Standard disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR. Thank you JKR for letting us play with your toys.
I will continue to use the occasional song lyric in the story and will give credit at the time when needed.
This is the fifth book in my Slytherin Harry series.
Book 1: Harry Potter and the Muggle's Daughter
Book 2: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Book 3: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Book 4: Harry Potter and the Blood Traitor's Daughter
Book 5: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
If you haven't read books 1-4 you won't know what's going on. But the bonus is you've got four completed books before you even get to this one!
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE
CHAPTER I
Back to the Start
"Harry!" Hermione cried, crashing into him. Harry staggered back under the onslaught. Beside him, between Luna and Daphne, Ginny was fairing little better.
"Bloody hell, Hermione," Harry laughed. "It's been a week," he teased, though he held her tightly. Truth was he was just as glad to see her. The seven days he'd been at camp and she was in Portugal with her parents were the longest they had been apart since they had met.
"I missed you."
Harry gave her a squeeze and kissed her cheek. "I missed you too." She finally let him go.
"It's about time," Luna complained. She pushed Hermione out of the way. "You really need to learn to share." She grabbed Harry and hugged him tightly. Harry chuckled and returned her hug as well. "Oh, I missed you, Harry."
Harry kissed her cheek as well. "You too, Luna," he sighed. "You too." She let him go and Daphne was next.
"Hi," she said, wrapping her arms around him.
Harry hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek as well. "Hey, Posh." She gave him another squeeze and let go. Harry turned and Neville grabbed him.
"Harry!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I've missed you sooo much."
"Neville!" Harry gushed. Harry pushed him back. "It's been so long." He air kissed the other boy on both cheeks. "Did you change your hair?"
"I just had them trim a quarter inch," Neville said. "Do you like it? I'm not sure though. I might grow it out again."
Harry pretended to ponder. "I think it suits you." The two stopped and glanced at the girls. They glowered at them.
"See if we have hugs for you two ever again," Luna complained. Harry smirked and opened his arms. "Ok," she said brightly and stepped into his embrace.
"Luna!" Ginny, Hermione and Daphne cried.
"What?" she demanded, "he gives wonderful hugs."
"Traitor," Ginny muttered.
"Harumph," Hermione said.
"I prefer, Neville's," Daphne said and stepped in to hug him again.
"Harry!" Hermione cried. The teens had matriculated to the barn loft. They were sat in a big circle with large bags of crisps between them and bottles of coke, root beer and butter beer to quench their thirst.
He glowered at Ginny. "Thanks a lot, Weasley." She grinned impishly and stuck her tongue out at him
"I can't believe you," Hermione went on.
"Hermione," Harry said sharply.
"What?"
"If you want to be mad at someone, yell at the person who warned me I was going to get hit with a bludger when I wasn't and then didn't warn me when I was."
"Wha," Ginny blustered. Her eyes narrowed at him. "Why you, dirty snake." He returned the favor and stuck his tongue out at her.
"You did what!" Hermione demanded.
"Hermione," Luna said. She grabbed her girlfriend's face and turned her.
"What?"
"It's quidditch. And you can see they are both fine."
"But."
"They – Are – Fine."
Harry tried not to smirk. It was nice to see it wasn't just him Luna could corral. "Exactly," he said. Hermione harrumphed but said nothing else. "So how was your trip, Luna?" Harry asked. Did you find any interesting creatures?"
"It was terrible," Luna said. Harry cocked his head. A glance at Hermione told him she'd already heard the story. "There is something wrong with that forest. The only creatures we ever saw were dead." She gave a shudder. "No, I don't want to talk about it." Hermione raised Luna's hand and kissed it.
"I–I'm sorry you had a bad trip," Harry said.
Luna waved him off. "I'm home with all of you now so it doesn't matter." She snuggled into Hermione's side and rested her head on her shoulder. There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Ginny decided to go for a change of subject.
"So are we going to restart our training tomorrow?"
Everyone groaned. "I don't know about you lot, but I spent the last week training my arse off," Harry said.
"I vote we drown her," Daphne said.
"At least let's tie her up and hang her from the rafters," Neville agreed.
"You and what army?" Ginny challenged. The others all exchanged looks. It really was a bad idea to issue a challenge like that. As one the five threw whatever they happened to be eating at her. Ginny grabbed a handful of hay and stuffed it down Harry's shirt.
"You are so dead, Weasley." He made a grab for her. Her wand slid into her hand and she blasted him with a stream of water.
"Arrgh!" Harry cried. "Wand water."
