An Ancient Power
Chapter 1: Pretending
Keep running, the voice in Harry's head whispered over and over again. Don't stop running. Harry wasn't exactly sure where he was running to or what he was running from. He just knew that he trusted this voice. He knew that as long as this voice was with him he would be safe.
There was thick fog everywhere. Harry was sure that if he had had the time to put his hand up in front of his face, he would not be able to see it. The air was damp and smelled stale. He was exhausted and wanted very much to stop and rest, but the voice told him to continue running. It said that if he stopped, all that he had worked for would be lost. So Harry continued to pump his legs back and forth even as they screamed with protesting pain.
"Harry," Ron's voice came from outside of the fog, "wake up, mate. We're leaving right after breakfast."
Groaning, Harry rose from his bed. He had had the same dream over and over since the day Dumbledore died. Shaking his head in an attempt to forget it, Harry stood and looked around his dormitory.
For six years this room had been his home. It was the first place where he had slept in a real bed. The first place where he had ever been with friends. The first place where he had ever felt wanted. And now, he was never going to see it again. Even if the school did re-open in the fall (which seemed rather unlikely) he would be elsewhere, hunting for Volemort's horcruxes.
Harry sighed, "I wish that today would just freeze. That way I would never have to leave."
Ron smiled ruefully, "I know exactly what you mean. But it's not as though you'll never see the place again. You just won't see it for a while, that's all."
After pulling on some clean clothes, Harry followed his best friend out the door. He could not bear to look around at the common room when he got down stairs. He was thought that if he did he would surely lose his will to carry out the plans he had made. That he would sit himself down in one of the squishy armchairs and stay there.
After a few hours, Harry and the other Hogwarts students made their way to Hogsmeade station. It was the gloomiest that Harry had ever seen his classmates. It was as though there was a cloud hanging over the train. And though there was a fair amount of chatter, there was absolutely no laughter.
"You two should go," Harry said to Hermione and Ron, "you need to get to the prefects carriage."
They nodded mutely. Hermione had slight bags beneath her eyes, a telltale sign of sleeplessness. And Ron was, well, not himself. But Harry knew that they were simply grieving like he himself was doing. And he also knew that, even though Dumbledore was gone, things would be alright one day. Once they destroyed Voldemort things would be normal again and maybe they could even come back to finish school.
Harry's face lightened at this thought. He wasn't leaving permanently! Soon, when the fight was over, Harry would be back at Hogwarts. He would take his N.E.W.T's and he would win the Quidditch Cup and he would never ever have to think about everything falling to pieces! He just had to make sure that he succeeded in his plans.
After finding an empty compartment, Harry ducked inside and began to think about what exactly he intended to do. First, he thought, I'm going to Privet Drive like Dumbledore said. Then, I'm going straight to the Weasley's to stay until I become of age. Then, he though counting them off on his fingers, I'm going to use Dumbledore's pensieve to try and come up with an idea as to where to look for the next horcrux.
The compartment door slid open and Harry lost his train of thought. Neville, Luna and Ginny had just entered casting Harry small smiles. Harry was reminded fleetingly of the D.A meetings of the previous year. It was hard to believe that things had been so utterly different such a short while ago.
Ginny plopped down right in front of Harry. He watched her hungrily, wanting to hug her, to kiss her, to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he cared for her. But he knew that he couldn't. He had to be strong for the both of them. He had to keep her safe. If Voldemort didn't know how precious she was to Harry than he wouldn't think of hurting her. He wouldn't try to use her as leverage.
Harry knew that Ginny was experiencing the same wanting as him because her eyes were burning a hole straight through his heart. It was as though her eyes were speaking to him saying, "Just say the word, Harry, and I'll jump across this carriage and forget that we ever broke up." He bit his lip, his eyes still locked with Ginny's. He was vaguely aware of the others shifting uncomfortably in their seats but he did not care.
What could it hurt, Harry's heart argued, to just have one more day?
