Chapter 3– The last weeks

Harry Potter had spent the last day in a very bad mood thanks to his best friend, Ronald Weasley, having some nerve-attacks from the upcoming Apparition test. But it looked as though this day was going to be better. With the owl he sent to his other best friend, Hermione Granger, and her reply, Ron seemed to be a bit more cheerful than he had been in the last days- at least that's what the rest of the family said.

"Hey, Ron, you've already read that letter, like, ten times. I bet you've already learned it by heart. You had better start reading the book Hermione sent you," Harry said to his best mate.

"Eh? Oh, sure, the book. Well… she said she would come, didn't she? I'd better wait for her so we can read it together. Then she will help me answer my questions…" Ron replied, a big smile across his face.

They sat there in silence for a few seconds, Ron still smiling and a bit distracted and Harry shaking his head but smiling as well.

"You'll never say it, will you?" Harry asked, with the smirk still on his face, but in a serious voice.

"What? What are you talking about, mate?" Ron suddenly lost his smile and went nervous again.

"C'mon, Ron! I'm talking about Hermione! Look, I really appreciate you telling me, but… won't you ever tell her?"

"But she's my best friend! What if I screw up everything? What if she won't ever talk to me again? What if I end up losing the only thing I've gotten from her- her friendship?"

"What if you calm down, open your eyes, and realize that she will never push you aside like that?" Ginny Weasley had just entered the Burrow living room carrying two bags- apparently, grocery bags. Ron and Harry had been alone in the house until then, with Mr. Weasley at work, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny gone for shopping, and the twins still at their joke shop in Hogsmeade. Bill and Fleur were living in a small apartment across the little town, Ottery St. Catchpole. Their wedding had been rescheduled for November, as Bill had been victim of a "relapse." Charlie was still in Romania. Percy had already apologized to his parents, but he was living somewhere near the Ministry of Magic, in London.

"Ginny! How long have you been liste-?"

"Listening to your conversation? I just heard the last phrase, but I already know who you are talking about, Ron." Ginny cut him off.

"How can you know? What makes you think you do?" Ginny rolled her eyes and Harry thought this was a very stupid question. Everything that had happened with Lavender in the last term at Hogwarts and the support and comfort Ron had given Hermione after… well, after Dumbledore, made everybody notice that there was a lot more than just friendship between those two. A part of him wanted to laugh, but the truth was that he found it difficult to even breathe anytime Ginny Weasley was near.

When he had decided to accept Mrs. Weasley's invitation to stay at the Burrow for more time than he had originally planned, he knew it was going to be very difficult to be near the person that had given him so much happiness but that he had been forced to leave behind in order to protect her from Lord Voldemort. And, indeed, it was almost impossible… and he had just spent two days there.

He tried very hard to think of her as he had always had before the last summer- as his best mate's little sister, one more Weasley. He tried very hard not to think of her as the girl who had waited so patiently for so much time, the girl who understood him the best. And this was working very well, except when their eyes met, for it was then that he felt an uncontrollable desire to hold her and kiss her once more, at least once more…

"Well, big brother, I don't need to be a genius to realize it. Besides, I am a girl, and we have that 'sixth sense,' you know?" said Ginny with a small smirk. She seemed a bit uneasy around Harry as well, but she hadn't asked why he was avoiding her eyes, or why he was doing his best not to be in the same room with her- especially alone. As a matter of fact, she seemed to be cooperating with Harry's new system.

"If you say so…" Ron lifted an eyebrow. "But anyway, having a 'sixth sense' doesn't give you the right to spy on our conversation. And, by the way, why did you say she wouldn't push me aside?"

"Well, because-"

"Has she said something to you? Tell me! Speak now, Ginevra Molly Weasley!" Ron cut her off, raising his voice.

"We haven't talked about that, ok? Now, calm down and never call me using my whole name again, Ronald Bilius Weasley. It's just that she loves you. I've never asked if it's as a friend or something more, but I do know that she loves you and would never hurt you. I'm sure."

"I- I think so, but… Anyways, why were you spying on our conversation?"

"Look, I just got back from shopping. It's not my fault that you are here talking so… resonantly. If you want privacy, go to your room."

"Er… oh… right. You're right, I think… C'mon Harry let's go."

