DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter, alas, belongs to JKR, and I am but a puppet to whichever muse presides over the lovelyinstitution (non-profit institution,I earn nother as it should, seeing as JKR came up with it first...)thatisfanfiction.
Secret Promise
Prologue: Easy? Hah. Easy is for Wusses
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"Trust men and they will be true to you; Trust them greatly and they will show themselves great."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Harry Potter ran onto the scarlet Hogwarts express, slamming the sliding door shut behind him moments before the train jolted into motion. He folded over in the hallway of the train, bracing his hands on his knees. He was breathing rather heavily, heaving air in and out of his lungs. His face was red and sweaty and his throat burned. He was exhausted, having sprinted as fast as he could from the Black Lake to Hogsmeade. He had been on the Hogwarts grounds, where he had sat at the foot of Dumbledore's tomb, just sitting, talking to the white marble as if it was Dumbledore himself. He had realized a few things as he spoke to what he had liked to imagine was Dumbledore's spirit, and had lost track of time. It was a good thing he had seen the carriages rolling out of the gates when he had, or he would be dragging himself back up to Hogwarts to face McGonagall.
Still gasping, he straightened. Two little second years were staring at him, wide-eyed, through the compartment door beside him. The one diagonal from him held a few fourth and fifth year Ravenclaws, who were silent as they stared at him. One girl whispered to another, and the other just shook her head dismissively.
He shoved his hands in his robes pockets, giving the Ravenclaws a weaksmile before continuing down the hall. Students stared at him as he walked past and he was beginning to feel self-conscious. Did they think he was responsible for the Headmaster's Death? Were they afraid of him? He didn't know the answer and he didn't want to right at the moment, so he ignored them, or tried to. Their eyes burned into the back of his head as he stalked away, looking for a certain student.
He peeked into a few compartments, only to find them completely empty. Some students had left directly after the funeral, he deducted, and others had been given portkeys that would send them directly to their homes. It was far safer than traveling by on the Express, which could be attacked at any moment. He was on edge, just in case that happened, but he doubted very highly that it would.
"Hello, Harry." He turned his head as someone opened a compartment door. There stood Susan Bones. Behind her sat Justin Finch-Fletchley, Zacharias Smith, Ernie Macmillan, a willowy seventh year Ravenclaw with blue-black hair and a brown tan, and a fifth-year Hufflepuff with blonde hair and blue eyes that he also did not recognize.
"Oh, hey, Susan." He replied, gruffly, seeing the Ravenclaw pierce him with suspicious and uncomfortable dark eyes. The others waved to him, even the younger Hufflepuff, who blushed slightly when he smiled at her.
"You're okay, right?" Susan asked, looking concerned. "You're all red and stuff. Did something bad happen?" She herself looked no better than she had all year. It was no picnic, having someone you loved die. Her aunt had been killed the summer before, and she had once told him that knew how it felt, now.
"Not anything that I would need my loyal DA members to clear up," He said lightly, chuckling. The others laughed, but they were all pleasantly surprised that Harry would lay claim to the DA.
"About the DA…" Susan began, "I…er, well all of us really, were thinking that maybe we could converse during the summer…We've spoken with Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood and a few others and written to everyone else…We think it's a really good idea to start up the DA again, this summer."
"Susan…"
"No, listen." Ernie Macmillan jumped up, "The statistics of death for the last war were disastrous, and they had even more aurors back then than they do now! The ministry, no matter how smart they think they are, isn't helping at all! People are dying, Harry!" He said, looking at him, "You of all people…"
"Don't rub in the fact that I've seen people die." Harry said his breath shaky, "Just don't."
Ernie looked extremely sorry. Justin jumped in, changing the subject, "I know that I don't really have all the magical resources like all of you do. You're all from magical families, and I'm just muggleborn. But I can see what this war is doing to people. With Dumbledore gone, Harry, we have no beacon to look to…except you. You were, as Malfoy so elegantly put it,
"Dumbledore's Golden Boy". You still are, aren't you?" Harry just stared at him, uncomfortable. "You were his golden boy for a reason. And subconsciously, we all knew that someday you would be just like he was. The one the people look to for answers. The leader of le résistance." Harry couldn't help but shake his head when Justin grinned at his own muggle joke, "But one person isn't enough to look up to. We believe that if there is a group, just one group that everyone can look to…"
"Justin, Dumbledore was way ahead of you." Harry said, he couldn't really tell them about the Order, but now thoughts were spinning in his head, thoughts that were beginning to lay out a plan. "Waaaay ahead of you."
"So there is a group?" Ernie asked, eagerly, "Are you a member?"
Harry looked at him. It would seem that he should be a member. He deserved to be a member. He had asked McGonagall about joining, she still told him no, even after all that had happened with Dumbledore, "No. You have to be of age and out of school."
"That's stupid!" The fifth year Hufflepuff butted in, "Who do they think is going to suffer in the future when they lose because they're a bunch of stubborn arses who thinks we can't do anything to help?"
"Right on!" Justin said, looking at the girl in adoration, "I knew there was a reason I liked you!" His face suddenly turned red and he looked away.
