30 October 2001
When Harry noticed that Hagrid had not come to breakfast for the ninth day straight, he knew that he had to do something, even though the idea of it made a knot of anxiety grow in his belly. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Hagrid's face, nor the accusation. Part of it was the fact that he knew that so many people must be confused and angry (although those feelings might have faded with time) because he had dropped out of their lives so completely. In order for them to fully understand his reasons he would have to tell them, and that defied the purpose of avoiding them.
Why did I come to teach here again? he asked himself, right as Ginny walked into the door of his classroom. She had circles under her eyes as though she hadn't slept well. Harry wondered if she had nightmares about Malfoy Manor the way he did. Even Arnold, who was usually bright-eyed and cheerful even at this hour of the morning, seemed droopy and lethargic. He was draped over her shoulder and barely even lifted his head.
He stared at them for several moments, distracted, while the rest of the students filed in. There was an air of suppressed excitement; Halloween was tomorrow. Harry was certain that even now -- despite Hermione's best efforts -- the house elves were preparing a marvelous feast. Remembering his own school days, and the classes leading up to holidays great and small, and made a split-second decision. "We're going to do something a little different today," he announced, thinking quickly.
The students eyed each other apprehensively. Ginny ignored him in favor of paying attention to Arnold.
"Don't worry," he said. "It won't be too bad. But I've decided to build an obstacle course for the second years to maneuver today... sort of as a fun way to celebrate Halloween--"
"--by scaring the pants off of them?" Dennis Creevey grinned. "Sounds good to me."
Harry chuckled a little. His second years -- even the Gryffindors -- seemed especially twitchy. "That's exactly it," he admitted. "We're going to enchant a bunch of objects -- they've been learning how to neutralize things... we'll see how they actually do." The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. It would be a fun way of testing their abilities to freeze things in their tracks, turn potentially harmful objects into stone... I may even have to expand this to include some of my other years, he thought.
"What sort of stuff, though, Professor Potter?" asked a Hufflepuff girl named Mallory Abbott.
He shrugged. "Anything," he said. And then he remembered some of the creepy things in Grimmauld Place and was struck with an idea. He whispered a spell and her chair suddenly animated and began to gallop across the room. For several moments, she was too stunned to do anything but hold on for dear life. Her enchanted chair had made its way through the warren of chairs and almost all the way across the room before she stopped it.
Silence. And then--
"This is going to be fun," Creevey said gleefully, jabbing his elbow into his neighbor's ribs.
Later, Harry was surprised at how well the impromptu lesson had gone. It had been a real stretch for all of them to think of what was or wasn't appropriate for second years. The students had been learning and having fun. Even Ginny had come out with a truly elegant bit of magic: she'd spent the entire lesson transfiguring objects into little glass balls, and he'd had no idea what she was doing, but hadn't wanted to ask. He examined it carefully; the little balls looked like eyes. His own eyes were getting heavy--
Once he realized that she had placed a Compulsion Charm and a Sleeping Charm on them, he thrust the bowl away, quite impressed. It wasn't so much that it had to be countered with magic, but the second years would have to figure out what was happening. The eyes were even different colors: emerald green, dark brown, and even a pale blue that reminded him of Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye that saw everything.
He gave her an 'O' for the lesson.
An hour later, Harry stared around at his second years. Stuart Method, Elizabeth Barnett, and Aisling Powell whispered together in the back of the room. Every once in a while they would look up at him, as though checking to make sure he couldn't hear them. They were another trio of Gryffindors who were obviously close friends; sometimes he watched them and missed Ron and Hermione so much that it was a constant stomach ache. A part of him wanted to contact Remus again, and get another update -- this time a more complete one -- but he dreaded it at the same time.
"Professor?" Madison McCarin said uncertainly.
"Er -- sorry," he said sheepishly. "We're doing something different today... in honor of Halloween, the seventh year students have created a sort of obstacle course for you."
"What kind of obstacle course?" Aisling Powell asked suspiciously.