No, his mind screamed, you have to be strong! What if she gets hurt?
It's only one day! Surely no one would find out.
It doesn't matter. You have to forget about it.
But I lover her!
Harry was startled by this silent argument. He had never realized before that he was in love with Ginny. He knew he liked her; yes, cared for her; yes, but loved her? And even though he had never considered it, Harry knew at once that it was true. He was in love with the beautiful girl in front of him and was sure that his green eyes were blazing with it at the moment.
The carriage door creaked again and Harry knew that that meant Neville and Luna had left them alone. He knew that he would have to speak to her now. He knew that he had to tell her what he had just thought or it would eat him up inside.
"Ginny, I…" but he was cut off as Ginny had just flown across the carriage at him. She hugged him so tightly that it cut off some of his air supply.
"Oh, Harry," she wailed, "I know that we can't be together, but for just one day…?"
"Shhhh," Harry said, stroking her shining, copper hair, "I need to tell you something."
Ginny pulled her body away from him and looked into his eyes. He instantly missed the warmth her body provided and wanted to hold her again with every fiber of his being. But he stayed this need in order to speak seriously to her.
"Ginny," he began slowly, "I know that this isn't fair to you for me to say this. I know that it is a very hypocritical thing to do, as I'm the one who said that we couldn't be together. But…oh Ginny, if I don't say it…I'll- I'll…I just know I'll go insane."
"Harry…" Ginny whispered, tears forming in her eyes. She seemed scared, as though what he was about to say might hurt her.
"Oh, God, Ginny," he said tearfully, "I just love you so much! I wish that I could be with you and I wish that I didn't have to be afraid of causing you any harm. I would never want you to be hurt. I love you!"
She flung her arms around him again and his vision was clouded by masses of red hair. "I love you too," she told him, he could feel her heart hammering in her chest, "I love you so much, Harry you have no idea!"
She pulled herself away from him again and the look in her eyes made it painfully clear that se spoke the truth. She loved him!
Harry watched her face as she began to slowly lower her lips to his. He could feel his own lips tingling in anticipation. But he knew he could not allow this.
"Ginny," he whispered, "we cant. What if someone sees?"
Ginny pulled her wand out from her robes and flicked it at the carriage door. The blinds came down and closed tightly and the doorknob gave a satisfying click, establishing that it was very securely locked.
"It's just for today," Ginny whispered as though speaking in a clear voice would shatter them both, "I know that…that we have to be apart. But just for today…lets just be two normal people in love."
She lowered her mouth to his once more. This time, however, Harry's lips raced up to meet hers as his hands pulled Ginny onto his lap so that she was straddling him. She made a noise in the back of her throat that implied that he had surprised her.
Slowly and tentatively, Harry opened his mouth under hers. Ginny's response was as enthusiastic as he could have hoped, as she opened her mouth instantly to allow him to drink her in. Her mouth tasted of sweet vanilla coffee, Harry noticed as her tongue flicked his teeth. Ginny moaned softly in the back of her throat and Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention.
Ginny was the first to break the kiss. But before Harry could protest, she had latched her mouth to the side of his neck and began to suckle gently at the sensitive skin there. Harry was forced to bite his lip to contain himself. He moved his eyes down to her beautiful mane of red hair. It had obscured her face completely.
Harry reached out and pulled Ginny's head away from his neck. He looked into her soft brown eyes and held her left cheek with his right hand. She leaned into it before pulling both of her hands up to grasp it and hold it to her chest right above her heart. She kept her left hand on his right but stretched out her own right hand to cover his heart the same way he was covering hers.
"Promise me," she whispered in a thick voice, "that when this is over you'll be mine. Promise me that when Voldemort is dead you'll come back to me wholly and completely."
"I promise, Ginny," Harry whispered seriously, "that when this is all over, not only will I come back to you, I will stay with you forever. And not even your Bat-Bogey hex will stop me."
