The Saturday quidditch match against Hufflepuff lasted considerably longer than the one had against Ravenclaw. A thick fog had rolled in overnight and hung stubbornly in the air over the quidditch pitch, making the snitch more of a challenge than usual to locate. Ginny had finally chased it down after nearly three hours of searching. Gryffindor had already built up a considerable lead in the match, and the points from catching the snitch made for an especially jubilant Gryffindor house. Their points from the game allowed them to widen their lead in the race for the house cup.

The party had lasted well into the night back in the Gryffindor common room. Harry was one of the only ones to go to bed early, since he still had to be up early for his Sunday tutoring sessions. By the time most of the rest of the Gryffindors opened their eyes, Harry was well into his History of Magic session.

At the beginning of the Sunday D.A. class, Hermione had passed out the new D.A. rings to those present and explained their workings. By the time the class had ended, four hours later, the stone in the center of their rings had turned black several times. Many of them were becoming as familiar with Madam Pomfrey as they were the death eaters. They always came back for more though. Their injuries were fewer and further between as the class progressed. They all knew that they had learned more about dueling in the last few weeks with Harry than they had in all of their years at Hogwarts. By the end of the school year they had no doubt that he would train them to stand alone against any of the death eaters they may come into contact with.

On Monday, the first and second years slipped their rings on proudly. It was a sign to them that they were part of a larger whole. The thing that they found astounding was what Harry was going to teach them. In addition to their shielding spells, in which their progress surprised even Harry, he said that they would need to be able to get to the scene of a battle quickly in response to a call for help they would get through their rings. It was unheard of to even be attempted by such young wizards and witches, but Harry was going to teach them to apparate. After their initial shock had worn off, they pointed out to him that there were spells protecting Hogwarts that prevented apparating. Harry just smiled and told them that that only applied to someone trying to apparate onto or off of the Hogwarts grounds. It was a little known secret that students could still apparate from place to place within the school grounds.

By the end of the third, fourth and fifth years D.A. class, each group had managed to defeat the duo of Malfoy and Dolohov with very few casualties. They were all feeling very good about what they had accomplished, but they had learned their lesson the week before. They weren't about to say anything to Harry that might give him the feeling that they were becoming too sure of themselves.

Friday morning came, and almost every student in the school awoke with the first rays of the sun. Their Valentine's weekend had finally arrived. Those that were old enough to make the trip to Hogsmeade counted their money in an effort to plan their day to make it last as long as possible.

Probably the only person who didn't worry about planning their day was Ginny. She didn't have to make any plans at all. She could leave all of that to Harry. Ron had been right though. They had been to every place she could think of in Hogsmeade, at least the places she would want to go to. It would be interesting to see what kind of a date Harry would plan. She knew that it would likely consist of roaming though the shops as usual, but she didn't care. She was going to be with Harry, and that was enough for her.

Ginny and Hermione walked down into their common room to find Ron sitting alone and Ginny asked, "Where's Harry?"

"He said he had to go and see Professor Dumbledore about something before we went to Hogsmeade this morning," Ron responded.

"What about?" Ginny asked.

"Well, unlike Harry," Ron began with a grin, "I don't have to answer every question you ask me."

"I bet you'll tell if Hermione asks you," Ginny said.

"Sorry, Ginny," Hermione said. "I already know why he went to see the Headmaster. I'm afraid I can't tell you either. It has something to do with your date today, and you said you wanted it all to be a surprise."

"There's never a time turner around when you need one," Ginny said in mock frustration.

"Don't you dare make Harry tell you about it when he gets back either," Ron demanded. "You have no idea what lengths Harry has gone to in order plan this date for you. If you make him tell it all now it'll ruin everything for the both of you."

"You do understand, of course, that telling me that only makes me more anxious to know what in the world he has planned," Ginny said.

"You'll find out soon enough," Hermione said. "Trust me. You're going to love it."