"Get him!" Ginny shouted. The fight was on. Round and round it went. Crisps and hay were ground into a sticky paste made all the worse when Daphne shook up a bottle of coke and sprayed it over the pile.
"You are so dead, Daphne!" Ginny cried. She grabbed her friend by the ankle and upended her. Daphne tried to fend her off but Ginny was the better fighter by far and was very quickly shoving handfuls of sticky wet hay up Daphne's shirt. Daphne was saved when Luna grabbed Ginny's dreads and pulled her off the other girl.
"Hey!"
"Those are exceedingly useful," Luna commented. Ginny grabbed Luna's bra strap; pulled and let it go. "Yeow!" Luna wailed. "That hurt!"
"Well so did pulling my hair!"
"WHAT," a loud voice stopped them in their tracks, "is going on?" Without a second's hesitation, five teens pointed at Ginny. She pointed at Harry.
"Hey," she complained. Harry's mum glowered at them.
"At least it wasn't in the house," Harry offered.
She zeroed in on him. "Seriously?"
Harry shrugged. "Actually, ridiculously."
"Clean it up."
"Yes, Mum/Yes, Lily/Yes, Mrs Potter," the teens sighed.
"I mean it. This place better be spotless."
"It's a barn," Harry said. "It hasn't been spotless in ever.
"You'll be sleeping in here if it isn't clean to my satisfaction, Buster."
"Fine," Harry sighed. He took out his wand.
"And make sure you don't end up banishing one of my walls or a truss," she warned.
"Whatever/Yes, Ma'am."
Harry waved his wand at a pile of gloppy hay. "Evanesco."
Mum turned to go. "Oh, and, Harry?"
He turned back. "What?" he asked, exasperated as only a teen could be.
"Gotcha." She blasted him in the face with the hose-pipe.
"Argh!" Harry cried. The water was like ice!
Mum turned the water on his friends. "Keep it coming, Bill!"
"AAAEEII!" Ginny shrieked.
"Cold. Cold. Cold," Hermione gasped.
"Get her!" Harry shouted. He dove at his mum with the others joining him.
HPHPHP
Sirius entered the house and went straight to the parlour where Lily, Remus, the Grangers and the kiddies were all waiting. "She's won," he said when they all turned to him.
Lily sagged back in her seat. "Thank Nimue," she breathed.
"It's official?" Mr Granger asked. "We've heard nothing on the wireless."
Sirius shook his head. "Not yet. But the vote is better than half tallied and she was leading with sixty-five percent. Thickness has twenty-five and Scrimgeour was at ten. No one is going to catch her. Better yet she has a solid majority."
"How on earth did that man get twenty-five percent of the vote?" Malala demanded.
"Pretty much every hardline blood-supremacist voted for him," Sirius said. He poured himself a drink from the cabinet and flopped into a chair. "I'm not even surprised by that. It was bloody Dumbledore not throwing in with Amelia till two days ago that could have cost us the election. He was trying to pull people away from her to Scrimgeour right up to the end. Luckily the Patils spent a lot of time reminding people Fudge was only ever in place to post dementors to the school because Dumbledore supported him for Minister. Between that and our constant reminders he was also responsible for Snape, the old bastard found his voice isn't carrying the weight it once did."
"Will Scrimgeour fall in with Amelia?" Lily asked.
Sirius nodded. "He was a strong backer of hers till he decided to run himself. Honestly, I don't think he ever thought he could win."
"You think he wants the DMLE?" Lily asked.
"There's a good chance of it."
"How will Kingsley take that?"
Sirius shrugged. "Not sure. He's head of the Auror's, but that's still mostly a field job. I know Amelia has him tabbed to be the DMLE Head, but I'm not sure he actually wants it yet. He might be perfectly happy to stay where he is right now."
Lily nodded thoughtfully. "Are we going to have to bring him in?"
"At the very least we need to talk about it. Amelia's greased a lot of things for us. She's sitting on close to a dozen waivers for the kiddies." He shrugged. "If something happens to her, far better we have a successor planed for and that they are aware of what is happening than not."
"And that election occurs in two weeks?" Malala asked.
"Yes, but it's not a general election. It's just the Wizengamot. I'm sure Thickness will run for it but there's no chance. It'll be Scrimgeour if he wants it, or whomever Amelia backs."
HPHPHP
Ginny took her plate, filled with hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad and two brownies and hurried to sit near the bonfire; you had to move quick if you wanted a spot you could lean back against one of the hay bales. She could hardly believe it was only a bit more than a week yet till Harry's birthday. The summer was rushing past in a wave of days spent training in the mornings and lazing about with her friends during the afternoons. Almost every night brought a cookout with various members of the Order filtering through. She hesitated to say life was good; not when Daphne was struggling terribly with the loss of Astoria. But the summer had been as good as possible given the circumstances.
