Choices Thrice
Chapter One
X
"I'm pleased you could join me tonight, Potter. Your presence should make the night more interesting. Perhaps you would like to meet our other guests? For, you see, you are not the only Guest of Honor this evening. I've brought along a few of your little friends as well. Would you care to see them?"
"This is between you and I, Riddle."
A dark shadow crossed Lord Voldemort's face at the sound of his birth name. He pulled his wand from the inner pocket of his robes and waved it. A blazing fire appeared between them, spilling light onto the three tombstones behind him.
Emerald eyes darted across each tomb, taking in the terrified faces of his friends. Ginny struggled weakly against her bindings, her shocking blue eyes pleading with his. To the right of Ginny stood Ron, bound to a second tombstone. He stood fiercely still, glaring at the back of the Dark Lord's head with a defiance Harry had never seen in him before. To the right of Ron was Hermione, fighting her binding with every ounce of strength she had. After a moment she stopped, raising her cinnamon eyes to meet Harry's….
Harry Potter awoke with a jolt. For a moment he lay panting on his bed, feeling the sheets cling to his sweaty arms and legs. "It was only a dream," he told himself firmly.
It was a familiar dream, at that. Tonight would make this the fourth night in a row that Harry had been haunted by that dream. Sighing, Harry pulled himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs and glaring around his room.
It looked almost as though Harry's trunk had been thrown into the room, and upon landing had exploded its contents all around. Socks, books, robes, and old copies of the Daily Prophet lay strewn about Harry's bedroom.
Raking a sweaty palm through his untamable hair, Harry began to ponder the dream. Four nights in a row he had seen these images. Was it more than a dream?
Harry knew quite well where each of his friends were. They were all snuggled into their beds at the Burrow, which was temporarily headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Various members of the house had placed protective charms on it, and Mad-Eye was the secret keeper.
This was probably a good thing, considering it would be very hard for a Death Eater to get the location out of Mad-Eye. On the other hand, it was very hard for anyone, even members of the Order, to get the location out of Mad-Eye.
The Order had been forced to move out of Grimmauld Place within hours of Dumbledore's death. The reason for this was quite simple: Snape knew.
Harry felt a pang of anger as Snape's greasy image floated through his mind. "He knows everything," Harry thought, punching a nearby pillow. In the few weeks Harry had been at Privet Drive, Harry had thought about Snape and Malfoy as little as possible. To be honest, he tried not to think of Dumbledore either. The pain was still too great for Harry…
Instead he filled his hours by poring over books, searching for anything that might give him a clue about a Horcrux. "The locket, the cup, something of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw's…"
Harry sighed and returned his thoughts to the dream. What did it mean? He was familiar with the scene. It was always the same graveyard. It was the graveyard where Riddle's father was buried. Voldemort had obviously kidnapped Ron, Ginny and Hermione. "Why?"
A growing dot outside his window caught Harry's attention. For a moment he watched it approach, slowly gaining in size, before he realized it was not one dot, but three. Harry moved to open his window, allowing the three birds to fly in and perch on his bedposts.
Hedwig hooted dolefully at Harry, offering her leg for him to untie the large parcel. She nipped his finger lightly and flew across the room to her cage. Harry turned to the second owl, and realized it was Pig. He had gotten quite a bit bigger since Harry had last seen him.
Harry managed to get him to stop hopping long enough to remove the parcel from his leg. He grinned as recognized Ron's scrawl on the front of the package.
The third owl was an elegant looking tawny. Harry immediately recognized it as a Hogwarts owl, with what he presumed to be his school letter. He untied the letter and the bird took off immediately. He tossed the letter onto his nightstand. There was no point in opening it; he wasn't going to Hogwarts anyway.
Pushing all thoughts of Hogwarts to the back of his mind, Harry reached out and grabbed Ron's parcel. He tore off the brown paper and a roll of parchment fell into his lap. Unfurling it, Harry read:
'Harry,
How've you been, mate? Things here are quite busy. Fleur has been an absolute maniac with her plans for the wedding. It's almost like she doesn't even notice the other stuff going on. Oh well, it's nice not to have to think about that sometimes. Well, I hope you like the birthday present. Oh yeah, Lupin asked me to tell you that he's coming for you at midnight on your birthday, to take you for your apparition test. So pack ahead, ok?