"Nothing too difficult," he promised. He remembered the third year test that Remus had set for them; it was far easier than that. There was renewed whispering among the three Gryffindors, and he briefly considered teaching them Muffliato, though that might get him in trouble with McGonagall. He supposed he ought to set an example, and not teach the students subversive spells. He was a professor, and not the leader of the Defense Association.
At the end of the lesson, he patted himself on the back for a good idea. Ginny's enchanted eyeballs had been the most difficult thing that they'd come up against. Nearly all of them had fallen completely asleep and had to be jolted awake by another one of the students (Harry decided to let them work it out for themselves). And he was already planning on a better version, one that could be integrated into all of his classes. You'll start turning into Hermione if you're not careful, he told himself. It's a sure sign of worry when you're using phrases like 'integrated into all classes'.
The success of the classes bolstered him through the rest of the day, but by the time the setting sun filtered through the windows in Harry's quarters, he was feeling nervous again. It's just Hagrid, he told himself. He had thrown himself across his bed, and he still wore his teaching robes and shoes. But this did not help; if anything it made it worse. But before he could change his mind and decide to wait another day (or three, or possibly even several months), he swung his legs off the bed and propelled himself out of his bedroom. He did not even pause in his sitting room, but opened the door that led to his office.
As he headed out into the main corridor, he was struck with an idea borne of both hunger and self-preservation. "Kreacher!" he called, and it seemed as though the words were barely out of his mouth before Kreacher appeared with a loud popping noise. He was still quite ugly, but he was very clean, and he eyed Harry with a strange mixture of concern, exasperation, and pity. Sometimes, being Kreacher's master was like being the nephew of a crotchety old busybody.
"I need some food, Kreacher, if you don't mind," Harry said quickly, before the elf could begin to lecture him. He hadn't actually seen Kreacher for several weeks, though the elf cleaned his quarters.
"Why isn't Master dining with the rest of the professors?" Kreacher asked suspiciously. Remus' little talk hadn't been the only thing that motivated Harry to take the post at Hogwarts. The elf had taken to making large dinners in the hopes that Harry would not want to waste all that food, and would invite people over to share it with him.
"I need food for two," Harry said. "Actually"--he thought of Hagrid's large size--"make that four."
The elf's already over-sized eyes widened until it looked like his entire face was taken over. "Master is having a little joke?"
"No joke," Harry replied firmly. "Don't go all out. Just sandwiches."
Kreacher deflated. "Kreacher lives to serve Master," he said balefully. "Though Kreacher would like to use his skills, yes he would," the elf added under his breath, though Harry was close enough to hear him perfectly.
"I'll be down at Hagrid's," said Harry. "You remember where that is?"
"Master acts as though Kreacher is a stupid elf," he muttered.
"Sorry," said Harry, already walking away. A part of him hoped that Hagrid would be too angry to see him, though he knew that wouldn't be the case. Well, he was fairly certain Hagrid wouldn't throw him out. His feelings would be injured, though, which was worse than anger. The coil of anxiety tightened even further as he exited the doors and made his way down the sloping path toward Hagrid's hut. A curl of smoke issued from the chimney. Harry knew it would be warm and homey inside; it would drive away the chill.
All too soon, he stood in front of the door, a brisk wind making it difficult to procrastinate too much. The cold had him rapping on the wood sooner than he might've had it been warm. There was a murmur of voices and Harry felt a swooping dread that was immediately replaced by relief. Hagrid had a visitor; Harry might be able to put off this meeting for another few days without feeling like he'd been a coward. This really is--
The door opened, and Ginny's bright red head poked out. Her face was pale and grew even paler upon sight of him. She took a deep breath and turned to look over her shoulder. "Hagrid, it's Professor Potter."
There was a long pause. "Well, don' leave 'im out in the cold, then," Hagrid said gruffly.