They all looked up to see the portrait hole open and Harry walk through it with a smile on his face, and a handful of flowers. He looked and saw them all standing there and the smile on his face dropped a bit.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, Ginny," Harry said. "I was hoping to make it back here before you came down."
"That's all right, Harry," Ginny said with a smile. "It must have taken you a while to cut all of those flowers."

"Oh," Harry said, remembering that he was holding them. "These are for you, Ginny."

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said as she took the flowers. "They're beautiful. It was very sweet of you."

"Well, I'm kind of new to this dating thing," Harry said, "but I think flowers are sort of customary."

"I think you're doing fine so far," Ginny said. "I'll just take these up to my room and put them into some water. Then we can go down and get some breakfast."

"I can't wait," Harry said as she turned to go.

"So is everything set?" Hermione asked once she was sure Ginny was out of earshot.

"Professor Dumbledore said he got an owl late last night, and everything has been arranged," Harry said with a grin of anticipation.

"She would never guess what you're up to in a million years," Ron said.

"I hope not," Harry said. "I really want this day to be one that she'll always remember. If everything goes like it's supposed to, this may be one of the best days of my life."

After breakfast, all of the Hogwarts students made the journey off of the Hogwarts grounds and into Hogsmeade. Being that it was Valentine's day, the majority of the students had taken the time to make sure they were making the trip with someone special to them.

As Ginny expected, she and Harry stayed with Ron and Hermione as they stopped in at the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, Honeyduke's, Zonko's, and the building site for Fred and George's new shop. It was nice to get a chance to talk to Fred and George about their new expansion, but other than that, everything else was fairly normal for a Hogsmeade trip.

At around noon, Harry looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time for lunch. Is anyone hungry?"

"I'm starving," Ron said before anyone else could say anything.

"That's surprising," Ginny said. "I didn't think you would want to eat anything after all the candy from Honeyduke's you've eaten."

"My goodness, Ginny," Ron said. "That was nearly an hour ago."

"Ah, the appetite of a teenage boy," Hermione said. "We had better get these two fed or they'll be cranky for the rest of the day, Ginny."

"So what is it going to be?" Ginny asked. "Shall we go back to the Three Broomsticks like usual?"

"Actually," Harry began, "we thought we would try somewhere a little different this time."

"Really?" Ginny asked a bit surprised.

"We may be teenage boys," Ron said, "but we can still be spontaneous when we want to."

"Lead on, Ron dear," Hermione said. "I don't want too much time to pass before we get there. You may change your mind."

They walked for a couple of minutes until Ginny watched Ron turn and begin to walk to Madam Puddifoot's. She thought he must surely be joking. She had wanted to go there before, but it wasn't the kind of place she could see Ron consenting to. Maybe Hermione had more influence over him then she thought.

Ron and Hermione walked all the way to the door before they turned to look at Harry and Ginny behind them. Ginny was a bit surprised when Harry stopped several feet away from where Ron and Hermione were standing waiting on them.

"Enjoy your lunch you two," Harry said.

"You too, mate," Ron said as he and Hermione turned to walk inside.

"I don't understand, Harry," Ginny said. "I thought we were all going to eat together."

"Surprise," Harry said with a smile. "You and I will be dining elsewhere today."

"That wasn't exactly what I meant when I told you I wanted you to surprise me," Ginny said.

"I know," Harry responded. "Just wait. There are more surprises coming."

Harry led Ginny back down the street until they were almost back to the Three Broomsticks. Harry surprised her again when he pulled her into the alley that ran beside it.

"Harry," Ginny said. "What in the world are we doing here?"

"My, my," Harry said grinning at her. "You sure are anxious. You must be hungrier than I thought."

"Then why are we standing in an alley?" Ginny asked.

"We just needed to get to a place where no one would see us," Harry said as he reached in his pocket and pulled out an unopened chocolate frog.

"I hope that isn't your idea of lunch," Ginny said.

"Of course not," Harry said. "You don't really think I would have spent so long planning this day and come up with nothing better than a chocolate frog do you?"