"Can I steal part of your hay bale?" Harry asked. He didn't bother waiting for her to reply and sat down beside her. This was another thing that seemed to be going well. The easy relationship from before the diary she had shared with Harry was returning. Things weren't perfect. Not by a long shot. She still struggled to look him in the eye at times. And it still irked her if she thought too much about the idea Fate had marked them for each other. And there were times she was sure she saw Astoria's ghost flit across his face when he looked at her before he steadied himself.
Sometimes it felt like they were starting their entire relationship over. But maybe that was a good thing. She really had been young and naive when she was eleven. To be fair, in many ways, she might still be. But she thought she might be a bit more worldly, a bit more realistic, and that maybe, just maybe, she was willing to believe again. And she thought that maybe that was a good thing; because, for the most part, being near Harry was something that just felt right. And she'd been near him an awful lot lately; just sitting close, rarely touching and certainly not skin-to-skin, but close. Like now. Even though, at their nearest point, there was at least an inch separating them she could still close her eyes and feel him. It was like this hum, completely unmistakable, radiating off him. His scent was strong too; earthy with hints of pine and leather. It was distinctly him and she was pretty sure she would never need actually see him to identify him.
Even before the goddess had gifted her those precious moments with her father she had been drifting closer to restarting their relationship. It had stung horribly when Harry had pulled away from her after Astoria's death. Oh, she knew she had no room to complain after what she'd put him through. But those few brief weeks, experiencing what the last year had been for him, gave her a far different appreciation of just how patient and kind he'd been to her. It still scared her that she couldn't seem to look away from him. But, if she did as her father had told her; stopped trying to look away and just let him fill those empty places in her, everything felt right.
Just then Harry turned to her. "What?"
She blushed at having been caught. How on earth had she not realized she had been watching his profile the last while? She smiled. "Nothing… Just, it's good to be here." She turned to watch the fire again. He continued to watch her for a few moments before turning back to the flames as well. Gently, she reached over and set her hand on his.
Harry turned slightly, looking down on her hand covering his. It had been nearly four weeks, the night before quidditch camp, since he'd held her hand. He wasn't exactly sure why that was the case; they'd spent almost every evening since returning from camp just like they were right now. The six of them spent almost every afternoon up in the loft in the barn just reading or talking or having a kip and he was almost always right next to her. The opportunity for one or the other to take the other's hand was not lacking. But neither had.
Until now.
Since bonding with Kaa, Ginny had been the foundation he'd built his life on. Despite everything of the last two years that foundation had remained in place. Right up to Astoria's death. Looking at Ginny and only being able to see Astoria had shaken him to his core. The foundation he had been so sure of turned to quicksand. It had felt as if he had one breath of air to carry him from the very bottom of the ocean to the surface and for the first time in his life he'd felt he wasn't going to make it. What the goddess and Astoria had given him that night in the forest, he was pretty sure they'd stopped him going mad.
Once again he could look at Ginny and see her. The scars she carried from the battles with the troll and Quirrell/Voldemort were visible again. More importantly, the subtle differences that made her so very different from Astoria were apparent. Yes, they could easily have passed for sisters; even identical twins, but there had always been differences; the most obvious being the pattern of freckles to grace their faces. But for Harry there had been something even more subtle. Ginny seemed just a bit sharper than Astoria. Her lips cut just a bit different smile. Her eyes bore a different spark. Astoria carried her beauty like a tulip; soft, inviting, seeming without a care in the world. Ginny, though, was a rose. Her beauty came with a warning. One could be tamed; the other could not even be corralled.
He'd been enthralled when he was seven. He was enthralled now. He was more than certain he'd be enthralled a hundred years from now and this, her hand in his, was all he really needed.
"You're still the prettiest girl I've ever seen," he said quietly.
She didn't look at him, didn't even open her eyes, but a contented smile grew on her face. "Good."
HPHPHP
Harry stood across from Tonks in Mr Granger's dojo. "You sure you're up for this, little Bro?" she taunted.
Harry bounced on his toes as they circled. "You know Nymph, you'd think you'd remember the first time we fought. I did break your arm after all."
"That why you been ducking me since Christmas? You sure you don't need another month or two to get your strength back?" She aimed a kick at the side he'd been stabbed.
