A/N: I'm going to try to post shorter chapters but more often in the next week or two; it seems to fit the way the plot is moving. Although this chapter ended up longer than I thought it would. Hope you enjoy! Also, I really appreciate all the reviews - I mean to respond to them soon, but know that they all make me think - and that includes you, Scrappy8!
Harry grinned over his mug of ale at Adam Ramsey. The Chaser's eyes were streaming tears and bright orange and black smoke was pouring out of his ears. He batted ineffectually at it and grabbed blindly at the table until Harry took pity on him and handed the man his own drink.
"I told you it was a bad idea to order something called 'Volcanic Ash,' "he said mildly, watching Adam drain his mug. "And you owe me another drink. Something that won't cause pyrotechnics, please."
Adam sputtered for a moment and then caught his breath. "Noted," he gasped. "But you need something stronger than this. It's practically water." He waved over their server. "Two Firewhiskeys please. Actually, make Harry's a double. The good stuff; he's entirely too sober."
Harry appreciated that the server waited for his nod of approval of the order before heading back to the bar. He wasn't planning to get completely pissed, but some relaxation was definitely in order. The match today had been tough, and their victory hard won. It was nice to end their road trip on a high note and even nicer to know that he'd be sleeping in his own flat that night. Adam seemed to guess what was on his mind.
"Admit it, you're going to miss having me as a roommate," he said with a grin. An errant puff of smoke floated out of one ear and he started coughing. Harry grinned back.
"You snore like the Hogwarts Express, mate," he said. "Even with a silencing charm. Trust me, I'm quite thrilled to have a room all to myself tonight."
"Completely to yourself, Potter?" Dam was suddenly there at the table. He plopped down into a chair, a smirk on his face. "I find that rather hard to believe." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Harry laughed. "It's not my hazing night, Clarke. I don't have anything to prove anymore." He waved his wand and Dam's nearly full glass of Firewhiskey floated across the table. Harry plucked it out of the air and downed it in one go. "Delicious," he said, smacking his lips.
"Hmmpf," said Dam. He looked around the bar. "When's Ginny getting here?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know if she is. Ron should be coming though; I sent him a Patronus. Hopefully he'll convince Hermione to come with him." He grinned. "Ron's loosened her up a lot, but she can always use a bit more." He watched the server coming towards their table, two drinks floating carefully in front of her. Dam gave her a small nod and she waved her wand, turning the two drinks into four. He looked at his captain. "Mine was already a double," he said. "Just how drunk do you want me to get? Or are those both for you?"
"We'll share," said Dam amiably. "I wouldn't want you to get so pissed you're a, ahem, disappointment later." He gestured rather purposefully at Harry's waist.
"Aww, Dam, I didn't know you were expecting that kind of night," Harry teased. He'd become a lot more comfortable bantering with the team in the past few weeks. Some of the extra attention from being Harry Potter had died down and it seemed that even the craziness of those Bellows sisters continually trying to sneak into the building was being managed. Ron and Ginny were keeping on top of things there so the team didn't have to worry, and Harry was grateful. He should probably thank Ginny at some point, he mused. Ron didn't need to hear it, he knew, but Ginny'd probably get offended or something, if Harry didn't acknowledge all the work she was doing to protect the building. The server arrived at their table and he grabbed the new drink out of the air, frowning to himself for a moment as a thought floated just at the edge of his consciousness. Something else he needed to do, besides thank Ginny.
Dam snorted, and the thought evaporated. "You're not my type, Potter," he said, slapping Harry a bit too hard on the back. "But it's been a long road trip. I thought you'd want to be in top form for . . ." he trailed off, glancing quickly at Adam and the server before dropping his voice. "For your company later." He made another suggestive gesture.
Harry sighed. The man never gave up. He gave the server an apologetic smile. "Please excuse my friend. It usually takes several more drinks to get him to this state. I promise, I'm only here for a couple of pints with my mates. I'll behave."