"I don't get it, Harry," Ginny said.

"Just hold on to the chocolate frog and you will soon," Harry said as he held out the frog to her. "Hold on tight. Its almost time."

It was only a split second before it happened that Ginny realized what the chocolate frog was. She felt the hard tug behind her navel and the next thing she knew her feet hit a much harder surface than the one she had just left. She looked around her to try to get her bearings, but she didn't recognize the place as anywhere she had been before. She was in another alley, but it was not one in Hogsmeade.
"What have you done, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I thought you were hungry," Harry said. "Why don't you come with me and we'll see if we can find a nice place to eat."

"Harry, you turned that chocolate frog into a portkey?" Ginny asked.

"Actually, Professor Dumbledore did it for me," Harry said with a smile. I couldn't have done it myself. You can only make a portkey to a place if you've been there before."

"Where are we?" Ginny asked.

"Well, lets have a look around and make sure we ended up in the right place first," Harry said as he began to lead her down the alley.

When they emerged from the alley, Ginny stopped in her tracks and gaped at her new surroundings. They had emerged onto a boardwalk bustling with people. Beyond the boardwalk was a beautiful beach, and beyond that was a sparkling sea.

"This is it," Harry said. "It looks just the way he described it. Ginny, welcome to the southern coast of France."

"What?" Ginny exclaimed. "Are you serious?"

"I wanted to do something really special for you," Harry said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said as she took another look at the beach. "This is so much more than I was expecting. I really would have been fine with eating in the Three Broomsticks."

"Professor Dumbledore tells me that there's a nice little café near here that is only accessible to wizards," Harry said. "Do you want to see if we can find it?"

"You bet I do," Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you Harry. This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me."

"You just say the word and I'll do it for you every day," Harry said as he hugged her back.

"You have no idea how hard it is not to tell you to do it right now," Ginny said as she gripped him tighter.

"Well you might want to wait until after lunch anyway," Harry said. "If we do get married, this may be where we end up living."

Ginny stepped back and looked at Harry as she remembered what he had told her about his inheritance, and asked, "Is this it? Is this where the villa your dad bought for your mum is?"

"It should be somewhere in this neighborhood," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore gave me the address, so we could take a look at it after lunch."

"Then by all means," Ginny said, "let's eat."

Ginny took Harry's arm and they strolled down the boardwalk toward the café. It wasn't a difficult place to find. It looked like any normal café, except for the fact that muggles who came near it suddenly found that they had a need to walk as far to the right of the boardwalk as they could get.

Lunch at the café was all that Professor Dumbledore had said that it would be. Harry would have been tempted to stay there longer and talk with Ginny, but they both became aware that a crowd of wizards and witches had gathered nearby, and they appeared to be whispering among themselves as they looked at Harry.

Just before they left, Harry had it confirmed for him that he had been recognized even so far away from home. He had called the waiter over to tell him that he needed the check.

"Oh no, Monsieur Potter," the waiter said. "Ze meal is on ze house for you."

Ten minutes later, Harry managed to pry himself away from the crowd that all wanted to shake his hand and get his autograph. He wondered just how far he would have to go before he got to a place where people would not recognize him so readily.

The crowd had been good for one thing though. They were all familiar with the area and were able to give Harry precise directions to the place where he could find his villa, though he made sure not to tell them that was the reason he wanted to go there.

Harry and Ginny stood at the gate of the small villa and stared in wonder. It was not a large place, but it was the very picture of home. Each of them could already see why Harry's mum had fallen in love with the place. The front yard was neat and well taken care of as if a groundskeeper had been tending to it for years. Bright colored flowers stretched up to drink in the bright sunshine, and helped to create a peaceful oasis that neither of them felt like leaving. The interior still remained unexplored, but somehow Harry knew that he would return to the villa as often as possible.

"Your mum had great taste, Harry," Ginny said as she looked over at him. "This isn't going to be an easy place to leave."