See you soon,
Ron'
Harry put the letter down. He knew that by "other stuff" Ron meant the Order. He smiled and looked down at the colorful box in front of him. Taped to the front was a second, smaller piece of parchment.
'Harry—Thought you might get a laugh out of this. It's from Fred and George's shop.'
Harry snorted as he realized what it was. It was a hair growth prank potion. Turning the box over, he read in the instructions:
'WEREWOLF-IN-A-BOX: Simply add a few teaspoons of potion to your victim's morning beverage and stand back! Instant effect!'
The picture on the font of a the box sported a surly looking witch, waving her arms angrily yanking at the hair covering her face, which was rapidly growing. Obviously, Ron hoped Harry might try it on Dudley. Grinning Harry set the box to the side, and noticed a third piece of parchment, lying amongst the shreds of brown paper he had torn off earlier. Turning it over, he noticed small handwriting, much neater than Ron's. It could only be Ginny's…
'Harry,
How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't written to you sooner. Everything is so crazy. I hope you're staying safe. Just…do me a favor and try not get hurt. I hope that someday you'll come back to me in one piece.
I guess the point of this letter is to tell you not be a stranger. I know you can't be with me right now, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. Ok?
Happy birthday, Harry.
Love,
Ginny'Harry smiled again, feeling truly loved by Ginny's letter.
He leaned forward and grabbed the parcel that Hedwig had been carrying. Pulling off the paper, he found a folded letter on top, labeled in Hermione's curvy handwriting.
'Harry,
I hope you've been having a good summer. We haven't heard from you nearly as much as we'd like to, though. Pick up your quill and write me a letter, you lazy troll! I know you have a lot on your mind, Harry, and you're in everyone's thoughts.
I'm guessing by now you've gotten your Hogwarts letter. I'm also guessing that you haven't even opened it. You might want to. It's a letter from McGonagall. She knows you're not coming back. She knows Ron and I aren't either. No matter what you say, Harry, we're going with you, so don't bother arguing. You know how stubborn I can be.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your birthday present. I saw it and knew it was perfect for you. You'll see what I mean. Happy birthday, Harry. I hope I see you soon.
Love,
Hermione'
Picking up the package, Harry was surprised by it's weight. Harry lifted the lid and peered inside. He immediately understood why it had been so light. It was an empty pensieve. Harry grinned at Hermione brilliance.
Harry set it down in front of him and grabbed his wand. Tentatively, he touched it to his temple, concentrating on one thought. He slowly pulled his wand away, a long silver trail floating after it. Pulling it towards the pensieve, it pulled his wand away, as he had seen Dumbledore do on more than one occasion, and let the thought fall into the pensieve.
The thought swirled around for a moment, before forming a clear picture of the graveyard. Harry sighed and set the pensieve aside. Now he could think about the dream later. He leaned over and grabbed the Hogwarts letter off of his nightstand.
'Mr. Potter,
By now I have figured out that you won't be returning to Hogwarts this year. As much as that grieves me, I can't say that I didn't expect it. I would like you to know that you, as well as Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, are all welcome back at Hogwarts at anytime. I hope you see it in your future to eventually finish your education. You owe that to yourself.
Also, I would like to extend an offer of help. Anytime you need to use any of the school resources, you are more than welcome. As I'm sure Miss Granger has told you, we have an extensive library, full of useful books. Any help I can offer personally is yours as well.
Please stay in touch, and please…take care of yourself, Harry.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Hogwarts Headmistress'
X
Outside his window, the sun was beginning to set. Harry had spent virtually the entire day in his room. Reading and sleeping were his two main activities this summer. With a sigh he stood up and began tossing oddities into his trunk. Lupin was coming at midnight; he might as well be ready.
It was completely dark by the time Harry had finished. Stuffing a few more socks into his trunk, he squashed the lid down and sat on it, staring around his room.
Number Four had never quite felt like home to Harry. Even so, the thought that he would probably never come back had a strange effect on Harry. The Dursley's had never been his family…but he wanted to say goodbye.
X
Harry found all three Dursley's sitting at the table in the spotless kitchen. They'd all been quietly watching the television when Harry entered.
"Er," Harry managed, clearing his throat awkwardly. They all turned to look at him.
"Yes?" Vernon growled at him. "You're interrupting the news, you know."
"Right, well," Harry began. "I just thought you ought to know that I'm going tonight."