"Er, oh, yes. Did I say that out loud?" Asked the fifth year, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she ducked her head in embarrassment.
"Look, you guys, this is all very amusing…" Harry began, smiling himself, but feeling very tired and just wanting to get away, "I promise to think about it. Really, I will," He told Zacharias when the boy gave him a look that said he didn't believe him, "I have a lot on my plate…and…"
"Hogwarts might not open next term, Harry. I have a feeling that it's leaning on the closing end of the scale. Dumbledore loved this school, everyone saw it. He would at least have wanted to know that if we couldn't learn in this school, then we could at least fight for it, fight for our futures." Susan told him, softly, looking at him through clear hazel eyes, "We're not winning the war anytime soon. You'd better think about it fast." She looked at him, almost disappointedly, and snapped the compartment door shut. Harry, speechless, stared at the door and felt the urge to kick something. Hard.
After a long, long moment of berating, scolding and kicking himself he continued down the hall, looking in and searching for her. How was he supposed to let the DA, a group of students, risk their lives to fight a War? Even when he knew that right now, after everything had happened at Hogwarts, with their own lives, all the deaths, all the suffering, knowing that it wasn't just his war anymore, he still felt the urge to push them back, to protect them.
Then he reminded himself, 'you're going to let them fight for the same reason you're going to find Ginny and grovel at her feet for forgiveness.' And that was that.
The fact that the Hufflepuffs had not stared at him in suspicion left him feeling a little better, and when Anthony Goldstein nodded to him as he patrolled the hallways and a girl he knew to be named Lisa Turpin, a rather quiet Ravenclaw in his year, who walked with Anthony, gave him a warm smile, his confidence boosted even more. As an afterthought, he wondered that Lisa was most likely filling in for Padma Patil, the female Ravenclaw Prefect who had left Hogwarts with her twin, Parvati Patil, along with dozens of other children who had been called home by their parents, who were afraid of the death eater activity.
About five compartments down, he found Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and, to his chagrin, Michael Corner. He popped his head in, politely asking them all "Have any of you seen Ginny?"
Neville replied, "Hey, Harry. Sorry, but no." He looked uncomfortable. It had spread quickly that Harry had broken up with Ginny, and Neville had seen how hurt Ginny had been, and also how resigned Harry seemed to be, and not just because of the funeral. He hoped that Harry was searching for her to patch things up, because both the scruffy haired boy with a tendency for heroism and kindness and the spunky redheaded girl who everybody loved had become really good friends and he hated to see them hurting.
"I'm sorry, Harry. I haven't seen Ginny since breakfast." Luna said, smiling dreamily at him over the newest edition of the Quibbler that had the headlining 'ALL OF WIZARDING ENGLAND MOURNS LOSS OF GREAT WIZARD' He felt a clench when Dumbledore's picture nodded to him and was thankful when Luna laid the magazine out over her lap so he couldn't see, "I did see Ron and Hermione. They were being chased by a Bluetoothed Flapping-Vipsig. Do warn them that any physical contact might cause very strange urges to kiss madly if they're bitten, won't you?"
"Um, sure, Luna." He smiled at her. He had gotten used to her strange claims of even stranger animals, and found her quirky in some ways, "Sorry to bother you all."
"Hey, Harry…" Michael Corner began, nervously, "Um, I saw her in Compartment 8D. She was by herself and…well, she was upset. She slammed the door in my face, actually." He gave a nervous chuckle, "Can't handle conflict much, can I?"
Harry just shrugged, muttering his thanks.
"Oh and Harry?" Michael said. Harry looked at him again, frustrated, "No hard feelings about Ginny, okay? And if you talked to Susan, Justin, Ernie, or any of them, listen to what they said. I think it's a great idea."
"Thanks, Cor—Michael. I'll think about it." Harry nodded to him and closed the door. He headed down towards compartment 4D. He saw a few more of the DA members, each of them saying what a great idea it was. Cho Chang, however, ignored him as he passed by, and he was thankful for that.
As he rounded the corner to the D section of the train he stopped when he heard a familiar voice say, "…Potter dumped you, he's a loser."
"Dean, I swear to MERLIN, if you don't back off I will hex you." Ginny Weasley's voice snapped back and Harry felt a rush of anger and possessiveness when Dean encountered, "Aw, Gin, c'mon, give me a chance. I won't push you or anything this time, I swear."
"Dean—" Ginny's voice was threatening. Harry couldn't move, couldn't think.
"Ginny, I don't care, we deserve each other! I won't let your stupid feelings for Potter get in the way of what we could have…" Dean suddenly cut off and Harry sprinted forward. He was met with a sight that sickened him. They were kissing…well Dean was cramming Ginny into his chest, trying to eat her face even as she tried to push him away. But he was still kissing Ginny! Harry's Ginny! Anger swept through him and he was reaching for his wand as the monster in his chest roared in anger.
"Ouch," Harry suddenly stopped when in a flash Ginny's knee had come up and connected with Dean's groin. Dean gave a cry of agony. Ginny stepped back. Her wand was out in not even a second and she shoved it in her ex-boyfriend's gut.
