Chapter 30
I realize the last chapter was like 90% dialogue, which I know can be annoying, so I added a holiday present at the beginning of this chapter. I also think this is the fastest I've ever gotten a chapter out; I hope you all enjoy.
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Harry felt strange after his talk with his Defence Professor. It was not normal for people to open up to him as Merlin had and from the look on the man's face, his candid words had surprised him just as much as it had Harry. Yet, it wasn't his gut wrenching story about his father that had put Harry in a strange mood, it was the few words the two had exchanged afterwards. He had never told an adult how he truly felt about his part in this war and Harry couldn't tell if the confession had made him nervous or relieved. But despite the weight of the world pressing down around him, he couldn't help but feel a little lighter.
Maybe it was this strange moment of peace that led Harry to his next thoughts.
The sun had already set and the only light in the living room came from the lights strung up inside the normally depressing home. Molly Weasley had a tendency to brighten up any room she walked into, and she had managed to embody that feeling with her extensive christmas decorations. He sat around with Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny while they played exploding snap and chatted, seeming like normal teenagers even if it was only for a night.
Harry could only smile when their game quickly devolved as soon as Hermione and Ginny banded together to expose the twin's rather obvious cheating. Of course that just led to less obvious cheating and Hermione quickly excused herself from playing to keep a full time watch on the two trouble makers. Fred and George found this all rather amusing and spent most of the night locked in a battle of wits versus imagination with the bushy haired witch. Harry, Ron, and Ginny found themselves paying less and less attention to the game at hand as well due to the fact that watching the other three compete was much more entertaining.
It was only when Hermione noticed that the twins had been enchanting the cards to give only them pairs that she finally shut them down for good, grabbing Fred's wand and pressing it to the card's held boy's hands causing them all to spontaneously combust and leaving the red haired twins a bit singed. The three spectators in the room all found this rather hilarious, mostly because they had never seen the two boys blush as much as they were in that moment.
As his sides began to ache a bit, he glanced over at Ginny who was sat to his left on a moth eaten pillow. Her light red hair was pushed back behind her ears as she started to hiccup from a lack of air. She took a deep breath which calmed her laugh a bit, but did nothing to placate her shining red cheeks. Her light brown eyes shown with joyful tears and her slightly horse laugh suddenly overtook every other sound in the room.
Harry felt a small tug in his abdomen as he watched his best friend's little sister double over in laughter and he felt a small smile tug at his lips.
After they had put the remainder of the cards away, everyone melted back into their own conversations. Harry glanced over to watch Ron and Hermione having a heated debate about the importance (or lack of) muggle studies, especially when it came to pure-blooded witches and wizards. As he watched his two best friends grow increasingly frustrated with one and other he found himself wondering how in hell the two of them hadn't gotten together yet. In the last few months they had been spending time with one and other without Harry more frequently then had been normal in their last four years of school. Of course Harry was beginning to feel rather left out, but half of the time he found that being around the two was a bit more awkward then was worth it. He knew it was not intentional but sometimes he felt very intrusive when he was with the two of them.
Because of this he had been spending more and more time with Neville, Luna, and especially Ginny. He felt like a bit a prat that he had not tried to get to know Neville sooner, but he was happy he was doing so now. However his attentions were starting to drift farther away from his other friends and more to the red haired girl who was exchanging devious whispers with her brothers to his left. The red tinge had not left her pale cheeks whether remaining from the hearty laugh she had earlier or the almost stifling temperature of the room, Harry found he rather liked the look of it.
Growing tired Harry found his eyes drooping a bit as he leaned back against the couch. Half asleep, his thoughts began to wander to a place it never really had before; the future.
His mind suddenly transported him to a porch, sat in the middle of a impossibly green field on a cloudless day. He saw Ron and Hermione next to him laughing with smiles that showed none of the strange rivalry he had seen in the living room only moments ago. Turning his head, he saw Ginny smiling with the same tinge to her cheeks that had quickly become one of his unconscious's favorite sights.
A small group of children ran around in front of the four of them, playing a game of tag. Most of them were a bit non distinct, but he could very clearly see a little boy with a familiar mess of black hair and shining brown eyes. As much as his rational thoughts told him this scene was impossible his unconscious was happy to humor Harry, at least for the night.
As Harry drifted further into sleep and his fantasy turned to dream, he smiled unconsciously at one of the first pleasant dreams he had enjoyed in almost a month. Unbenounced to him, a certain red headed witch was watching this smile carefully and found herself smiling in return.
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Christmas passed without incident and Harry was able to bond more with his godfather and spend time with his second family. As they returned to Hogwarts, Harry found the familiar doubts about his future creeping back into his mind. Although he caught his thoughts drifting to Ginny more and more. Despite his worries however, months passed without incident and in a blink of an eye he found himself walking through the halls one morning watching the month old snow that still covered the grounds slowly begin to melt in the spring sunlight. However despite the lack of traumatizing adventures, the outside world seemed determined to remind Harry of the many issues he had left to solve.
