A/N: Again, let me know if you see anything weird. FFN is still doing strange things when I edit in Document Manager. Stuff keeps disappearing/duplicating, etc.

Blue Eyes at Night - I agree that Lily dying to protect Harry is part of the protection that he has, but I don't think it explains everything that happened. Why would that cause some of Voldemort's power to be transferred to Harry? Why didn't it kill Voldemort? And why does 'love' seem to be the "power that the Dark Lord knows not"? I think there's something more going on that JKR will eventually tell us about (and then it will probably seem obvious...).

angel40689 - Wow! Thanks! Glad you're liking it so much, but I confess, I think JKR will probably have come up with something much better! I love her attention to detail and how insignificant things suddenly become important a book or two later.

Young Philosopher – "A speedy update." – Under normal circumstances (since I've usually completely written my stories before I post any part of it), you get a daily update, but this is an odd case where I'm trying to get it finished and posted before July 16, so I started putting it up before I am done writing it. I started skipping a day posting to stretch it since I'm running out of completed chapters. Hopefully the long weekend will fix that problem.

Anyway, welcome to the writing community!

Elwen of Lorien – "With what Remus said about Watson it makes you wonder why Dumbledore trusts her" – Hmmm, I didn't mean that to be suspicious. He was just worried about her safety, with her 'avenge' comment, but she was really only saying aloud what he also feels. She really isn't meant to be 'suspect' (unlike Snape).

Chapter 12

The night passed uneventfully and, by the next day, more students began returning to the school even though it was Christmas Eve. Their parents were on edge and felt they would be safer at Hogwarts. Not surprisingly, far fewer Slytherin returned early than any other house. With the unexpectedly large group that would be there for Christmas Day, Dumbledore put the prefects in charge of organizing some activities to help everyone enjoy the holiday despite what was going on outside school walls. The Christmas Day feast rivaled the Halloween feast, though the atmosphere was much more subdued than usual.

At the end of a week, people were beginning to relax again, but just as they did, there were more attacks. Aurelia found herself again watching the faces of Hogwarts students become fearful, as they dreaded each day receiving bad news about some loved one or friend. Madam Pomfrey had her hands full caring for those whose families were attacked or killed, and it was almost a relief for classes to begin again to somewhat take their minds off things.

Ginny was a bit surprised when Professor Watson asked to see her during their second week back. When she arrived at her office, the Professor stood at the window watching the falling snow. She turned at Ginny's knock and smiled, waving her into the room. Ginny couldn't think of anything she had done wrong, and it was usually pretty clear when the Professor was upset about something, so she tried to relax and not be too concerned about what was coming. As it turned out, it was nothing she would ever have imagined.

"Ginny, this is a rather personal question, but if you don't mind answering, I would appreciate it. What are your feelings for Harry?"

The question took Ginny aback. She had never expected a teacher to ask her such a thing, but because of the Professor's involvement in helping them get together, Ginny thought she deserved an honest answer.

"I think I've cared about him almost since the day we met. At first it was just a sort of school-girl crush, but no matter how I've tried to get over him and move on, nothing ever worked. I dated other boys but it always fell apart, mostly because I couldn't entirely let go of wanting Harry." She eyed her Professor curiously, waiting for a response.

Aurelia came to sit on the desk in front of her. "You heard what Harry told me the night we all came back to school?" Ginny nodded.

"Would you say that you are in love with Harry?"

It was a blunt question and Ginny blushed, but upon consideration, it seemed an accurate statement, "Yes, I think I do."

"Good. I'm still not entirely certain what role 'love' plays in what Harry has to do in facing Voldemort, but if it is a key factor, and it might very well be, the more we can strengthen it, all the better for Harry – and everyone else."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ginny admitted.

