A/N: Hey! Thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter up sooner, I've been busy working on the next two chapters. I hope y'all like this one...let me know!
Please Review! ~AE~
III. Kindred Spirits
The next morning, Ginny was noticeably composed, especially since she and Harry were having a conversation. Everyone noticed and silently stared at the two as if they had grown extra heads, until the twins broke the silence.
"Oy, who are you, and what'd you do with Ginny?"
"Yeah, and if you went to all the trouble to make a polyjuice potion, you should've known to knock your juice over at least five times by now!"
"You two are such prats." Then a spark came to Ginny's eye, "and I can prove that I'm Ginny, because I know what you were doing last week when -"
"Hey, we were only joking. No need to go spreading stories," George interrupted, blushing.
Everyone at the table laughed (well, except for Mrs. Weasley, who was eyeing Fred and George suspiciously), and began talking again.
"So what are you two going to do today?" Ginny directed at Harry and Ron.
"Oh, probably de-gnome the garden for mum," Ron answered.
"Sounds good. I'd really like to play Quidditch, too, it seems like forever since I've been on a broom," Harry added. "What about you, Ginny, fancy joining us?"
Ron looked at Harry like he was crazy. Ginny hated flying.
"No, I don't think so," Ginny blushed for the first time that morning.
"Why not?" returned Harry.
"I'm just not too fond of flying. I'd rather have both feet on the ground."
"Oh, alright then." Harry wondered why he'd never known that about his best friend's little sister.
~
Ginny sat at her desk all morning, finally writing her History of Magic essay as she listened to the rhythmic thumping of gnome's being thrown out of the back garden. Amazed at her ability to so quickly change her attitude towards Harry, she decided that it must have just been a silly crush and since she had realized that, she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.
As she finished the last inch of her essay, Ginny realized that it was time for lunch. She rolled the parchment up and bounced happily down the stairs. In the living room was someone she hadn't expected to see so soon.
"Hermione?!?!"
"Ginny! I just got here; I was about to go look for you. Your mum's in the kitchen making lunch. Want to walk with me to tell Harry and Ron to come eat?"
"Sure." Once they were outside, Ginny began interrogating Hermione, "So, what was it like?"
"What was what like?" Hermione said innocently.
"You know, being in Bulgaria with Viktor Krum. What happened? I want all the details..."
"Alright, I'll tell you. I have to tell someone or I just might burst."
"What is it, already? I'm dying of anticipation, Herm!"
"Well, it started when-" but just then Ron and Harry ran up shouting excited greetings to Hermione, and the trio shared a hug in light of their reunion.
Ginny would have to wait until later for the "girl talk" session.
~
After lunch, Hermione & Ginny followed the boys (Ron, Harry, Fred, & George) outside. The girls sat under Ginny's favorite tree and watched the others play Quidditch. Since they were out of earshot, Hermione could finally tell Ginny about her adventures in Bulgaria.
"Alright, Hermione, so what happened with Viktor that you're gonna burst about?"
"Well, I took the floo to the Viktor's house. His parents were really nice, but not very talkative. They live in Bansko, which is in the Pirin Mountains. It was so beautiful there! The old architecture was breathtaking! The first week we spent sightseeing: Veliko Târnovo, the medieval capital, the Rila Monastery, a beautiful abbey, and the capital, Sofia. Then we stayed in Varna, by the Black Sea. There were lovely seaside gardens, an opera house, a really wicked archeology museum...oh! And you'll never believe this, there was a street called ul Han Krum that the Roman baths were on, and Viktor said that one of his ancestors was an ancient Roman wizard that had helped design the baths! Magically, of course. Isn't just fascinating how -"
"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, a frustrated look on her face.
"What?"
"I'd love to hear about all the places you saw, but I know there's more to it than that, otherwise you would have told Ron & Harry, too."
Hermione blushed, "You're right. I just got a little carried away with myself, sorry. Oh, Ginny, you're never going to believe this!"
"Oh, get on with it already, Hermione!"
"All right, well...one night when we were strolling through the gardens, Viktor asked me to be his girlfriend!!"
"You're kidding! A professional Quidditch player asked you to be his girlfriend? That's so amazing...please tell me you said yes!"
