Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: Cripes, 800 reviews. A massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, you are the reason this story is still going. I remember panicking when I first posted, wondering if I'd even get one, much less 800. Cheers to you all!

Also, I recently found out that Ginny's birthday is, in fact, August 10th. Now go back to chapter 8 and read my A/N at the bottom. Keep in mind that I wrote that almost two months ago, and JK only released the date yesterday. Now was that a good guess, or was that a good guess? Okay, so I missed Ron's by three months, but still…

Okay, before we get started on this one, I have another story to recommend (this is turning into a habit…) called Harry Potter and the Power of Truth by CreativeQuill. It's a witty story that turns the HP books completely on their heads by making them real, but in a much more believable way than JKR has managed. If you're looking for a good real-world HP story, check it out (it's on my favourite's list). Plus, she updates more often than I do! Now, on with the chapter.

Harry's return to consciousness the following morning was pleasantly slow. He stretched under his blankets, his mouth wide in a huge yawn. He froze when he felt someone shift in the bed beside him.

What the hell?

Slowly, cautiously, Harry turned his head. The scent of vanilla reached his nostrils, and suddenly he remembered where he was.

Ball…Room of Requirement…Ginny…

Suddenly wide awake, Harry turned fully to gaze down at Ginny's face. Her eyes were closed, and she looked strangely vulnerable in sleep. Under the blankets, her chest rose and fell with her regular breathing. Her freckles stood out starkly against her pale skin, and her hair was a mess.

Now that he was fully awake, Harry could remember what had happened. He and Ginny had slipped out of the Hall to find someplace private, and had eventually settled on the Room of Requirement when they had found Ron and Hermione in the snog-cupboard on the third floor. Harry had been somewhat surprised by the room they had been provided with. Instead of his usual lounge room style setting, like he had conjured for the meeting with Remus, they had ended up with a large Victorian style bedroom, complete with a king sized four-poster bed resplendent in Gryffindor colours. Ginny had squealed delightedly when she saw the opulence of the room, pulling Harry inside and slamming the door shut. Harry had quickly locked it, sliding home the large bolts that he had been sure to request.

Even though he knew nothing…serious had happened, and they were both fully clothed, Harry's cheeks still burned at the thought of waking up next to Ginny. He glanced down at her again, absently brushing a stray lock of hair aside. Her lips parted slightly and she let out a soft breath, snuggling closer to him. His hand slowly began to stroke her hair, idly playing with loose strands.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ginny's eyes fluttered open. She yawned, stretching as Harry had, and her gaze came to rest on him.

'Good morning,' Harry said gently, moving his hand to caress her cheek. Ginny sighed softly, reaching up to take his hand within her own.

'A very good one,' she agreed, sitting up. 'Not every day a girl can wake up in bed next to the Boy-Who-Lived, is it?' She laughed at the expression on his face.

'Just be glad Ron can't see us now,' Harry said wryly, leaning over and kissing her.

A massive bang made them leap apart. Harry, slightly overreacting, jumped too far. He fumbled for a moment, scrambling for a handhold, then toppled off the bed with a loud thump. Ginny burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggling.

'Harry! Ginny! Are you in there?' Ron's voice came to them through the thick wooden panels of the door.

'Oh hell,' Harry muttered, picking himself up off the floor and straightening his glasses.

'Relax,' Ginny said, grinning at him. 'Yes Ron, we're in here!' she yelled. 'But unless you want to see the disturbing sight of your only sister and your best friend naked, don't come in!'

There was a very loud silence on the other side of the door as both Harry and Ginny tried hard not to laugh.

'I'm going to kill you Harry!' Ron yelled suddenly. 'How could you do that to Ginny, she's just a baby! I thought you were supposed to be my friend!'

Deciding to end this quickly, Harry strode to the door and flung it open. Ron was standing there, his fisted clenched and his face very red. Hermione was not far away, trying to stifle her giggles with one hand.

'Nothing happened, Ron,' Harry emphasised quickly. 'Ginny's just riling you up.'

'Spoilsport,' Ginny appeared behind him, wrapping her arms around his stomach.

'See?' Harry indicated himself. 'Fully clothed and everything.' He looked at Ron curiously. 'Why did you assume that we'd…you know…' Harry blushed bright red at the thought of Ron thinking about him doing anything like that. It was just too weird.

'Oh…umm…' Ron blushed even brighter than Harry did. 'Nothing.' Harry noticed his answer didn't quite seem to fit the question. 'Never mind,' Ron finally mumbled, then turned and fled down the corridor. Hermione smiled fleetingly at Harry and Ginny then followed.

'What was that all about?' Harry asked, shaking his head in puzzlement over his friend's peculiar behaviour.

Ginny was shaking with silent laughter. 'I have…a feeling…that Ron's edu…education…got furthered last night…'

It took a moment for Harry to figure out what she meant. 'Ron? And Hermione? At Hogwarts?' Harry's eyes opened wide. 'Surely you don't think…'

Ginny didn't answer, she was laughing too hard. Harry didn't quite know what to say. He decided the whole idea was just too disturbing, and firmly told his mind to shut up about it and stop conjuring mental images. He focused instead on the giggling red-head in front of him, and all other thoughts quickly evaporated.

'Why else would Ron so readily leap to that conclusion?' Ginny managed finally.

Harry raised an eyebrow. 'Because you told him we were naked?'

'Well, maybe,' Ginny admitted. 'But it's still funny, don't you think?'

Harry didn't quite know what to think, actually; he was now extremely confused. He settled for saying, 'If you say so.'

Ginny's lips twisted into a smirk. 'You're impossible,' she shook her head, eyeing him playfully. 'So what did you have in mind to do today?'