Aurelia stood and paced the room, lost in thought for a few moments, then explained, "Harry spent the first ten years since his parents' death living with relatives who despised him. And he had no real memories of his parents. The one thing most lacking during those years was love. Then he came to Hogwarts and made friends with Ron and Hermione, and others. Friendship, in itself, is a kind of love, and it was really the first time Harry had experienced it. And now he has you. Perhaps he isn't ready to call it 'love' just yet, but certainly he has affection for you that goes beyond friendship and, more importantly, it soothes him and makes him happy. When we are at our weakest, and under attack in some way, often it is the knowledge that we are loved that gives us strength to carry on. Voldemort can't understand that because he's never loved anyone. He doesn't realize how powerful it can be, and he underestimates its value, but in a round-about way, he knows that the more isolated and alone Harry feels, the more vulnerable he is. We need to counteract that. We need to make sure Harry knows, without a doubt, that he has people who love him. He needs to know it so unshakably that nothing Voldemort can do will convince him otherwise."

She paused, watching Ginny for a reaction, but Ginny kept silent. Continuing, she said, "I know it is early in your romantic relationship with Harry, but to the extent that you can show more love for him, more support, more caring, more tenderness, it will add to his store of power when the time comes that he has to face Voldemort. I hesitated to mention this to you since I didn't want to put pressure on you, or make you uncomfortable or awkward with him. And hopefully it won't have the negative effect of making you too conscious of it to act naturally. I just wanted to encourage you to…well, let yourself love him just as much as you possibly can. It's hard not to hold back a little, fearful of rejection, but if you can give yourself over totally to your feelings…it might help."

Ginny sat chewing her lip a few moments before looking up to meet Aurelia's gaze. "It is kind of scary; you're right. But I've always cared about Harry, and most days I can hardly believe he finally feels the same about me. If we are ever to really have a chance together, he has to defeat Voldemort. We can never really be happy with him hanging over our heads. If that means loving Harry more, and showing that love outwardly, I'm willing to do it." She brushed at the tears that pricked with the fervor of her words.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, Aurelia moved to her and pulled her into a hug. "If it helps to have someone to talk to, my door is always open," she assured the girl.

xxxxx

Ginny was as good as her word. From then on, every opportunity she had to touch Harry's hand, take his arm, give him a hug or kiss, she made use of it. There could be no doubting that it was having a positive effect. Ever since Christmas he had worn a somewhat haunted look and worry lines creased his face. Gradually that lessened as Ginny poured on the affection, and he was more likely to rub his scar and indicate that Voldemort was unhappy about something. Everytime he told her that, Ginny just smiled and pulled him into a hug. Take this, Tom! she thought.

Eventually the killings tapered off somewhat, but didn't disappear entirely. It became more and more difficult to tell who had gone over to the dark side. The Order was keeping a close eye on those who had been accused of and denied their previous association with Voldemort, knowing most of them had just been trying to escape punishment when Voldemort was defeated fifteen years ago. But it was more difficult to tell who had newly joined them. The Ministry continued to be ineffective in dealing with the situation and, in desperation, Cornelius Fudge finally relented and was seeking out Dumbledore's guidance in the matter. Too little, too late, but at least Dumbledore was able to persuade him to do a few useful things.

Bill Weasley was working with the goblins in hopes of influencing them to support mainstream wizardom in the coming battle, but whether the giants had been positively swayed by Hagrid's efforts was very much uncertain.

January and February dragged by, but as the killings dwindled, people began to breathe a little easier. As they came into March, and better weather, Dumbledore decided to allow the Hogsmeade trip that had been scheduled. There was some dissent from those who believed it was too dangerous, but Dumbledore was anxious to allow the students as much normalcy as was possible in their lives at the moment. Even so, he prevailed upon most of the teachers to make the trip also, to keep an eye on things and be there in case of trouble. Those teachers who were in the Order of the Phoenix were especially watchful, and Dumbledore had asked Aurelia to keep close tabs on Harry the entire day. If something was going to happen, he had a feeling it would center around Harry.

Aurelia was not terribly thrilled at the idea of tailing a teenage couple who would rather be alone, but she knew it was a wise precaution. It didn't take long for Harry and Ginny to notice her ever-present proximity to them, and finally Harry confronted her.

"Are you following us?" he asked, slightly miffed.

She smiled understandingly. "Afraid so, Harry. Dumbledore thinks it's for the best, and I must agree with him on it. Though, if it makes you feel any better, spying on you isn't my idea of fun either!"

Reluctantly Harry grinned, knowing she was right. Still…

Suddenly she stepped toward him, and caught hold of his robe. "I think with a little creativity, it may be possible for me not to make you feel so crowded," she told them in a low voice. While they eyed her curiously, she murmured a spell and Harry's robe glowed briefly.