"At first I said I wasn't sure; I've never really had a relationship before, let alone a long-distance one. But we talked about it for a long time and decided that we could make it work."
"So do you love him, then?" Ginny asked dreamily.
"Love him?" Hermione paused while thinking about this. "I don't know. I mean, I really like him, he's like a big teddy bear at heart, you know...he has a burly exterior, but he's actually very kind and considerate. But...I guess I just always thought that when I fell in love, I would just know. That every part of me would shout out that that's who I was destined to be with forever. But it hasn't happened. At least not yet. I'm not too worried, though, because I read in Wizards are from Mars, Witches are from Venus that sometimes you're friends with a person for a long time, and really like them, before you ever figure out that you're in love."
"Yeah, I've heard that, too." Ginny responded, thinking Maybe it's a good thing I'm just friends with Harry right now...then he'll realize how perfect he is for me...Wait, what am I thinking? I don't love Harry Potter; I just had a simple, school-girl crush. That's all.
"Well, even if I don't end up falling in love with him and marrying him, at least I'll know more about how to act in a relationship when I do meet the man of my dreams." Hermione concluded, just before Ron and Harry came within earshot.
The guys were through practicing for the day, and ready to go back to the house for dinner. After eating, Ginny decided to tuck in early, in hopes that she could actually get some sleep that night. Ron had a few chores to do, and he insisted that Harry and Hermione not help him because they were his guests. (Truthfully, he would have loved their help, but he wasn't sure he was ready to talk to Hermione yet.)
So that left Harry and Hermione alone to catch up on all that had happened to them since they left Hogwart's. Harry told her everything about what had happened at Arabella Figg's house, what Dumbledore had said, and what Charlie would be doing at Hogwart's the coming year. Hermione was very curious about how his studies would be enhanced ("I may have read something about enhanced studies in Hogwart's, A History, but it's at home in my trunk."), but she was even more interested in what was in Dumbledore's package for Arabella, and who the new professors at Hogwart's would be. They pondered these things, but couldn't come up with any feasible answers, so Harry decided he was going to find out what Hermione had been up to.
"So, why haven't you told Ron or me about Bulgaria yet?"
"Well, I was going to, I just wasn't sure how. I had a wonderful time sightseeing," she began, then told Harry what she had told Ginny about the places they visited in Bulgaria.
"So why didn't you want to tell us that?"
"Because he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes." Hermione blurted out, her eyes shut tight for fear of the look on Harry's face.
"Wow; I think that's great."
Hermione opened her eyes slightly into a squint, "You do?"
"Yeah, Krum may be from Durmstrang, but he's pretty nice guy. And if you think he's all right, that's saying something. But I can see why you'd be worried about Ron. He did go a little crazy about Krum last year."
"Honestly, I wish I knew what his problem was. I mean, he mouths off at me for being friends with Viktor, then asks him for his autograph! I'll never understand him. He makes me so angry sometimes, even though I always forgive him. I just hope he won't be too mad. I couldn't bear him not speaking to me."
"Well, if you want, I'll tell Ron for you," Harry offered.
"Tell me what?"
Harry and Hermione stared at Ron, neither knowing how to respond. Harry was the first to speak.
"You see, Ron, it's that..."
"No, Harry. Ron's my best friend. He deserves to hear it from me," Hermione interjected. Then she looked up at her soon-to-be-enraged friend, "Ron, Viktor and I are officially dating. He asked me to be his girlfriend, and -" before she could finish, Ron started yelling.
"Let me guess! You're going to transfer to Durmstrang! To be close to your Vikky-kins!"
"No, Ron! I'd never leave Hogwart's, you, or Harry, you know that! I was GOING to say that I really think that you'd like Viktor, if you'll just give him a chance. He wants to get to know you better - Harry, too - because he knows how important you are to me."
Ron hesitated, in surprise, at the thought of Viktor Krum wanting to get to know a Weasley, but quickly returned to being angry and stubborn.
"Get to know him?!?! You must be joking! Not in this century...I'd rather barf up slugs for a week!"
"That can be arranged," Hermione struck back, her face red and swollen with contempt. She knew Ron wasn't going to take this well, but she didn't foresee his temper giving her this much grief. She turned and ran upstairs so that Ron wouldn't see her crying.
~
Harry sighed, "Ron, when are you going to open your eyes?"