"Don't you ever touch me again you low-life, scum-eating, fat-lard, maggot-bastard! If you—ever—even think about touching me again, I will slice off your hands and other appendages with a dull, rusty butter-knife, feed them to you, and then, then I will stomp on you until there is nothing left but one tiny breath in your lungs, then I will shove all of the twin's non-successful and highly dangerous potions down—your—throat and I will laugh, delightedly, when you suffer and scream in agony…and you will suffer and you will scream. Got it, Thomas?"
Dean was folded over in pain, heaving breath in and out, but he managed to spurt out in a high voice, "You bi—"
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence." Harry said, tearing open the compartment door with such force the glass shattered. "Get out; now, before I change my mind and let Ginny carry out her threats!"
"Potter, you—" Dean spat at him, cradling his sore balls in his hands as he folded over. Ginny twisted her wand and pushed it harder in his stomach. He grimaced in pain when tiny sparks emitted from her wand in anger. Harry looked at Ginny. Her fiery mane of hair, tied up in a ponytail, was mussed and untidy, her face was flushed and her eyes were ablaze, the beautiful bright brown now dark with fury. They were glowing like coals and he thought she looked gorgeous when she was angry.
"You know what, you're not worth it!" Dean said in his high pitched voice, still shielding his groin.
"No, Thomas, I'm too good for you." Ginny told him, her mouth quivering in a snarl, "Now, leave!"
Dean left. Harry stepped out of his reach so the other boy couldn't shove him, or maybe it was to keep from pounding on him, and watched his sorry ass scurry away. Several people had popped their heads out of their compartments and laughed when they saw the position Dean was in. Ginny waved her wand, "Reparo!" The shattered glass flew back into place, perfectly normal.
"Go away, Harry." She told him, turning away.
"Ginny…"
"No, Harry!" She told him. He saw her reflection in the window. Her head was bowed, her lip was a quivering line of anger, her eyes were furious. "Get away from me. You wanted to stay away, well, you got your wish."
There was a quick stab of pain and rejection in his heart with the dull, rusty butter knife Ginny had threatened Dean with and a torturous twist of his stomach.
He said nothing, just stood there, looking at her. Her expression stayed the same. He didn't move. His heart was pounding, his blood was racing and he couldn't breathe. Finally, he said:
"If you really don't want me back like I want you back, Ginny, then I'll respect your wishes."
Harry still was not moving. He saw her shoulders tense up, and she lifted her eyes to look at his in the reflection of the window.
"What?" She asked eyes wide.
"I was prepared to plead, beg, grovel, bribe, bow at your feet and offer myself as your slave." He said, watching her as a light, sad smile tilted his lips upwards, "But as you said you don't want—"
She spun around, her wand trained on his heart, "Wait just a damn minute, Potter."
He lifted a brow then lifted his hands so she could see them. She looked at him, eyes gleaming with apprehension and calculation. She stared, and stared…and stared. Then she opened her mouth, closed it, paused.
"I don't think you're Harry. The Harry Potter I know would be moping and brooding and avoiding me like the plague." She stated, her voice cool with understanding at what he was trying to play at as she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I'm not Harry?" He asked, cocking his head, deciding to play along, "Ask me anything."
"When was the first time you kissed me?"
"In the Gryffindor Common Room, right after Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup."
She wasn't convinced, "Easy, there were hundreds of people there. Where did we go after that?"
"For a stroll around the lake. I kissed you again, again, and again." He smiled at her when her face pinked, "And we walked some more. I told you about lots of things that have happened to me, about Sirius and my parents and the encounters with Voldemort. And you told me about Tom."
"Someone could have easily spied on us and blabbed." She said, loosening a little and looking at him with the usual light that was harbored in her beautiful brown eyes when she looked at him.
"What's the first gift you've ever given to me while we were a couple?"
"I haven't given you one…yet." He said, softly, "I'll make sure that you get one when I get to the burrow."
She lowered her wand, but didn't stop her questions.
"Do you love me?" She asked, her eyes yearning for a single answer. Harry felt like she had punched him in the gut. Do I love her? DO I LOVE HER? Of course I love her! How can she not see that? He saw that she truly wanted to know and felt his heart twist. All this time, she hadn't known…He relaxed, smiling a little at her, gazing straight into her bright brown eyes. He turned away from her, closing the door and locking it with a quick spell and placing a quick concealment and silencing charm on it as well. He turned back to her, took two short strides and had her in his arms. He laid his forehead upon hers and placed his hands on the small of her back as his arms encircled her waist.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, I love you more than I can grasp. I love you so much, that when I look at you I can't think. When I touch you, I can't breathe. I love you very, very much and don't ever doubt it. I may not understand it, but I do love you, even when it might seem that I don't. But I do. More than anything." He whispered. He heard her swift gasp of surprise and saw emotion storm into her eyes. Her body went lax in his arms and there was a moment of pure shock. He thought she looked adorable with her mouth slightly gaping open.