Harry didn't bother blocking. There was a brief pause in the fight where Harry smiled predatorily. "Ouch," he mocked and stepped into her.
"Kick her arse, Baby," Mum cheered.
"Remember what I told you, Tonks," Hermione encouraged.
"You got this, Harry."
"Show him who's boss, Nymphadora."
"Get him." The rest of their family and friends, fairly evenly split, continued to shout encouragement at the competitors.
Harry walked through a straight jab to his nose, grabbed Tonks by the upper arms and threw her over his shoulder. She landed heavily but before he could capitalize she grabbed his ankle and upended him. He rolled away from her and scrambled back to his feet. Harry ignored the blood dripping from his nose and exchanged a series of kicks and punches that saw him drive her back with a hard left hook. She staggered back and he pressed in.
Grabbing her about the middle he picked her up and drove her onto her back. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him into a clinch. His head was caught under her arm and they grappled back and forth for better position. She was seven years older, but at five-five, she only had two inches on him. Harry had a few pounds on her though. He had also been training a couple years longer than her. But the last few years had seen her able to train more regularly and for longer hours. Harry also, due to the minor complication of being bitten by a basilisk, had lost out on what amounted to almost a full year of advancement. In short, they were very evenly matched.
Harry grabbed Tonks' wrist and pinned her hand to the mat. She still had him around the head with her other hand but he had a free hand now and he was able to drive a few elbows into her side. She released his head and as he pulled away she caught him with a punch to the jaw. She then bucked her hips and was able to toss him off her. Harry grabbed her arm and tried to catch her with an arm-bar but she rolled out of it and was back on her feet.
Harry spit a mouthful of blood and stalked her. She tried a jab that he slipped to the side of. He ducked in and caught her with a knee to the stomach that doubled her over. Before she could recover he was behind her with an arm clamped around her neck. He locked the choke in with his other hand and took her down to the mat. On his back with her on top of him he wrapped her up with his legs. She struggled for a second before tapping out. Harry let her go and she rolled off him. She pushed to her knees and knelt beside him gasping great gulps of air. Harry pushed to his knees as well. Grinning manically he wiped the blood from his face.
"Bloody hell," she complained, "do you even feel pain?"
Harry rubbed his side gingerly. "Only when the fight's over." He held his hand out. "Nice match."
She eyed his bloody hand. "Pass, thanks."
Lily turned to Andromeda and held her hand out. "Pay up, Luv."
"How about we go double or nothing and I get Hermione."
"No way," Harry interjected from across the mat.
"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione taunted. "Afraid of little old me?"
Harry climbed to his feet. "Just not stupid."
"What about me?" Neville asked.
Harry eyed him. Skill-wise there wasn't a question. And pound for pound, Harry was stronger than his friend, but Neville had ten inches and four stone on him. Neville wasn't a fight to take on lightly. "Maybe next week," Harry said.
"Wise choice, Son," Mr Granger chuckled. He tossed a brown belt with two red stripes on it to Harry. A second later Tonks snagged a brown belt with one red stripe on it out of the air.
"Brilliant," Harry enthused.
"You've earned it, Son. You too, Tonks." He turned to Daphne and gave her an orange belt with two red stripes. Luna received a green belt with one red stripe, while Ginny received a blue belt with two red stripes.
"Thank you, Sir," they all said.
"No thanks needed," he said. "You've all earned those."
"But we wouldn't have without your help," Luna countered. She stepped forward to hug him. He chuckled and returned her embrace.
"It's been a joy, Luna," he said. He let her go and turned to Hermione. She straightened, but said nothing. "Something you want, Little Girl?" he teased.
"Not unless I've earned it," she countered.
He pulled a last belt, brown with three red stripes from his pocket. "Believe me, Hermione, you have." He stepped to her, wrapped the belt around her waist and tied it. "I'm proud of you."
She launched herself into his chest. "I love you, Daddy."
He held her tight and pressed a kiss to her crown. "My girl."
HPHPHP
Three days before Harry's birthday Ginny was sitting in the barn loft, a leg hanging out the big door. Harry was opposite her, mirroring her pose. It was late and all their other friends had left for the night. Well, maybe they hadn't quite left yet. Luna was around somewhere with Hermione. But they had gone off a while ago for some alone time. She was fine with that. It gave her time alone with Harry; something she'd once had in plenty. Back before everything went to hell, before Daphne joined their group, after curfew, but before they had to head to bed for the night, it had been her and Harry against the world in the Slytherin common room.
