A/N: Hello again!
I hadn't meant to make you wait so long for another chapter, but things came up. Such is life. I hope you enjoy this next installment. Light on the action, but good character bits in here. Never fear. The action will return in the next chapter!
Happy reading!
Chapter 9- Harry
Harry stood nervously outside the door to Ginny's room. He knew it was her room because it was emblazoned with the words "Ginny and Hermione's room" in glittering purple letters and slanting font. Each door on this landing was labeled with one or more names, in fact, but that was an observation for a different time. Now was a time for overdue groveling to his girlfriend.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" called a voice from inside, and Harry pushed the door open cautiously.
Ginny and Hermione were seated together on one of the beds flipping through a book. They paused when he entered.
"Harry!" Hermione greeted with a smile.
"Afternoon, Hermione," Harry returned genially. "Ginny," he added, more timidly.
"Right, well, I'll just take this book downstairs and see if your mum has any other ideas," Hermione said to Ginny, plucking the book from her grip and shimmying off the bed. She exited the room quickly and the door clicked shut behind her.
"What were you working on?" Harry asked as Ginny rearranged herself.
"We're trying to find a way to improve conjured and transfigured items. We left the Burrow in a bit of a hurry, and the boys didn't think to send over things like wardrobes before they blew the house up. So, we've got Mum's clock and her photo albums and dad's muggle record collection, but no clothes. Of course. Hermione had her fancy extended bag, which she'd packed some things in, and there were a few outfits stocked just for general use by the Order, so we're making do, but it's not ideal."
"Oh. Wow. Yeah, that sounds rough."
"It'll be fine. I think there's an excursion into Muggle London planned as soon as Bill can get some galleons exchanged at Gringotts."
"If you need anything, you know–"
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm sure we can make do."
"It's not a handout. I'm just trying to help. I've got the whole Potter Estate still pretty much untouched down there."
"You still have the Potter Estate?"
"Yeah, it's some weird legal thing to do with the fact that James died first and I am still Lily's child, or something. I don't know. Bill explained it, but I honestly wasn't paying much attention. But that's not exactly what I'm here to talk about."
"No, I didn't expect it was. Are you just going to stand there awkwardly while we do this, or would you like to sit down?" She gestured at the other bed and Harry perched delicately on the edge.
"I want to start by saying I'm sorry."
"Be more specific." Ginny clearly wasn't going to make this easy for him. Nor should she.
"Okay." Harry breathed deeply. "I'm sorry I sent you off with Dad without telling you first. I'm sorry I didn't ask you. I'm sorry I stayed behind without discussing it with you. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you about it before I left last night." Harry took a deep breath. "But I'm not sorry that I got you out of there. I'm sorry about how I went about it, but I'm not sorry about the result."
Ginny exhaled heavily through her nostrils and looked away. Harry sighed. He ran his hand through his hair. He'd rehearsed this in the shower this morning, but when he opened his mouth to go through his prepared speech, it didn't come out the same way. Something about being with her always made his words come out the wrong way around, but she had always understood him anyway. Hopefully that would be true this time, too.
"There's this thing that happens to me when I'm in a situation like that," Harry continued. "It's like everything gets sharper and my body just sort of takes over. And yesterday that happened again, but when I was with you, there was a part of me that just couldn't focus properly. I was so aware of you and I was worried about you and I nearly got pinged in the head by a spell I should have seen coming because I wasn't focused on the battle, I was focused on you. So, for my sake, I had to get you out of there."
"That's the most selfish bullshit I've ever heard."
Harry blinked away his shock. Ginny's foul language wasn't a revelation, but she used it very sparingly and never towards him. Until today. She sat up straighter on the bed and looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"Me being such a…a distraction to you means that somewhere in your head you thought you had to keep me safe. I've made it pretty clear that I don't need you to take care of me, Harry. I am a big girl. I can look out for myself."
"I know you can. But it doesn't stop me from worrying. I care about you, Gin. I don't want something bad to happen to you."