"About what? I can plainly see that Krum's no good, and that if Hermione's with him, she's gonna get hurt. I won't just let that happen!"
"Ron - Krum may be Bulgarian, he may be from Durmstrang. But that doesn't mean he's a bad person. It's our choices that make us who we are," Harry was remembering Dumbledore's words of encouragement to him only weeks before at Hogwart's.
"Krum has made a lot of good choices. And you know Hermione, so you honestly think that she'd go on holiday with - let alone date - someone she didn't trust?"
"I suppose you're right. I just can't stand seeing them together. Something about it just isn't right."
Harry was pretty sure he knew what Ron's problem was, but this wasn't the time to bring it up.
"Whether you agree with it or not, it's her decision, and if you want to remain her friend, you need to respect that."
There was a long, tense silence before Ron responded.
"You're right Harry, I guess I should go and apologize"
~
Ron knocked on the door to Ginny's bedroom, where Hermione always stayed when visiting the Weasley's.
A tear-stained Hermione cracked the door open. She was openly surprised to see Ron. After slipping into the hallway, she shut the door behind her and whispered, "You'd better not start yelling again, Ginny's sleeping."
"I don't want to yell at you, Hermione, I want to apologize...do you mind if we go to my room? I feel silly whispering out here in the corridor."
"Alright..." she said slowly, wondering what Harry could have done to calm Ron down so quickly.
~
Ron motioned for Hermione to sit down on his bright orange bed, then sat beside her and turned to face her.
"Hermione, I don't like you dating Krum. But..." he breathed deeply, preparing himself for what he was about to say, "But, if he makes you happy, I'll do my best to act properly towards him. I'm sorry I acted like such a prat. Will you forgive me?"
Hermione leaned over to hug him and said, "Yes, I'll always forgive you, Ron. I don't know what I'd do with out you. Thanks for giving Viktor a chance."
At that moment there was a knock at the door, and Ron and Hermione broke apart just as Harry poked his head in.
"Are you two friends again, yet?"
Ron nodded, while Hermione grinned a silent 'thank you' at Harry.
"Good, because I just had a fantastic idea."
"Which is?"
"My studies are being enhanced because Dumbledore wants me to be prepared if anything happens, if I encounter Voldemort again, right?"
"Right...." Ron drawled out, not liking where this conversation was headed.
"So," continued Harry, " I thought that, as an extra precaution, the three of us could become amimagi, just like my father and his friends did."
Harry's announcement was met with the responses he expected, but not from who he expected. Ron was first to speak.
"Harry! That's dangerous...what if we mess up and don't transform properly? People die all the time!"
"Oh, honestly, Ron, it's not as dangerous as the ministry makes everyone think," Hermione began, "Viktor was telling me -"
"Viktor? What does he know about transforming?" Ron spat back.
"Have you forgotten the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament already?" she returned coolly.
"Oh, well, alright, but he only managed to transform his head!"
"That's all he was trying to transform. Anyway, he can transform fully; he has even applied to register himself with the Bulgarian ministry of magic." Hermione finished haughtily. Before Ron could stick his foot further into his mouth, Harry interceded.
"That's enough, you two. I know it's dangerous, but I after all we've done, and the fact that one of us is the cleverest witch Hogwart's has ever seen, I don't see why we couldn't pull it off."
Harry looked at his two best friends hopefully. Hermione was blushing slightly at the complement he had paid her, and Ron had his face contorted in deep thought, before he finally broke into a mischievous grin and replied.
"This is going to wicked fun. What do we do first?"
~
The trio sat and discussed how to go about teaching themselves the complex procedure involved in becoming an animagus. After making a list of books they would try to buy when they got their things for school, Hermione told them what she knew about the subject, and they excitedly wondered what animals they would become.
Over the next few weeks, they continued planning and discussing their venture, and Harry occasionally broke from the group to ask Ginny further questions about relationships. Hermione tried to speak of Viktor as little as possible, but sends him an owl (and receives one back) every day or two.
~
It's now the eve of the Weasley clan's, plus two, yearly trek to Diagon Alley to buy supplies for the coming year at Hogwart's. It had been a seemingly ordinary day, had you overlooked the excited glances and frequent grins that passed between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They couldn't wait to visit Flourish & Blott's the following day. In order to wake up as early as possible, they all went to bed before the sun set. Ginny decided to go to bed as well, and after she and Hermione said goodnight to the boys, Hermione had a favor to ask.