"You big, stupid, noble, idiotic, brave, dumb, conceited, over-protective, great galoot of a wizard!" She accused, glaring at him even as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. He bent forward, intent on her mouth, but she turned her head away, "Uck, no, not yet. I have to get essence of Dean out of my mouth before I can ever kiss you again."
Harry made a disgusted face, "Oh, God, Gin, that's revolting."
"Yeah, well, he'll be getting an owl of Wheezes goodies the second I see Fred and George." She said, looking at him mischievously, moving her hands up his back, kneading his shoulder blades. He shuddered and groaned in appreciation. "You need a back rub and a shoulder massage, mister. You're muscles are all tense and bunched together."
Harry blushed, images of her sliding her hands over his bare flesh fresh in his mind. Her eyes were laughing mirthfully, seeing the guilty desire flash in those green eyes of his.
"Mm, Gin." Harry said. His eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head when she pressed herself fully up against him, applied pressure into his back with her palms and dragged them down, applying more and more pressure as she went, then she traveled back up, to his shoulders. She slipped her arms so her elbows rested on his chest and her hands grasped his shoulders. She rubbed them, hard, traveling from the outside to the part of his neck that connected with his collar bone.
"Sweet mother of Merlin!" He said, groaning as her hands kneading his tense muscles.
"I've always wanted to do this." Ginny told him, sliding around him so she stood behind him. She slipped off his robes, set them on the seat. She pulled his vest up, and he obediently lifted his arms, "But I was a little afraid we would go over the edge. And I didn't want to take that step unless I knew you loved me."
Harry stopped her, taking her hands by the wrists and looking at her with warm green eyes. His face was one of compassion and love, "I would never have taken it that far, Ginny, not if you weren't ready."
"Are you ready?" She asked him, her eyes boring into his. "I'm ready."
He looked at her, freeing one of her hands, lifting it and cupping her cheek, "Not here on the train."
"You'll be at the Dursleys with bloody Ron and Hermione for a whole month! You haven't even asked me to come with you." She blurted, turning her cheek away from his hand.
"I haven't asked because I know your mum would never let you."
"How do you know?" She asked testily.
Harry looked at her, smiling, "Are we talking about the same Mrs. Weasley?"
She sighed, looking up at him, "I hate you."
"No you don't, you love me." He said, "Admit it. You luuuuuuuuve me. You luuuuuuuuve me." He said it in a sing-song voice that had her laughing. It was rare times when Harry was silly. She'd seen it once or twice, and she wondered what had changed in him. She decided to ask then stopped herself. Why should she question it if both of them were happy?
"Hmph. I'm still asking her." She said, looking at him in stubbornly. He knew there was no way to dissuade her.
"Now, where were we…?" She asked as she slipped her hands found the buttons of his shirt.
"I've gone blind!"
"Oh, stop it, Ronald!"
"I can't believe it! I thought you two broke up!"
Ron and Hermione stood in Harry and Ginny's compartment. Ron, Harry's towering best friend and one of Ginny's six older brothers, was grasping at his eyes, trying not to look, even as he shouted. Hermione, bushy-haired brunette with a bookish nature, had crossed her arms and was smiling at them. She had known of course, as she always knew. Smugly, she sat down across from them, pulling a book from her bag.
Harry was looking dazed. His hair was going every which way, his eyes were wide and grinning, his mouth was curved in a goofy smile. Lip-gloss was smudged across his mouth, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, his sweater-vest was inside out and his shirt tail was hanging out. He straightened his glasses, looking at Ron.
"Er, yeah, well, Ron, I changed me mind…" He said, looking at Ginny, giving her a gooey look. Ginny herself had the satisfied 'Cat-that-ate-the-canary' look. She smiled back at her beau, blowing him a kiss as she continued to pull her hair back up into a ponytail.
"I saw that!" Ron said, peeking through his fingers, "You two are disgusting, I swear to Merlin! I will never be able to look at either of you in the same way again."
"So, you're okay with us being together…er, again?" Harry asked, taking his eyes off of Ginny. Ron's face was flushed and embarrassed and frustrated but he sighed and nodded, hunching his shoulders. He muttered something about 'bloody hell'.
The two prefects had caught Ginny massaging Harry's back after Hermione had broken Harry's concealment and locking charm. The silencing charm had lasted, thank Merlin. If it hadn't the whole train would have heard Ron screaming at them at the top of his lungs, demanding that Harry 'remove his slimy, grimy paws from his baby sister before he chopped them off and threw them out the window, then kicked his sorry ass until kingdom come' and few very obscene curse words that Molly Weasley would surly faint from hearing. Hermione had smacked him, hard, borderline knockout, and he had shut up, but he couldn't look.
