Ginny was nearly in a blinding jealous rage as she made her way to the room of requirement. It was bad enough that she had to give up so much time with Harry so that he could give private patronus lessons to Cassidy, the new object of desire for most of the male student body, but trying to endure the pestering from Malfoy about it had finally sent her over the edge.

Ginny neared the room where she would find the two of them doing, whatever it was they were doing. Even as boiling mad as she was, she had had the forethought to stop by Harry's dorm and take his invisibility cloak, so she could slip in and see what they were up to without alerting them to her presence.

Covering herself in the cloak, Ginny slowly turned the knob of the door until she felt the catch give way. She pushed the door open gently, knowing that this was her greatest chance of being caught in the act. If Harry or Cassidy were facing the door, they would see the door open and know that someone was spying on them. To her relief she found herself entering a room very much like the Defense Against he Dark Arts classroom, and Harry and Cassidy were both at the far end of the room facing away from her.

She shut the door as silently as she could never taking her eyes off of the two of them. She caught her breath when Harry turned around and looked toward the door as if he had heard something. Harry apparently dismissed the thought and turned to resume the lesson just in time to produce his own patronus to drive the dementor back into the wardrobe it had sprang from.

Ginny took great satisfaction in seeing that Cassidy Silverwood was lying sprawled out on the floor having succumbed to the effects of the dementor. What she took no pleasure in was seeing Harry bend down and gently revive her and help her back up after giving her a piece of chocolate to eat.

"I still can't believe that you're in your final year," Harry was saying to her, "and you have never even tried to produce a patronus."

"Well, there would never have been any need for me to," Cassidy said in her all too silky voice that made Ginny's blood boil. "There aren't any Dementors in America."

"Well," Harry continued, "anyway, at least you managed to produce a silvery mist that time. I suspect that you may need to choose a happier memory to hold on to during the spell."

"I was thinking about when I defeated Hornquist last year, and the way I felt after it was over," she said. "I really thought it would be enough."

"Maybe it isn't personal enough to you," Harry said. "Maybe Hornquist wasn't something that brought you joy, it was just something that needed to be done."

"Is that the way you feel when you think about Voldemort?" she asked gently. "Is it a duty you have to do that doesn't bring you any joy?"

"None at all," Harry said. "Voldemort to me is the embodiment of fear and oppression. When I think of him I can't help but feel anything but pity."

"For Voldemort?" Cassidy asked surprised.

"Yes," Harry said seriously. "At one time, Voldemort was a boy much like myself. He could have been a great wizard. But he chose a different path. The things he's done to himself trying to make himself more powerful; transfigurations, taking potions that would alter him physically as well as mentally, spells to extend his life. I think there is a little bit of what drives Voldemort in all of us. We all want to be the best at what we do. He chose his way though, and there is nothing that can bring true joy back to him. For that reason I pity him."

Cassidy was silent for some time before saying softly, "I guess the two of us are the only ones who could really understand that."

Harry was lost in thought for just a moment before he snapped back into the moment and asked, "Do you think you're ready to try again?"

Cassidy considered that while she looked into Harry's eyes for a moment. "I think so," she finally said.

Ginny watched as Harry opened the wardrobe and a Dementor sprang out of it heading straight for Cassidy. A bright silver flash sprang from the end of Cassidy's wand and coalesced into the form of an eagle that instantly began driving the Dementor back to its hiding place. When Harry closed the door, Cassidy lowered her wand and the eagle disappeared.

"Well done, Cassidy," Harry said with a wide grin.

"Thanks, Harry," Cassidy said smiling and moving closer to
Harry. "I never could have done it without you."

"You must have come up with a really happy thought," Harry said. "Most people don't produce a patronus so early on."

"Maybe I should just show you what I was thinking about," Cassidy said smoothly as she closed to within inches of Harry.

Ginny's insides felt as if they were being wrenched out of place as she watched Cassidy reach out and take Harry in her arms and pull him into her until her lips crushed onto his in a passionate kiss. Ginny didn't know whether to scream out or just die where she stood. She knew that Harry was lost to her now. The person she had loved was being stolen away from her and there was nothing she could do to get him back.

Harry realized too late what Cassidy was up to, so his reaction time was a bit slow, but he eventually managed to push Cassidy away from him and take a few steps back.

"What are you doing?" Harry managed to ask Cassidy surprised.

"I would have thought that would have been obvious," Cassidy said still savoring the touch of Harry's lips.

"You can't do that, Cassidy," Harry said sternly, "you know I have a girlfriend."

"Oh come on, Harry," Cassidy said. "Don't you think I'm attractive?"

"What does that have to do with it?" Harry spat, his temper beginning to flare.

"Can't you see what a good team we would make, Harry?" Cassidy asked. "I'm attracted to you, and you're attracted to me. We both have experience fighting dark wizards. That in itself would be enough to form a bond between us. Surely you can see that I would be a better girlfriend for you than the Weasley girl could ever hope to be."

"That's a lie," Harry said looking at Cassidy with disgust. "You have no idea what a wonderful woman Ginny is or how important she is to me. The bond I have with her is stronger than you can possibly imagine."

"Oh give me a break," Cassidy said with a sudden nastiness in her voice. "Do you really think she'll stand beside you as you battle with Voldemort? She'll run at the first sight of him."

"Then you obviously don't know Ginny very well," Harry said resisting the urge to throw a hex at her. "She has already stood with me in battle, and she would likely place herself in front of me as a shield if she could."

Cassidy said, "All hail Saint Ginny. Good God, Potter, she's just a girlfriend, not your wife."

"Not yet," Harry said

Ginny had to stifle a gasp while at the same time controlling her sobs as tears of joy streamed freely down her face. She had been so blinded by her jealousy that she had lost faith in Harry's feelings for her. Knowing now that she had been so very wrong was almost more than she could take.

Harry stood glaring at Cassidy with pure disgust in his eyes and said, "The training is over. You got what you wanted from me, so there won't be any need for further sessions."

With that, Harry turned and started toward the door, passing through it with a thunderous slam that seemed to shake the very room.

"We'll see who gets the last word, Potter," Cassidy said, all of the sweetness gone from her voice. "I'll defeat Voldemort myself, and then I'll take care of you and the Weasley brat."

Cassidy only had a split second to notice as a bolt of light flashed out of nowhere and caught her squarely in the chest, knocking her to the floor unconscious.

"We'll be ready for you when the time comes, Silverwood," Ginny said as she pulled the invisibility cloak off, and turned to leave the room