"Ginny, do you have anything in particular you're planning to do in London tomorrow?"
"Besides getting my new books and such? No."
"Well, Ron and I were wondering if...if you would mind distracting Harry for an hour or two. We're planning a surprise party for his birthday next week and we need to get decorations and things. Would you mind?"
"Of course not! That's a great idea. Harry's never had a birthday party before, has he?"
"Not that I know of. Thanks so much, Ginny!"
"No problem. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."
The two girls drifted off to sleep; Hermione dreamt of Viktor...Ginny's dreams, however, were not so pleasant...
~
Harry sat up in bed suddenly, stifling a scream. His scar was burning like mad; he vaguely recalled the visions that had awoken him...had that been Lucius Malfoy he'd seen cowering away from...Voldemort?
Harry rubbed his forehead, and slipped out of Ron's room. Whenever his scar woke him up, he knew it was no use to try and go back to sleep, so he tried to find something to preoccupy himself until the stinging subsided.
As he reached Ginny & Hermione's door, he heard muffled voices and...someone crying? His natural drive at being a protector led him to open the door. Hermione was sleeping peacefully. Ginny was fidgeting and talking in slurred phrases. Harry managed to catch the words "diary," "Malfoy," and the curse "Crucio!"
"What the bloody hell..." the boy-who-lived muttered under his breath. Ginny couldn't be having the same dreams that he had been...could she? Determined to find out, he tiptoed over to her bed and sat beside her restless body.
As he leaned in to whisper her name, the light of the moon revealed her brow glistening with beads of perspiration and her eyes darting rapidly beneath their closed lids. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, with the intent of shaking her awake gently, his scar seared as it did only when he was near Voldemort.
The connection had an affect on Ginny as well, because immediately her eyes were open wide. Their gaze was locked for seconds, minutes, maybe even hours. Looking back, they would never be sure; time had stopped in that instant. Harry and Ginny now knew that they were not alone - they both shared the same visions of the Dark Lord's proceedings.
Please Review! ~AE~
III. Kindred Spirits
The next morning, Ginny was noticeably composed, especially since she and Harry were having a conversation. Everyone noticed and silently stared at the two as if they had grown extra heads, until the twins broke the silence.
"Oy, who are you, and what'd you do with Ginny?"
"Yeah, and if you went to all the trouble to make a polyjuice potion, you should've known to knock your juice over at least five times by now!"
"You two are such prats." Then a spark came to Ginny's eye, "and I can prove that I'm Ginny, because I know what you were doing last week when -"
"Hey, we were only joking. No need to go spreading stories," George interrupted, blushing.
Everyone at the table laughed (well, except for Mrs. Weasley, who was eyeing Fred and George suspiciously), and began talking again.
"So what are you two going to do today?" Ginny directed at Harry and Ron.
"Oh, probably de-gnome the garden for mum," Ron answered.
"Sounds good. I'd really like to play Quidditch, too, it seems like forever since I've been on a broom," Harry added. "What about you, Ginny, fancy joining us?"
Ron looked at Harry like he was crazy. Ginny hated flying.
"No, I don't think so," Ginny blushed for the first time that morning.
"Why not?" returned Harry.
"I'm just not too fond of flying. I'd rather have both feet on the ground."
"Oh, alright then." Harry wondered why he'd never known that about his best friend's little sister.
~
Ginny sat at her desk all morning, finally writing her History of Magic essay as she listened to the rhythmic thumping of gnome's being thrown out of the back garden. Amazed at her ability to so quickly change her attitude towards Harry, she decided that it must have just been a silly crush and since she had realized that, she wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.
As she finished the last inch of her essay, Ginny realized that it was time for lunch. She rolled the parchment up and bounced happily down the stairs. In the living room was someone she hadn't expected to see so soon.
"Hermione?!?!"
"Ginny! I just got here; I was about to go look for you. Your mum's in the kitchen making lunch. Want to walk with me to tell Harry and Ron to come eat?"
"Sure." Once they were outside, Ginny began interrogating Hermione, "So, what was it like?"
