Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: I'M ALIVE!!! Sorry this took so long folks, but Telstra cut off my Internet access accidentally. Grr…

Since I'm posting two chapters, Review Responses are in the next chapter, at the end. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, by the way! I got the Internet back on and found I had almost two hundred e-mails, and most of them were review responses. Cheers!

Harry found James in his office marking papers and muttering darkly under his breath. He looked up sharply as Harry entered, his eyes narrowing.

'Sit,' he commanded, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk. Harry complied, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

'What the bloody hell was that little display all about?' James demanded, his voice coldly furious.

'I'm sorry, I lost my temper,' Harry said quickly.

'Lost your bloody temper!' James exploded. 'You almost killed Malfoy! Is that what you wanted?'

Harry considered this question seriously for a moment, then shrugged slightly. 'To tell the truth, it wouldn't have really bothered me either way,' he said calmly.

James sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. 'Harry, it would have been murder, you know that? You could have gone to Azkaban, and I'd never hear the end of it if that happened. Not only that, but you could have seriously hurt your friends.'

'I know,' Harry said quietly. 'I couldn't help myself. I just felt this overwhelming urge to hurt people.'

'That was the Basilisk talking, not you. It's the one with the homicidal impulses. You have to learn to control that, to tame it.'

'How?' Harry demanded tiredly. 'It's stronger than I am.'

'It's also under your command,' James said sternly. 'It's here to help you, not hinder. It has to listen to you whether it likes…'

Suddenly Harry's scar seared with pain. He cried out, clapping his hand to his forehead and doubling over in his seat.

'What is it?' James asked curiously, standing and coming around the desk to kneel next to Harry, who was now panting for breath.

'Voldemort…' Harry grated. 'He's really happy about something…'

'Have you had a fallout with Miss Weasley?' James asked suddenly. The question was so unexpected that it distracted Harry from the pain for a moment.

'Yeah,' Harry said quietly as the pain began to recede. 'We had an argument out in the forest…' he trailed off as several things clicked together in his mind. 'That's the big theory!' he said suddenly, sitting up straighter in his chair. 'You think its Ginny who's stopping me from seeing Voldemort?'

'Partly,' James granted, standing and seating himself again behind his desk. 'Although not entirely. More like it's your feelings for her that are blocking the Dark Lord from accessing your mind. Do you remember when he tried to possess you back in the Department of Mysteries?'

Harry nodded. 'I thought about Sirius,' he said slowly. 'And Voldemort went away.'

'The Dark Lord cannot stand to exist in an environment filled with such positivity,' James said, clasping his hands together and resting them on the desk in front of him. 'Your ability to love, and be loved in return, may be your greatest weapon, Harry. Always remember that. What you are feeling now is no doubt Voldemort's glee at discovering your mind is once again vulnerable, even if it is only temporary.'

'Why did Ginny come with me when I transported myself earlier? And why could I do it at all? I thought you couldn't do stuff like that in Hogwarts. At least that's what Hermione keeps telling me.'

'Second question first, and the answer is simple. Why can Fawkes do the same thing?'

'Because he isn't human?' Harry guessed.

James nodded. 'Exactly. And neither is a Basilisk.'

'Oh.' Harry thought that made sense. 'What about Ginny?'

'Now that's a little more complicated.' James leant back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. 'What do you know about magical bonds?'

'Not much,' Harry admitted. 'Only this stupid scar.' He indicated his forehead.

'When a witch or wizard saves another's life, it creates a bond between the two, one that is unbreakable by any means other than repaying the debt. You have such a bond, I believe, with Peter Pettigrew. You saved his life by staying Sirius' hand, and he is bonded to you until he repays that debt. You may want to keep that in mind, it could come in useful. The bond between you and Miss Weasley is somewhat deeper, and also involves the Prophecy. You are bound by forces beyond your control, and together you are so much greater than alone.'

'So every time I do something, it will affect her too?' Harry said. He knew what Ginny was going to say when she found out that.

'Everything we do affects everyone around us,' James answered cryptically. 'In your case, it will just be a little more intimate.'

'Wonderful,' Harry said sourly.

'It's not so bad, Harry,' James chuckled. 'You might even find you like having Ginny always accessible.'

An image of Ginny suddenly appearing dripping wet at his feet, having been teleported straight from the shower briefly flashed across his imagination, but he quickly squashed it. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, however.

'See,' James said with a smirk. 'All sorts of possibilities.'

'Thanks, Professor,' Harry said gratefully.

'James, in private,' James said firmly, reaching across the desk and placing one hand on Harry's shoulder. 'I'm here for you, Harry, whenever you need to talk. I know I can't be a substitute for your parents or Sirius, but I'll do the best I can.'

A lump rose in Harry's throat as he looked into James' sincere eyes, and he nodded mutely.