There was a small alcove underneath the staircase they had made theirs. It was far from a prime spot, being too far from the fire, a bit drippy, a bit spiderwebby; in short, a bit nasty. But they had made it work. Hermione's bluebell flame kept them warm. Harry had a nice blanket from his mum so they didn't have to sit on the hard stone. Mrs Tonks had taught them a spell to get rid of the spiders and Remus taught them a spell he used to stop water weeping into the oubliette back at the Briar Patch. And by the time anyone had caught on to the fact the spot was actually kind of nice, Kaa, along with Harry and Marcus' reputations for hurting people was enough to discourage squatters trying to move in on them.
Strange really, a cupboard under the stairs had been Harry's prison. It was a cupboard under the stairs where he bonded with Kaa. It was a cupboard under the stairs where he had a vision and fell in love with a girl he'd never even met. Four years later, in an alcove under the stairs, that same girl had fallen in love with him. She had done so never realizing time-in-plenty was flowing like sand through her fingers till it had run out. To be remembered only in the same way one remembered the feel of cool grass on your bare feet in the middle of February.
But the awakening eventually came. The sun melted the snow. The ground thawed. The grass turned green and lush, and she was determined that this time nothing at all, not heaven, not hell, and most certainly not Tom Marvolo, Fucking, Riddle would turn spring to winter on her again; even at the price of laying her soul bare.
"Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I tell you something?"
"You can tell me anything, Ginny," he said without moving
"It has to do with the diary."
Harry opened his eyes and focused on her. "Anything means anything, Ginny."
"I'm afraid it will make you angry."
Harry pushed away from the wall and scooted over till his knee bumped against hers. He held his hand, palm up, to her. She slowly reached up and pressed her palm to his, letting his fingers weave into hers. "Never at you, Ginny. Anything he made you do isn't your fault and I will never be angry with you for it."
"Promise?" she whispered.
"Promise." Ginny gave a shaky nod. "Take as long as you need," he assured. "I'll wait."
She gave a weak smile. "Alright." She took a few breaths to gather herself and Harry remained still, eyes locked on her. "You know what you can do in your dreamscape, right?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"He made me older," she whispered.
Harry frowned. "Older?"
"So I'd be more desirable." She stopped and waited, imploring him with her eyes to find the answer.
Harry stared at her. "He—" Harry couldn't bring himself to actually say it, "—in his dreamscape?" Ginny gave a jerky nod. Harry closed his eyes painfully. "Oh, Ginny."
"M –Mine too," she added. "A–and he m–made me use – use my h–hands for – for r–real."
Harry knew enough; Mrs Tonks had not spared her students understanding the crimes Legilimens were capable of, to suspect. He'd wanted to know, wanted to help Ginny since the moment he'd woken from the coma the basilisk venom had left him in over a year ago. But suspecting and knowing, well it was the difference between pinching out a candle and a blowtorch. It was the difference between a slap of a hand and the lash of a leather strap cutting across your back. Harry would have said he knew what pain was, that he'd experienced the absolute worst it could be. He would have said so with great confidence, never dreaming just how wrong he was. Ginny's truth struck with more viciousness than any blow or epitaph he'd ever felt. It was more painful than any cut, broken bone, basilisk venom or the stinging lash of words from his aunt's caustic lips. He sat, eyes closed, head turned painful to the side, silence screaming a thousand waves crashing at once in his mind and forced it all away. Whatever he felt, however much it hurt, this wasn't about him. This wasn't about his need to lash out. It wasn't about running out in search of revenge.
It was about Ginny and any future he hoped they might have and he knew he had one chance to get this right; once chance to make her believenone of that mattered.
Green eyes locked with brown, he gently said. "None of that was you, Ginny… I wouldn't care if you were… raped," he forced the word past his lips, "by a thousand different men. I wouldn't care if someone took you and forced you to be a prostitute. None of that would have been you." He paused for moment. "And I wouldn't care if we hadn't met till we were fifty, you had been happily married for thirty years and were widowed with a half dozen children." He gently pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I still want you, Ginevra Molly Weasley. I – Still – Want – You."
She studied him, looking into his eyes for the longest time. "Daphne's probably wondering where I am," she said quietly.
"Probably," he agreed.
"You're alright
"Yes."
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"I'll be here."
"K."
"K."
"I'm going now."
"Alright."
"You have to let go."
Eyes on hers Harry softly said, "Never," and did. Ginny waited a few seconds longer before activating her portkey. Harry stared at the empty place she'd been for a minute before climbing to his feet and making his way out of the barn.