"What was what like?" Hermione said innocently.
"You know, being in Bulgaria with Viktor Krum. What happened? I want all the details..."
"Alright, I'll tell you. I have to tell someone or I just might burst."
"What is it, already? I'm dying of anticipation, Herm!"
"Well, it started when-" but just then Ron and Harry ran up shouting excited greetings to Hermione, and the trio shared a hug in light of their reunion.
Ginny would have to wait until later for the "girl talk" session.
~
After lunch, Hermione & Ginny followed the boys (Ron, Harry, Fred, & George) outside. The girls sat under Ginny's favorite tree and watched the others play Quidditch. Since they were out of earshot, Hermione could finally tell Ginny about her adventures in Bulgaria.
"Alright, Hermione, so what happened with Viktor that you're gonna burst about?"
"Well, I took the floo to the Viktor's house. His parents were really nice, but not very talkative. They live in Bansko, which is in the Pirin Mountains. It was so beautiful there! The old architecture was breathtaking! The first week we spent sightseeing: Veliko Târnovo, the medieval capital, the Rila Monastery, a beautiful abbey, and the capital, Sofia. Then we stayed in Varna, by the Black Sea. There were lovely seaside gardens, an opera house, a really wicked archeology museum...oh! And you'll never believe this, there was a street called ul Han Krum that the Roman baths were on, and Viktor said that one of his ancestors was an ancient Roman wizard that had helped design the baths! Magically, of course. Isn't just fascinating how -"
"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, a frustrated look on her face.
"What?"
"I'd love to hear about all the places you saw, but I know there's more to it than that, otherwise you would have told Ron & Harry, too."
Hermione blushed, "You're right. I just got a little carried away with myself, sorry. Oh, Ginny, you're never going to believe this!"
"Oh, get on with it already, Hermione!"
"All right, well...one night when we were strolling through the gardens, Viktor asked me to be his girlfriend!!"
"You're kidding! A professional Quidditch player asked you to be his girlfriend? That's so amazing...please tell me you said yes!"
"At first I said I wasn't sure; I've never really had a relationship before, let alone a long-distance one. But we talked about it for a long time and decided that we could make it work."
"So do you love him, then?" Ginny asked dreamily.
"Love him?" Hermione paused while thinking about this. "I don't know. I mean, I really like him, he's like a big teddy bear at heart, you know...he has a burly exterior, but he's actually very kind and considerate. But...I guess I just always thought that when I fell in love, I would just know. That every part of me would shout out that that's who I was destined to be with forever. But it hasn't happened. At least not yet. I'm not too worried, though, because I read in Wizards are from Mars, Witches are from Venus that sometimes you're friends with a person for a long time, and really like them, before you ever figure out that you're in love."
"Yeah, I've heard that, too." Ginny responded, thinking Maybe it's a good thing I'm just friends with Harry right now...then he'll realize how perfect he is for me...Wait, what am I thinking? I don't love Harry Potter; I just had a simple, school-girl crush. That's all.
"Well, even if I don't end up falling in love with him and marrying him, at least I'll know more about how to act in a relationship when I do meet the man of my dreams." Hermione concluded, just before Ron and Harry came within earshot.
The guys were through practicing for the day, and ready to go back to the house for dinner. After eating, Ginny decided to tuck in early, in hopes that she could actually get some sleep that night. Ron had a few chores to do, and he insisted that Harry and Hermione not help him because they were his guests. (Truthfully, he would have loved their help, but he wasn't sure he was ready to talk to Hermione yet.)
So that left Harry and Hermione alone to catch up on all that had happened to them since they left Hogwart's. Harry told her everything about what had happened at Arabella Figg's house, what Dumbledore had said, and what Charlie would be doing at Hogwart's the coming year. Hermione was very curious about how his studies would be enhanced ("I may have read something about enhanced studies in Hogwart's, A History, but it's at home in my trunk."), but she was even more interested in what was in Dumbledore's package for Arabella, and who the new professors at Hogwart's would be. They pondered these things, but couldn't come up with any feasible answers, so Harry decided he was going to find out what Hermione had been up to.
"So, why haven't you told Ron or me about Bulgaria yet?"
"Well, I was going to, I just wasn't sure how. I had a wonderful time sightseeing," she began, then told Harry what she had told Ginny about the places they visited in Bulgaria.