"I know what you mean," Harry said. "Let's check out the inside. Maybe then we can just forget everything else and move in."

"You have yourself a deal, Mr. Potter," Ginny said with a wide grin.

Ron was following Hermione around one of the shops in Hogsmeade as she looked for just the right gifts for her bridesmaids and maid of honor. As far as Ron was concerned, it was far too complicated to look for a gift that would be right for every single member of a wedding party. He would much rather pick out individual gifts for each of them. He was just about to mention it to Hermione once again when he heard a commotion outside.

Ron and Hermione walked over to the window and looked out to see people running for cover. Looking to their left they saw a large group of hooded figures walking down the street toward where they were. They were shooting spells at anything that moved and one of them cast the dreaded dark mark into the air above Hogsmeade.

"This is it, Hermione," Ron said as he drew his wand and headed for the door. "This is what Harry has been training us for."

"Wait, Ron," Hermione said as she grabbed his arm to stop him.

"We have to get out there," Ron said urgently.

"I know that," Hermione said. "Remember what Harry taught us though. Don't enter into a battle until you've prepared yourself mentally for it. Focus your thoughts."

They both took a moment to stop and breathe. After a few seconds, they nodded silently to one another and Ron opened the door and ran out to meet the death eaters. They were not the only ones who's recent training kicked in. D.A. members from second year through seventh never hesitated in what they knew had to be done as they ran into the streets of Hogsmeade to meet the death eaters head on.

Harry walked out onto the balcony of the villa and wrapped his arms around Ginny from behind as they both looked out at the Mediterranean Sea before them. They were both dreaming of day upon day of watching the waves roll into the shore. Their old lives seemed so far away. They could almost imagine that they had already been married and settled into a new life.

They both felt it at the same time. The rings on their fingers were getting hot. Looking down at the rings they could see that the stone, normally white, had turned a vibrant red. A look at the band spelled out Hogsmeade. Suddenly, their new life evaporated and their real lives slipped back into place. Harry knew what he had to do.

Harry pulled the chocolate frog package out of his pocket and pointed his wand at it as he said, "Portus."

Harry nodded to Ginny and they both grabbed the portkey and waited for the ten second delay to end and transport them back to Hogsmeade. The delay couldn't be over fast enough for Harry as he looked at the ring on his finger and noticed that the red stone had suddenly turned black. Someone had been seriously injured, and he had not been there to stop it.

Harry and Ginny transported back to the alley they had left from. They didn't even have to leave the alley for Harry to know what had gone wrong. A quick glance at the sky told him that the dark mark had been conjured. Death eaters were attacking Hogsmeade at a time when they knew students would be present, and the most damage could be done.

Harry and Ginny both drew their wands and ran onto the streets of Hogsmeade to see what they could do to help. What he saw almost made him lose his focus on what he was there to do. There were death eaters spread out all over the streets, and it looked like they were on the defensive against the constant attack of nearly seventy five students. Harry had to smile as he looked around and saw that those students who had been stunned or injured were all surrounded with a protective magic circle, and inside of many of those circles stood the second year student who conjured it. They were doing their job even better than Harry expected.

Harry noticed that five of the students from the Tuesday night class had a death eater pinned down behind a stack of crates. Harry muttered a spell and the death eater never knew what hit him as Harry appeared out of thin air behind him and hit him with a paralyzing spell. Harry then set out in a dead run at the flank of Rookwood, who was standing in a toe to toe slugging match with Hermione. Rookwood saw him coming out of the corner of his eye and stupidly took his attention away from Hermione long enough for her to draw her wand back and whip it forward to send a fierce purple cutting spell through his shield that hit him square across the chest.

"He won't be waking up from that one any time soon," Hermione said. "I should know. That's what they hit me with in the Department of Mysteries."

"Great work, Hermione," Harry said. "See if you can help some of the others."