HPHPHPHPHPHP
30 October 2001
It was the day they'd gone to Hogsmeade, and Ginny made her excuses and left Demelza and Finch to their own devices -- the pair were holding hands and it made her feel very lonely all of a sudden. I didn't even have to walk back with them, Ginny thought. She'd seen a figure on a broomstick and had known it was Harry. He'd flown in circles high above them all the way from Hogsmeade to the castle; Finch had commented on it.
And despite that and the fact that the day had gone relatively well, Ginny found herself longing for the quiet of her little partitioned off room in the dorm. Even Arnold seemed tired and morose, and her sense of relief heightened with every flight of stairs and corridor that drew her closer to Gryffindor Tower. I'm going to--
"Ginny."
She stiffened and turned. It was Harry; he must have taken one of the shortcuts for which he was famous because he leaned up against the wall next to his Firebolt, and it was obvious that he'd been waiting for a little while. For her. Her heart thumped in her chest and all she could do was stare.
He gestured helplessly with one hand. "This is stupid," he said. "We're being stupid."
Ginny found that she agreed, and had for quite some time. "Yes," she nodded. "We're in Gryffindor. We're supposed to be brave." And then, because it seemed like she couldn't stop herself, "I want to be brave again."
"Me too," he said. His voice was wry. "How d'you think it feels to be saviour of the wizarding world, and yet know you're a bleeding coward..." Ginny disagreed. She'd seen him fighting Death Eaters; his back had been straight and his shoulders square. And sometimes Ginny tried to emulate how she'd seen him because it helped beat back the fear. But even brave people were allowed to be in a lot of pain.
He stepped closer to her. "Is that what you are, Gin? In a lot of pain?"
She shook her head. "Not a lot," she said. "You help."
His face twisted up in a grimace. "It's my fault--"
"No, it isn't," she said forcefully. She'd almost shouted and it surprised both of them. "Don't you dare blame yourself. Is that why you've stayed away? Because you blame yourself? You rescued me!" It was freeing, saying these words. Her throat hadn't stopped up, the words hadn't dried, and she was finally allowing herself to be honest. It hurt to talk about it, but it was a cleansing sort of pain.
He reached out and touched her. Ginny leaned into the touch. The ripples of dread that undulated across her skin whenever someone touched her never came. He threaded his fingers through her hair, lightly stroking. "You were the sweetest part of my life, and if you'd never met me..."
"I like knowing you," she said.
And he leaned down and his lips were so close to hers--
Ginny sat straight up in bed, heart pounding. She squeezed her eyes shut and Harry's face swam in her vision as though she was still dreaming. Of course it was a dream,she told herself sternly. Flopping back on the bed, she allowed herself to relive it. It had been a very long time since she'd dreamt of Harry kissing her (before Malfoy Manor, it had happened with somewhat embarrassing regularity), and it was such a departure from the normal nightmares, that she almost forgot that it had been three years, four months, and seventeen days since Malfoy Manor.
But the warmth from the dream faded and was replaced by the familiar tightening in her chest. She rolled over, reaching for Arnold. The pygmy puff was still sleeping, tangled up in her hair. She blinked blearily at him; he seemed to be breathing rather rapidly, as though he was having a nightmare. Frowning, she stared at him for a while.
Arnold continued to sleep while she dressed and prepared for an hour or so of flying, and he made a sleepy murmur when she tucked him in his bag to take down to the Quidditch pitch, but soon little snores were once more issuing from him. Ginny listened somewhat anxiously for a rattle or something else to signify that all was not well with Arnold, but other than his slight pant, he only appeared to be more tired than usual. She didn't even stay up in the air as long as she normally did; and was distracted enough to do several moves incorrectly.
She continued to fret over him. Her mild anxiety increased to worry when the pygmy puff only showed vague interest in her food -- she generally had to hold him back from eating bits of sausage or ham or even trying to drink her pumpkin juice. "What's wrong, Arnold?" she whispered. "Are you ill?"