The server smiled and leaned over their table, handing Dam and Adam their whiskey. "Ahh, I don't mind, I'm used to it," she said. She pointed to the fourth drink she'd brought over. "Now, who gets this one?"
Harry raised his glass. "You have it," he said with a grin. "Count of three, we'll all do a shot."
"As long as you're paying for it," said the server with a laugh.
Harry'd forgotten Adam had ordered him a double. The warmth spread though him more quickly than usual and he blew out a puff of smoke, managing to stifle the urge to cough. The server was handling her shot well too, Harry noticed, although Adam's ears seemed to be burning again. He leaned towards the woman. "Clearly, some of us hold our whiskey better than others," he said. "Now Dam here, he's taught me almost everything I know. About drinking and witches, at least." He turned towards Dam. "Isn't that right? You've certainly hazed me enough at least." He smiled at the server again. "Come on, admit it. Who has Dam asked you to bring a drink to, pretending it's from me? I want to be prepared when a strange witch throws herself into my lap." He nudged Dam. "I'm onto you, you know."
Dam gave him an odd look and Harry wondered if he was actually more drunk than he'd thought. He didn't think so; he'd only had part of a pint of ale and the double Firewhiskey, but he couldn't deny that he was feeling good. He nodded at the server. "I'll have another, but make it a single this time. And bring drinks for the two of them too," he nodded at Dam and Adam. The server left and Harry stretched in his seat.
"Are you sure Ginny isn't coming, Harry?" Dam was still looking at him rather seriously. The knut dropped. He shook his head at Dam.
"I don't think this is really Ginny's scene. You know, since she's so quick to tell us how we all drive her crazy." Harry wasn't sure, but he thought maybe that Dam still fancied Ginny. They'd kissed – and maybe more – Harry knew, but she'd assured him it hadn't gone much farther than that. Harry would never admit to Dam that he'd harbored his own crush on Ginny, of course. Still did, if he was being completely honest with himself. It wouldn't ever go anywhere, but some little part of Harry wasn't ready to give it up, despite how much Ginny plainly considered him an extension of her brothers. Living down the hall from her hadn't changed things much, but he'd at least been able to help manage some of the nuisances from those fan-witches. Ginny had appreciated that, Harry was pretty sure.
"Ahh, right," Dam finally said. Some of the twinkle had returned to his eyes. "She likes places that are more private, Ginny does?" He lifted the new drink the server had just deposited and lowered his voice. "Kind of like you, hmm?" He gave Harry an expectant look.
Harry was saved from answering Dam's question when Ron appeared and threw himself into the empty seat at the table. "How are things here?" he asked loudly over the din of the pub. "Hermione's just getting our drinks now. She and . . . Ginny are, I mean." Ron gave Harry his own rather odd look and Harry considered passing over his drink. Maybe he and Hermione'd had a fight before they arrived.
"Oho, so she did come, didn't she?" Dam grinned. "Harry here was trying to convince me that Ginny would rather be someplace quieter than the pub. More private, if you know what I mean." He nudged Ron. "That's not a problem is it? Thinking about your sister and . . . ouch!" Dam was suddenly rubbing his elbow and looking at a widening pool of the firewhiskey he'd just spilled spread over the table. "I think something stung me!" he said, looking around. He looked at Harry. "Did you see anything flying around in here?"
"Probably one of those alebees, they like pubs, I've heard," said Ron.
"Okay, then," said Dam. He looked around. "What were we talking about?"
Harry didn't feel like reminding Dam that he'd been talking about Ginny; his own chances might be slim but he certainly didn't need to help the bloke get closer to her. He shrugged. "I can't remember," he said.
"Neither can I," laughed Dam. He turned to Ron. "What were we talking about?"
"Alebees," said Ron firmly. "I think there's an infestation here." He looked back at the bar and Harry saw Hermione and Ginny coming towards them with a number of drinks. "I'll mention it to the owner."
"Mention what to the owner?" asked Hermione. She pulled up a couple of chairs and she and Ginny sat down. "We got you lot some Firewhiskey," she said, distributing glasses around the table. Adam and Dam made sounds of thanks. Adam downed his and then lurched to his feet.
