Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

Harry Potter: Boy-Who-Loved

Article by Michelle Murray

It seems that Harry Potter may finally have found true love. As this reporter witnessed last Saturday night at the Hogwarts Halloween Ball, Mister Potter is willing to go to extreme lengths to defend his lady-fair.

Ginevra Weasley, the youngest of seven children, is currently a fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her older brother Ronald Weasley has been a firm friend to Mister Potter since their first year, and according to inside sources Miss Weasley has been quite taken with the Boy-Who-Lived since their first meeting six years ago.

'Ginny's liked Harry for ages,' said a student who wished to remain anonymous. 'They've been going out now for a few months, I suppose. Harry seems really into her, as well.'

The couple is apparently common knowledge at Hogwarts, and have been since the start of the school year. It is also common knowledge that Harry's two best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, are also dating. Two years ago, during the Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts, rumour had it that Mister Potter and Miss Granger were dating, but this was later found to be untrue.

'Harry and Hermione? That's ridiculous, she's like his sister,' said Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor sixth year. 'They're close, sure, but not like that. Besides, Ron would kill him if he tried anything.'

And it seems that Mister Potter is willing to kill anyone who 'tries anything' with Miss Weasley. Midway through the Ball, Harry attacked another student, who he claimed had been trying to take advantage of Miss Weasley. More details were not forthcoming, however, as this reporter was forced to leave by none other than Miss Weasley herself. It seems that protectiveness runs both ways.

'Well, it could have been worse,' Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair, making it stick up even worse at the back. They were sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast on Wednesday after the Ball, and a copy of Witch Weekly had just been delivered. There was a huge picture of Harry on the cover, alternating between scowling and trying to hide behind the edges of the photograph. A smaller picture of Ginny took up the top right corner, just under the masthead.

'Sorry Harry,' Dean apologised. 'But I figured that if I didn't give her something to publish, then she'd go to the Slytherins.'

Harry waved his apology off. 'It's okay,' he said distractedly, skimming through the article again. 'It's actually not too bad,' he admitted, wrapping his arm around Ginny and pulling her close.

'Much better than that evil Skeeter woman,' she agreed. 'At least she's not going on about how much of a mental case you are.'

'Yeah mate, that's downright kind compared to her,' Ron grinned.

'I still don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, letting that reporter in here,' Hermione muttered, rocking backwards and forwards slightly, deep in thought. 'I mean, this can't be good, can it? Now everyone knows about you two, and the Death Eaters could take advantage of it or something.'

'Voldemort already knew,' Harry shook his head. 'He possessed Ginny before, remember?'

'Oh,' Hermione's brow creased. 'I hadn't thought of that, I suppose.'

Suddenly Ginny tensed, her face going very pale. She clutched at Harry's arm, and he looked down at her in concern.

'What is it?' he asked, gently placing his fingertips on her forearm.

'Mum!' she managed, now staring at the ceiling where the Post Owls had just flown into the Great Hall. 'She reads the bloody magazine!'

'Oh hell,' Ron whispered, pointing. Harry followed his gaze and, with a sinking feeling, immediately recognised the distinct scarlet envelope of a Howler.

'Maybe it's for someone else?' he said hopefully, but the owl swooped directly at them and dropped the Howler in Ginny's eggs.

'Go!' Alex said sharply. 'Get out of here!'

Ginny didn't need to be told twice. She grabbed the envelope and sprinted out of the Hall, Harry hot on her heels.

'Hold on,' Harry grabbed her arm, just as the Howler began to smoke. 'I have a better idea.'

He mentally prodded the Basilisk, which almost seemed to uncurl within his mind. Suddenly the Entrance Hall vanished, and the Forbidden Forest replaced it.

Ginny dropped the envelope abruptly, and suddenly a massive wall of noise assaulted their ears, which Harry recognised immediately as the voice of Mrs. Weasley.

'GINEVRA WEASLEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? DATING HARRY FOR TWO WHOLE MONTHS AND NOT TELLING US ABOUT IT? HOW COULD YOU PUT YOURSELF IN DANGER THAT WAY? YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US STRAIGHT AWAY, NOT HAVE US FIND OUT IN SOME TRASHY MAGAZINE! I'M VERY DISSAPOINTED WITH YOU, YOUNG LADY, I THOUGHT THAT YOU AT LEAST HAD SOME COMMON SENSE! HOW COULD YOU –'

Suddenly the voice was replaced by the much calmer tones of Mr. Weasley.

Ignore your mother, Ginny, she's just a little upset right now. We are both truly happy for you. Don't worry, she'll come around. But we do need to speak with you. Soon.