"So…have you told her about the…mission?" Hermione asked them, obviously thinking he hadn't. Amazingly, Harry had. After a lovely snog after his first back rub (after Ginny had washed her mouth with three mouth-cleaning spells thoroughly, of course) Harry had pulled away long enough to warn her about the prophecy (of which she had just stared at him and said she'd known all along and he was stupid for not telling her anyways) and then about the past year and of Tom's horcruxes. She had blown up at him after that, screaming at him for being so stupid as to not tell her, to not trust her, demanding that he won't run off like she knew he would to find them and to be smart enough to ask for help from those who would give it. She then told him, very firmly, that if he wanted to defeat Tom the right way, he would create a base of operations; convince a few selected Order members tutor the DA (He was to listen to the Hufflepuffs idea and reinstate it). They would keep the horcruxes a secret to only a trusted few, but he would not go alone to retrieve them. He would have her, Ron, Hermione, two trusted Order members and as many as five back-up people who would be able to come in and retrieve them if anything went wrong, and many more things that had become a blur to him as they had been nothing but rants about how noble and stupid he was, to which he had smiled at and snogged her again.
"Yes, he has, and there's been a change of plans." Ginny said, in a terse, heated tone, "Pay attention Ron!" She snapped and then laid out the plans she had. Hermione listened closely, reaching for a quill to which Harry said that nothing could be written down unless she planned on burning it immediately after. She looked impressed at his comment, until he jabbed a thumb at Ginny, "Don't look at me, she's the one who said it first." Ron snorted when Hermione huffed impatiently, but continued to listen.
"We can't have too many people knowing about the…objects. It's too risky." Hermione said, "What if one—God forbid—was kidnapped, or even turned to the dark," they all looked at her like she was crazy, and she lifted a hand, "I'm not saying it will happen, I'm saying it could. I say we tell a minimum of…let's say, four people who need to know everything, McGonagall, Lupin, he could really help us, and two others, possibly Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and only five who know the basic idea, like that there could be a horcrux, not horcruxes…Mad-Eye Moody, Bill Weasley, he would know tons about this kind of thing I would hope, Nymphadora Tonks…hmm, Lupin would probably tell her everything, so we'll add her to the need to know, and…I hope we can trust the twins. We'll need their help." The other's agreed.
"They won't jeopardize something like this." Ginny said, shaking her head, "And they are brilliant at Potions, no matter what their OWL scores are. I bet they could figure out some way to melt the cup or something."
"What about the Order members and DA who don't know the basic idea? They'll want to know what they're dealing with, won't they?" Ron asked, insightfully.
"Did he just ask an intelligent question?" Ginny whispered to Harry. He nodded, eyes lifted in surprise.
Hermione just looked at Ron, pleased, "Yes, very true, but the risk of Voldemort—oh, get over it Ronald—knowing is higher. Those who can't handle knowing everything will just have to sit back or leave the DA."
"Are we recruiting new members?" Hermione directed the question at Harry. He was, officially, their leader.
"Er, I think we should keep it to the original people and lie-low until we're ready to make ourselves known to Voldemort."
Hermione pondered this, then her eyes widened and she clapped her hands gleefully, "Harry I'm surprised with you! You're doing just the opposite of the Order. Letting Voldemort know about it would make him wary of attacking, or maybe it would make him higher his defenses for an attack on him…"
"No, Tom wouldn't even look twice at a group of what he sees as children." Ginny intervened.
"So a no on recruiting, with a few exceptions. I know for a fact there are some fifth and sixth years willing to help someway." Ginny began, "Now all we have to do is either keep their helping a secret from their parents, which might I add, 'encouraging a minor to participate in an illegal group, club, blah, blah, blah' is illegal…"
"It's best to keep it a secret from the parents." Harry said, looking a little guilty, "The more people that know…"
"The greater the risk." Hermione said. The other three could tell she was depressed about breaking a law. Sighing, she just said, "What shall our base of operations be?"
They all thought for a moment. Grimmauld Place was out of the question, if not for the fact that Narcissa Malfoy was trying to lay claim upon it, even after her son had become a fugitive and she was under house arrest, then for the fact that Harry couldn't stand it there. The Burrow would be too obvious, as was Hogwarts…Godric's Hollow would be an option, but Harry was under the impression that it was rundown and still under the Fidelius Charm. When he asked the others if that could be fixed by the end of the summer, Hermione replied, "The Fidelius Charm could be removed with the help of Professor Flitwick, and since you own the house Harry, you have the power to do so. The repairs…well, it would depend on how bad the damage is."
Harry nodded curtly, looking down sadly. To talk about the house where it had happened made his chest contract slightly, and the grief washed over him like an ice cold bucket of water had been dumped over his head.
Come on, Harry, remember your promise.
Harry nodded to himself and felt Ginny shift, take his hand in hers and look at him comfortingly. He sighed lightly, all grief fleeing, replaced by love.
"UGH!" Ron gagged, going pale, "I'm starving and if I stay in here I'm going to lose my appetite. Wanna come find the food cart lady with me, Hermione?"
"Want to go find the food cart lady," Hermione corrected.
"I just asked that!" Ron said, looking at her confusedly. Hermione rolled her eyes, "We'll continue this wonderful discussion at Privet Drive. By the way, Harry…" She wanted to ask if he had informed his relatives, but by the way he was staring into Ginny's eyes and pulling her into his lap he wouldn't have heard her anyways. She looked at Ron and saw that he was about to have a heart attack, "Oh, come on Ron," She took his arm, feeling a jolt as she felt muscles beneath his robes, "Before you get a brain disease from too much kissing exposure…" Hermione giggled, pulling him out of the compartment.