Harry thought Ginny had suggested this to avoid him, and he secretly thanked her. It was very painful to be so close to her and not be able to hold her, to caress her…

Before Ron and Harry had left the room, they heard a loud crack behind them and turned to see Hermione Granger, standing in the other side of the living room right in front of Ginny.

"Hi Ron! Hi Harry!" she greeted cheerfully and looked back. Noticing Ginny was there, too, she added, "Ginny! It's so good to see you!"

"Hello Hermione!" said Ginny. "You've arrived! That's so good, and what a coincidence! We were just talking about you. Weren't we, Ron?"

"You were? About me?"

Ron suddenly went slightly pale and very quiet, but then Harry said, "Oh! Ron was telling me that he is so lucky that you have that book and let him borrow it. He was also saying he has some questions he expects you to help him with."

"Sure, that's what we were talking about," confirmed Ron, getting back his voice and the normal colour of his face.

"Hermione, darling, you've arrived!" Molly Weasley had just entered the room with a couple of bags just like Ginny's and hugged Hermione after leaving them on a little table next to a couch nearby.

"I just did, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks a lot for letting me come earlier."

"Nonsense, dear, this is your house and we will always keep the doors opened for you. And for you too, Harry, dear," she added, turning towards Harry, who gave her a smile of gratitude.

"You were just about to go to your room, weren't you, Ron?" Ginny reminded him.

"Yes, it's true. Let's go Harry. Hermione, you coming?"

"Of course. I'll sleep in Ginny's room, right, Mrs. Weasley?"

"Yes, dear. Ron, get her trunk upstairs. We will have supper soon."

"Ok, mum," Ron answered and levitated the trunk with his wand, while Hermione and Harry followed him upstairs.

Harry was sleeping in the twins' old room, but most of the meetings with Ron were still held in his bedroom below the attic. The walls were covered in orange Chudley Cannons posters in support of Ron's favourite Quidditch team.

The obligated questions that afternoon were, "How is everything going?" and "Anything new?" and the one to ask was, of course, Hermione.

"As I told you in one of my letters this summer, living with the Dursleys this summer was as hard as always. Except that they seemed to be very happy about getting rid of me, because they haven't harassed me as much as usual. Actually, when I told them I was going to come to the Burrow for my birthday, they almost jumped in mid-air," came Harry's answer.

"I've never understood how they could treat you like that, Harry," Hermione commented.

"Me neither, but I have to tell you I was really stunned by something my aunt did before I left house."

"What did she do?" asked Ron. "You hadn't told me about it."

"Well, I was about to leave, when she grabbed my arm and gave me a little note. Dudley and my uncle didn't notice, I think… Look," he said, handing them a piece of paper that read:

There is something you need to know. If it's possible for you one morning, while Dudley is at school and Vernon at work, send me your weird bird and I'll try to answer.

I never said it, but I did love your mother, and I did suffer when she died, because even though she was an abnormal freak, she was my sister.

"Who would have guessed?" Ron said with surprise. "Your aunt is human, after all."

"Harry, this is very odd. Did you already write her?" Hermione wanted to know.

"No, Dudley is on holiday, but I've decided that I really don't care if he sees Hedwig. He barely stays at home. He just keeps going out with those stupid gorillas he's got as friends."

"Well, mate, Hedwig is very obvious against a cloudy or dark sky. If you want to use little and discreet Pig instead, you know you can use him anytime, no problem."

"Yeah, I was thinking of that. Thanks Ron."

"And… have you found out anything else about… Horcruxes?" inquired Hermione.

"Barely… I've been escaping from Privet Drive once in a while to visit some magical places, using the Knight Bus. Truth be told, I hate it, but as I'm still underage and not supposed to do magic, I guess I have no choice, do I?" Harry told them with an ironic smile.

"What magical places have you visited?" Hermione asked.

"Well I've gone to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, basically. I've tried to get a little information from every witch and wizard I see. Now, everything could be valuable information, and I think I have some pieces from what seems to be a huge puzzle. At least now, I am almost sure that Voldemort's snake is not one of the Horcruxes. My next stop is probably Grimmauld Place and-"

"Grimmauld Place? What for?" Ron cut him off.