Uncle Vernon's moustache twitched slightly, but he said nothing. "I'm not coming back," Harry added firmly.
"Off to do in Lord What's-its-thingy?" Vernon queried.
Harry nodded. "Voldemort. Lord Voldemort."
Aunt Petunia shifted in her chair, shooting a look at Vernon she stood up. Harry couldn't be sure, but she almost looked upset. She stood before Harry and looked straight into his eyes. "Just…" She glanced at her husband again, before taking a deep breath and starting again. "Just be careful. Y-you're family. You've always got a bedroom here."
Harry stepped back, startled. He smiled crookedly at her. "Thank you." For a moment Harry really appreciated that she was, in fact, his mother's sister.
X
Lying on his bed, Harry was dozing lightly when a loud crack caused him to jump, fall off his bed, fumble for his wand, and jump to his feet ready to hex the pants off of whoever had just apparated into his room.
"Hello, Harry."
"Er, sorry, Remus. You scared me."
Remus Lupin laughed quietly. "Ready for your apparition test?"
Harry nodded, "When is it?"
"In a few minutes."
"But it's after midnight."
Lupin nodded. "Rufus Scrimgeour and I actually agreed on something," Lupin said, smirking slightly. "The sooner you're able to apparate, the better. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Death Eater's jump out of every garbage bin you pass from this point on," he added darkly.
Harry snorted. "Comforting, really, thanks."
Lupin shrugged. He pulled his wand out of his traveling cloak and vanished Harry's trunk. "It'll be at the Burrow when you get there."
"I'm going to the Burrow?"
"Well, you did say you would go to Bill and Fleur's wedding, didn't you?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"Great. Now let's go get you through this test."
X
"I was hoping you'd leave behind a bit of eyebrow, or a testicle or something…" Ron said in mock disappointment.
"Ronald!" Hermione said, smacking him on the arm.
Ron shrugged. "I'm just trying to even the playing field a bit."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind."
Hermione hugged Harry again. "Happy birthday! Did you like your gift?"
Harry grinned, "I did. Thanks, Hermione. You were right about it being the perfect gift. It's just…so much easier to sort out my thoughts when I can view them as an outsider."
Hermione beamed. "That's what I hoped."
"Harry! When did you get in?" Ginny appeared at the foot of the stairs.
"Just now." He leaned over and hugged her, too. "Good to see you, Gin."
Hermione yawned widely behind them. It was nearing four in the morning. "We should probably all get to bed. No doubt Fleur will have us all up early tomorrow. It's W-Day after all."
"W-Day?" Harry asked.
"Wedding Day," Ron said, a disgruntled expression on his face. "You're lucky you've only just gotten here. Fleur's been an absolute tyrant with her wedding plans."
Harry started to laugh, but it turned into a yawn. "At least the wedding doesn't fall on your birthday," he teased. "So, am I sleeping in your room, Ron?"
Ron nodded. "Let's get some sleep."
X
As expected, Fleur woke them all at seven. They did their best to cover up their grumpiness, which was challenging considering they'd only gotten three hours of sleep.
Mrs. Weasley had lain out new robes for both Harry and Ron. They were very formal. They each took a shower and then changed into their robes. Ginny looked beautiful in her bridesmaid dress. It was a pale sheen of gold, which brought out the fiery-gold sparks in her eyes. Hermione wore a stunning pale blue dress. She blushed and grinned awkwardly at her friends as she entered the room, but didn't say anything.
The wedding began and Ron and Ginny departed. They were both in the wedding. Harry and Hermione grabbed two seats. The ceremony was flawless, much to Fleur's delight. When the reception began, Bill gave a toast and raised his glass to Albus Dumbledore. Everyone followed suit.
X
Tipping his head back, Ron emptied his third straight glass of fire whiskey. "This stuff is even better than I'd hoped!" he exclaimed excitedly, pouring himself another glass, filling it to the brim so that he had to sip it before he could pick it up.
Hermione watched him over the rim of her own glass. She was on her first glass still. "You sure you can handle that much, Ron?" she asked.
"Of course I can! Now…" he stood, wobbling slightly as he wiped his hands on his robe, "Let's dance?"
"What?" asked Hermione blankly.
"Dance. Me and you." He grabbed her arm and dragged her off to the dance floor. Harry finished his second glass, laughing as Ron flapped his arms around flamboyantly. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Dance with me?"