"So why didn't you want to tell us that?"
"Because he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes." Hermione blurted out, her eyes shut tight for fear of the look on Harry's face.
"Wow; I think that's great."
Hermione opened her eyes slightly into a squint, "You do?"
"Yeah, Krum may be from Durmstrang, but he's pretty nice guy. And if you think he's all right, that's saying something. But I can see why you'd be worried about Ron. He did go a little crazy about Krum last year."
"Honestly, I wish I knew what his problem was. I mean, he mouths off at me for being friends with Viktor, then asks him for his autograph! I'll never understand him. He makes me so angry sometimes, even though I always forgive him. I just hope he won't be too mad. I couldn't bear him not speaking to me."
"Well, if you want, I'll tell Ron for you," Harry offered.
"Tell me what?"
Harry and Hermione stared at Ron, neither knowing how to respond. Harry was the first to speak.
"You see, Ron, it's that..."
"No, Harry. Ron's my best friend. He deserves to hear it from me," Hermione interjected. Then she looked up at her soon-to-be-enraged friend, "Ron, Viktor and I are officially dating. He asked me to be his girlfriend, and -" before she could finish, Ron started yelling.
"Let me guess! You're going to transfer to Durmstrang! To be close to your Vikky-kins!"
"No, Ron! I'd never leave Hogwart's, you, or Harry, you know that! I was GOING to say that I really think that you'd like Viktor, if you'll just give him a chance. He wants to get to know you better - Harry, too - because he knows how important you are to me."
Ron hesitated, in surprise, at the thought of Viktor Krum wanting to get to know a Weasley, but quickly returned to being angry and stubborn.
"Get to know him?!?! You must be joking! Not in this century...I'd rather barf up slugs for a week!"
"That can be arranged," Hermione struck back, her face red and swollen with contempt. She knew Ron wasn't going to take this well, but she didn't foresee his temper giving her this much grief. She turned and ran upstairs so that Ron wouldn't see her crying.
~
Harry sighed, "Ron, when are you going to open your eyes?"
"About what? I can plainly see that Krum's no good, and that if Hermione's with him, she's gonna get hurt. I won't just let that happen!"
"Ron - Krum may be Bulgarian, he may be from Durmstrang. But that doesn't mean he's a bad person. It's our choices that make us who we are," Harry was remembering Dumbledore's words of encouragement to him only weeks before at Hogwart's.
"Krum has made a lot of good choices. And you know Hermione, so you honestly think that she'd go on holiday with - let alone date - someone she didn't trust?"
"I suppose you're right. I just can't stand seeing them together. Something about it just isn't right."
Harry was pretty sure he knew what Ron's problem was, but this wasn't the time to bring it up.
"Whether you agree with it or not, it's her decision, and if you want to remain her friend, you need to respect that."
There was a long, tense silence before Ron responded.
"You're right Harry, I guess I should go and apologize"
~
Ron knocked on the door to Ginny's bedroom, where Hermione always stayed when visiting the Weasley's.
A tear-stained Hermione cracked the door open. She was openly surprised to see Ron. After slipping into the hallway, she shut the door behind her and whispered, "You'd better not start yelling again, Ginny's sleeping."
"I don't want to yell at you, Hermione, I want to apologize...do you mind if we go to my room? I feel silly whispering out here in the corridor."
"Alright..." she said slowly, wondering what Harry could have done to calm Ron down so quickly.
~
Ron motioned for Hermione to sit down on his bright orange bed, then sat beside her and turned to face her.
"Hermione, I don't like you dating Krum. But..." he breathed deeply, preparing himself for what he was about to say, "But, if he makes you happy, I'll do my best to act properly towards him. I'm sorry I acted like such a prat. Will you forgive me?"
Hermione leaned over to hug him and said, "Yes, I'll always forgive you, Ron. I don't know what I'd do with out you. Thanks for giving Viktor a chance."
At that moment there was a knock at the door, and Ron and Hermione broke apart just as Harry poked his head in.
"Are you two friends again, yet?"
Ron nodded, while Hermione grinned a silent 'thank you' at Harry.
"Good, because I just had a fantastic idea."
"Which is?"
