The Burrow
To say that Ron Weasley was nervously awaiting his friend's arrival would be a huge understatement. Having spent the day tidying and generally keeping busy, he was now pacing the kitchen muttering to himself.
His twin elder brothers, Fred and George, were watching him with undisguised glee.
"Don't worry, Ron," George said, a small smile on his face. "Hermione will be here soon, and you'll be able to tell her how much you missed her."
"You think?" Ron asked, before realizing what he had said. His face went red; his ears bright pink. "I don't know what you're talking about," he growled at them. Typically, they ignored him; they were to busy laughing as hard as they could.
The sound of a Muggle car pulling up interrupted their teasing. Ron vanished out the door so fast it was as if he apparated.
"Harry, Hermione," Ron shouted, pulling to a stop next to the car door. Sadly, half of the duo was then ignored as the red headed Weasley pulled Hermione out of the car and hugged her.
She resisted for a second and then hugged him back.
"I'm sorry for the letters," Ron whispered into her hair, a quiet apology for their terse correspondence over the summer.
Hermione smiled and then eased her way out of the hug, walking away with a swing to her hips. Ron watched, completely entranced as she said goodbye to her mother.
Harry watched his two friends quietly, his mind suddenly pulling together a thousand hints. He thought about it for a second, and realized that if they didn't kill each other, they would probably be good together. In that instant, Harry gave them both his silent blessing; although he felt Ron would need it more.
"So, not going to say anything to me?" he asked Ron in an amused tone, watching the way his friend's eyes had yet to leave Hermione.
"Huh?" Ron asked, intelligently. "Oh, Jeez, Harry!" Ron suddenly caught up with himself, "It's great to see ya mate." The fact that Ron's hug to Harry was very different and of a much shorter nature to the one he had given Hermione was very much appreciated by Harry.
"Come on," Ron said with his normal grin, "Mum's been waiting for you two to arrive all day, you've got a massive meal waiting for you, she knows how those stupid Muggle gits never feed you."
Clasping a hand on Harry's shoulder he guided him towards the kitchen, before returning to have a private chat with Hermione.
"Harry," Molly Weasley exclaimed with a huge smile, pulling the boy against her and enveloping him in a huge hug. "It's great to see you."
Harry looked up at her and smiled a little nervously, he was always uncomfortable around such public displays of affection. His forehead creased into a slight frown as he detected a small undertone of sadness inside her. Unsure of its origin, he filed it away for future use.
They were interrupted by Ron and Hermione entering together, it took only a glance to see that they had already started fighting.
With Fred and George quietly giggling in the corner, shooting furtive glances at his friends, Harry suddenly felt a small pang of longing to his quiet room. He completely forgot about how bored he had been that morning.
"Come, sit" Mrs. Weasley commanded, turning her wand to the kitchen, where several large pots were happily whistling to themselves as they boiled.
Sitting obediently, Harry smiled quietly as she called out for the remaining family members to come to the table.
"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked casually, surprised when she wasn't called. He didn't know the girl that well, it had been difficult for him to talk to her as she had always been to embarrassed to talk back to the boy wizard.
"Erm, she's in her room, not feeling to well." Ron said suddenly, throwing a look at his mother.
"Yes," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "Now all of you, dig in, don't let this food go cold."
Having learnt the first time he had come here that it was very important to fill your plate first, before the Weasley clan could claim everything, Harry obeyed.
'People watching' was a habit that Harry had grown up with. He had been permanently told not to talk by the Dursley's as he had grown up. This had left Harry slightly uncomfortable in large gatherings and meant he spent more of his time watching the interactions.
Ron was shooting glances at Hermione; he to looked like he hadn't had much sleep recently. That could be chalked up to the ongoing argument 'Mione and he had been having. It centered on Victor Krum, a professional Quidditch player from another school, who had made his appreciation of Hermione obvious, to Ron's eternal jealousy.
The twins were almost themselves, only a little more subdued, which was a miracle in itself. They were renowned pranksters and pretty much hero's at Hogwarts, the Wizarding School they all went to. Always full of life, exploding candy and minds that saw the world from a 47.6degree angle, the very fact that they spent some time talking quietly worried Harry.
