione to stop showing up to watch. After every practice, Harry would wait to walk back with Ginny and Ron would make certain to join them.
After one particular practice, not long before the upcoming match against Hufflepuff, Ginny had been walking back to the castle with Ron and Harry when a piece of parchment dropped from her bag. Harry spotted it immediately, and stopped to pick it up. It was just a scrap, but written on it in flowing script was a simple message:
The office — 8 p.m.
"I think you, er... dropped this," he said as he handed it back to Ginny.
She feigned surprise as she stuffed it back in her pocket. "Oh, thank you, Harry," she said with a smile. "That was more important than it looked."
Ron barely noticed, but Harry got the message clear enough. Ginny needed to talk to him. Or rather, she wanted to be alone with him for a while. Harry tried not to blush at the thought. It had been quite a while since they'd been alone. There had been spare moments here and there when they'd been left alone, but nothing that didn't carry the worry of having Ron suddenly appear.
Harry left for the abandoned office well before eight o'clock. It had become something of a standard plan for them. They would always separate the times they left, and provide different excuses for their absences. It certainly wouldn't fool everyone, and even Ron could have guessed what was going on, but none of them would be able to find them either. Harry kept the Marauder's Map on him at all times.
He sat on the window seat as usual and waited patiently for Ginny to show up. He checked his watch, and only started to get a little nervous when eight o'clock came and passed. At ten minutes past eight, Ginny finally slipped into the office, flashed a smile at Harry, then locked and soundproofed the door.
"It's been a while since we've been able to be alone," Harry commented cheerily when she'd finished.
"I know," Ginny replied flatly. She turned and Harry felt confused. She looked annoyed and possibly angry.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you have to follow me everywhere I go?" Ginny asked as she walked over to the window seat and sat next to Harry.
"But... I thought you liked walking back to the castle with me?"
"I do. That's not the problem. The problem is you visiting Hagrid for no reason just to follow me to the greenhouses, or running to the library between classes because you know I'm headed for Charms." Harry sat silently. He didn't know how to respond. Ginny frowned at him and rubbed her eyes. "Why, exactly, are you doing that?"
Harry turned to face her. "I'm trying to protect you."
"Right, and I appreciate that, I really do," Ginny said as she reached out to hold Harry's hand, "but if you want me to be safe you have to stop."
"When I stopped you started walking around all by yourself."
"Nothing is going to stop Tom from attacking me, Harry. I'm not going to lock myself in my dormitory to stay safe. Whoever is attacking the students is following you, Harry. Maybe they're following me now, too. There's nothing I can do about that. But we both know that someone is paying attention to everything you do, and everywhere you go."
Harry understood and began feeling foolish almost immediately. He had been leading the Death Eaters to all of the victims. All of the time he'd spent following Ginny was simply proving just how much he cared about Ginny.
"It's unavoidable now, isn't it?" he asked in a quiet voice.
Ginny didn't respond. She gave him a small smile, and ran her fingers though his disorganized hair. After a minute or so, she slid over next to Harry, and put her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to think about that right now. Between classes and homework and my prat of a brother we never get to spend time alone. Let's not waste this with stupid talk about what Tom and his pointless plans."
So they sat and talked about whatever they wanted. Ginny leaned against him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. There was some kissing, but for the most part they simply sat and talked about whatever they wished, without any thought or concern over who would overhear them or what anyone might think.
The night of the Gryffindor team's last practice before their match (the Slytherin and Ravenclaw teams had booked the pitch for both of the following nights) was a cold and windy night. When the team finally walked back into the Common Room, they found Hermione sitting quietly by the fire stroking Crookshanks and reading a ridiculously large textbook.
"It's 'Detection Spells for Defensive Situations'," she informed them when Ron asked about it. "I figured as long as I had some spare time, I should learn some spells which might help Harry."
"Yeah, well I hope you weren't hoping I would learn them tonight," Harry said as he flopped down on the couch across from the fire. Ginny sat next to him, and Ron glared at her while sitting in a chair facing Hermione.
"The Snitch kept flying into the clouds," Ginny explained with a small smile. "Poor Harry," she said in a theatrically sad voice, "It took four Drying Charms to get him back to normal. He only just stopped complaining about it."
Harry smiled back at Ginny. Practice had been miserable. He'd caught the Snitch several times, but it kept soaring into the low clouds over the pitch, drenching Harry in freezing mist as he chased after it. He was looking forward to a long bit of sleep tonight.
A group of fifth years walked over to Ginny, each politely greeting Harry. Harry just smiled. They asked Ginny if she wanted to start revisions for O.W.L.s with them, but she declined just as politely as they asked, saying that she was too exhausted. Hermione tried to keep her annoyance to a minimum.
"If you want, you can borrow some of my notes from last year. Whenever you start studying for the O.W.L.s, that is. Or have you started already?" she asked, trying to sound cheery.
Ginny reclined into the couch and looked into the fire, thoughtfully. "Do you think it's worth it? Studying, I mean."