"Yes, Grimmauld Place. That house had a lot of old and antique things, remember? And I've thought, as it was home of an ancient wizard family, you know, "pure-bloods," it is likely that I'll find something there. Besides, I think Sirius told me once, when he showed me the Black Family Tree, that his brother was a Death Eater. I can't remember his name, though… After that I think I will go to Godric's Hollow, but first, I'd like to visit St. Mungo's-"

"St. Mungo's? What for?" Ron interrupted again.

"Ron! Will you please shut up and stop interrupting Harry?" Hermione seemed a bit upset, but Harry could tell she was as eager as Ron to know the answer to that question. "Please, go on, Harry."

"Thanks. I believe the hospital must have an archive room, and I'd like to get there. Besides, think of how much history lies inside those walls, being such an important building! I know I will find something useful there."

There was a moment of silence as Ron and Hermione seemed to be waiting for Harry to say something more. When they understood he wouldn't, Ron asked, "So… when are we going to Godric's Hollow?"

"I've already told you a thousand times that you are not coming! It's too dangerous!"

"And we've already told you a thousand times that we don't care and that we are not asking for your permission, Harry!" Hermione jumped. "You have always told us, 'don't go', 'it's too risky', 'you could get hurt,' or even, 'you could die'… Tell me, how many times have we listened to you? We won't leave you alone now. Deal with it! Alright?"

"That's right, mate. We've never left you on your own and this won't be the first time. We're going to help you till the end. We're going to do it because you are our friend, because we know you need us even if your pride cannot admit it, and because we want to get rid of V-Vol-Voldemort as well and take revenge for everything he has done. Even if we die trying, he is going to disappear once and for all!"

"See? Ron has even started to call Voldemort by his name!" Hermione observed.

Harry didn't know what to say. He knew that to keep arguing with them was pointless. He also knew that this quest would be the greatest challenge and the most dangerous thing he had ever done in his whole life. And that was saying something. And the most important thing was that he knew that, even though he was so afraid of losing them, he would never succeed without his friends.

They sat in silence again, all three of them lost in their own thoughts. After a while, there was a knock on the door and Harry, who was closer to it, opened it without thinking of the very high possibility that Ginny would be standing outside Ron's room. And sure enough, she was.

For a fraction of a second, their eyes met, and they both froze on the spot.

"Er… mom says dinner is ready," Ginny said, lowering her head. She then turned around and left.

Ron and Harry only spoke about Ginny very briefly. That had been the night Harry had arrived at the Burrow. Ron asked his friend if he was okay and wanted to hear Harry's version of events. This was, of course, understandable; Ginny was his little sister, and he wanted to know what made his best mate leave her.

Apparently, the story had come to Ron's attention a few days before Harry's arrival at the Burrow as an answer to his constant inquiries about Ginny's unusual desire to be alone for hours and hours.

"I'm sorry, mate. I don't want to make you feel bad, but I'm worried. She normally spends hours in silence or alone when she's plotting something against any of us (that's something she got from Fred and George). But since we got back from Hogwarts, she hasn't made any jokes at all. I mean, it's not that she is always crying or anything, but this seriousness of hers is just not normal," Ron had said.

Harry explained that he didn't want to risk her life, and Ron seemed to understand. Since then, they didn't talk about it. But Hermione, who knew nothing, guessed that there was something she didn't know thanks to her 'sixth sense.' "Harry, you and Ginny aren't together anymore, are you?" she said almost in a whisper after Ron left the room and while they started to follow him. "I noticed when I arrived… you both look… sad… like when you are near the person you love, but you know you can't be with that person… like… like…"

"Like you and Ron, you mean?" asked Harry in a very low voice, smiling in spite of himself. Hermione froze, and for a split second, she looked as though she was about to cry. But then she said, "I don't know what you're talking about. But you and I have to talk about Ginny." And she rushed downstairs behind Ron.

Harry stood for a while where he was, outside Ron's room, and then made his way downstairs. However, when he reached the point in the hallway where Ginny's room door could be seen, he watched her sadly and couldn't keep a tear from running down his cheek. He wiped it immediately and resumed making his way to the Burrow's kitchen. He was charged with the feeling of intense hatred toward Voldemort that increased his will to destroy him.

A/N: So that's chapter 3... how was it?
I'll try to have chapter four ready soon, but I have some little problems and I don't think I'll be able to update soon, but I'll make my best... only wanted you to know that. Please don't forget to R&R! see you soon (hopefully)

Please, if you read my story, review... I need to know if I should update or just drop this for good...