"Talking to your pygmy puff again?" Pollux Sennet stopped behind her, and Ginny cursed her own timing and lack of observation. He spoke loudly, and Ginny saw a bunch of heads turning in their direction. Her face burned, and her throat felt very tight. "Don't you think that's a little crazy? Or are you--"
"Shut the fuck up, Sennet," Finch stood up, Demelza right behind him. Ginny wanted to hex the bastard again, but her limbs felt leaden, as though the weight of all the eyes on her was a physical thing. "Just keep on walking, you arsehole."
Sennet made a noise of disgust, but he moved away. Apparently he was not willing to risk the wrath of the Gryffindor Quidditch team just to taunt her. With fingers that trembled a little, she tried to coax Arnold to eat a bite of her bacon. His little tongue darted out and licked it. The backs of her eyes stung. Get a hold of yourself, she thought fiercely. You are not going to cry in front of everyone. She wanted to thank them, but she didn't want to acknowledge what had just happened.
Mercifully, everyone turned their attention back to their food, and Finch and Demelza began to talk loudly about the match coming up against Slytherin, and everyone else offered their own opinions, all determinedly not mentioning what happened.
Ginny escaped the Great Hall as quickly as she could, wishing that the feelings she'd had upon waking up could have lasted a bit longer.
The rest of the day passed in a haze of increasing worry over Arnold (though she did spare a thought to wonder at Harry's increase in teaching skills), and by the time her pygmy puff had refused some of his treats, she decided that she needed to take him to someone who had experience with the care of magical creatures: Hagrid. She hoped Arnold was all right with Hagrid examining him; she knew how sensitive he could get around strangers. But he'd been so listless all day, and short of having Fred and George come out and take a look at him, Hagrid was the best person for the job.
Still, she kept up a stream of soothing chatter (after glancing around to make sure she was alone and no one could hear her talking to him) all the way to Hagrid's. "It's going to be all right, Arnold," she said. "Hagrid will know what to do. He's very big, you know, and it might be a little scary. But he's also quite gentle; he won't hurt you. I promise." Arnold seemed to like listening to her voice.
Hagrid spared her the necessity of having to gather her courage by already being outside, putting the finishing touches on the giant pumpkins that would decorate Hogwarts for Halloween. One of them was about ten times the size of Ginny, and she felt a measure of awe while standing next to it. She ran her hand over it, still not quite able to believe that pumpkins could grow that big.
"Er, Hagrid?" she said. He didn't hear her. "Hagrid? Hagrid!"
He turned around and hid the pink umbrella he'd been using behind his back. "Hi there, Ginny!" he said. "How're you doin'?"
"I'm fine," she said. "But Arnold isn't."
"What's wrong with 'im?" he asked, coming closer. Ginny forced herself to stay where she was, reminding herself what she'd told Arnold: Hagrid was very big, but he was also very gentle.
"I don't know," Ginny admitted. "That's why I came to you. He's been lethargic all day." If anything happens to Arnold...
Hagrid peered at him, black eyes intent. A cold wind blew Ginny's hair in her face and Arnold shivered a little.
"Let's go inside where it's warmer," Hagrid suggested. "An' I'll be able to see 'im better."
Hagrid's hut was cozy; a fire already popped and crackled in the hearth. Fang gnawed on a bone at the foot of Hagrid's bed, and a stew (at least Ginny thought it was a stew, it smelled quite noxious) bubbled on the stove. It hadn't changed much when she'd first started coming here in the middle of her first year -- around the time that Harry had completed the second task and had gained a "moral victory" by ensuring both Ron and Gabrielle Delacour came safely out of the lake. She'd been so jealous of Gabrielle Delacour; she'd wanted to be the one that Harry had rescued, completely unaware of what something like that actually meant.
"Just lay Arnold on the table," Hagrid said, interrupting her thoughts. "And gimme some time to figure it out."
Ginny obeyed him, and then sat back and watched while Hagrid poked and prodded Arnold, who only made tiny, half-hearted protests at being so handled.
"I haven't -- haven't seen you at meals for a while," said Ginny, just to break the silence.