Did Hermione just crack a joke? Ron thought as she dragged him away.
"Er, do you think we should tell them…?" Asked a nervous Neville to a slightly put-off Michael Corner and a softly giggling Susan Bones. Justin was shaking with silent laughter, his hands covering his mouth behind Neville, and Claire Raleigh, the blonde fifth-year, looked like she was about to collapse from holding in her amusement. Nina Lightfoot, the tall, slender seventh year Ravenclaw, had crossed her arms and looked to the sky, shaking her head but smiling. Zacharias and Ernie were looking at each other, eyebrows lifted.
"I guess Harry got bitten by the Bluetoothed Flapping-Vipsig." Luna said lightly, a genuine smile peeking through her usually airy and…vague expression. Michael snorted and laughed, looking at Luna curiously. She stared back, with not a care in the world, "Do I have something on my face, Michael?"
"Er, no," He replied, looking away.
"Looks like Harry isn't the only one with urges…" Ernie snickered and Claire smacked him on the arm.
They were standing, crowded, outside compartment 8D, trying very hard not to stare through the glass at the couple, sprawled out on the seat, snogging as if the world were about to end. Harry was atop Ginny, his hands firmly on her waist and cupping the back of her head, and Ginny's hands were fisted firmly in his hair. Legs were entangled, mouths were glued and passions flamed.
"I don't think Ginny showed this much, er, stamina with you or I think you would've stuck to her longer. Or maybe you just…couldn't keep up." Zacharias said, grinning cheekily at the now blushing Michael.
"Shut the fuck up, Smith!"
"You shut the fuck up, Corner!"
SMACK! WAM!
"OW!" "HEY!"
Nina had slapped Zacharias in the back of his head giving an insulted 'tuh!' and Susan had turned around and socked Michael hard in the arm.
"Both of you watch your mouths!" Claire told them, "Just because you have differences of opinion doesn't mean you can swear, and you, Zacharias Smith, stop taking the Mickey!"
"I'll stop when he stops being a sore loser!" Zacharias said.
"At least I'm not a freakin' pessimist!"
"It's the same thing, dumbass!"
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
"Is—"
"Shut it, both of you! Stop acting like children! Besides, you're both encrimanting yourselves by insulting the other!" Neville snapped, surprising everyone, including himself. He blushed when they all turned to him, openmouthed.
"Er, anyways." He cleared his throat. Ernie and Justin stepped in between Michael and Zacharias.
oOoOoOo
Meanwhile, Harry had pulled away from Ginny, heaving breath and smiling down at her. She had swollen lips, mussed hair, and rosy cheeks. "D'ya think that will last us for a month?"
Her eyes were closed and she was gasping for breath, "Oh, Merlin, Morgana and Circe, it better!"
Harry laughed when she made a long "mmmmmm" sound, stretching out from beneath him like a cat. She was almost purring in ecstasy, he thought. Oh, Merlin, Potter, bad thought, bad thought. Baaaad, baaaad thought. Think about Snape in a tutu, McGonagall with a beard, Voldemort stripping for Bellatrix Lestrange…oh, ewwwwwww, bad thought, worse thought! Worse, revolting, disgusting, sick and wrong, thought. He shuddered.
"Um, Harry, are you okay?" Ginny asked.
He groaned, nodding, "You'll be the death of me, Gin, I know it."
She paled and he kicked himself. "Not like that."
"I know." But she shivered all the same and her color didn't come back, "But don't joke like that. It scares the hell out of me."
"Sorry, baby." He told her, giving her the puppy face.
"Aw…" Ginny said, leaning up, pecking him on the lips, "Now all the people standing outside know what a whipped wussy you are!"
"What!" Harry jolted, falling off of Ginny and to the floor with a sharp thud!
Ginny peeped over the seat, looking at him with concerned brown eyes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You okay?"
"Yeah." He said, looking at the window where several of his fellow students waited. Luna waved dreamily, and Neville flushed in embarrassment.
"Do I get any privacy?" He asked Ginny after he had sat up. Ginny did the same, producing a hair band from her pocket once more, and moving to put her hair back up. He watched her do so, and smiled to himself knowing that he wanted to rip it out and run his hands through her beautiful vermillion-red hair.
"Hm, I guess not." Ginny grinned at him, "Do you think they'll all fit in here?"
Harry gave her a slow, roguish grin, "If a few guys offer their laps as seats for the ladies, then possibly."
"I call dibs on yours!" She gave him such a heated, naughty smile, her eyes glowing with desire that he gulped. She grinned at him, reaching down and pulling his face up to kiss him passionately.
oOoOoOo
Outside…
"Jeez, how long do they need to snog?" Claire huffed good-naturedly, "I mean, honestly!"
"Oh my god!" A voice to the side gasped, "Hermione, I'm going to barf!"
"Ronald, for the last time, stop it!"