'Now go,' James commanded with a smile. 'You'd best go find Ginny. She's not the sort to let simmer, if you catch my meaning. Best to talk to her before she gets herself even more worked up than she already is.'

'Thanks,' Harry said quietly, standing and leaving the room quickly. Once he was outside, he leaned heavily against the wall, his eyes filling with tears. He dashed them away angrily with his arm, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

'I need to find Ginny,' he said to himself quietly.

'Indeed,' Zith said, and Harry jumped a foot of the ground. He had totally forgotten she was there.

'Don't do that!' Harry scolded, heading for Gryffindor tower to begin his search. He could have sworn Zith looked amused.

When he climbed through the portrait hole, he was met with a sudden silence. Many of the Gryffindors presently in the common room watched him enter with fear in their eyes. Harry ignored them, noticing Ron, Hermione and Isabelle sitting near the fire. He strode across the room to them.

'Harry, where…' Hermione started, but Harry cut her off.

'Where's Ginny?' he asked.

'I don't know, but…'

Harry turned abruptly and made to leave the room, but Ron's voice stopped him.

'Try the Astronomy tower,' he suggested. Harry nodded curtly and left the common room, leaving a roomful of whispers behind him.

Taking Ron's advice he headed for the Astronomy tower. It suddenly occurred to him that he should be in class; it was only a few hours after lunch. He supposed Dumbledore must have cancelled classes after the incident in the Defense corridor.

As he neared the top of the tower, he heard faint sounds coming from up ahead. As he emerged onto the roof he realised the sound was Ginny sobbing. She sat on a ledge on the far side of the roof, her back to him as she stared out over the lake. Her shoulders shook slightly in the chilly October afternoon air.

Without speaking Harry spun a blanket out of the air and placed it over her shoulders, then sat on the ledge opposite her. She didn't acknowledge him for a long moment, then finally she turned her red rimmed eyes to look at him. Harry's heart almost split in two at the furious look in those brown pools.

'It's not fair,' she said dully. 'Even when I want to, I can't be mad with you.'

'I'm sorry Ginny,' he said softly. 'I didn't mean to say what I did. Of course your experiences are important to me.'

Ginny regarded him carefully. 'James,' she said flatly. At Harry's puzzled look, she elaborated. 'He told you to apologise.' She turned away from him again. She knew that she had acted badly back in the forest, but she wasn't about to admit that.

'No,' Harry corrected. 'He told me not to wait. I was going to apologise anyway.'

'No you weren't,' Ginny said quietly.

'Of course I was,' Harry reached out and gently turned her head so she was facing him again. As he did so, Zith poked her blunt nose out of his sleeve.

'Hello Zith,' Ginny hissed. Harry almost dropped the snake in surprise. 'What?' Ginny sighed bitterly. 'As you said, it's a gift. It would be silly of me not to use it just because of where it came from.'

Harry sat next to her on the ledge, placing one arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. She buried her face in his chest, and her shoulders began to shake again. Once she was back in such close contact with him, all the petty arguments just seemed…unimportant.

'I'm sorry for yelling at you,' she said in a small voice that was muffled only slightly by his shirt.

'Don't worry about it,' Harry said with a slight smile. 'I'm used to it.'

'That's no excuse,' she said stubbornly, shaking her head.

'If you say so,' Harry gave her shoulders a squeeze.

'Oh, Harry,' Ginny sighed, pulling away from him so she could look into his eyes. 'Why do you put up with me?'

'What?' The question startled Harry. 'What do you mean?'

'You know,' she said sadly. 'You could have any girl in the Wizarding world, and you chose me. Why?'

Harry laughed softly. 'Because I love you, ninny,' he said gently, leaning forward and catching her lips in a kiss.

'What a touching scene,' a very familiar voice made the two teens spring apart. 'Twenty points from each of you,' Snape sneered, his eyes glinting maliciously. 'My, my, the Golden Boy of Gryffindor flouting school rules twice in one day. The Headmaster will be hearing of this, Potter.'

'Whatever,' Harry shrugged indifferently, standing and pulling Ginny up after him, his arm still around her shoulders. He made to walk past the Professor, but Snape stopped him with one hand held up in front of them.

'Watch your back, Potter,' Snape said in a deadly serious voice. 'Hogwarts is no longer safe. Be very careful.' Harry looked up into Snape's eyes and saw just what the warning had cost the older man. He looked like he'd just been forced to do something very unpleasant.

Harry nodded slightly. 'Thank you, sir,' he said, his eyes locking briefly with Snape's. 'I won't forget this.' And with that he turned and led Ginny down the steps, leaving Snape to stare after them both with an unreadable look on his face.

A/N: A bit of a short one, I know, but that was just such a good cut-off point.

As always, please R&R!