The Adventure Continued

Chapter 12: Trouble-Makers

A/N: My apologies that this didn't come up sooner. I actually had to re-write this chapter to make it a bit better and now I can be proud of it! On top of things, school and work started for me, so free time is now scarce…but don't worry, this story will be finished sooner or later! Hope you enjoy! Thank you to the seven people that reviewed! I would name you off, but I already did the last few chapters…so, you already know who you are ) Thanks!

While searching for the red-headed trouble maker, Harry managed to find a few random shortcuts through the castle. As it was the third week of school, the map of the rebuilt school became more familiar, and it became easier to locate places. However, to Harry's disappointment, Ginny wasn't in her classroom, her office, at dinner, or in the hospital wing. It was nearly nine before a stifled sob reached his ears, coming from the History of Magic classroom.

The door was slightly ajar, and Harry took a moment to slip through the crack unnoticed. A jolt in his stomach told him he had found what he was looking for: Luna patting Ginny on the back while the latter tried to hide her face in her arms and stop the flow of tears.

"I'm sure it will all turn out right," Luna predicted sympathetically. "He probably didn't mean to. You know guys better than I do…you know, having six brothers and all. They can be very fickle." Luna ended her sentence with a look in Harry's direction at the back of the classroom, as if she knew he was there.

Harry shuddered beneath the invisibility cloak and stopped breathing.

"But I was so sure," Ginny muttered with another sob, "I was so sure it was going to be there."

Luna took her eyes off Harry and turned back to Ginny, saying softly, "Why don't you talk to him? Ask him? I'm sure he would tell you anything."

"Oh yeah," Ginny laughed sarcastically, looking up to reveal puffy, red eyes. "He tells me loads. In fact he tells me so much, that I don't have room for all of it in my brain. Don't be ridiculous Luna! I'm sure Harry talks to Hedwig more than me…or even Buckbeak."

"That's crazy talk and you know it," another voice replied next to Harry. Hermione stood in the doorway, her arms folded and looking particularly angry. "Seeing as how you're treating the poor boy, I wouldn't want to talk to you anyways."

Ginny stared stunned at Hermione as the latter came to stand two feet away from her. She didn't seem to expect the harsh words from one of her best friends…or actually, for Hermione to be there at all. It was apparent in her eyes that Ginny had no idea that the brown haired girl would be interning or in the castle at all.

"Then why in the world are you here?" Ginny retorted quietly, but coldly.

"Because you're beginning to act like Ron when he was fourteen and wouldn't talk to Harry," Hermione argued back. "By the way Ron was acting, you would think that he had planned to get into the Tri-wizard Tournament. Look, Ginny," Hermione softened her expression. Harry could have sworn he saw her exchange a look with Luna, but an eyelash fell in his eye hindering his vision. "Harry isn't at Hogwarts for a nice picnic. He's not even here because he wants to be here. You would be a good friend to remember that."

Without another word or a glance at her friend, Hermione had left the room. Harry thought he caught her eye on her way out, but he dismissed it as another coincidence. He took a second to get the eyelash out of his eye before following Hermione out.

He trailed Hermione down a few corridors before she suddenly stopped. Harry's heart beat faster, every beat vibrating his entire body. As quick as Harry was at catching the snitch, Hermione turned around and pointed her wand at Harry. Harry felt his whole body stiffen and fall onto the floor, his cloak falling off of him.

"I knew it," Hermione whispered with a grin. "Luna tipped me off."

"How did she do that?" Harry answered after being released from the curse.

"What were you doing in there?" Hermione responded.

"Looking for Ginny," Harry answered, picking himself up. "She was in my office earlier. I wanted to know why."

"In your office?" Hermione asked incredulously. "What in the world would she be doing there-oh, of course. Of course that's what she would be doing. How stupid of me!"

Harry raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed that Hermione wasn't sharing her train of thought. "Do you plan on telling me this anytime soon?"

Hermione shook her head. "Did Dumbledore tell you everything that went on in his head? I would watch where I was going from now on, if I were you."

In the moment that it took Harry to dissect what she was saying, Hermione had left down another corridor and back to the hospital wing. To Harry's poor, confused mind, her words meant another sleepless night…What does Dumbledore have to do with Ginny? Then again, Dumbledore did have auburn hair when he was younger. Maybe it was a red-head thing…

"Wow," Harry whispered to no one as he watched the Gryffindors fly around the stadium the next morning. This was definitely going to be a better day than the previous. To his surprise, Alyssa Wood had proven to be a copy of her cousin, yet she was out-flown amazingly by a few of the fourth and fifth years. At the end of the Chaser trials, Harry had chosen three other students for the positions: Aaron Miller, Sheena Patterson, and Myles Wilber.

Harry's good mood disintegrated when he began the trials for the position of Seeker. Many of the students trying out hardly caught any of the golf balls Harry was tossing and those who proved to be semi-decent were still not promising.

"Hey, you knucklehead! Let go of it NOW!"

Harry's eyes followed the loud commotion as a couple of Slytherin boys that had been watching the trials started teasing a familiar-looking second year. "Yeah? You want it so bad? Go get it!"

A tall boy with dark brown hair stood up and threw what looked like a lime green pygmy puff onto the Quidditch field. The poor little creature squeaked horribly as it flew through the air, but the girl didn't waste a second to run after her pygmy puff. Before it could hit the ground, she jumped and dove straight for the ball of fur, catching the poor creature in mid air. Harry, who watched in panic at the scene, flew down and landed next to the girl.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked hurriedly, picking the girl up.

"I'm O.K., Professor," Alyssa Wood smiled happily, holding her now shaking pygmy puff proudly in her hands. "I caught Marvin."

Harry looked disbelievingly at the pair. "That was amazing! Would you like to try that again?"

Alyssa grinned happily. "Sure. Can we not use Marvin this time?"

"She was amazing, Hermione," Harry gloated as he followed the bushy brown haired girl back to the school. "I've never seen anybody dive the way she did. I mean, she could be great. Perhaps, in a few years, she would even beat Viktor Krum!"

Hermione blushed at the name of her former boyfriend. "She reminded me more of you," she laughed. "You could have been great, you know. Well, not that you aren't already, but as a Seeker, you could have been amazing."

Harry smiled faintly. "I gave it up. I had some other things on my mind and I still do. I just wish that things hadn't turned sour. If I just got another chance, then maybe…"

"She'll still take you back, Harry," Hermione commented casually.

"What?" Harry asked confusedly. "What are you talking about?

"What are you talking about?"

"I was talking about my job at the ministry. What do you mean she'll take me back? I seriously don't think that Tonks will assign me out of Hogwarts. You'd think she had given this assignment to get rid of me!" Harry laughed. "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing," Hermione answered quickly, but at the age of twenty-one, Harry was a little wiser and better at understanding women…well, at least Hermione.

Harry still shook his head and just shrugged. "I'd rather not talk about her."

"Who? Tonks?" Hermione answered casually.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, her and her teal hair. Did you know that their son, Maolo, has natural shocking blue hair? What kind of genes does she have?"

The two laughed as they entered the castle and Harry made his way to the Great Hall for dinner. Once again, he seriously considered taking his dinner in the kitchens, but perhaps today the food would taste a bit more normal. It was pot roast with carrots. Nothing could go wrong there…right?