Harry Potter and the Mind Mage

By James Milamber

A/N: Ahh, where would I be these days without my wonderful Beta? Many, many thanks once again to CQ.

That evening after dinner, when most of Gryffindor house were in the common room either doing homework, chatting with friends, or playing assorted games, the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall entered the common room.

Harry looked up from his place with Ginny, Ron and Hermione beside the fire as conversation ceased and all eyes turned expectantly towards their head of house.

'I'll assume all of you were present at lunch today to receive the Headmaster's news?' she said shortly. There was a rumble of assent from the assembled students. 'Good, then you all know that only ten students from each house can enter this contest, and since there are thirty potential candidates, I'm here to ensure there will be no arguments over who gets to compete and who doesn't. Those chosen will be representing not only themselves but also Gryffindor, so I certainly hope you will conduct yourselves in a matter according to your station.'

'Now,' she continued, sweeping the silent room with a stern glance, 'I suppose the pertinent question is, who would like to compete?'

Across the room from Harry, his pink hair standing out vibrantly against the cold stone walls, Alex's hand immediately shot up. It was followed shortly by Isabelle's, who grinned impishly at her boyfriend when he raised an eyebrow at her.

'Very well, that's two then,' McGonagall nodded her approval. 'Anyone else?' Her gaze swept the room again, seeming to linger on Harry. He almost groaned aloud – of course she would expect him to compete. It wasn't that he didn't want to; in fact, he was rather looking forward to it, and he knew what he was currently feeling was more than a little childish. It was more that he hated the fact that everyone just assumed that he would enter, being the "great Harry Potter" and all. He glanced at Ginny, sitting beside him, and saw her eyes were narrowed at the Professor. She'd clearly caught the look as well, and just as clearly wasn't very happy about it.

'I'll give it a go,' Ron said, raising his arm. Harry, glad for the lead, also raised his, followed by Ginny and Hermione.

'Excellent,' McGonagall said, clearly pleased. 'So we have Potter, two Weasleys, Granger, Lestrange and Milton, anyone else?'

Harry didn't miss his jump to the front of the queue, but forced his expression to remain neutral. Ginny grasped his hand and squeezed tightly, well aware of how much he hated preferential treatment.

A seventh year named Michael Wilde raised his hand, followed by a fifth year named Aaron Davis.

'That's eight,' McGonagall's gaze swept the room once more. 'Anyone else?'

'What the hell,' Greg Redfield shrugged from his place next to Aaron, 'I'll give it a go.' He raised his hand. A seventh year girl Harry didn't know the name of looked at him speculatively, then raised her hand as well.

'Very well, that's ten,' McGonagall nodded curtly. 'Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Granger, Lestrange, Milton, Wilde, Redfield, Davis, Richmond, I expect you all to have your names down tomorrow. That is all.' With that she turned and left as abruptly as she had entered.

'Well, that was different,' Ginny remarked as the noise level rose again.

'She obviously just didn't want anyone arguing over those positions,' Hermione stated, reopening the book she had been reading when McGonagall had first entered. 'At least now we know who's going to be competing.'

'Well, I don't know about you lot, but I'm really looking forward to flattening Malfoy,' Ron grinned viciously.

'Ron!' Hermione scolded. 'This isn't about your personal vendetta against Malfoy! This is about training us for the real possibility that we may have to face Death Eaters again!'

'Nah,' Ron dismissed her words. 'That's what we've got Harry for. Right mate?' He turned to gain Harry's support only to find both he and Ginny missing.

Harry, who had sensed the argument brewing and quickly made his escape, was currently sitting on his bed with Ginny. He was scowling into the middle distance, and Ginny was watching him intently.

'It's not bloody fair,' he finally said bitterly.

'I know it's not,' Ginny said softly, rubbing his back soothingly. 'She had no right to do that.'

'It's not just her,' Harry corrected. 'Everyone in the room just assumed I'd enter, I could tell.'

'Well, you do have a habit of being involved with these things,' Ginny said carefully. She didn't particularly want to revive his memories of the Triwizard Tournament.

'Yeah, I know,' Harry sighed. 'The great Harry Potter, always in the thick of things. Well, just once, I'd like to be on the outside watching someone else get screwed over. Maybe then they'd know what it feels like.'

'You don't mean that, and you know it,' Ginny wrapped her arms around him from behind. 'There's no way you'd ever let someone else suffer, you'd do everything you could to take the burden from them. I know you, Harry James Potter.'

Harry said nothing – there was really nothing to say because, deep down, he knew she was right. Hermione had been right last year – he did have a "saving people thing", and that was exactly what had got Sirius killed.