"And how do you think I feel about you? Why is it that you get to be the one who decides if I stay or go? Who gets to decide if you stay or go? Because if you get to choose for me then I should get to choose for you, right? But I didn't. You chose for me and you chose for yourself. You don't get to take my choices away from me. Not ever. And it bothers me that you aren't sorry about it."
"But you're safe." Harry said, earnestly. "It kept you safe."
"If my safety is the only thing you're concerned about, you can walk right out that door and we'll call this finished right here, right now. I can't be with someone who treats me like I'm made of glass."
Harry took a shaky breath. This wasn't at all how he'd wanted this to go. He leaned forward and grasped her hand in both of his. She didn't pull away.
"You are not made of glass. Merlin, you're probably one of the strongest and most capable people I know. You know more spells than Ron and you don't lose your head under pressure like Hermione. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back in a fight. But I care about you. So much. And even though I know you're talented, sometimes I just want to hide you away. Because if something happened to you, especially if it happened and I had the power to prevent it–" he blinked and a tear ran down his cheek. Where had that come from? "-I don't know what I'd do. I didn't want anything to happen to you last night and I just panicked. I got you out."
Ginny reached out with her other hand and brushed the tear off Harry's cheek.
"And I don't want anything to happen to you either. As much as I hate to admit it, though, this is a war. A war that we keep getting sucked into. This is going to keep happening. I've worked so hard over the last five years to make myself stronger and more vigilant so that what happened in my first year will never happen to me again." Ginny closed her eyes and exhaled heavily and shakily through her nose. Harry rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles. "And I understand that you want to keep me safe. I want to keep you safe, too. But I would never take your choices away from you like you did to me last night. If you said you were going to stay and fight, then I would let you stay and fight, even if it went against everything inside me. This isn't about caring for me or not caring for me. This is about respecting me and respecting my choices."
They both sat on the edges of the beds, now, their hands clasped in each other's. She dropped her head and Harry watched as her copper hair fell in a curtain around her. He leaned his forehead forward and nudged her. She tilted her head up a bit and their foreheads met. Harry closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent of her. Her floral perfume still clung to her hair from the wedding the day before. It tickled a memory in his brain, but he pushed it away for another time.
"I don't want to end this," she whispered. "But if being with me is too much of a distraction for you, if it puts you in more danger, then maybe it would be better to walk away while I still can."
Harry sucked in a sharp breath. No. No.
"Please, no," he whispered, clutching her hands tightly. "I can't—I need you. Our whole world just blew up and I can't…please, Gin. Don't do this. I swear. I am so sorry. I didn't even think about how what I was doing was taking a choice away from you. I never meant to do that. You're right. I wasn't respecting you, and I'm so sorry. I won't do it again. I promise. Just, please–"
"But are you promising because you mean it or because you're afraid I'll walk away?"
"I mean it. Honestly."
She tilted her head back and they pulled apart so she could look into his eyes. He reached one hand up and ran it through her hair, moving it away from her face so he could see her better.
"You are so important to me," he whispered, "and I want you to be safe, but I never want to force you to do something you don't want to do."
"Tom took my choices away from me," she whispered back, tears heavy in her eyes. "I have to be able to make my own choices, Harry."
"I know. I'm sorry. Never again."
"Not even if I might get hurt? Or be a distraction?"
"I'll just have to watch your back and trust you to watch mine."
Ginny smiled a watery smile. Harry swiped the pad of his thumb across her damp cheek.
"Deal."
"So, you're not breaking up with me?" Harry asked, timidly, sliding his hand around the back of her neck and leaning his forehead against hers, again.
"Not today, P–Snape."
"Can I kiss you, then? I'd really like to kiss you, now."
Ginny nodded and they tilted their heads until their lips met. Harry had the fleeting thought that kissing a crying Ginny was nothing like kissing a crying Cho and then all rational thought left him entirely. His senses were filled with the remnants of her perfume, the feel of her hair between his fingers, her lips moving against his, her hand gripping his upper arm. He pulled his other hand from hers and reached around to her back, pulling her closer. She squeaked as she lost contact with the bed, but Harry caught her before she reached the floor. He twisted her around to perch next to him, instead, and she entwined one of her legs around his as she angled her body closer.