She smiled widely for the first time since Dumbledore's death and pulled Harry onto the floor of the carriage where he landed in a very incriminating position on top of her. All signs of laughter left her face as her eyes began to blaze with love and lust. Harry's breath caught in his throat. He had never seen her look more beautiful. And he had never been so excited or scared in his entire life.
"Ginny," he whispered, his face very close to hers, "are you sure?"
In lieu of a verbal answer, Ginny pulled Harry's mouth down to hers and kissed him savagely. He kissed her back as he began to slip the cardigan off her shoulders. She sat up, still kissing him, forcing him to move in a less awkward position that would allow the more efficient removal of articles of clothing.
Soon they were lying on the floor again, having removed all of their clothes. In every space where their skin touched, Harry could feel little electrical shocks. He pressed his whole body to her as they continued to kiss wildly.
Ginny moved her hand up to the crook of Harry's arm and flipped him over onto his back. She then threw her leg over him and straddled him once more. She kissed his collarbone and then his shoulder and then his chest before moving lower and lower.
Harry stopped her and pulled her face back up to his so that he could kiss her properly again. Pulling away, Ginny moaned softly before enveloping Harry completely. He gasped in surprise, arching his back while Ginny began to move her hips up and down getting into a rhythm. She threw her head back as Harry began to move as well, rising to meet her, his movements in sync with her. It was rather like a dance. They were both moving to the same beat that continued to grow faster and faster. The heat around them was escalating as they continued to move together.
Grabbing her hips, Harry rolled Ginny and himself over, meeting her surprised gaze when she realized that she was now lying under him. She smirked and pulled him to her for a passionate kiss. They continued to move together while they kissed. The sensation of kissing her was just as stimulating as everything else that they were doing.
Soon, however, they were both forced to break the kiss as a euphoric sensation whipped over them. For a moment, Harry felt as though he had floated up into the clouds, before crashing back down to earth and collapsing his tired body on top of Ginny. They were both breathing heavily and were both sticky with sweat.
Harry picked himself up only enough to throw his body onto he floor next to Ginny. The minute he did, she rolled over to face him, pulling herself up slightly so that she could rest her cheek in her hand and her elbow on the floor. She was staring awe struck at him, her eyes ablaze with love once more.
"I love you," she said simply.
Harry kissed the tip of her nose affectionately. "I love you too," he told her. It was the most incredibly simple thing in the world to say 'I love you', he thought and wondered why people made such a fuss over it.
Ginny's eyes turned sad as she looked at Harry. He could see tears brimming there and wondered how the mood could change so rapidly.
"What's wrong, Ginny," Harry asked, pulling her shaking body to him.
"Oh, Harry," she sobbed, "I'm just so scared! I don't want anything bad to happen! What if—what if we never get to be together like this again?"
"Shhh," he smiled at her, "this is not a day for crying. This is our day."
Ginny wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "You're right, Harry. I shouldn't be crying. I should be trying to be as happy as possible."
"Lets talk about good things," Harry said.
"Like what?"
"Like, about the future without Voldemort. About how our life will be once we've rid the world of him."
"Will there be many weddings," Ginny asked cautiously, not wanting to scare him off by saying that she thought they were obviously going to get married.
"Oh, yes," he said smiling, "very grand ones. I wouldn't put it past Ron and Hermione to have a big wedding one-day. But we must make sure that we outdo them at our wedding."
Ginny's eyes lit up. He was planning on marrying her. "Was that a proposal, Harry Potter?"
"Only if you want it to be."
"Well, obviously I can't go around wearing a big fat engagement ring, but I suppose I could handle a secret betrothal. It'll be such a romantic story for the grand-children."
Harry laughed and they began to discuss children, living conditions and vacations. The whole trip was spent in some sort of pretend land of daydreaming and candy eating, which was interrupted once or twice for a bit more shagging. It was as though reality had ceased to exist for one whole day. It was like one last bit of normalcy before the world turned upside-down again.