Ginny, feeling Harry tense up, mentally kicked herself. Well done, now you've made it worse, she scolded herself. 'Harry, listen to me –'

'It's alright, Gin,' he said in a strained voice. 'I –'

'Harry, just shut up for a minute and stop feeling sorry for yourself,' Ginny snapped, although her hold on him tightened to lessen the harshness of the words. 'You are the bravest, most self-sacrificing person at Hogwarts, maybe even in all of Britain, and that is exactly what is going to defeat Voldemort. When you went to the Department of Mysteries last year, did you even once think about your own safety? No, you spent the entire time trying to convince the rest of us not to come along with you because it was too risky! You did exactly what you thought was necessary, when you thought it was necessary to do it. It's not your fault that Voldemort tricked you, it's not your fault Sirius died, and personally, I find your absolute concern for others over your own preservation one of your more appealing qualities!'

Harry had half turned within the circle of her arms and was now staring at her, dumbfounded by her words. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but the words died before he could verbalise them.

'Look, Harry,' she said in a much gentler tone, 'I know it's unfair, and I know you hate the attention, but there's nothing you can do about it. Would you really trust anyone else to get the job done?'

Harry considered a moment, then his shoulders slumped and he leaned against her. 'No, I suppose not,' he said resignedly, wrapping his own arms around her waist. 'It's just…' he trailed off, a lump forming in his throat.

'I know,' she said softly, and felt his grip tighten so he was almost clinging to her. 'Just remember, you're not alone. I'm here, Hermione's here, and I certainly can't see Ron abandoning you any time soon.' She couldn't see his smile, because it was currently buried in her shoulder, but she knew it was there. 'And I'm sure you can rely on Isabelle and the twins, as well,' she continued. 'Not to mention the rest of my family.'

Harry remembered what Charlie had said only a few days ago, about him being a part of the family, and his smile widened. 'Yeah, I know,' he said, his voice only slightly muffled by the fabric of her robes. He pulled away from her slightly, just enough so he could look into her eyes. 'Thank you,' he said sincerely. 'I have no idea what I did to deserve –'

Ginny cut off his sentence with a lingering kiss. 'Don't be ridiculous,' she breathed when they finally parted. 'You're you, that's more than enough for me.'

Harry had no idea what to say to her heartfelt statement, so settled for kissing her again. They were still locked together when the dormitory door banged open and Ron stormed in, muttering under his breath.

'Get a room, you two,' he half snapped at Harry and Ginny, who had broken apart at his entrance.

'Is that an order, brother dear?' Ginny asked sweetly. Ron gaped at her for a moment until her realised exactly what he'd said, then scowled at her. He turned abruptly, jumped onto his own bed, and ripped the hangings shut.

'Wow, that must have been a bad one,' Ginny said after Harry had drawn his own hangings and Silenced them.

'Yeah,' he said distractedly. 'I've not seen them so bad for ages. I wonder what sparked this off?'

'You have to talk to Ron,' Ginny said seriously. 'Find out what's going on with him. I'll do the same with Hermione.'

'Are you sure it wouldn't be better to just let them sort it out themselves?' Harry asked, not eager to get into the middle of yet another Ron/Hermione argument.

'Possibly,' Ginny conceded. 'But I get the feeling there's more to this one. Like you said, they haven't argued like this for ages – and Ron certainly hasn't stormed off like he obviously did tonight. He's usually far more interested in the "making up" part.'

'Yeah, you might be right,' Harry nodded. 'I'll talk to him tomorrow.'

The following morning, the ten selected Gryffindors made their way down to the Entrance Hall as a group, a wordless show of solidarity. When they arrived they found a group of Hufflepuffs already there, taking turns to enter their names into the book – it appeared that Professor Sprout had taken the same no-nonsense approach as McGonagall.

After the Hufflepuffs had moved on, Harry led the Gryffindors over to the entry book, set into a niche in the wall. The book itself could more aptly be described as a tome, fully two feet tall with covers bound in scarlet leather – an almost identical colour to that of the Hogwarts Express, Harry realised.

Taking a quill from a conveniently placed inkwell, Harry wrote his name at the top of a new page, followed by his house. One by one the other Gryffindors followed suit in an almost solemn procession, moving to the side and reforming into a group once they had finished.

'I should have known,' a sneering voice came from the entrance to the dungeons just as Greg Redfield finished entering his name. 'You just have to be the hero, don't you Potter? Couldn't bear the thought of actually letting anyone else have a go for a change.'

Harry pointedly ignored Malfoy's jibes, continuing the conversation he was having with Hermione. Ron's face darkened, but he too said nothing.

'It's a good thing they don't charge a registration fee,' Malfoy smirked as the final Gryffindor, Elizabeth Richmond, entered her name into the book and joined her housemates. 'You'd never be able to compete, Weasel King. Of course, that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing, since you'll be an easy knockout for the first Slytherin you come across. Tell me, did the slugs taste good? They'd almost have to, after your mother's cooking, I suppose.'