Lily had been standing at her bedroom window watching Harry and Ginny for the last while. She'd thought they might actually kiss for a moment before Ginny had blinked out of sight; leaving Harry to just sit there a minute or so longer before he climbed to his feet. She'd seen him disappear only to reappear a few moments later as he exited the barn. And she'd seen him turn for the pasture instead of heading for the house. She was just about to head out and fetch him when he stopped his march and something held her in place. There was a flash of light and she turned away from the window an instant before what felt like a bomb going off rocked the house. When she turned back, despite the Unbreakable Charms Remus had placed to save them from Harry's temper, the window was spider-webbed with cracks.
"Harry!" she cried rushing for the door.
Remus met her at the top of the stairs. "What the hell was that?"
"Harry." She flew down the stairs, turned for the kitchen and raced out the back door. She tore across the garden for the pasture. Harry was slumped on his knees, head bowed, but when she was about ten feet away he looked up, bringing her to a stop. Remus stepped beside her. "Harry?"
"I'm sorry," he said, his voice anguished. "I just… He hurt her… He hurt her so bad, Mum… I just couldn't… I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Lily crossed to him, sinking to her knees at his side. He slumped bonelessly into her arms. "I'm sorry, Mum. I'm sorry," he croaked.
"Shush," she soothed and pressed a kiss to his crown.
Remus surveyed the damage. It honestly did look like a bomb had gone off, with Harry being ground zero for a crater some twenty feet in diameter. "Merlin," he muttered. He'd always known Harry was powerful, but this was almost beyond comprehension. He sent his wand away before joining Lily at Harry's side.
"I sorry, Mum, but I can't tell you," Harry was saying.
Lily frowned at him. "You're fine though?"
"Yes."
"And there's nothing wrong between you and Ginny?"
"No."
"But she told you something that upset you so much you couldn't hold it in?"
"I'm sorry."
Lily considered him a second. "Right then, do you think you can walk?"
"You're not mad?"
"Harry, I think I have a pretty good idea what Ginny told you. If I'm right, then I think you did a pretty fair job of mitigating the damage."
"Come on, Pup," Remus said. "Let's get you inside."
HPHPHP
It was very late the night of his birthday, so late it was actually past, that Harry was sitting in his room admiring the sketching of his mum Ginny had given him when he heard the soft tones of his mum's piano drifting up the stairs. Surprised, because he thought everyone was sleeping, he turned his head to listen better. She didn't play often, but Harry was always happy to hear when she did; even if it was often painful. But then what was the point of music if it didn't make you feel something, right? It didn't always have to be happy. His songbook was all the evidence one needed of that. It seemed to Harry, the more tortured the artist, the better the music. She started to sing and he cocked his head slightly. His brow furrowed. That wasn't his mum's voice… It sounded like… Ginny. Stunned, he could do nothing but listen for the first few verses. But then, like a moth to the flame, he was up and moving to the stairs.
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry.
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find you.
Tell you I'm sorry.
Tell you I set you apart.
Tell me your secrets.
And ask me your questions.
Oh, let's go back to the start.
Running in circles.
Coming up tails.
Heads on a magic apart.
Nobody said it was easy.
It's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be this hard.
Oh, take me back to the start.
I was just guessing.
At numbers and figures.
Pulling the runes apart.
Questions of Magic.
Magic and Fate.
Do not speak as loud as my heart.
Tell me you love me.
Come back and haunt me.
Oh, and I rush to the start.
Running in circles.
Chasing our tails.
Coming back as we are.
Nobody said it was easy.
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be so hard.
I'm going back to the start.
Oh, come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry.
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find you.
Tell you I need you.
Tell you I set you apart.
Tell me your secrets
And ask me your questions
Oh, let's go back to the start.
Running in circles.
Coming up tails
Heads on a magic apart.
Nobody said it was easy.
It's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be this hard.
Oh, take me back to the start.
I was just guessing.
At numbers and figures.
Pulling the runes apart.
Questions of Magic.
Magic and Fate.
Do not speak as loud as my heart.
Tell me you love me.
Come back and haunt me.
Oh, and I rush to the start.
Running in circles.
Chasing our tails.
Coming back as we are.
Nobody said it was easy.
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be so hard.
I'm going back to the start.
Oh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh.
Harry reached the parlour near the middle of the song and just stood there trying to comprehend what was happening. Her eyes were closed, but as she reached the last verse she opened them. Brown eyes locked with green as the piano fell silent and the last words of the song spilled past her lips. Never breaking eye contact she stood and moved to stand in front of him. "Ginny?" he rasped.
"Take me back to the start, Harry," she said softly.
Harry continued to stare at her. Trying to make sense of what she was saying. "The start?" he asked.