"My studies are being enhanced because Dumbledore wants me to be prepared if anything happens, if I encounter Voldemort again, right?"
"Right...." Ron drawled out, not liking where this conversation was headed.
"So," continued Harry, " I thought that, as an extra precaution, the three of us could become amimagi, just like my father and his friends did."
Harry's announcement was met with the responses he expected, but not from who he expected. Ron was first to speak.
"Harry! That's dangerous...what if we mess up and don't transform properly? People die all the time!"
"Oh, honestly, Ron, it's not as dangerous as the ministry makes everyone think," Hermione began, "Viktor was telling me -"
"Viktor? What does he know about transforming?" Ron spat back.
"Have you forgotten the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament already?" she returned coolly.
"Oh, well, alright, but he only managed to transform his head!"
"That's all he was trying to transform. Anyway, he can transform fully; he has even applied to register himself with the Bulgarian ministry of magic." Hermione finished haughtily. Before Ron could stick his foot further into his mouth, Harry interceded.
"That's enough, you two. I know it's dangerous, but I after all we've done, and the fact that one of us is the cleverest witch Hogwart's has ever seen, I don't see why we couldn't pull it off."
Harry looked at his two best friends hopefully. Hermione was blushing slightly at the complement he had paid her, and Ron had his face contorted in deep thought, before he finally broke into a mischievous grin and replied.
"This is going to wicked fun. What do we do first?"
~
The trio sat and discussed how to go about teaching themselves the complex procedure involved in becoming an animagus. After making a list of books they would try to buy when they got their things for school, Hermione told them what she knew about the subject, and they excitedly wondered what animals they would become.
Over the next few weeks, they continued planning and discussing their venture, and Harry occasionally broke from the group to ask Ginny further questions about relationships. Hermione tried to speak of Viktor as little as possible, but sends him an owl (and receives one back) every day or two.
~
It's now the eve of the Weasley clan's, plus two, yearly trek to Diagon Alley to buy supplies for the coming year at Hogwart's. It had been a seemingly ordinary day, had you overlooked the excited glances and frequent grins that passed between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They couldn't wait to visit Flourish & Blott's the following day. In order to wake up as early as possible, they all went to bed before the sun set. Ginny decided to go to bed as well, and after she and Hermione said goodnight to the boys, Hermione had a favor to ask.
"Ginny, do you have anything in particular you're planning to do in London tomorrow?"
"Besides getting my new books and such? No."
"Well, Ron and I were wondering if...if you would mind distracting Harry for an hour or two. We're planning a surprise party for his birthday next week and we need to get decorations and things. Would you mind?"
"Of course not! That's a great idea. Harry's never had a birthday party before, has he?"
"Not that I know of. Thanks so much, Ginny!"
"No problem. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help."
The two girls drifted off to sleep; Hermione dreamt of Viktor...Ginny's dreams, however, were not so pleasant...
~
Harry sat up in bed suddenly, stifling a scream. His scar was burning like mad; he vaguely recalled the visions that had awoken him...had that been Lucius Malfoy he'd seen cowering away from...Voldemort?
Harry rubbed his forehead, and slipped out of Ron's room. Whenever his scar woke him up, he knew it was no use to try and go back to sleep, so he tried to find something to preoccupy himself until the stinging subsided.
As he reached Ginny & Hermione's door, he heard muffled voices and...someone crying? His natural drive at being a protector led him to open the door. Hermione was sleeping peacefully. Ginny was fidgeting and talking in slurred phrases. Harry managed to catch the words "diary," "Malfoy," and the curse "Crucio!"
"What the bloody hell..." the boy-who-lived muttered under his breath. Ginny couldn't be having the same dreams that he had been...could she? Determined to find out, he tiptoed over to her bed and sat beside her restless body.
As he leaned in to whisper her name, the light of the moon revealed her brow glistening with beads of perspiration and her eyes darting rapidly beneath their closed lids. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, with the intent of shaking her awake gently, his scar seared as it did only when he was near Voldemort.
The connection had an affect on Ginny as well, because immediately her eyes were open wide. Their gaze was locked for seconds, minutes, maybe even hours. Looking back, they would never be sure; time had stopped in that instant. Harry and Ginny now knew that they were not alone - they both shared the same visions of the Dark Lord's proceedings.