The only other member of the Weasley clan present was Percy; his silence was to be expected. True to his name, he was extremely priggish and self important, he worked for the Ministry of Magic, trying to standardize the thickness of cauldron bottoms, a fact he was extremely proud of.
A large grandfather clock in the corner had hands pointing to each of the members of the family; Ginny's was showing her in her room, while Arthur, Ron's Dad started to move. It quickly changed from 'Work' to 'Traveling' to 'Home' as he arrived through the fireplace. Using floo powder provided the Wizarding world with cheap and efficient travel along a network of interconnected fireplaces.
"Harry, Hermione," he boomed happily as he saw the guests at the table. He kissed Mrs. Weasley on the cheek and sat down quickly, grabbing a plate.
"Hi Mr. Weasley," Harry and Hermione chorused together, and then grinned at each other.
"So," Mr. Weasley said excitedly, "How was your summer, how are the Muggles?" It was a widely known fact that Mr. Weasley was obsessed with the non-magical Muggles and how they lived.
Harry smiled at the older man, and replied, "They've got this new network of computers that are all connected to each other, it seems that all of Muggle knowledge is found on there."
"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "The internet is kinda cool; it's the equivalent of instant owl post and Hogwarts library, all available to anyone."
"Fascinating," Mr. Weasley said, "What's a computer? Does it run on elastictrickery?"
"Arthur," the long suffering tone of his wife interrupted, "The children have only just got here, give them a chance to settle down before you pump them for information."
"Right you are, Molly," Arthur said cheerfully, digging into his food.
Mr. Weasley's arrival seemed to break the tension in the room, and the rest of the day was spent in joking conversation as they told each other what they had been up to.
For a reason he was unsure of, Harry didn't mention his obsession with dreams.
That Night
"So, you and Hermione?" Harry asked quietly, speaking to Ron who was on the other bed.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, thankful that the darkness hid his blush.
The sound of Harry's quiet laughter filled the air. "What do you think I mean?" he said the amusement clear in his tone. "I saw the looks, I saw the hug."
"I don't know what you mean," Ron said stiffly, "I'm tired, go to sleep."
"Ok," Harry said, laughing to himself.
As was becoming norm, Harry was sharing Ron's room, while Hermione was sleeping downstairs on the couch. She would normally share with Ginny, but with the youngest Weasley's illness, she had agreed to spend the night downstairs.
Harry was just drifting into sleep when an earth shattering scream shook the night, the pain and anguish in the sound affected Harry on an instinctive level, he was up, out the door with his wand in hand before he consciously recognized the source.
He was grabbed from behind by Ron, "Harry, stop." His friend demanded, struggling to keep Harry from moving.
Harry shot a dark look at his friend, his mind still operating on the level between awake and sleep.
"Harry, it's ok," Mrs Weasley said, arriving in her nightgown. She turned to the stairs, seeing Hermione climbing them, "You to, Hermione, Ginny's been having the odd nightmare, its nothing to worry about, I'll look after her."
Harry fixed an intense look at his friend's mother; the fact that he wasn't wearing glasses only emphasized his bright green eyes as he intently searched her face.
"Go back to bed Harry, It will be ok."
Harry nodded and looked at Hermione; she was as confused as him, but agreeable to letting Mrs Weasley handle it.
They went back to the room, climbing back in to their respective beds.
"How long, Ron?" Harry asked quietly, his tone having lost its earlier jocularity.
Ron sighed, "All summer, we don't know what's wrong. Dad even asked Dumbledore, but he said he couldn't help."
Harry lay on his back, staring at the sloped ceiling. The only thing he knew that could cause that much agony was Voldemort, and if Ginny was having trouble because of what had happened a few years ago, he swore that he would do something about it tomorrow.
As he slept, his mind recounted the story of how Tom Riddle had taken control of Ginny, powerful magic allowing a diary to slowly assume command of Ginny's brain, forcing her to do his bidding. Harry had saved her, as well as defeating Tom Riddle, who turned out to be Voldemort's youngest incarnation.
The next morning
Harry slept in, till a voice broke through his slumber. "Harry! Breakfast's gonna be ready in five minutes."