Moments passed, and Ginny was just about to decide that Hagrid hadn't heard her when he said, gruffly, "Think there's someone who don' want me there." Ginny didn't really know what to say, and when it became obvious that she wasn't going to respond, he continued. "Kep' tryin' to talk to 'im, but he kep' runnin' off."
He's been doing that for several years, Ginny thought. She couldn't exactly blame him.
"Didn' want to--"
But Hagrid was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door. Arnold stirred vaguely. "I'll get it," Ginny offered. She stepped over to the door, pulled it open, and stuck her head out to find Harry standing on the stoop, looking cold and slightly ill, as though his stomach hurt. Pushing away the paranoid idea that the universe was actually out to get her, she took a deep breath and said over her shoulder, "Hagrid, it's Professor Potter. He's here." In the wake of her dream, it was probably best to keep all the barriers in place.
"Well, don' leave 'im out in the cold, then," Hagrid said. Ginny could practically feel his astonishment.
"Er, come in," Ginny said, and pulled the door open wider. She fled back over to the table, where Arnold waited for her. She was a little surprised when Harry followed her in and closed the door.
"What happened to Arnold?" he asked, surprised.
"Tryin' to figure that out," Hagrid said. "Think I know what it is, but I wanna make sure."
"I thought he seemed a bit out of sorts today," Harry said. Ginny felt a little bit of warmth in her belly at the idea of Harry noticing Arnold's lethargy. For some inexplicable reason, this made her blush, and she ducked her head to hide it. She watched out of the corner of her eye how he shuffled his feet--
CRACK!
Arnold trilled and both Ginny and Hagrid jumped.
"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly. Ginny's eyes widened when she noticed the elf. "Is that Kreacher?" she gaped. The last time she'd seen the ugly elf, he'd been screaming at the blood traitor Weasleys to get out of Grimmauld Place. It appeared to be the same one, but when he set a plate piled high with delicious looking sandwiches on the table and bowed low, she grew even more uncertain.
"Miss Wheezy remembers!" the elf said, as though he had not called her an unnatural, red-headed bitch the first time he'd seen her.
"He's gone through some behaviour modification," Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Obviously," Ginny muttered.
"What the ruddy hell is going on?" Hagrid asked, completely bewildered.
"Master has asked Kreacher to bring sandwiches," Kreacher said. "Kreacher is pleased that Master has people to share them with. Sometimes Kreacher prepares huge meals in hopes--"
But Harry had stuck a hand over Kreacher's mouth. "And sometimes Kreacher talks too much," he said darkly. "Thanks for the sandwiches, Kreacher. Go on home now." And the elf, unable to disobey a direct order, disappeared. Harry looked quite uncomfortable, even embarrassed, by the elf's words, and Ginny felt a little pang when she realized how lonely he must have been if even an elf like Kreacher had noticed it.
"These look real good," Hagrid said, finally breaking the silence. "Just gimme another minute with Arnold and I'll get us some plates an' stuff."
"Er, all right," Harry said.
"Arnold is going to be all right," Hagrid announced. Ginny felt a wave of relief that started from her head and went down to her toes. Hagrid's beard twitched, as though he was making a mighty effort not to smile.
She felt a flash of indignation. Why would he--
"That Fred and George," he shook his massive, shaggy head, chuckling. "Arnold isn't ill, or anythin'. He's goin' through puberty, and I reckon he wants a girlfriend real bad."
"What?" Ginny said blankly.
"He's in heat," Hagrid continued cheerfully.
"But Arnold is a bloke," Harry pointed out. "Isn't he? Isn't that more of a female thing?"
"Mostly, that's the case," Hagrid shrugged. "But there's a species of mouse -- a magical one, o' course, an' some think they were created by an odd wizard a long time ago -- that do things backwards. An' I'll bet Fred an' George used that species to breed the pygmy puffs in the firs' place. Always wondered how they'd done it... those twins... almos' worse than the Marauders, Harry."