"Loo," he muttered, departing in that direction.
Harry looked at the two nearly full glasses in front of him. Apparently he'd be getting rather pissed tonight after all. He lifted one of his glasses. "To victories tonight and no games tomorrow," he said with a laugh.
"Hear hear," answered Dam, clinking his glass against Harry's.
Harry emptied on of his glasses and sighed. "The Ogden's Reserve is so smooth," he said. He nudged Ron. "Go on, why aren't you drinking yet? You have some catching up to do. You too, Hermione." He frowned at them. "Why so serious? Did the two of you get in a fight before you got here?" He turned to Ginny. "Did they, Ginny? Get in a fight? Cause if so, I'd think all three of you probably need a drink." He pushed his other glass across the table. "One of you have mine." None of the three made a move to take the drink and dimly, Harry wondered why. Before he could work through the layers of drink to figure anything out, Dam interrupted.
"Had enough already, Potter? he smirked. "Surely you can manage another drink." He leaned forward and pulled the glass back in front of Harry.
"Only if you promise no eight a.m. surprise workout," said Harry. He took a sip of the liquor and then turned in his seat. "You'll come take care of me again if I need it, won't you Ginny? I promise not to vomit on your shoes or anything." He leaned over and nudged her hand playfully, the alcohol making him bold. "Please?
Ginny's answering expression was more irritated than normal and even in his buzzed state, Harry thought maybe he'd done something wrong. Ginny didn't like the touch; probably thought he was teasing her. He pulled his hand away. "Sorry," he said.
Ginny gave him a strange look; if Harry had been more sober he likely would have wondered what had gotten into everyone, but his mind was pleasantly fuzzy. He shrugged instead. "I mean, I won't touch you again."
Ginny shook her head. "That's not . . . I mean . . ." She looked swiftly at Hermione, then Ron. She said something so quietly that Harry wasn't sure what it was. I can't was what he thought he heard, but that didn't make any sense. As usual, he looked Ron for a clue about how to act around his sister. Ron looked momentarily grim but when he saw Harry looking at him his face relaxed and he took a big sip of his firewhiskey. Ginny jumped to her feet.
"I . . . I'm . . . loo," she stuttered. Her eyes found Harry's for a brief second and then shuttered; she backed away from the table before turning around and heading swiftly towards the back of the pub. Hermione got up too.
"I uhh, I need to go as well," she said. She touched Ron's arm before she left and he nodded.
"Witches," he said to Harry and Dam. Harry thought he looked about to say something else but he picked up his firewhiskey instead.
Harry took another sip of his drink too. "Kinda glad I don't have that complication, if they're going to behave like that," he said. It was a variation on a comment he made every so often around Ron and his family to keep his secret crush firmly hidden. Normally the statement was followed by joking agreement from whichever of the Weasley brothers was currently in a relationship, indignant disapproval from their girlfriends, and a tutting from Molly, who seemed perpetually concerned about the state of Harry's singleness. But Ron missed the moment to add his own lament about witches and relationships. Instead, he gave Harry a weak smile.
"Yeah, lucky," he said, glancing back towards the back of the loo where Hermione and Ginny could no longer be seen.
HPHPHPHPHP
Ginny wasn't sure if her tears were from worry, anger, or sadness but it didn't really matter. By the time she pushed open the door to the woman's loo she could no long keep them from sliding down her cheeks. Two women standing at the sinks looked at her curiously.
"Are you okay?" one of them asked tentatively.
Ginny imagined the look on her face was not one for inviting confidences. Still, she gave the other witch a watery smile. "Not really, no," she said. "But it's complicated."
The other woman nodded knowingly. "Blokes always are," she said.
Ginny was saved from having to explain that in this case, things were particularly complicated by the arrival of Hermione in the loo. She was trying to hide her distress, Ginny could tell, but it was obvious that Harry's behavior had concerned her more than she had expected. She gave Ginny a hug. "We're going to figure this out," she said bracingly.