"Worth it?" Hermione gasped.
Ron however, was laughing. "That's the right attitude, Ginny. They're not worth it."
Hermione had sat up, annoying Crookshanks who leapt over to Ginny's lap. "How else will you get into all the classes you'll need?" she asked.
"Wait," Ron said as he sat up. "How do you know what classes she'll need?" Harry's eyes were closed, but he was listening with some amusement. He turned to Ron with his eyes still closed,
"Probably because Ginny told her, Ron."
"She didn't tell me." Ron was crestfallen. Harry laughed again. "Well, she didn't tell me, either. I'm feeling more and more like family every year." Ron wasn't laughing, but he did crack a smile.
"Not close enough, obviously," he said in a disgusted voice. Harry didn't see Ron's smile, but he could hear it through his voice.
Harry's mood was picking up. "Ron and I did okay, and we didn't spend every spare minute studying. In fact, if I were you, I'd skip the Potions exam. It's not worth it. You'll do just fine without another two years of Snape."
"Maybe Ginny has higher ambitions than just fine," huffed Hermione. "Some rather important careers need N.E.W.T. level Potions, and she's not going to get that if she doesn't study." Ron laid back and stretched his long legs across the floor. "Well, she's not going to get it if she's gone mad after months of studying either."
Hermione just shook her head and ignored him. She leaned forward, and spoke in a calm voice. "I know it's a little intimidating, but it's really better if you get a good head start," she said wisely. "That way, you won't be driving yourself mad at the last minute like everyone else."
"Oh, it isn't that," Ginny said looking at her feet. "I... well... I just don't know if it's worth my time now. I'm afraid there are more important things I should be worrying about than trying to remember the names of all the stars in the Spring sky. I don't even know if I'll be able to take the exams."
"Why wouldn't you?" questioned Hermione.
"Well we don't even know if Neville will come back before the end of term. If this was his fifth year, he'd probably end up taking the O.W.L.s over the summer holidays. Dean still can't see. I won't be taking the exams if I can't see."
Harry sighed loudly. "Not this again, Ginny..." he complained. He had been feeling happy for a change. Why couldn't he have a single week of happiness? Even Ron didn't want to think of it. He'd covered his head with his arms, trying to block out the impending discussion.
"Why not, Harry?" Ginny replied. "It's not going away."
"We know what's going on now," Hermione said. "We'll protect you." Ginny let out a bitter laugh.
"Right. We know what he's doing, so we're all set? We've known what he was doing for a while, but it didn't help us protect Dean, or Susan, or Neville."
Harry's eyes opened, and he glared at Ginny. "I tried to protect Dean and Susan," he growled, "and Neville... well, there wasn't much any of us could do."
"He was safe for a while, and he would have been safe even longer if he'd done as you told him," agreed Ginny. "but you couldn't protect him forever. Tom would have waited and you just couldn't follow him everywhere."
Harry stared at Ginny. Was she still talking about Neville? Through her calm, even voice Harry detected a hint of restrained fear. She was talking about herself. Harry sat up and looked directly at her. "I tried. You can't just give up."
"It's only a matter of time. Don't you see it?" she asked with forced serenity. "They'll come for all of us," she added matter-of-factly. Ron sat up in his chair.
"What? Why?"
"Open your eyes, Ronald Weasley. Tom Riddle isn't daft. He was one of the brightest wizards Hogwarts has seen, and he's smarter now than he ever was," Ginny said as she rubbed Crookshanks. "He has a plan, and it's working."
"It's working?" Ron said incredulously. "His plan is to attack a bunch of students? The only thing he's really accomplished is giving Harry more bad dreams."
"What's next?" Ron scoffed, "Smuggling in dodgy cauldrons and hoping that someone burns down the Potions classroom? He's diabolical, that one."
"This isn't a joke, Ron," Hermione said sternly.
"I think it is," he replied forcefully. "He still hasn't done anything. He's only attacked a few students and some families. It isn't near the terror the Order told us the last time was. I think it's just like Harry and Lupin said: He's waiting for something." Hermione tried to interrupt, but Ron kept talking.
"There are... two Death Eaters we've seen? He's probably got the rest of them bottled up somewhere, doing something really horrible like making a vampire army or training all the brutish giants to kill wizards or... er—"
"Reading books," Harry said.
Ron stared at Harry. "Well, I guess I figured they'd be doing something a bit more violent than curling up with a nice adventure story, but—"
"What do you mean, Harry?" Hermione finally interrupted.
"Whenever I saw them, they were reading books," he said flatly. "They were always in rooms packed with great stacks of books." Hermione looked confused, but said nothing.
"I bet we'll know why when we see it," Ron said. "I'm telling you, this is all just some sick diversion."
Ginny disagreed. "The Tom Riddle I knew didn't waste his time with diversions. If you ask me, I think this is the plan. Right now, there are a number of people in St. Mungo's injured in ways that no one's seen before."