Draco Malfoy was in Hogsmeade at the time of the attack, but he did not run out in the street to try to prevent it like some others had. He had watched from one of the shop windows as the battle raged outside. He was amazed that the students were putting up such a good fight against the pride of Voldemort's army. He couldn't concentrate on that for too long though. Right in front of his window, the American mudblood stood dueling with Avery. By the looks of it, it was a fairly even match. Something caught Draco's eye though, and he looked back up the street to see a death eater with his hood still on stalking in on Cassidy from the rear. A few more steps and the death eater would be able to easily stop and fire off a spell to take her out.

There wasn't time to think, instinct took over and as the death eater stopped and raised his wand, Draco jumped between him and his target and blocked the spell that had been intended for Cassidy's back.

"Draco!" Lucius Malfoy screamed as he took off his hood. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Not her," Draco said. "Any of the others, but not her."

Thanks to an assist from a flanking Hermione, Cassidy was able to turn and see what was happening behind her. She had heard Draco's voice, but hadn't had time to pay attention to what he was saying.

"Have you lost your mind?" Lucius asked. "You're protecting the mudblood who has come here to destroy our master?"

"Your master," Draco said. "I won't let you hurt her, dad. I can't help it. I love her."

"Then you've made your choice," Lucius said. "If you stand against us, then you must die."

Draco never had time to react as Lucius uttered the killing spell and a bolt of green light shot toward Draco. There was a scream behind him, and Draco knew that he was already dead. Then something unexpected happened. Before the shaft of green light got to him, it hit something and dispersed around him. He looked down to make sure he was still standing, and watched as the glowing letters that encircled him turned back to a sandy color. He looked back up to see his father already looking off to his side.

"Potter," Lucius said through gritted teeth.

"Why didn't your half-blood boss come with you this time, Lucius?" Harry asked.

"Never insult the Dark Lord like that, Potter," Lucius spat.

"What are you going to do about it?" Harry asked seriously. "Do you really think you're a match for me Lucius? I'm willing to bet that you couldn't attack me even if you wanted to. I'm willing to bet that Voldemort has told you not to harm me. He wants me for himself. If you make it out of here today you can give him a message for me. Tell him I'm ready for him. Either he comes to find me, or I'll come to find him."

"You are a fool, Potter," Lucius said. "You have no idea what kind of power the Dark Lord possesses."

"Actually I do," Harry said as he drew back his wand. "Let me show you."

Harry never got the chance to use a spell as Malfoy apparated away instantly. In fact all of the conscious death eaters apparated away. Looking to the end of the street, Harry could see why. Running down the street from the end of town were the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic.

Harry went to meet them along with Hermione, and left Cassidy and Draco standing there next to each other. Neither of them knew quite what to say to each other.
"I don't know about you," Cassidy finally began, "but I could use a butterbeer about now."

"I wouldn't mind a drink," Draco said not meeting her eye.

"Well, I'll buy," Cassidy said. "I think it would be the least I owe you."

They walked together side by side for a while on their way to the Three Broomsticks, and Malfoy finally asked, "Did you hear everything I said to my dad?"

"Most of it," Cassidy said.
"I may need something stronger than butterbeer then," Draco said as his cheeks flushed.

"Butterbeer only," Cassidy said. "I want your head clear. We have a lot to talk about."

"Yea," Draco said as he held the door open for Cassidy to enter first. "I guess we do."

"Harry, what in the world happened here?" Kingsley Shaklebolt asked as he surveyed the main street of Hogsmeade.

"The death eaters picked a bad day to attack," Harry said matter of factly. "There are a few of them that are knocked out that weren't able to get away."

"Amazing," Kingsley said as he surveyed the students still standing on the field of battle. "I can't believe a bunch of students were able to stand against them with so few casualties. What in the world are they teaching all of you at Hogwarts now?"

"How to survive, sir," Harry answered. "How to survive."

The aurors set about detaining the fallen death eaters and getting the injured students to St. Mungo's. To their surprise, the extent of the injuries consisted of nothing more than a broken leg and a few burns. All of the students would be treated and released in time to be back at Hogwarts for dinner.