"Want me to hex someone?" The second witch by the sinks twirled her wand in her hand. "I'm particularly good at shrinking a bloke's bits."
"He's already been hexed, that's the trouble," she said. Somehow, pretending that this was an ordinary relationship problem steadied her. "But thanks for the offer. I'd rather he keep his bits intact until I have a chance to . . . you know."
"Use them, yes," said the witch. Her eyes lit up at the prospect of gossip and heartache that didn't involve her. "Sounds like a love triangle; does he have another girlfriend? Did she do the hexing?" She and her friend leaned in.
"Oh," said Ginny. She couldn't make her mind work properly. "Umm, not exactly. It was more like . . ."
"The other witch is jealous," broke in Hermione quickly. "Har. . . he is really only interested in Ginny, but this other witch won't leave him alone." She looked pointedly at Ginny. "Isn't that right?"
"Right," said Ginny. "I know he loves me; he's told me, many times. And shown me too." It felt very important to say the words out loud, as if letting other people know could somehow make them true. The two witches made sounds of approval; this was the kind of information they wanted. "What kind of hex?" asked one.
Ginny didn't care about caution. The shock of Harry's behavior was too raw to keep inside. "One that made him forget me," she said. "I mean, he knows who I am, but he doesn't remember that he . . . that he loves me." Her tears, which had stopped, threatened again and Ginny bit the inside of her lip. She wasn't usually a crier, which made the emotion even harder to control.
"Oooh," said the witches, almost in unison. "Like that potion you can buy in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" asked one of them? "The Temporary Memory Meddler? My mum uses it on my dad sometimes, to get him to forget how many Galleons she spends on new robes."
Ginny hadn't heard of that particular product; still, she knew that wasn't what was wrong with Harry. The twins' pranks and jokes were all short-lived and ultimately innocuous. There was nothing innocent about what had been done here. She shrugged anyway. "Something like that," she said. "But it's lasting longer."
"Ahem, not that much longer," said Hermione. She shot Ginny a warning look. "In fact, I bet by the time you get home, the hex will have worn off." She touched Ginny's arm. "Shall we go see?"
Ginny forced her brain to think like an Auror again. "I bet you're right," she said. She took a deep breath. "Actually, we should go talk to Fred and George ourselves. If it's one of their products that's gone a bit wonky, they need to know." She gave what she hoped was a convincing smile at the other witches. "Thanks for listening," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."
One of them waved her hand at Ginny. "Our pleasure," she said. "Hope you get things sorted with your man soon." They left the loo, chattering about men and their unreliability. Hermione looked at Ginny.
"Ron confunded Dam; it should hopefully be enough to keep him from asking Harry about you. He umm, he didn't want to try anything stronger."
Ginny shuddered. "No memory charms," she agreed. "Hopefully Dam's suggestible enough that he'll the Confundus will work."
"I think it will," nodded Hermione. "On Dam at least." She fiddled with the hem of her jumper before looking up at Ginny again.
"I still don't think we should tell Harry anything yet, not until I've done some more research and you've talked to someone at the Aurors – Camilla, did you say?" At Ginny's nod, Hermione nodded at the door. "But we should probably get him home before he . . . does something he'll regret. Later."
Ginny felt her stomach drop. Had Harry been flirting with someone before she'd arrived? Might he be now? If Dam didn't remember that she and Harry were together, maybe he'd already pushed Harry together with some other witch. "And we can't stop him if he is," she said, completing her thought out loud.
Hermione understood. "I'll knock into him and spill my drink if that's the case," she promised. "Tell him Ron needs minding or something." She pushed open the door to the loo.
Back at the table, Ginny was relieved to see only familiar Arrows, plus Ron, sitting there. There were several more empty glasses too, she noted, and by the steam circling lazily around Harry's head, he'd clearly enjoyed several of them. She caught Ron's eye and he gave her a tiny nod, clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Time to go home mate," he said cheerfully, getting to his feet.