She held her hand, palm out to him. Harry hesitated before cautiously raising his hand to press his palm to hers. Her fingers spread naturally to weave with his. "Yes."
HPHPHP
The day after Harry's birthday Lily came down the stairs and turned for the kitchen. She took two steps past the parlour when she stopped dead. Her face twitched, unsure if she'd seen what she thought she had. She backed up and peered into the parlour. Her lips twisted and she tapped her fingers against her leg. Obviously things weren't too bad… But still. "Ahem," she cleared her throat. Neither individual stirred. "Ahem!" she said again. Nothing. She walked to the piano, poised her hand over the keys and pounded on them a half dozen times. Harry's head shot up and Ginny spilled off the couch from where she'd been curled up against his chest. Their eyes darted widely around, settled on her, then each other, then widened to the size of a quaffle as they both turned two shades below molten. "It isn't what you think," they blurted.
Lily eyed them. "Perhaps you would like to get off the floor, Ginevra," she said.
Ginny quickly climbed to her feet. "Yes, Ma'am," she said, looking at the floor.
"Sit."
Ginny promptly did. Harry stood. "It's my fault."
Ginny was instantly back on her feet. "No it wasn't."
He turned on her. "It was so."
Ginny put her hands on her hips. "I suppose it was you who snuck over here last night."
"Well no, but—"
"And I suppose it was you who put silencing spells on your mum and Remus' rooms."
"No. But I was the one who pulled you onto the couch," he countered. He frowned. "Wait. What?"
"You heard me?"
"You put silencing spells on their rooms?"
"Yes."
He stared at her. "I've been trying to do that for ages," he complained.
"Oh you have, have you?" Lily said.
"Oops," Harry said. He'd forgotten she was there just that quickly.
Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Idiot."
"You're the one who actually did it."
"Oh, now you're throwing me under the erumpent. Nice, Potter." She glared at him
Harry smirked. "Just sayin'."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "See if I ever sing for you again," she harrumphed.
Harry reached for her hand. "It was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, Ginny."
She blushed. "Don't lie."
Harry gave her hand a squeeze. "Promise."
"Ahem," Lily said, breaking in on them again. They startled, obviously having forgotten about her.
"Sorry," they said, but Harry kept Ginny's hand in his.
"Besides the obvious, did anything happen that shouldn't have?"
"No," they said together.
"We didn't even kiss," Ginny added.
"You can do an awful lot without kissing," Lily countered. Ginny somehow turned redder than she already was.
"We didn't do anything, Mum," Harry said. She studied him for a moment. But, while embarrassed he didn't flinch under her scrutiny. "You understand you are both too young to be sleeping with each other?"
"Yes/Yes, Ma'am."
"And that this will not happen again?"
"Yes, Mum/I promise."
She eyed them for a few moments. "Then I think we'll just keep this between the three of us this time."
Later that afternoon Ginny was sitting in the kitchen when Harry's mum came in. "Ah, just the girl I wanted to see. Come with me, please."
Ginny downed her juice and quickly followed. She was still embarrassed as hell over having been caught on the couch with Harry, and despite Lily promising to not say anything to Bill she figured a stern talking to was still due. Lily led her upstairs to her room where she motioned her in. She closed the door and Ginny waited. Lily moved to her bed where she sat with her legs crossed. She patted the bed. "Join me." Ginny frowned. Whatever this was, it wasn't like any talking to she'd ever gotten before. "If you're worried this has something to do with where I found you this morning, you'd be right. But I swear, I'm not going to yell or scream. I'm not even angry with you, Ginny." She patted the bed. "Now, come sit."
Ginny cautiously climbed on the bed. "I'm about to get the birds and the bees talk, aren't I?"
Lily smiled. "Would I be wrong in thinking you haven't had it yet?"
Ginny blushed and stared at the bed. "Not really."
Lily reached out a raised her chin. "I realize, getting the talk from your boyfriend's mother might be particularly difficult, but this doesn't have to be embarrassing. You are too young to be sleeping, even innocently, with Harry, but it would be the height of foolishness for me to simply tell you, don't have sex. What you're feeling, what you're going to feel, it's natural, Ginny. And I want you to know, what we talk about in this room, I swear to you, stays between us. I want you to ask me questions and if you have a question a week, or a month, or even a year from now, I want you to know you can come to me, alright?"
Ginny simply couldn't help it; looking in Lily's emerald eyes, seeing the earnestness and caring there she had longed for so long to see from her own mother she broke down. Lily pulled Ginny into her lap and wrapped herself around the girl. "Shush," she soothed. She pressed a kiss to the back of Ginny's head. "Easy now."