"What did you do?" asked Ginny.

Before she could answer, Harry caught on, "A portkey?"

She nodded. "But when will it activate?" Ginny questioned.

"I did a variation on the usual spell. Both of you should be perfectly capable of activating it at the first sign of trouble." She moved closer and whispered the rest of the spell in both their ears, then had them whisper it back to make sure they had heard correctly.

"Where will it take us? To Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"No. With the protections on the school, you can't portkey in. It will take you into the Shrieking Shack. Go and wait at the exit near the Whomping Willow and someone will come let you out."

"But if there's trouble, we should stay and help," Harry claimed.

"No! If there's trouble, you may well be the focal point. The sooner you disappear, the sooner the trouble is likely to end. Don't stop for anything. If you even suspect trouble, activate the portkey and get out of here. If it's a false alarm, I'll make sure you know it and can return."

"Is this…er, legal?" Ginny asked hesitantly. "Don't you have to clear portkeys through the Ministry?"

Professor Watson grinned. "I wouldn't know. I was in seclusion so long I'm sure I've forgotten a lot of things. Apparently that is one of them!"

Harry and Ginny laughed appreciatively. But Professor Watson sobered once more, admonishing, "No heroics, Harry. Just go if there's trouble. Eventually you'll have to face Voldemort, but it's best if we can avoid it in a crowd of innocent people. To whatever extent we can, we plan on setting the terms of your confrontation with him."

Harry nodded, and reached for Ginny's hand.

"I'll still be within eyeshot of you – that can't be helped. But at least this way I can give you a little more space."

"Thanks," Harry and Ginny said together, then slowly moved away.

By mid-afternoon, with no indication of any trouble, it seemed the precautions had been unnecessary. But Aurelia refused to allow herself to relax. Voldemort liked to be unpredictable, and it would not surprise her if he was delaying on purpose to lull them into false security.

As if reading her thoughts, there were suddenly several popping sounds and Death Eaters began Apparating into the village. People began screaming and running in terror just at the sight of them. Immediately, Aurelia sprang into action and a moment later every student she saw had been transfigured into owls. Some of them flew to rooftops and just sat there rather dazed, but a number took off instantly in the direction of Hogwarts.

Snape and McGonagall showed up, and McGonagall gasped as she saw what Aurelia was doing. "Are you mad?" she exclaimed.

Tersely, Aurelia responded, "It was the quickest way to hide them. Help me!"

McGonagall hesitated, but Snape followed her lead. The disappearance of the students seemed to confuse the half dozen Death Eaters, and after a few moments, they Disapparated.

"Where's Potter?" asked McGonagall.

"If he did what I told him, he's back on the Hogwarts grounds. I'll go find him if you and Severus can take care of things here."

McGonagall nodded, but she did not look pleased. "Very well."

A moment later, Aurelia had also portkeyed away, leaving Snape and McGonagall eyeing one another. Her lips a thin line, McGonagall said, "Let's get started then, transfiguring them back. We need to determine if anyone is missing." It took awhile for them to make the change since there were so many real owls in Hogsmeade. When they felt like they had all that were there, they shepherded them back to the castle in haste.

Meanwhile, Aurelia had arrived in the Shack and hurried along the tunnel towards Hogwarts. As she drew nearer to the end, she could see two figures in the darkness ahead by the faint light coming in through the tunnel entrance.

"You're both all right?" she asked, coming up to them.

They nodded. "What happened after we left?" Harry asked.

"Long story. I'll tell you later. Right now we need to check in so we can find out if anyone is missing." She passed them and squirmed up the slope to reach out and prod the knot on the tree's trunk, freezing its waving branches.

The three of them scrambled out and away from the tree, then headed for the castle. They found much turmoil in the entrance hall, with McGonagall accounting for each student who had gone to Hogsmeade before sending them off to their common rooms. They were missing two students, so Aurelia headed for the Owlery to check there, and returned a quarter hour later with the two in tow.

"A meeting, I think, in my office, Professors," Dumbledore said, gesturing to McGonagall, Snape and Watson. He set the other teachers to securing the castle and checking the students for any injuries or trauma from the day's events.