Chapter 5

Harry managed to fall asleep, deep in thought. When he woke up, Ron was already dressed, anxious to get downstairs.

"Cummon Harry, I'm starving, I didn't eat at all last night."

"Why not?" Harry asked, sitting up.

"We were so nervous about that meeting, they never told us why we had to go. I don't expect Hermione had much to eat either."

Sure enough, when they finally made it into the kitchen, Hermione was sitting with a stack of toast adding liberal amounts of jam. "Everyone else's already finished, but I've saved you some." She pushed a plate in front of them and disappeared behind the paper.

Harry remembered Ron's old routine of asking whether anyone they knew was dead. Harry expected he had stopped since the deaths had mounted to such a serious rate. From what the Prophet reported, and he knew that Scrimgeour must be trying to keep them quiet, there had been more than half a dozen deaths since they had left school, and an unreported amount of Muggles had died.

"So where had everyone else gone to?" Harry asked, looking around as though they were huddled in a corner somewhere.

"Planning for the wedding I 'spect," said Ron a bit huffily, " Fleur's been mental lately, bossing us all around and going crazy over the smallest things."

"Ron, you'll never understand women," said Hermione.

"Well that's why I've got you then isn't it. So what's wrong with her?" said Ron looking up at her.

Hermione scoffed but when she continued it was with a slight grin on her face, "It's her wedding, she wants it to be perfect. All girls dream about having the perfect wedding."

"But she's…alright, right? I mean she hasn't gone crazy has she?" said Harry in a fearful tone, knowing that he would probably be expected to help.

As if in answer Fleur stormed into the room, " 'Arry, how good it is to see you," she said rather hurriedly. "I need you three to help me with the table arrangements." She held up what looked like a bouquet of flaming roses, but the flame was in different, vibrant colors and it kept changing. Harry noticed that the flame did not burn the roses, but seemed to compliment them rather well.

"Oh, its gorgeous," said Hermione staring at it dreamily.

"Yes, it 'eez a zimple spell, but I vill need several hundred."

"Oh I'm sorry," said Harry, glad for an excuse, "I'm not of age yet, can't do magic."

Fleur looked slightly disappointed but then turned on Ron and Hermione, "Then 'eet will be just the two of you."

As Harry left the room, he saw Fleur demonstrate how to create the arrangement, and another bunch of roses set fire. He climbed back up the steps toward his bedroom but he collided with Ginny, who had been walking down the stairs. He hoped that she did not want to discuss them; he could not handle hurting her again. He knew he would have to say something, though.

"H-Hey," he said nervously.

"Hi," she said, finally looking up at him.

"How come you aren't down with everyone else?" He said, struggling for something to say.

"Oh I've been up in my room," she said, and Harry noticed that her eyes looked slightly blotched, "Fleur's been stressing out a lot lately."

"Yeah. How are Fleur and Bill doing?"

"Good," she said looking back down, "You can tell they really love each other, no matter what."

"Listen Ginny-" he said slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I…I'm, sorry."

To his surprise Ginny wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Harry had expected her to run of very upset, he was glad at this change and held her closely.

"I wish I understood why you need to do this," she said quietly, "We can hide it from them."

The thought had occurred to Harry many times, but Voldemort was an excellent Legilimens. "I wish we could, but he would know, he can just…feel it."

"What is it that you have to do?" she asked, pulling away from him slightly to look up at him.

"I have to kill him," he said, looking into her eyes.

"Why? Why can't we just run from it all? You shouldn't have to do anything."

"I'm the only one that can. There… there was a prophecy made about us."

"But it was destroyed!" she said, looking terrified, "We never heard it."

"Dumbledore knew it, he told me," he said, it was time for him to explain it all to her, she need to know. He could not tell her about the horcruxes, he didn't want to give Voldemort more of an incentive to take her.