Harry shot Ron a warning look as the redhead's face got steadily darker with suppressed fury.

Alex scowled at the blonde. 'You don't learn so quick, do you Malfoy?' he spat. 'I'll lay you out again, if you really want me to.'

As if on queue, a large group of Slytherins emerged from the dungeons. They looked warily at the Gryffindors, fingering their wands, obviously waiting for an excuse to use them.

'You can try if you'd like, Milton,' Malfoy sneered. 'I don't like your chances of actually getting to me, though.'

'Oh sure, hide behind your lackeys,' Isabelle said with contempt. 'You never were strong enough to fight your own battles.'

Malfoy glared at her. 'You think so, do you?' he said in a deadly quiet voice. 'Well, we'll see, won't we?' He strode boldly past the Gryffindors and jotted his name down in the book. 'I'll see you all in the ring,' he breathed as he passed them again and disappeared into the Great Hall. The group of Slytherins followed him.

'What an ass,' Elizabeth dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

'Yeah, ignore him, Ron,' Greg added. 'He's not worth the air he breathes.'

'Slimy git,' Aaron Davis muttered darkly, glaring at Malfoy's retreating back.

'Won't last two rounds,' Michael Wilde said dismissively.

'Oh, I fully intend to see he doesn't last even one,' Alex cracked his knuckles theatrically. Isabelle rolled her eyes at him.

'Get in line, and no cutting,' she said with a straight face. Alex flashed her a quick grin.

The Gryffindors began to drift away, heading for breakfast. Harry grabbed Ron's sleeve as he made to walk away, stopping him from leaving.

'I need a word,' he said quietly. Ron looked at him oddly, then shrugged.

'Fine,' he said, following Harry up the marble staircase and into a disused classroom. 'What's up?'

'What's your problem?' Harry asked bluntly.

Ron's expression immediately grew guarded, and he took an almost unconscious step back. 'What do you mean, what's my problem? I don't have any problems.'

'Ron,' Harry said patiently, 'last night was the first major fight you've had with Hermione in months, and the first time you've stormed off in longer. You wouldn't be like that if something wasn't wrong. So what is it? Is it between the two of you, or something else?'

Ron glared at him for a long moment, but Harry kept his expression neutral. Finally he sighed and dropped into a nearby chair, running a hand through his hair distractedly. 'Alright, fine, if you're going to be like that, my problem is with Ginny.'

'Ginny?' Harry asked, startled. 'What on earth has she done?'

'She's sleeping in your bed, Harry,' Ron said in a pained voice. 'Do you have any idea what that's like for me? She's my little sister!'

Harry nodded slowly, imagining Hermione sleeping in Ron's bed. As the closest thing he had to a sister, the thought was rather disturbing. 'Yeah, I suppose I know what you mean. But it's not like we're going to do anything – I mean, you know how I feel about her, I'd never do anything to hurt her!'

'Harry,' Ron said in the same pained voice, 'I know exactly how you feel about her because I feel the same thing about Hermione, and I've wanted to shag her for months, so that isn't making me feel any better!'

Harry winced at the mental imagery Ron's proclamation brought up, and immediately turned bright red. That was something he didn't want to think about. 'But you know…I'd never…I mean…' he stammered, unable to string a coherent sentence together. That image just refused to leave his mind.

'Yeah, I know,' Ron sighed again. 'Don't worry, it's just me being overprotective again.' Even in his somewhat befuddled state, Harry was surprised by Ron's candid admission. 'I know you'd never…well,' he finished rather lamely, his ears turning pink.

'Absolutely not!' Harry agreed, vigorously shaking his head. 'Wouldn't dream of it.'

'Well then, now that's all sorted,' Ron stood up and headed for the door rather more quickly than was strictly necessary. 'Coming to breakfast or not?' Harry, his cheeks still flaming, could only nod dumbly and follow, hoping to any Gods that were listening that Ginny never heard about this.

Review Responses:

Evansk: Well, I was trying to put it nicely…

siriusfanatic: Oh dear…I sympathise, really I do. I've wanted to fall asleep in similar circumstances on more than one occasion!

Whimsical Firefly: Ahh well, we can all do with a little fluff every now and again. Are you trying to tell me to take it out?

siriusblack08: Harry/Dumbledore? Oh no, I have something MUCH more entertaining planned…:D

aalikane: Indeed he would…but he's not stupid enough to say anything in front of Ginny.

MsMissProngs: Probably a good thing my computer desk has wheels…

gpotter: Best? Dunno about that…I'm good, but I'm not that good.

Larna Mandrea: Reviewer's Army? You're not armed with pitchforks, are you? Never mind, loooong story.