Harry slipped his hand beneath the hem of her shirt and pressed his palm against her back. She tightened her leg around his and arched her back, pulling them closer. He felt her slender fingers slide across his back, under his shirt and he tilted his head, deepening their kiss. She responded eagerly, pushing closer to Harry, who suddenly lost his balance. They fell sideways onto the bed with a laugh.
Harry brushed a bit of hair behind her ear and traced the shell of it with his fingers.
"You are so beautiful," he told her, quietly. "Thank you for not breaking up with me. I'm sorry I was an idiot."
Ginny scoffed and reached up to lay a hand on Harry's cheek.
"Yes. You were. But I forgive you."
She leaned forward and captured him in another kiss, less frenzied, this time, but more meaningful. Something stirred deep within Harry and he tightened his grip on her, pulling her until there was no space between them. She hooked her leg around his again and cupped his cheek as she kissed him. He stroked her back with one hand and her hair with the other. He was lost in her.
So lost, in fact, that he didn't hear the knock on the door. Nor did he hear the second knock. Nor the third. He also didn't hear the disgruntled grumblings of one former Potions Master as he opened the door.
He did, however, hear what came next.
"Oh, Merlin's arse, Harry!" Dad exclaimed, slapping his open palm against the door frame. Harry and Ginny separated with a gasp. "You are doing this intentionally."
"I'm really not," Harry replied, sitting up and untangling himself from his girlfriend. "Did you knock?"
"You know I did. Several times. I presume you were distracted. In any case, I do not wish to repeat this more than strictly necessary, which I feel has already been exceeded."
"I mean, surely, as a head of house, you've had to–"
"You are neither a member of Slytherin house, nor are we at Hogwarts. If those things were true, there would be more stringent consequences for being found sequestered in a girl's bedroom with nary a hairsbreadth between you. Consider yourself lucky that you are merely my hormonal son and not a wayward member of my house. Do we need to discuss this again?"
"Nope! No, it's really not necessary, thanks!" Harry could feel his face flush. He ducked his head.
"Hmm," Dad hummed. "Miss Weasley," he greeted with a nod.
"Mr. Snape, sir," she nodded back.
Dad turned his gaze back towards Harry.
"The Order meeting will be starting soon. Do you still wish to attend?"
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, we'll be right down."
Dad nodded in confirmation and strode back out the way he came in, conspicuously leaving the door wide open. Harry extended a hand to Ginny. She grasped it and pulled herself upright. She reached out and smoothed a section of Harry's hair.
"First official Order meeting," Harry said, taking her hand and leading her from the room.
Ginny scrunched up her nose.
"Bet you a sickle Mum will try to keep me out. I'm technically not even sixteen yet."
"Yeah, I'm not taking that bet. I'll stick up for you, if you want. You know she's got a soft spot for me."
Ginny pretended to swoon and said in a high-pitched voice, "My hero! Defending damsels in distress from overbearing mothers everywhere!" She smacked him lightly on the arm as she returned to her normal voice. "Also, you're not supposed to admit that she favors you. It's supposed to be a secret."
Harry scoffed.
"Someone should tell her that."
Ginny laughed.
Their conversation quieted as they neared the dining room. The long table had been returned to its rightful state after having been transfigured into multiple medical cots the night before, and people crowded around the edges of the room, talking softly to one another. He pulled Ginny over towards a corner where his father stood engaged in conversation with Bill and Remus and away from where her mother stood. No sooner had he reached them than Professor McGonnagal strode confidently through the doors and instructed them all to find a seat. The room was filled with the sound of scraping chairs as everyone found a place at the table. Ginny sat herself next to Harry and positioned her chair so it was out of the direct line of sight of Mrs. Weasley. Harry saw Ron and Hermione seat themselves further down the table, next to, shockingly, Hermione's parents.
There was a larger crowd than Harry was expecting, and not all the faces were familiar. Several people had conjured chairs around the outsides of the room, the seats at the table having all been filled. It seemed that the Death Eaters hadn't been the only ones recruiting.
"Well, we're all quite busy, I'm sure, so let's get started," McGonnagal began. "Who has the updates on the state of the Ministry?"