Ginny's brow furrowed. "You mean... the lethargy, the lack of eating... Arnold just wants a girlfriend?"
"Isn' that the way it always is? Were he a studen', I'd say he'd be writin' some bad poetry about now," Hagrid asked, beetle-black eyes twinkling madly. "Don' worry, it won' last for more'n a few days. But it'll happen again. It's sorta a cycle, you see."
How like Fred and George to do this!
"Now, how abou' them sandwiches?" Hagrid asked.
Ginny took one and ate it, still bemused. The conversation over the meal was generally kept up by Hagrid, though Harry offered a few contributions ("How is Grawp?" and "You never actually found him a lady friend, did you?"). She was relaxed enough to almost forget who she was with, and was distracted enough by Arnold's unique predicament to not feel too awkward. And it was almost with reluctance that she realized it was fully dark outside and time to go.
"Thanks for the help, Hagrid," she said, standing up.
"You're leaving?" Harry said quickly. She saw a flash of something like panic in his green eyes. "I'll walk with you. You shouldn't -- it's dark."
"Are the two of you goin' to the feast tomorrow?" Hagrid asked suddenly.
"Er," said Harry.
"Um," said Ginny.
Hagrid took this as a no. "Thought I might like to have a quiet Halloween," he said. "Jus' me an' Fang. But if either of you would rather be here than up at the castle..."
Ginny shocked herself by agreeing. Harry assented at nearly the same time, and his face revealed his own surprise. Hagrid looked extremely satisfied, though he didn't mention it. Probably a good thing, if he wants Harry to come, Ginny thought. "I do need to go," she said. "Thank you for helping me with Arnold, Hagrid--"
"I'm glad it ain't anythin' serious," Hagrid said.
"Good night," Harry said quietly, and held the door open for her.
They walked in silence up the hill. Ginny suddenly remembered what Fred and George had said. Harry had contacted Remus Lupin, asking after Ron and Hermione. He must miss them a lot, she thought, feeling slightly sad for him, that he hadn't been able to go home after the war. She understood why he hadn't, but she could see the toll three years of being alone had taken on him.
I should tell him about them, she thought. She should tell him that Bill and Fleur had a baby and Charlie had lost a finger to a dragon (it had been a Hungarian Horntail). She wondered if he knew that Percy had come back to the family, and was now probably the most fiercely loyal of all of them. He might like to know. But the 'might' made her throat close up and no words emerge, and when he said goodnight at the doors, she let him go without a word.
HPHPHPHPHPHP
31 October 2001
Harry met Ginny at the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall feeling more than a little apprehensive. Why did I agree to do this again? he kept asking himself incredulously. Of all the people to spend Halloween night with, he chose Hagrid andGinny? If someone had told him this three months ago, he would never have believed it. If Remus or Dora or Kingsley (those he kept in contact with) had tried to orchestrate these events, he would have run in the opposite direction. So why am I doing this?
Despite the fact that he had thought about this pretty much all day, he was no closer to an answer, other than the fact that the small meal the three of them had shared had been the first dinner in a very long time that Harry hadn't felt lonely.
The hall was empty; everyone else was already enjoying the feast. Harry could hear a low roll of thunder -- the students' voices -- from behind the closed doors of the Great Hall. The moment they met promised to be very awkward; Harry still had no idea where to look when he spoke to her, nor did he know exactly what to say. Conversational starters like Hi. Can you believe we're doing this? Have we gone insane or what? or Are you as confused as I am? seemed inappropriate.
Arnold, however, made everything far more manageable. He was in his little bag that Ginny sometimes carried him in, and he was making the most pitiful moans Harry had ever heard.
"He's been doing it all day," said Ginny, guessing where his thoughts had gone. She sounded frustrated and a little annoyed. "I want to put a Silencing Charm on him, but after I owled Fred and George to tell them what was going on, they messaged me, telling me to let him 'express himself.'"