Harry looked up at Ron. "Why?" he asked. "It's early. I don' hafta work tomorrow and neither do you." He waved his hands around the table. "No one else's leaving," he said. He nudged Kipling Cross, who taken over Ginny's seat. "You aren't leaving, are ya? Kipling? You staying?"
Kipling nodded. "Lots of cute blokes here," he said contentedly, looking around. He nudged Harry. "Witches too, I think. See any you like?"
Harry started looking carefully around the bar and Ginny felt herself go cold. He was drunker than he'd been when Ginny had left for the loo, that was obvious. She wondered if the memory charm had done something to his ability to hold his alcohol. He wasn't as bad off as at his hazing night, but this was the closest to that she'd ever seen him. She gave Ron a beseeching look. Ron grabbed Harry's arm again.
"We have to uhh, be at the Burrow tomorrow morning," he said. "Family breakfast, remember?" Ginny didn't miss the way Ron winced over that last word and she held her breath. But Harry just shook his head and got slowly to his feet.
"I didn't," he slurred. "Remember." He looked at Ginny. "Did you know?"
Ginny nodded quickly. "I did," she said. "I'm umm, I'm going."
Harry peered more closely at her. "And you want me t' be there?"
Ginny had no idea what Harry meant and she couldn't even ask. She nodded again, blinking back tears. "Yeah," she muttered, turning away so no one at the table could see.
"We should get going now," Hermione's voice was calm. She grabbed Harry's other arm and then waited while he fumbled with his pocket and threw some Galleons on the table.
"On me," he said. "Cause I gotta go to th' Burrow in the morning. Including Ginny." He whispered her name conspiratorily and Ginny clenched her fists at her sides. Was Harry's memory coming back, was that it? It seemed too much to hope for that whoever had enough knowledge to remove such specific memories would have done it for a lark, or had it wear off without first revealing his – or her – purpose. Ron and Hermione were directing him carefully through the bar to the back alley Apparition point and Ginny followed along, thoughts swirling.
They brought Harry back to his and Ron's flat but lay him down on the sofa instead of in his bed. He was nearly passed out but when Ginny covered him with a blanket, he stirred for a moment. "Izzat right Ginny? Are you my friend?"
Ginny struggled with the strong sense of déjà vu Harry's words conjured. Like the last time, she grabbed a bucket and put it by Harry's head and nodding agreeable. "Sure Harry," she said quietly, this time choking back tears. "I'm your friend." She waited for Harry to respond, but he was back asleep, snoring gently. She sighed and lowered herself into a chair. "Now what? He's not getting his memory back, is he?"
"I don't think so, no," said Hermione gently.
"And it's not making him more drunk than normal?"
Ron snorted. "No, that'd be all the Firewhiskey he drank," he said. His expression softened. "His inhibitions were lower though. Because he didn't have a reason to stay sober."
Ginny nodded. "I need to talk to Camilla," she said. "As soon as possible; tomorrow even." She didn't know if there was a protocol for contacting the senior Aurors in case of a problem and she didn't care; Camilla was the only one she trusted right now. But Ron shook his head.
"They're at a weekend retreat, remember?" he asked. "If there's an emergency, we could get in touch with them but everyone would hear about it. I don't think we want to do that, if Harry's not in immediate danger."
"He's not," agreed Hermione. "Although one or more of us is going to need to be with him all weekend so he doesn't get himself into trouble. And Ron's going to need to keep Confunding Dam."
Ginny sighed. "Can I be part of that? I mean, is it okay if I'm around Harry? I really want to . . . I want to be here," she said firmly. No matter how much it hurts.
Hermione looked at her as if guessing her unspoken thought. "I think that will be okay," she said carefully. And if it gets to be a problem, you'll leave, okay?"
Ginny nodded. "Okay," she said quietly. But as far as she was concerned, she'd make sure there was no problem. Leaving Harry alone right now – and his being with Ron and Hemione still felt alone, as far as she was concerned – was unbearable to her. She nodded again. "Okay."