A tall blonde wizard raised his hand and McGonnagal nodded in his direction.
"Things are still chaotic, to say the least. Several of the Heads have gone missing. Others have barricaded themselves in their offices. Pius Thicknesse, former head of the DMLE, has been appointed Minister, but he's essentially a puppet for You-Know-Who. The official line is that Scrimgeour was being magically influenced by a group of Dumbledore loyalists–us, probably–and the 'coup' was really a liberation movement to 'restore order to the government.' He's ordered a team of Curse Breakers from Gringotts to aid in removing the holdout Heads from their offices, but the goblins have been dragging their feet in a show of, frankly, bureaucratic brilliance. It won't last though. I'd say by noon tomorrow, all the Heads that haven't been replaced already will have been ousted. The only bright spot is the Auror department. Shaklebolt cleared the floor and got all the good ones out right from under Thicknesse's nose. He went to enlist their help in removing the department heads, only to find the floor basically deserted. There's only a small handful of sympathizers left. Thicknesse doesn't have anyone to enforce his new laws and it'll take time for him to rebuild."
"He'll have the department fully staffed again inside a week," said an older brunette woman to Harry's left. "Won't be real Aurors, of course, but that's probably what he wants anyway. He'll put his usual thugs in the official uniforms and then we'll have state-sanctioned Death Eaters. Wonderful," she added, dourly.
"Where is Kingsley, anyway?" someone asked.
"He's setting up another safe house with his team of fugitive Aurors," Remus answered. "We've reached capacity here, and they need an operating base separate from ours, anyway."
"We should really keep things centralized. It'll just complicate things to have two people running two separate operations."
"And where exactly do you think we should put them? We've got two entire families living here already. What–"
"Well, I'm just saying that, tactically, it's disadvantageous to–"
"Yes, but practically it's not an option–"
Several voices began speaking over one another. McGonnagal's wand emitted a shrill whistle and the overlapping voices stopped.
"Kingsley and I have already been in communication about this. We will be coordinating closely to ensure that we are able to respond where we are needed most. Next item of business: Hogwarts. I met with the other staff today and we elected to place Hogwarts on lockdown. We will not be opening to students for the upcoming school year."
Murmurs broke out around the table and McGonnagal again had to let out a whistle from her wand.
"This is another matter which has already been discussed at length and agreed upon. It is not open for discussion. Letters will be sent tomorrow to each magical child who was enrolled for this year informing them of the closure and providing alternative enrollment options or independent study materials. The Head of the Department of Magical Education is one of those still barricaded in his office, but I anticipate that my tenure as Headmistress will come to an end sometime tomorrow. Though the new Head will not be able to access Hogwarts itself, not having been a member of staff at the time the spell was cast, he or she will gain control of the Hogwarts vaults and I will lose access. For this reason, if anyone is able to contribute to the fund to provide independent study resources or tuition assistance for students who choose to enroll at another institution, please stay behind after the meeting. Your help would be greatly appreciated."
The wheels in Harry's head began turning, and he rather lost track of the rest of the meeting. There was something about a communications network, at which point Harry noticed that Lee Jordan appeared to have joined the Order. Then there was talk about strategic plans of action now that the Ministry had fallen, but that almost immediately dissolved into crosstalk chaos, so he wasn't entirely sure what, if any, plans were actually made. By the time the meeting adjourned much later, Harry was less upset about not having been able to attend up until this point, given that the whole thing seemed rather, well, pointless. Though, this did seem to be a rather larger Order Meeting than usual.
The number of people in the room did have the positive side effect of keeping Ginny's presence entirely unnoticed by her parents. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Charlie, Tonks, and probably some Harry hadn't noticed had seen her, but none had ratted her out. The twins had smiled widely at her and Tonks had winked. Still, not wanting to push their luck, they quickly filed out of the room with everyone else at the meeting's adjournment. Dad stayed behind to speak privately with McGonnagal and a couple others. Harry half thought about hanging back to see what was up, but Ginny's gentle tug on his arm was enough to persuade him to leave it be.
Now that he had a guardian–a parent, no less–that actually shared information with him, his desire to sneak and snoop had been slightly diminished. Slightly.