It was Ginny. "Of course." Harry stood and took her hand. The music slowed to a crawl and Ginny smiled. She put one of Harry's hands on her waist, taking her other hand in hers. She leaned in close to him, moving slowly with the music.
Breathing deeply, Harry could smell her hair. He glanced around the dance floor and saw Hermione wince in pain as Ron stepped on her foot. Fighting the urge to laugh he looked away. A few feet away, Bill and Fleur were looking deeply into each other's eyes.
Bill was no longer the handsome man he had been, Fenrir Greyback had seen to that. His now-scarred face had a different sort of charm to it though. He and Fleur were obviously very much in love.
Harry was a little bit jealous. He found himself once again cursing Voldemort, for taking away his life. He could have been normal.
He looked down and was startled to find Ginny watching him closely. She really did look beautiful in her gold dress. Her red hair fell in delicate curls across her back. Harry realized he had been staring at her, but he couldn't look away. She leaned in close to him, standing on her tiptoes, and brought her lips to his, kissing him softly.
It didn't last long, she broke away quickly. "Sorry," she murmured. "I just wanted to kiss you one more time. I know you're leaving in a day or two."
Harry nodded. He didn't know what he could possibly say.
X
The night wore down and the guests went home. Harry offered to help Mrs. Weasley put things away, but she sent him off to bed.
In his room, Harry fell asleep quickly. Almost immediately, he was back in the graveyard.
The firelight spilled onto the three tombstones and Voldemort laughed cruelly.
"Tell me, Potter, who will it be? You can save one of them. All you have to do is pick. Who means the most to you? Would it be your precious Weasel?" Voldemort drawled, pointing his wand at Ron. "Or perhaps you're the girl you wanted so badly?" he continued, moving his wand onto Ginny. "Or maybe the Mudblood?" he finished with a sick smile, his wand alighting on Hermione. "It's now or never, Potter. Pick one or they all die. Who's it going to be?"
Harry jolted awake again. He reached around for his glasses and realized that his hands were shaking. His whole body was shaking. Next to him, Ron rolled over in his sleep, grunting loudly.
Harry swung his legs out of bed and left the room. He needed a glass of water.
In the kitchen he grabbed a glass from the cupboard, walking over to the sink to fill it. "Harry?"
He jumped, turning around he saw Hermione sitting next to the dying fire in the living room. "Hermione? What are you doing up?"
She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. You?"
Harry set his glass down and walked over to sit next to her. "Weird dream," he admitted.
"You ok?" Hermione asked, concern flooding her voice.
"Yeah," Harry answered, trying to sound nonchalant. "It really confused me though."
"What was it about?" Hermione asked gently.
"Well," Harry began, "I dreamt I was in the graveyard. And Voldemort was there. He…he had you, and Ron, and Ginny. And he was going to kill you guys. He told me to pick one of you to survive…"
Hermione let out a gasp of shock. Harry decided not to tell her it was a recurring dream. That would only worry her more. "That's horrible, Harry."
When Harry replied, his voice cracked. "I…I could never pick…" he answered honestly.
Hermione moved to wrap her arms around him. "You shouldn't have to."
Harry smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks."
She let go. "Are you sure you're ok?" she asked, staring hard into his eyes.
Harry fixed a smile on his face. "Positive. Thanks."
Hermione yawned. "No problem, that's what friends are for. I should probably get to bed though."
Harry nodded as she stood up. "Night, Harry," she said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.
"Night," Harry said turning to face her at the exact wrong moment.
Her lips met his, sending a jolt though both of them. Hermione let go immediately, blushing fiercely. "I, er…sorry, Harry."
Harry blushed. "It's ok…. it was an accident," he muttered.
Hermione nodded. "Right…night."
"Night…"
Hermione disappeared from the room. Harry sat on the couch on shock. "Was that supposed to feel good? Her lips were so soft…"
X
Halfway up the stairs, Hermione paused, leaning on the wall. She slowly raised a hand and pressed it to her lips. Her heart was pounding harder than it ever had before. She had definitely felt something…something completely different from when Ron kissed her.
X
X
X
A/N: There you are. Chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it, I know it's really, really long. I'm going by a new screen name, for those of you who have read my fics before. I am both WritngHarry182 and TimeTurner182. You can contact me on AIM as TimeTurner182. Anyway, leave some comments, and I'll try to write as often as possible.