Blearily, he opened his eyes looked at the bright red hair that was the signature of all Weasley's. "I'll be there, Ron."
An already dressed Ron nodded and left Harry alone to throw on some of Dudley's cast offs.
A few minutes later Harry quietly entered the huge kitchen, the smell of bacon awakening a hunger in him. Everyone was sat around the table, talking very quietly, something almost unheard of in the Weasley household.
Seeing the small form of Ginny at the table, Harry smiled a little, and then gasped.
Ginny looked up and met his eyes, a brave little smile on her face. She appeared to have lost too much weight; her warm brown eye's seemed almost dead.
Something inside Harry seemed to break as he looked at the girl who had had such an embarrassing crush over the last few years. Last night's decision came back to him with an almost physical impact.
He moved opposite her.
"Hey, Ginny," he started, a tender smile on his face.
"Harry," she replied, her voice was the final straw, what was once lively and vibrant was now quiet and sad.
"What's causing your nightmares?" he asked suddenly, his voice firm, to gasps around the table that he would be so insensitive.
Ginny looked at him; he was unable to read her expression.
"Harry," Mrs Weasley said warningly, only to be shocked as Harry sent her a glare that clearly told her to back off. She had never seen Harry look like that to anyone, and it almost scared her. The intensity in his gaze burned right through her.
Harry turned his gaze slowly around the table; driven by something he didn't understand, passing the message to each of the family members.
Ron and Hermione, who were sitting together, looked at each other in shock; they had been Harry's friends for years now and they too had never seen him like this.
He turned backed to Ginny, his eyes softening. "Tell me," he begged softly.
Ginny didn't move for a second, a second that seemed to last a lifetime as she looked into the warm caring eyes of the boy who lived.
"It's him," she finally said quietly.
"Voldemort," Harry hissed with a passion. Shocked looks were exchanged around the table. Despite their best efforts over summer, none of them had been able to get Ginny to tell them what was causing her nightmares, no matter how much they tried.
The room was silent, after Harry's declaration. Arthur and Molly exchanged a deep look, surprised that Harry had been able to break through their daughters shell so easily. A lifetimes worth of love and marriage enabled them to talk silently, coming to an agreement to trust the young wizard.
That agreed, they each looked at their children, passing on the message. While not a Weasley, Hermione understood and watched silently as well, unsure of what to make of this new behavior from her friend.
"I can help," Harry said softly, releasing his anger at Voldemort and focusing back on Ginny.
"No you can't," she replied, her voice still flat and lifeless. "No one can."
"I can," Harry said firmly, his green eyes locked with her brown ones as he begged her to believe him.
"He'll kill anyone who tries to help, I can't let that happen."
A silent tear ran down Molly's cheek as she realized why her daughter had been so silent; she had been trying to protect them.
The other members of the table were equally as shocked, first finding that Voldemort was still tormenting Ginny, and then realizing that he had been threatening them made her brothers re-evaluate their little sister for the first time.
"Who am I, Ginny?" Harry asked her intently.
A faint frown appeared on Ginny's face, "Harry Potter."
"What's my other name, the one people call me." Normally Harry hated his nick name, it hindered him more than it helped him, but he was grateful for it this time.
"The boy who lived," came Ginny's almost trance like reply.
"Voldemort failed to kill me when I was a baby Ginny, he failed earlier this year as well, and he can't kill me."
Another round of silent looks was exchanged at the table; this was the first time Harry had openly and almost casually admitted he had faced Voldemort again. Arthur and Molly smiled slightly at each other, realizing they had made the correct choice allowing Harry to continue.
"You can help?" Ginny asked, for the first time a tiny flash of life could be heard in her voice.
Hidden under the table, Ron's hand grabbed Hermione's, holding it tight, the tension in the room was unbearable. The others didn't have that outlet as they stared at the two youngest watching each other over the table.
"I can help," the green eyed wizard said firmly, "if you trust me."
"I don't understand," Ginny replied.
Again being more forceful than usual, Harry's eyes bore deeply into hers. "Do you trust me, Ginny?"
She hesitated for a second, the silence was deafening in the kitchen as they waited for her reply.
"Don't lie to me, tell me the truth. Do you trust me?" he demanded.