Ginny pulled Harry up the stairs and back into her room. This time, she left the door open. A moment later, Ron and Hermione joined them. Ron kicked the door shut with his foot and sprawled face down across the nearest bed.
"Ugh, that was bloody boring," he moaned into the mattress.
Hermione swatted him gently on the arm and nudged him to scoot over so she could lean against the headboard. He obliged. Harry and Ginny sat on the other bed.
"Oh, I didn't think it was that bad," Hermione said. "Professor McGonagal had some really great ideas about new patrol schedules that I think could really improve the Order's efficiency. If Mundungus hadn't kept interrupting with his ridiculous 'fundraising' plans… Most people call that sort of thing petty theft. Honestly, how he's still in the Order is beyond me."
"I imagine a black market dealer is actually a pretty useful asset, even if you can't trust him as far as you can throw him," Ginny added. "But, honestly, Hermione, I sort of thought you'd be more interested in talking about the whole Hogwarts thing."
Hermione sat straight up in the bed and looked at them all critically.
"Well, of course I'm interested! Honestly, I'm still in a bit of shock, to be honest. Hogwarts, closed? It's entirely unprecedented! Even during the clan wars of the twelfth century Hogwarts didn't close, and those were just awful times. I read about it in–"
"'Hogwarts: A History,'" Harry and Ron chorused. Hermione wrinkled her nose at them.
"Yes, anyway," she continued, imperiously, "I'll have to talk to Professor McGonnagal about completing the independent study courses. I'll need to get the course materials quickly. School was supposed to start soon, and independent study always takes longer, so I'll need to get started as soon as possible if I want to finish on time."
"Hermione," Ron whined, "we have a whole month until school was supposed to start. Please don't tell me you're going to make us start early."
"This war isn't going to last forever, Ron, and when it's over, you'll want to have all the proper NEWTs so you can choose whatever career you want. You, too, Harry!"
Harry nodded noncommittally.
"I wonder if Professor Snape would help tutor us?" Ginny inquired. Harry perked his head up. Ron fell off the bed with a crash.
"That's a brilliant idea!" Hermione gushed.
"Have you lost your mind?" Ron grumbled, picking himself up off the floor. "You want to voluntarily spend time with Snape?" Harry cocked his head and furrowed his brows. "Er…no offense, mate."
"I'd say there's none taken, but there sort of is," Harry replied. At that same moment, Ginny reached across the space between the beds and smacked Ron in the back of the head.
"That's Harry's dad, Ron!"
"Well, yeah, I know that, but that doesn't all of a sudden make him a good teacher."
"I'm sorry, have you lost your mind? By the end of the year last year, Professor Snape was loads better during class than he has been before. Was he not that way in your year?"
"No, he was, it's just I don't fancy him teaching me if it isn't, you know, necessary. Back me up, here, Harry."
It wasn't that Harry didn't know where Ron was coming from, because he definitely did. His dad had been a rubbish teacher for the vast majority of the time they'd known him. But he had also turned it around and dropped the villain act after his cover was blown. He still didn't coddle or hand-hold through his lessons–he had high standards and he stuck to them–but he wasn't rude just for the sake of being rude. In fact, Harry had actually started to enjoy going to Potions. And he was looking forward to being tutored by his father. Ron's reaction was really starting to bother him. He could feel his cheeks reddening and his jaw getting tight.
"Are you seriously asking me to back you up in insulting my dad?" Harry asked harshly. "Get stuffed!"
Ron frowned across the beds at Harry.
"Come on, you can't be serious. You have to admit–"
Harry's ears were burning now and his fists were clenched tightly on his lap. Suddenly, Ginny whipped her wand out of her pocket and shoved it under Ron's nose.
"I cannot believe you're this stupid," Ginny practically growled. "One more word and you'll be blowing bats out of your nose for a week. Don't think I won't! What are they going to do, expel me from a school that isn't even open?"