Later that night Harry was in his room when his mum knocked on the door. "Busy?" she asked.
Harry held his hand up. "One sec." He quickly finished penning his latest before he lost his train of thought. Satisfied he set his pen aside and turned around. Mum had closed the door and was sitting on his bed. "What did I do?" he asked warily.
"You didn't really think you were going to get off that easy after I found you on the couch with Ginny, did you?" Harry blushed. She patted the bed. "Come on."
"Is this some version of the talk? If it is, Remus already gave it to me last year."
"I'm well aware of what Remus did." She patted the bed again.
"Do I have to?" Harry whinged.
"Now, Buster."
Harry heaved a great sigh. "Fine."
HPHPHP
"My L-Lord," Peter Pettigrew stammered fearfully.
Lord Voldemort, shriveled and shrunken turned glowing red eyes on him. Terrified, Peter bowed his head. Lord Voldemort's current body may have appeared to be even less than a guestof Nazi concentration camp but his magic was nearly as powerful as before he'd cast the killing curse at Harry Potter and lost his body. "You disagree, Wormtail?" he hissed. At his feet, a large black serpent stirred. It was all Peter could do not to soil himself when Nagini's red eyes settled on him. The memory of Bertha Jorkins, the English Ministry witch who'd had the misfortune of stumbling into Lord Voldemort's presence was very fresh in his mind.
"Th–there may be a com–complication to your plan my – my Lord."
Voldemort studied him. The man was pathetic, weak of mind and magic. Of all his servants Wormtail was the last of them he'd expected to search him out and find him. But he had. He'd been useful even. It was doubtful he'd be in even this pathetic body if not for the sniveling coward. "What possible complication could there be?" he hissed dangerously.
"Please, My Lord. I d–do not question the brilliance of your plan, b–but th–there was a m–map."
Beside the Dark Lord Barty Crouch Jr sniffed disdainfully. "A map? What complication could a map be you sniveling coward?"
Lord Voldemort held his hand up, silencing the man. "Wormtail's cowardice is well known, my friend. He would not dare say a word unless he feared not telling me his concern more than he feared doing so, isn't that right, Wormtail?"
Peter whimpered as Nagini slithered between his feet and wound around his legs up his side and settled her head on his shoulders. "M–My L–Lord, p–please," he croaked.
"Enough, Nagini," Voldemort rasped. The serpent flicked her tongue against Peter's neck before retreating to settle at her master's feet again. "Look at me, Wormtail," Voldemort hissed. Trembling, Peter raised his eyes to Voldemort's. He stiffened for a few seconds before Voldemort released him.
Whimpering, Peter collapsed to his knees. "P–please my Lord, it was before I found you; before I knew of your greatness."
"Get out of my sight," Voldemort hissed. Peter dared to pick his head up. "Now," Voldemort added. Peter scrambled to his feet, backing away while bowed over to the door. Once outside he turned and fled, trailing the foul stench of excrement behind.
"My Lord?" Barty ventured.
"You will not go to Hogwarts."
"But how—"
"You would be discovered."
"I assure you, My Lord, I—"
"There was a map, created by James Potter and his friends while at school. It could see everyone within the grounds. Polyjuice, animagus, it could see through those disguises. Given the events of the last few years we must assume the blood-traitor, Sirius Black, has replicated this device. You would be discovered and my plans would be ruined. Neither you nor Wormtail are to go within a hundred feet of the castle walls."
"Yes, my Lord… My Lord. You are certain it must be this way? Would it not be wiser and easier to just slip the boy a portkey one day while he is in Hogsmeade? What if he dies while competing? How would we complete the resurrection ritual?"
"I have many enemies, my friend. If Potter dies, then he is not the enemy I believe him to be."
"So it is a test then, my Lord? Potter is to prove himself worthy by surviving the competition before his blood is used to restore you to your full glory?"
"He is."
"I see. And how will we ensure he is entered in the competition if I am not at the school?"
"I will find a way… Now leave me."
"As you command, my Lord."
Harry popped the aspirin in his mouth before chugging a glass of water and stumbling back to bed. Hopefully it would work and he'd be able to get back to sleep, he really didn't want to resort to a headache potion. It might work better, but the taste was bloody foul.
Author's notes:
So obviously, Ginny didn't write her song, nor did I. It is a slightly modified version of, The Scientist, by Coldplay.
And yep, you can see Harry is going to find himself in the Triwizard. Here's hoping he survives.