"Hey, Tonks," Ron called out as he spotted her walking by. "Don't forget this one."

Tonks walked over and looked at the stiff form of a death eater lying on the ground in some sort of binding she had not seen before. She was wishing it extended over his mouth since he was sobbing and pleading annoyingly.

"Is that who I think it is?" Tonks asked.

"The rat himself," Ron said proudly. "Peter Pettigrew."

"What in the world is that you have him bound with?" Tonks asked.

"It's something Harry taught me just in case I ever ran into him again," Ron explained. "Not only does it bind him, but it keeps him from aparating or changing into his animal form."

"Hmmm," Tonks said. "Sounds like a handy little spell. I might have to get you to teach it to me someday."

"You had better get Harry to teach you," Ron said. "He still does it better than I do. He can do it so it will cover the mouth as well."

Tonks began to levitate Pettigrew to the center of the street where the Aurors were gathering the captured death eaters. On the way, they passed Harry, Ginny and Hermione.

"Harry," Pettigrew said. "Harry. Remember me. You saved my life once."

"I remember it," Harry said. "Don't think I haven't regretted it every day since."

"Oh no," Pettigrew said. "It was a good thing that you did. I owe you a debt now. I want to repay it."

"Really," Harry said as he stopped and knelt down beside the floating form of Pettigrew. "How do you suppose you can help me?"

"Just tell the Aurors that I helped you and I'll tell you where the Dark Lord is." Pettigrew said.

"I might have expected you to turn informant," Harry said nastily. "You did it against my parents. Now you're ready to do it against Voldemort. I don't need your help though. Would you like to know why?"

Pettigrew nodded, and Harry leaned forward and whispered into his ear so that only he could hear it, "Because I already know where he is."

"But how?" Pettigrew asked. "That's impossible. You still need me."

"Take him away," Harry said as he stood and walked away.
Most of the students who had taken part in the battle were gathered just outside the Three Broomsticks as if awaiting orders as to what they should do next. Harry, Ginny and Hermione, having been joined by Ron, Neville and Luna, walked over to the group and Harry could see the look of accomplishment on their faces.

"Is everyone alright?" Harry asked.

There were nods all around that told him that they were feeling pretty good.

"This wasn't it though was it, Harry?" Meagan asked. "This wasn't the main battle?"

"No, it wasn't," Harry told them. "The next one will be much worse."

"But by the time that comes," a sixth year Slytherin girl named Delores began, "we'll be much better."

"Of that I have no doubt," Harry said with a smile. "Still, I think you all exceeded my expectations here today."

"I just have one question," Rachael said. "How long does it take before that thing goes away."

They all looked up to see the dark mark still hovering over Hogsmeade, and Hermione stepped forward and said, "Maybe I can do something about that."

Hermione walked out into the middle of the street and muttered something they couldn't hear before she pointed her wand at the sky. What they saw next surprised no one more than Harry. A mist erupted from the end of her wand and shot into the air where it spun together and coalesced into a perfect rendition of Harry's head. Everyone watched as Harry's head opened its mouth and swallowed the dark mark whole. It was just like the model of the Ministry of Magic that Fred and George had been selling, except this time Harry's head didn't go away.

Everyone on the streets cheered as they looked up and saw what to them was a beacon of light in dark times. Harry could have died of embarrassment where he stood.

"Hermione how could you?" Harry asked. "Get rid of that thing."

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said. "I can't get rid of it. You just have to let it burn out."

"How long will that take?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure," Hermione said. "I've never tested it anywhere other than the room of requirement."

"I like it, Harry," Ron said.

"So do I," Meagan said.

"I think it's quite nice," Luna said airily.

"I think it's perfect," Ginny said with a smile.

"We all do," Delores said.

"After what you've given us, Harry," Rachael began, "no one deserves that kind of a tribute more than you do."

"Well, in that case," Harry said looking back at all of them, "I guess the least I owe all of you is a few butterbeers. Everybody get inside. The drinks are on me."