Ron leaned back and raised his hands in surrender. Ginny didn't look convinced, but she lowered her wand anyway. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Personally, I think it's an excellent idea. Professor Snape seems like an intelligent individual, and his teaching methods in the second half of the last school year were not unpleasant. I'm sure there's a lot he could teach us about a variety of subjects," she said. "I'll have to ask him if he wouldn't mind aiding with the independent study the next time I see him."
Harry took a deep, calming breath.
"He's already agreed to teach you, actually. All of you." He leveled a glare at Ron. "Though, if it's too much for you, I'm sure you can complete the independent study on your own. Or whatever the 'alternative enrollment' option is. Maybe Beauxbatons has room for you."
Ron sighed, but said nothing. Harry glared a little more for good measure.
"I've discovered something about the book Dumbledore left me," Hermione said, changing the subject. Harry turned towards her eagerly.
"I haven't had nearly as much time to delve into it as I would like," Hermione said with a sigh, "but I have noticed something." She reached to a table beside the bed and grabbed the book, flipping open to a page. "There's this symbol here. It's not part of the book. It's been drawn in by hand. I thought it might be a rune, but it wasn't in Spellman's Syllabary. I suppose it could be one that isn't covered by the standard Hogwarts curriculum, but I haven't had a chance to ask anyone about it. I've been meaning to show it to Bill, but he's been a bit busy, of course."
Harry stared at the symbol. It was a triangle with a circle inside and a vertical line running through it. He'd never seen anything like it.
"I'm sorry I don't have more to share," she added, seeming sad.
"It's only been three days," Harry said. "Well, not even that. You've had this since, what, Thursday night? It's only Saturday."
"Still!" she exclaimed woefully. "If I hadn't been so distracted with all this stuff with my parents–" she dropped her head and Ron began rubbing a hand over her back. Ginny looked at her pityingly. Harry felt a bit left out.
"What's happened?" Harry asked. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but a sob came out instead. She buried her head in her hands and Ron pulled her into his side. She leaned on him heavily and cried quietly while he explained.
"It's been a mess," Ron shook his head. "You know, Hermione's been staying at the Burrow since a bit after school let out, which has been great. But then her parents wrote a letter about a week ago wanting to spend some more time with her before she goes back to Hogwarts. So, she invited them to the wedding and was planning on going back home with them after. Obviously, that didn't happen. Then, they find out about the war. Hermione hadn't told them much because she didn't want them to worry, but, well, you saw how that conversation went."
Hermione gave another sob and Ron squeezed her tighter before continuing.
"So, they haven't exactly been too chuffed to find out that not only has a war been brewing for all Hermione's years at Hogwarts, but that she's been right there with you every time. They knew some things, like when she was in hospital with that polyjuice accident and when she'd been petrified. When she went home that summer, they threatened to pull her from school, but she convinced them to let her come back. They've been in the dark about pretty much all this since then. They haven't really talked to her much since last night."
"Merlin, Hermione. I'm sorry," Harry said.
Hermione sniffed and pulled her face away from Ron's shoulder. She swiped at a tear and took in a shuddering breath.
"That's not the worst of it," she said, shakily.
"What?" Ron said, turning towards her.
"I didn't tell you earlier. One of the reasons they're so mad at me is because–because I told them what I had planned to do. I thought it would make it seem better, like, 'well, at least I didn't do that,' but actually it made them so angry." Hermione paused to wipe at her face again and take another deep breath.
"Back when we were planning on doing this ourselves, before you made that deal with Professor Snape about him taking the lead with the horcruxes," she continued, "I thought there was probably a pretty decent chance that we wouldn't get to go back to Hogwarts. I mean, how would we have searched for horcruxes if we couldn't even leave the building? So, we'd have to just…not go. And if that happened, I knew how suspicious it would look and I thought they'd try and come for my parents. You know, to get to me, or to us, or lure us out, or something. Even afterwards, I thought it might still be a good idea. Them being my parents still made them a target. Also, maybe something would happen to me, and I didn't want them to have to experience that grief. So, I had made a plan to obliviate them and send them to Australia. They'd never know they even had a daughter, so they wouldn't come looking for me and wouldn't miss me if something went wrong. And they'd be safely out of the way if Death Eaters came looking. They'd have fake names and be on the other side of the world, so nobody would be able to find them."