"They're still snogging! Still!" Ron barked at her, stomping his foot in frustration. A first year passing by jumped in fright and scurried away, yelping. There was a high-pitched whistle that sounded overhead that warned that they were going to be arriving in an hour's time.
"Like you haven't snogged Lav-Lav longer!" Hermione snapped at him, pushing through the cluster of five Hufflepuffs, three Ravenclaws, and the single Gryffindor, rapped lightly on the door to get Harry's attention. The raven-haired teen pulled away from Ginny and impatiently headed to the compartment door, opened it and stuck his head out. His hair was a mess, his lips were red and swollen and he glared at them all as if they had deprived him a particularly good treat, "Busy at the moment."
"Harry…D…A…" Hermione hissed. "Might as well establish basic rules."
"We don't have any basic rules yet." Harry hissed back.
"Do you want to win this war or not!" Hermione countered.
Harry sighed, opened the door. "There won't be enough room."
"I will gladly sit in Harry's lap to make room for you all!" Ginny said with a flourish making everyone laugh, everyone that is except for Ron. Even Michael laughed.
"It will be a little cramped, but the…thing is more important." Susan said, turning to the others with a blush when Ginny said boldly, "Ladies, pick your man!"
"WHAT!" Six male voices rang out.
"Do you want to talk or not?" Susan told the boys, who immediately shut up. The boys filed into the compartment muttering to themselves. Ron sat across from Harry and Ginny, who settled into the seat nearest the window. Neville sat beside Harry and Michael beside him. Ernie offered to sit on the floor. Justin sat beside Ron, and Zach sat beside Justin.
"Girls?" Ginny looked at them, giggling almost madly.
Several eyes flashed at her, glaring as each girl chose the lap they would sit in. Nina, who unlike the other girls had no real…preference, waited for all the others to sit down. Susan blushed when she mumbled "May I?" to Neville, who in turn blushed a bright red beet color, but nodded, almost shaking with nervousness. Luna didn't even think before she sat down in Michael's lap, slightly startling the boy as she did so. "There's lint on your shirt, Michael." She said in a sing-song voice, "I think Vertiaemigmites are attracted to your scent." She commented as she lightly plucked the lint away.
"Er, right." He said, shifting so Luna sat more comfortably in his lap.
"Heh, sorry, Justin." Claire commented, plopping down into his lap. There was a moment of shock before he just grinned at her goofily, "Not Claire all at." There was thick silence. "I mean, not at all, Claire." The blonde bit her tongue so she wouldn't laugh and snuggled into his lap.
"Hmph," Hermione said, placing herself on the edge of Ron's knees. His ears were redder than his hair but he told her painfully, "Er, Hermione that's a little awkward."
"What? Oh, Fine!" She said when Harry and Ginny gave her stern looks. She scooted back a little. Finally, Ron pulled her into his lap, his face burning and he was mumbling under his breath.
"Well, the trees can't choose their sparrows, can they?" Nina told Zach, who shrugged. She sat down in his lap gingerly.
"Wonderful!" Ginny began, "Now first of all…privacy charms!" Harry, Hermione, Susan and Ernie cast them on the door, "Those should work well. Next, just for fun, introductions! Ginevra Molly Weasley, Gryffindor, pureblood, not that it bloody matters, fricken' dumbass, evil, snot-eating, buggerly bastarded Death Eaters who don't know their arses from their dic—"
"Ginny." Harry said painfully. She looked at him, "Sorry. Anyways…"
"Harry James Potter, Gryffindor, half-blood." Harry said, weakly.
"Er, Neville Francis Longbottom, Gryffindor, Pureblood."
"Susan Amelia Bones, Hufflepuff, Pureblood."
"Michael Andrew Corner, Ravenclaw, Half-Blood."
"Luna Artemisia Lovegood, Ravenclaw, Pureblood."
"Nina Ptaysanwee Wakanda Talutah Lightfoot, Ravenclaw, Muggleborn."
"Zacharias Hezekiah Smith, Hufflepuff, Half-blood."
"Justin Marshall Finch-Fletchley, Hufflepuff, Muggleborn."
"Claire Minuet Raleigh, Hufflepuff, Half-blood."
"Hermione Jane Granger, Gryffindor, Muggleborn."
"Ronald…Bilius…Weasley, Gryffindor, Pureblood."
"Okay, now that we all know each other, you must all vow, with the names you just used, on a wizard/witch's oath never to expose what goes on in the compartment to anyone that Harry has not asked you to tell."
With a little reluctance, they all agreed, grasped their wands and in unison vowed everything that Ginny had asked, even Ginny herself.
"Good, now, Harry is going to be indisposed until his birthday—"
"Are you my voice, Gin?" Harry asked her, grinning.
"Yes, now shut up!" She smiled at him and continued, "I highly recommend that no owls from any of you find your way to Harry. Voldemort—oh, you better get used to the name—already knows about Ron, Hermione, and I, but if he knows about you all, you're in deep shite."
"Don't swear, Ginny." Hermione pleaded.