'Oh, I don't know,' Harry smiled. 'I was thinking I might go for a fly. Care to join me?'

'I'd love to fly,' Ginny's smirk grew broader, and Harry didn't miss the emphasis she placed on the word fly. He wondered briefly just exactly what he was getting himself into.

'Well, let's go then,' Harry extended his arm to Ginny, and she looped her own through it. Together they headed for Gryffindor tower to get their brooms.

========

Alex scowled at his sister. The two were in the common room, which was devoid of any other students, and she had just finished telling him about her conversation the previous night with their father.

'It's none of your business, Cass,' he said bluntly.

'Of course it is, I'm your twin,' she said calmly. 'Your business is our business, same as mine. You know that.'

'Not this,' Alex shook his head stubbornly, refusing to meet her eyes.

'Alex,' Cassie said firmly, grabbing his chin and raising his head so she could look into his eyes. To counter, Alex simply closed them. He knew he was being childish, but for some reason he couldn't help it. 'Open your damn eyes,' Cassie commanded, and Alex almost winced. She seldom used that tone on him, and that more than anything persuaded him that she was deadly serious. He opened his eyes to find her face inches from his own, her eyes so close he could see every detail of her blue irises. As had happened so many times in the past, her eyes seemed to grow larger, and Alex felt the Transfer begin.

They weren't actually thoughts, more like ideas, concepts. Images, occasionally. Emotions.

It was this last that almost drove Alex to his knees. He felt a massive thump in his chest as a wave of anxiety flowed over him, coupled with a healthy dose of worry and not a little fear, all overlaid with a very strong feeling of helplessness, and all because of him. His sister had been concerned for his wellbeing since…he didn't even want to think about it. But he did feel tremendously guilty for putting Cassie through all this additional trauma. It was almost more than he could bear.

'I'm sorry,' Alex whispered, closing his eyes. The Transfer stopped immediately, but the aftermath still almost made Alex physically ill.

'Don't be sorry,' Cassie said, enfolding her twin in a hug. 'Just do something about it. Talk to someone. Please?'

Alex took a deep, shuddering breath, weighing up his options. On one hand, he didn't want to even think about what had happened. But on the other, he really didn't want to cause Cass any more damage. He couldn't.

'All right,' Alex said heavily, and his shoulders slumped forward. 'I'll talk to someone Dad finds. Okay?'

'Okay,' Cassie said firmly, squeezing him tighter. 'That's very Gryffindor of you,' she whispered into his ear.

Alex laughed hollowly. 'Yeah, well, I'm not feeling very Gryffindor-ish at the moment.'

'Harry's gone through the same sort of thing, you know,' Cassie said eventually.

'I know.'

'Do you know who he talked to about it?'

'No.'

'Ginny.'

Alex's head jerked up. 'What, you reckon I should talk about this to Isabelle?'

'I reckon you should talk to whoever you feel like talking to,' Cassie corrected.

Alex grunted non-commitally. Just then the Fat Lady swung open and Harry and Ginny entered the common room. Both were flushed, and both looked extremely happy.

'Just getting our brooms,' Harry said happily, glancing curiously at the two sitting in front of the fire. Cassie grinned at him, and Alex gave a half smile.

'Oh? Going for an early morning fly?' Cassie raised her eyebrows suggestively. Harry blushed even more, but Ginny just grinned.

'Yep,' she confirmed. 'Come on Harry, go get your Firebolt, I'll be back in a sec.'

'Okay Gin,' Harry almost sprinted up the stairs, seemingly full of energy.

'The Ball must have agreed with him,' Alex said mildly.

Cassie smirked. 'Actually, I have it on very good authority that he spent last night in the Room of Requirement with Ginny. I tried to get in this morning, and the door was locked.'

They shared a laugh, although sobered quickly. There was an almost uncomfortable silence as Alex's eyes followed Harry and Ginny as they met up in the common room again, both smiling, and headed outside hand in hand.

'You reckon he talked to Ginny?' Alex asked in a would-be casual voice. Cassie's gaze, however, told him she saw through it.

'He did,' she nodded. 'And she helped. Harry lost his Godfather, the closest thing he had to a parent, and talking to Ginny helped him enormously. You might like to think about that. I'm not saying you should talk to Ginny, specifically, but you definitely need to talk to someone.' She paused for a moment, the said quietly, 'I did.'

And with that she turned and quickly crossed the common room to the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories, leaving Alex to brood.

A/N: Sorry if this is a bit short, but it's now 5:00am, I've just spent two hours wrestling with my car, and now I'm going to bed. So nya.

Review Responses:

Saerry Snape: Hey! Put that sword down! If you massacre all your muses, NM will never get finished. Well, you could probably do without Atra. Just leave Saerwy, Bryvend and Amelie alone. Okay, you can disembowel them a little bit, if you really want to. Yes, I do know I'm rambling, but it's now 5:30am so I have an excuse. I think I'm starting to like Amelie…more H/N! Yay! Sorry, far too much sugar for Jamesie…

Heart of the Phoenix: Well, since I'm an Aussie, definitely the swimming (go the Thorpedo! You lot don't stand a chance in the pool…). As for the rest, I really have no idea. Pity Cricket isn't an Olympic sport.

Elise: Umm…no Sirius, sorry. Maybe next chapter. I have no idea really, depends on what my muse has to say. And knowing him, it could be absolutely anything.

Larna Mandrea: To tell the truth, I really can't see Harry willingly entering the limelight like that. Why do I get the distinct feeling I'm going to regret the comment about Ginny?

Melindaleo: Probably not, no.

brilliant-author16: There will be more r/hr coming, don't worry. Sixty chapters? More like 160, the way I'm going…