Ron still didn't see it. "So? Are you saying he's been spending all his time demonstrating whatever bizarre hexes he learned from some old hag in Albania? Seems like a waste of time to me."
"Look at what's happening, Ron!" Ginny almost shouted. "How many people sleep in your dormitory now? How many people have quit the D.A.? He's making everyone afraid. He's trying to split us apart, but he's doing it so slowly that no one will notice until it's too late. The first ones were just to distance everyone from Harry, but not the last ones. He's attacking people closer and closer to Harry each time. The students aren't avoiding Harry because they think he's the one behind the attacks anymore. They're staying away because they know Voldemort is targeting anyone who gets close to Harry. Voldemort is ripping Hogwarts apart from the inside, and it's only a matter of time before it'll be my turn."
"We don't know that, Ginny," Hermione said, trying to be helpful.
Ginny smiled back at her. "Harry does. So do I. He didn't tell us everything about the last attack." Ron and Hermione were silent. Ginny turned to look at Harry, who was staring at her.
"Who's next, Harry?" Ginny asked calmly. "What did Voldemort tell you while Bellatrix was hexing Neville? You said he told you it was a gift. What did Neville do that made Voldemort want to give him a gift?"
Harry glared at Ginny. She must have already figured it out. She'd probably figured it out as soon as Harry had.
When Harry still didn't say anything, Hermione spoke up. "We all know what being Harry's friend means. We were all with him in the Department of Mysteries. We're in the Order now. None of us will be safe until Voldemort is gone forever. You can't just give up and wait to be attacked."
"I never said I was giving up. I think I'm accepting it right now," Ginny said with a nervous nod. She turned to Hermione. "What will you do when it's your turn?" she inquired. Everyone was silent, and eventually Ginny sat back, looking a little shaken. She sat quietly for a short time, then slowly stood up and walked toward the stairs to her dormitory.
"Ginny?" Harry called to her as he sat up. She stopped and turned around to smile at him. Harry swallowed hard. "Don't... Don't do anything stupid."
Ginny's face twisted in confusion. "I don't think I know what I could do that would be stupid, Harry," she said.
"You know what I mean."
Ginny nodded and looked away. "You're right. Susan only lost the use of her legs, but Katie would kill me if I missed the match against Hufflepuff. I'll see you tomorrow, Harry." She turned and walked up the stairs as calmly as if she'd just had a chat with her friends.
"I'm worried about her, Harry," Hermione said.
Harry stood and walked toward his dormitory.
"I know."
Author's Notes:
Alright, more chapters for reading. Following tradition, some review responses:
Lazlo and the Dragons: Lot's of people seemed to have liked this inclusion. I'm glad. It was just a little bit of fun that I tossed in. It wasn't supposed to be terribly subtle, but it was worth a bit of a chuckle.
Poor Neville: Love can be a blinding thing, and it can be a dangerous thing when it empowers us to act without thinking. Neville pretty much spells out the reasons for his behavior. In the end, it was clear where his loyalties lied, but until then, he was manipulated by his own infatuation.
Forced Visions: You should be concerned about the escalation and ease with which Harry is getting his visions. Harry is just as concerned.
(From krissygurl) Update Soon: Gee. And I thought 35 chapters in about... six days (Has it only been that long?) was pretty good. I guess I'll see what I can do.
My first critical review: It contained a number of decent points, all of which I've considered before I even posted the first chapter. Some of Harry's decisions require the reader to simply accept what the story says. He normally is proactive, but at the end of OotP, being proactive got Sirius killed. By the time that he recovers from that, he no longer has any idea how to be proactive about the current threat. That is the whole point. How do you be proactive against someone who isn't even attacking you? Still, it is a valid point. All I can say is that I realize it is there, and that I purposefully wrote it that way. Feel free to disagree. Similar things can be said about Harry's decisions to keep Ginny a secret and his decision to go to the ball. Being a teenager, he simply never imagined going to the Ball without a date, but going with Ginny felt too risky for him. Whether that is valid is less important than whether Harry feels its valid. That's just fiction for you. And again, with the Order keeping things from him, I intended it to be more along the lines of them fearing Harry would do something horribly irresponsible, as he often has in the past. They kept him in the dark so that he wouldn't have a reason to be stupid. That's just how its written. I may go rewrite some sections to make that clearer.
Finally, I understand that the plot can get a bit complex. It's meant to be complex, though I don't really have a good idea of how complex it really is. When we all get to the end, everything that is interesting should be explained. Well... almost everything. I had to end the story somewhere.
A Warning:
The plot is picking up quite a bit now. If the tone of this chapter wasn't an indication, take note that there won't be much in the way of 'fun chapters' occuring anytime soon. I've been quite pleased at the various readers who've expressed strong emotions toward the characters. For those of you who are more sensitive than others, I might suggest running out to buy some chocolate before you read any further. I hear that dark chocolate has more Make-You-Happy-Chemicals than milk chocolate, and the local Safeway had a sale on Hershey's Dark Chocolate Nuggets. Not that I'm saying you have to. It's just a suggestion.