And with that, the Howler dissolved in a brilliant flash of fire.

Ginny shook her head ruefully. 'I knew we should have told her before,' she muttered.

'Don't worry,' Harry enfolded her in a hug. 'She'll be fine, like your father said.'

========

Hot on the trail of the Howler were a veritable flock of owls, all of which came swooping down to the Gryffindor table and looked very confused when they obviously couldn't find the recipients of their letters.

Ron groaned, then lifted his hand and waved. 'Down here,' he called, and the owls veered in his direction. 'Don't worry, we'll make sure they get them.'

One after another the owls dropped their letters and flew off, leaving a small mountain of parchment envelopes. Ron shared a look with Hermione; this was fourth year all over again.

'We'd better get started, I guess,' Ron said resignedly, picking up an envelope addressed in a neat hand to Mister H. Potter, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Quickly getting the idea, everyone else nearby grabbed a letter and started to read.

'This one's from a witch in London, says Harry's off his rocker and should go marry her,' Ron raised his eyebrows, then incinerated the letter with a quick flick of his wand.

'This one's from a guy who wants to go out with Ginny,' Alex shook his head. 'Bit thick, isn't he? I mean, the whole bloody article was about how she's taken, and it said how Harry's touchy about her. And what's a guy reading Witch Weekly for anyway?'

'This one just wishes them both well, and a long lasting relationship,' Isabelle smiled faintly. 'Of course, there are tear marks all over the parchment, and the girl says she's only ten.'

'This one's from a bloke who reckons he works at the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley, reckons he served Harry when he bought Ginny's broom,' Ron read another letter. 'Says he's happy for Harry and reckons Ginny's…' Ron trailed off, and his ears went bright red.

'He says Ginny's what, Ron?' Hermione asked absently, her eyes flicking through yet another letter. She already had a small pile of acceptable ones stacked neatly beside her, and a pile of ash where she'd burned those that were unacceptable.

'Never mind,' Ron muttered, quickly incinerating the note. Hermione looked up briefly, her lips twitching into a half smile, before she went back to work.

'Witch, says Harry's barmy…' Dean muttered, burning another letter.

'Another witch, wishing them well, blah blah blah…' Alex almost negligently tossed the parchment back onto the table.

'A wizard who reckons Harry's got good taste,' Neville smiled. 'I agree,' he added under his breath.

'Here's a good one,' Cassie announced, a smile tugging at her lips as she read. 'I read the article recently published in Witch Weekly, and I just have to congratulate you on everything you have achieved. I realise that it cannot be easy being the Boy-Who-Lived, and constantly living in fear of You-Know-Who, and for you to be able to find love in such a difficult environment is truly a testament to the human spirit. If anyone can save the wizarding – and Muggle – worlds, it will be you.'

'How very inspiring,' a cold drawl caused eight heads to whip around and glare at Malfoy, who stood just behind Neville looking smug. 'Reading Potty's fan mail for him? I hope he's going to pay you, I know Weasel could use the cash.'

'Don't,' Hermione said sharply when Ron immediately went for his wand. 'He's not worth it.'

'You don't learn very quickly, do you Ferret? You want to be thrown through another wall?'

Malfoy spun to find Harry right behind him, so close they were almost touching. Malfoy's hand twitched for his wand, but it stilled again almost before it had started moving.

'Go,' Harry said dismissively, and Malfoy turned on his heel and stalked back to the Slytherin table, muttering to himself under his breath.

'We'll have to employ you as our official Malfoy terrifier,' Alex quipped, although his eyes watched Harry shrewdly.

'I thought I already was,' Harry jested, dropping back into his seat.

'Where's Ginny?' Ron asked, picking up another letter.

'She went back to the common room, said she wanted some alone time,' Harry shrugged, then his head cocked to the side and he stared curiously at the pile of mail. 'Where did all that come from?'

'Your fans,' Cassie smirked, waving an envelope addressed to Mister Harry J. Potter, Gryffindor, Hogwarts. 'Why they had to specify that you were a Gryffindor and then not even write the whole school name, I'll never know.'

'Wonderful,' Harry groaned, crossing his arms on the table and dropping his head onto them. 'That's the last thing I need.'

'Don't worry, we'll sift them for you,' Ron said bracingly, burning yet another letter. 'Honestly, if one more witch writes and tells you to marry her, I'm going to start hexing people. Some of these proposals aren't even legal, never mind decent.'

Harry laughed, raising his head slightly to peer at his friend. 'Thanks,' he said finally.