Nearly every day now the Daily Profit would publish a smear piece on known or suspected Order members, at Fudge's paranoid insistence no doubt. It truly bothered Harry how corruptible wizarding media was. Although many members of other houses had begun to give him rather unforgiving stares in the halls, the Gryffindor's stood by his claim of Voldemort's return. Much of the student body had stood by his claims at first but it was becoming suspicious in their minds that it was March and Voldemort had not made a single appearance. Harry knew they were only parroting the words their parents wrote in their letters, but it still hurt that their faith only lasted a few months.
Across the still chilled castle, Merlin was dusting himself off as he stepped out of the fireplace in his office, Arthur following close behind. The situation with the Ministry was becoming more dire by the hour and even the great king was finally beginning the realize the full extent of what was happening in the british wizarding government. Arthur Weasley's position at the ministry was becoming rather precarious as he gained more malicious scrutiny at work and many of the other members were beginning to feel the wrath of the Minister's paranoia as well.
Surprisingly he and Minerva had found a bit of a safe haven at Hogwarts. Almost a month ago a tell all piece on the actions of Dolores Umbridge had been published in the Quibbler, at the insistence of Luna Lovegood he was sure. Although the publication was more obscure, the story had gained infamy very quickly and many prominent wizarding families were very disturbed by what they had read. Merlin never thought he would thank the wealthy families that had corrupted the Ministry for protecting him from the increasing scrutiny that Fudge was trying to place on the wizarding school. He supposed much of this may have come from the scars some parents had seen on their children when they had gone home for the holidays. The Minister could not cover up damning evidence such as the words "I shall not interrupt" that were forever branded on a second year's arm.
The second miracle Merlin had been thanking a higher power for was the fact that his secret identity had somehow remained intact over the last six months. He was sure that many of the parents were aware of who he was, or had at least a vague idea, but most of them were so put out with the Ministry at the moment that they refused to discuss it with anyone outside the school's circle.
Despite this, he knew that someone in the ministry had to be close to finding out the truth. Yet, the Minister of Magic seemed to have created his own downfall. As much as the rest of his underlings may have known rumors about Hogwarts's Defence Professor, at this point it seemed unlikely that anyone would clue him in. His meeting with Fudge a few months ago had proved to him and those working closest with him that the Minister was a very mentally unstable man at the moment.
Still, as Merlin and Arthur walked into the Great Hall the smile was hard to keep off his face. House lines seemed to have continued to break down as students had increasingly chosen to sit at house tables beside their own either to discuss projects or to simply talk to their friends. He had yet to see any Gryffindors at the Slytherin table, or vise versa, but he supposed that he couldn't expect an act of God.
The tensions between students had decreased exponentially since Umbridge had been forcibly removed from the school. There was nothing like a common enemy, and a common secret to bring people together.
Ginny Weasley laughed loudly at something Luna Lovegood had said, and some of the other Ravenclaws found themselves joining in. With the lessening tensions between houses, many Hogwarts students found themselves with more friends then they were used to. Only having around 30 other children in a year, and sometimes only 8 or so in a house sorely limited opportunities for friendship but as those barriers dissolved it became almost strange of a clique of students to consist of only one house.
Harry stood up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table to join Ginny and Luna, and he saw that Neville was not far behind him. Ron and Hermione had gotten lost in another stupid argument once again, and Harry did not have the energy to deal with them at the moment.
He found himself sat in between Ginny and Anthony Goldstein, a Ravenclaw prefect that had been one of the first to sign up for Dumbledore's Army. He found himself much more jovial in his new seat as he bantered with Ginny and listened to Luna describe the newest creature her father had discovered. Ravenclaws had gained a bit of respect for the Quibbler after the story about Umbridge had been posted. Many of the smartest students at Hogwarts were starting to realize how corrupt the wizarding world had become.
"What do you think Harry?" Ginny asked suddenly, drawing Harry out of his thoughts.
"Sorry what?" he replied, a bit sheepishly.
"Do you think it was wrackspurts that stole Luna's trainers?" she asked, giving some of the seventh years at the end of the table a bit of a pointed look.
"I have no idea, but it seems that the wrackspurts seem to unfairly target your things Luna" he said, a bit of a mischievous grin growing on his face.
Luna looked a bit pensive for a moment as she digested Harry's words, "Harry I believe you're right" her face lit up and her dreamy smile grew wide, "I should trap my things to catch one!"
"You know what Luna? That's a great idea" Ginny replied enthusiastically, "stop those little buggers from bothering you so much." She smiled at Harry and the two shared a bit of a chuckle as the seventh years glared at them. After a moment or two, Ginny broke the eye contact to say something to a third year across the table from her, but Harry couldn't miss the slight pink on her face as she turned away. He cursed himself inwardly as his own cheeks heated to match hers. He was suddenly as uncomfortable at the Ravenclaw table as he had been with Ron and Hermione.
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Okay a bit of fluff in this chapter. What can I say it's christmas eve tomorrow, I'm not feeling angst at the moment. I hope you guys enjoyed the way I wrote this one. There was just something about writing Harry this time that didn't give me much room for dialogue. I really like writing Ginny and I'm finally at the point where I can start to include to see her more so I hope y'all will look forward to seeing her more in future chapters.