"I grew up with boys, Hermione." Ginny told her, "It's a curse." She continued, "I'm thinking that we could meet up at a muggle place, Voldemort would never think to look there, trust me." She looked at them all, "Hermione, Justin, Nina, do you have any suggestions? It has to be able to fit the amount of people…by the way who have you talked to that has agreed to help?"
"The Patil twins, Seamus Finnigan, Eddie Carmichael, Anthony Goldstein, Lisa Turpin, Lavender Brown (Hermione and Ron winced), the Creevey Brothers, Hannah Abbot and her older brother Hayden, a few fifth years and seventh years you all wouldn't know but that think are trustworthy. Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Lee Jordan, Fred and George Weasley have agreed to be our 'adult' spies in the world. Terry Boot refused, politely, but promised not to tell, and we didn't even ask Cho Chang, DeanThomas,or Marietta Edgecomb."
"Good." Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all said at once.
"Okay, we'll need to contact them…but not with owls. That would be too suspicious. Hmm…"
"What if we…" Harry began.
"Flooing or apparating won't work either, Harry." She told him. He looked at her, astonished that she had read his mind.
"Owls will have to do, then." After no one could figure up an idea. "Have any of you come up with a location?"
"My grandfather owns a café in London." Commented Nina softly, "I can convince him to let you all come there."
"Great!" Ginny said. "If any of them has problems getting to London, we'll figure something out when the time comes."
"Now, what about learning strategies…"
Nymphadora Tonks watched the teens' conversation, puzzled as to why they were all so tersely commuting with each other and why Ginny was talking with the air of a general or a queen. She also wanted to know why their concealment charms had set off the alarm in her pocket. Just as an extra precaution, all the aurors stationed on the train were to carry highly sensitive sneak-o-scopes. Technically, concealment charms were lying, so they had set them off as she walked down the D hallway.
She put her chin in her hand, watching them all curiously, making sure she was hidden beneath the invisibility cloak fully. What were they up to? Was it something that involved the war, or something entirely different? She noted that nearly all of the students in the compartment were past DA members. All except for two. And Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't hang out with Hufflepuffs. Not once had she seen them hang out with Hufflepuffs, or even Ravenclaws, as they were now.
She herself had been a Ravenclaw, a very annoyingly witty one, too. She had driven every one of her teacher bonkers with witty little jokes and rhymes that she had made up herself about them. One in particular had gotten her in a lot of trouble with Snape in her first year. She vaguely recalled it having something to do with 'he dropped his head in a vat of grease as a child, why, oh, why did they let him run wild! His nose is so large, so abnormal; a giant would chortle and laugh, if he ever witnessed, the Slytherin Head of the Hogwarts' staff!' She shook her head thinking: that was bloody awful. No wonder he gave me detention for three weeks for it.
She narrowed her eyes at the compartment once more. The whistle howled overhead and the students stopped their conversation, most likely to change out of their robes before they arrived.
"They're up to something big…I know it!" She slid out of the way as everyone but Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione departed.
"That was exhausting." Harry said, smiling mischievously at Ginny who was still curled up in his lap. "And yet, you did all the talking for me."
She patted his cheek affectionately, "You'll learn to love it, darling."
"I can't believe you're all going to be gone for a whole month without me!" She whined unhappily.
"That's a good thing. I won't have to live through yours and Harry's mushy, lovey-dovey crap." Ron said, shuddering. Hermione had slid into the seat beside him, scooting as far away as possible, looking sad when he didn't seem fazed by it.
"Ha! Maybe it's a good thing I don't have to endure you for a month you pigheaded bottomless pit!"
"What's that supposed to mean!"
"It's supposed to mean you eat like a hippogriff/dragon/troll crossbreed! You're just as ugly, too!"
"You're very feisty today, Gin." Harry said, turning her away from Ron to him, grinning down at her, and saying with a blush, "I like that."
Ginny stared at him, surprised and grinning and Ron gagged.
"Well, what did you all think of all of them?" Hermione asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, curiously.
"Well, they all seem a bit…different. Like, how Michael wasn't as cold as he usual is towards us since you and Ginny got together, and how Luna is a little more down to earth than usual. And Neville is learning to speak up, that was a great idea about muggle hand-to-hand combat! Ernie isn't bragging…as much, and Justin isn't as…resigned or isolated as he tends to be. Susan seems much better, now, and Zacharias…well, he's still very cynical, but he didn't question anything too harshly."
They all looked at her blankly.
"Oh, don't you see!" she blurted, in an upset manner, "The war is changing everyone! I wish…"
"We all wish that it had never happened, and never begun, Hermione." Harry said, "But it is and we have to do everything we can to stop it right now. I've learned from Dumbledore—" his voice cracked heavily with grief, "that life isn't worth it unless you're willing to fight for it. And, with the way mine's gone, it's not life if you're not fighting through it."
"I suppose…" Hermione said, still a little bummed. She sighed, standing up, "Come on, let's go get our trunks and change."
The other three followed her, all thinking the same thing.
This isn't going to be easy…
Do you like? - Vanvadu (aka Devan)