'We'll all help, won't we guys?' Neville asked. There was a murmur of assent.

'Oh good, my own personal Post Office,' Harry joked. Ron threw a bit of bacon at him.

'Ron!' Hermione looked up sharply. 'You're a Prefect, set an example!'

'No one was watching,' Ron said dismissively. 'Besides, more important what Harry does, isn't it? He's the one everyone looks up to, not me. I'm just a sidekick.'

'Thanks, Ron,' Harry said flatly.

'S'alright, you can pay me later,' Ron grinned. Harry flicked his wand at the bacon, and it soared back and hit Ron on the nose.

'Hey!' Ron was stopped from retaliating when Snape seemed to appear behind his left shoulder.

'Not food fighting, are we Potter?' Snape asked silkily, his foot nudging the bit of bacon which had dropped on the floor. 'In that case, twenty poi…'

'It was me, Professor,' Neville said quickly, a dull flush creeping up his cheeks. 'I was practicing Banishing Charms, and I accidentally hit the bacon.'

'Idiot boy,' Snape glared at Neville. 'Ten points from Gryffindor. Spells should not be practiced at the breakfast table.' Snape stalked off again, pausing to take points from two Hufflepuff girls for giggling too loudly.

'That bloody slimy git,' Ron muttered darkly, glaring at the back of Snape's head. 'He's just looking for an excuse to take points, now that you don't have Potions with him.'

'Thanks, Neville,' Harry placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

'Can't have you losing too many points,' Neville said quietly. 'You're the head of the DA, but I'm nobody.'

'Hey!' Harry looked into Neville's eyes. 'You're not nobody, you are Mister Neville Longbottom, and I know you can do that name proud.'

Neville's eyes seemed to cloud, and he took a deep breath. Finally he nodded, and Harry squeezed his shoulder.

'Neville,' Harry said in a low voice, 'there are very few people I would trust enough to guard my back in a fight. You are one of those people. Do you hear me? You are not useless, not by a long shot. Don't ever let Snape convince you of that.'

Finally Neville's head came up, and he met Harry's eyes. After what seemed like an eternity Neville nodded decisively, and Harry saw a brief flash of the Neville Longbottom that was a Gryffindor to the core. 'I'm with you, Harry,' he said, his voice quiet but strong. 'I've got your back.'

He glanced around the table, as if daring anyone to contradict him, but was met only with encouraging smiles. He looked back at Harry, who just squeezed his shoulder again before releasing him. 'I'm going to find Luna,' he mumbled, rising quickly and hurrying off.

'That was a very nice thing to do, Harry,' Hermione said, reaching across the table to take his hand.

'It's just the truth,' Harry shrugged.

'Yeah, but most people wouldn't have actually said it,' Ron chipped in. 'And you reckon you're not a leader? Who d'you think you're fooling, exactly?'

Harry was very tempted to flick more bacon at Ron.

A/N: Another massive case of writers block on this one. Sorry folks, but my Muse is obviously feeling lazy at the moment. I'll try to update more often, but I don't know if I can do every day, like I have in the past. We'll see.

Review Responses:

Saerry Snape: …I have no idea what to say. I just checked your favourites list (which I do fairly regularly, I might add) and found my crappy little fic at the top of the list. You really have NO idea what this means to me. Hold on, I'm just going to nip out the back and scream like a lunatic for a while. ;) Don't kill your muses, they're too good…alright, even Atra, though he is an annoying little short ass…

gpotter: For Merlin's sake, will you please stop it with the Orlando comments? You're going to make me hate the pretty bugger, before long…and anyway, Keira Knightley is much more interesting…;p

Mistress-Genari: That's okay, I didn't either. Blame my Muse, he's a total nut case.

athenakitty: Someone's jumping to conclusions, I never said anything HAPPENED…(whistles innocently). As to the car problems, all I can say is that she's a temperamental biatch (definitely female, oh yes).

Kaylee-Smith: Nope, never got the next bit. Can you send it again? I have Chapter one finished, but I want to look at Chapter two and we can decide whether to fuse them or not.

Whimsical Firefly: The simple answer as to why Alex and Cassie are still alive and well is this: James arrived home. Trust me, a pissed off James is NOT something you'd want to meet in a dark alley. Possibly it would result in not only you being melted into a small puddle of goo, but also the wholesale destruction of anything breakable in the area…windows, wall, houses, the city said alley is in, that sort of thing.

Melindaleo: Gred and Forge? What an intriguing idea…

Larna Mandrea: Don't get me wrong, I love driving. But my car is being…difficult, at the moment. She's not a happy camper, I'm telling you.