"But then I thought about how much happier you've been after having a parent in your life, and I thought about how I'd feel if I didn't have my parents anymore. And what if I couldn't undo the memory charm later, or if I couldn't even find them in Australia? I'd basically be orphaning myself. I couldn't do it. The day I'd planned to, I left a note in the kitchen that I was staying with the Weasleys for the summer. I didn't even say goodbye. I just left." Hermione sobbed again. "I knew it wasn't safe for them, but I just…couldn't. So I didn't. But when I told them that had been my plan and that I didn't go through with it, they weren't relieved like I thought they'd be. They were just really sad. Sad that I'd even considered it, and angry, and…yeah. They're not talking to me right now."
Ginny stood and pulled her friend into a hug. Hermione cried into her shoulder as they rocked gently from side to side.
Harry sat, stunned. Maybe it made him a bad friend, but he'd never even considered what might happen to Hermione's parents in this war. Hermione had, obviously, but he still couldn't believe that she'd been willing to consider obliviating them, that she almost had obliviated them, all so that she could help Harry defeat Voldemort. Something twisted inside him painfully.
"I'm sorry," he croaked, suddenly hoarse. "I never should have involved you in this."
Hermione straightened up and looked at him fiercely. Even her tear-streaked, puffy-eyed, red face couldn't diminish the intensity of her gaze.
"This is not your fault," she admonished sternly, "and you don't get to apologize for it. I'm a target either way. I'm a muggleborn, after all."
"Yeah, but not all muggleborns are known associates of Harry Potter. Being my friend put your life and your parents' lives at risk!"
"It doesn't matter! We can't go back and change it, and even if we could, I wouldn't. Being your friend has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I wouldn't change one second of it!"
"But you'd be safer if–"
"I'd be safer if You-Know-Who was dead, and that's the end of it. Now stop being a martyr and get over it. I'm not sorry about any of it."
Harry wanted to continue arguing–didn't they know how much better off they'd be without him?-but the look on her face was one that he knew meant that she'd never back down. Harry knew a losing battle when he saw one. And besides, it was getting to be a tired argument at this point. It seemed no matter how hard he pushed, people were determined to stick with him, anyway. He might as well get used to it.
It was sort of nice, anyway…in an I-hope-I-don't-get-everyone-I-love-killed-but-at-least-I-have-people-I-love sort of way. If that even made sense. He wouldn't have been having this conversation with the Durselys, that was for sure. So, maybe he was better off after all.
Suddenly, incongruously, Ron snorted a laugh. He tried to cover it with his hand when three sets of eyes looked at him incredulously, but it only made him laugh harder.
"Sorry," he said, grinning. "But I've just thought…there is at least one second of your time with us you'd probably change."
Hermione looked at him curiously.
"No, I'm certain there isn't," she said.
"I don't know. I seem to remember a certain Hermione-sized orange tabby cat coming out of a stall in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom…"
Hermione had covered her face before he'd even finished, but Harry could tell that she wasn't hiding a sob.
"Oh my god," he heard her mutter, then she pulled her hands away. There was a ghost of a smile on her face. She shook her head good naturedly.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Ron continued. "Mind you, it isn't the fact that you turned into a cat that you'd undo. No, I know you. It's the fact that you got the potion wrong that you'd want to correct, isn't it?"
Hermione's face became indignant.
"I didn't get the potion wrong!" she cried. "I brewed it perfectly! It's only that I got the wrong hair off Milicent's robes that was the problem. And, okay, perhaps I should have looked at it more closely, but how was I to know the–"
Ron's eyes shifted to Harry's as Hermione continued her tirade and he winked, still smiling. Harry smiled back, their earlier animosity forgiven. In light of Hermione's troubles, Ron's grumblings about school and his least-favorite professor really weren't all that important, even if that professor was Harry's dad. And, honestly, if Ron had been excited about the prospect of a day spent studying under the watchful eye of Professor Snape, Harry should have been checking him for Polyjuice Potion or the Imperius curse.
They'd be okay. It had been a stressful 48 hours, but at the end of it, they still had each other, and that's what was most important.