Harry hid a grin behind his hand. The idea of Ginny having a male pygmy puff experiencing puberty and freakish hormones struck him as so absurd that it had made him laugh all day. I wonder if Fred and George did it on purpose, he thought. He couldn't imagine that they hadn't known what they were getting into with a magically altered species of mice. Not for the first time, he realized that giving Fred and George the thousand galleon winnings from the Triwizard tournament had been one of his most sound financial decisions.
"Are you ready to go?" Ginny asked. There was a note in her voice that told him that she would be more than willing to stay behind and go back up to her dormitory if Harry decided that going wasn't a good idea. This, more than anything, made him open the doors and lead the way down the slope to Hagrid's hut. He didn't like the idea of her being alone for the night; not when everyone else was having a great deal of fun. Not that my company is going to be fun for her, he thought.
"So," he said, clearing his throat. He tipped his head back and looked at the stars stretched across the canvas of the night sky. "Arnold has it pretty bad, then?"
"Yes," said Ginny after a pause. "Demelza said that he sounds like her cat. This was even before she found out his particular problem."
Hagrid's hut came into view. Harry stopped; gaping. The largest bonfire he'd ever seen blazed. A small, shadowy figure beside it (Hagrid) kept struggling with a huge shadowy figure (Grawp). "I guess we'll be outside tonight," Harry said unnecessarily. Ginny made a noncommittal answer in the back of her throat, and they continued on.
"Is that Harry an' Ginny an' Arnold?" Hagrid called. Arnold moaned and wiggled around in his bag as if in reply.
"It's us," Harry confirmed.
"Grab yerselves a butterbeer and find a seat," Hagrid ordered.
The tension in his shoulders relaxed a little. He'd been surprised last night when Hagrid had not mentioned, by word or gesture, Voldemort, Malfoy Manor, and Harry's long absence. Harry supposed that Ginny's presence had something to do with it; she acted like a buffer, and Harry was grateful. And it appeared as though it would work tonight as well. For the next hour, Hagrid sang songs and entertained them with chatter about the various magical creatures living in the forest.
"Remind me never to go into the Forbidden Forest again," said Harry, after a particularly harrowing tale about an acromantula and a hippogryff, and Hagrid's timely intervention. Arnold warbled. "See? Even Arnold agrees."
"Now, Harry," Hagrid said patiently. "Ye know that ye just gotta treat 'em with respect."
"I have so much respect for them that I'll just stay away, thanks," said Harry. "Seeing a dead acromantula was enough for me. I'd never, ever want to see a live one."
"You must've inherited your fear of spiders from Ron," Ginny murmured.
"I'm not afraid of spiders," Harry said defensively. But the mention of Ron was enough to unsettle him, and he was silent. The other two didn't speak either, but sipped their drinks. The fire continued to burn without any sort of fuel, and Grawp had begun to harmonize with Arnold's girlfriend-seeking trills. Merlin, I hope Grawp never goes into heat, Harry thought with a shudder, trying to force his thoughts away from dangerous territory.
The minutes passed. Then Ginny took a deep breath, as though girding herself for something, gave him a fleeting look, and then turned to Hagrid. "Did I tell you how well Fred and George are doing?" she asked. "They've bought a new shop in Hogsmeade--"
"Remind me to warn Flitwick," Hagrid interrupted comfortably.
"George is dating Angelina--"
"Angelina?" Harry asked incredulously before he could stop himself. "Wasn't Fred dating her?"
She waved her hand. "They were never serious. Angelina likes to tease Fred that she'd thought she was saying yes to George... but they seem pretty happy so far. Mum despairs that Fred will never get married..."
And Harry listened as Ginny spoke about her family. He suspected she knew how much he missed them, though he didn't know how... was it that obvious? But he was grateful for the gift she gave him. Just a few weeks ago he'd wanted to run away from hearing about Ron and Hermione's life. But tonight it felt right. She gave him a healthy amount of information about Bill and Fleur, her mum, Ron and Hermione, Fred and George, and Charlie and Percy. He sat back on his hands, gazed up at the sky, and listened, drinking it in.