A/N: Song title comes from the dance/trance group '4 Strings'.
Thanks to chem prof for his beta-work and helping with the ending in particular.
Chapter 13: Until You Love Me
A resounding crash echoed within an unused classroom, the sole occupant the cause and only audience. Harry, frustrated, had passed judgment on the unfortunate table and had then knocked it aside in a minor fit of anger.
The sounds of deep breathing followed as Harry attempted to calm himself. Something was wrong, so very, very wrong with him. Whatever was affecting him, it was growing stronger, becoming harder to resist, and he was frustrated to the point of knocking over a table. Well, past it.
There had been several signs, the most prominent being his subtle but nevertheless present interest in Ginny. He'd barely given thought to her beyond their distant friendship and that she was Ron's sister until several weeks ago. He could have naturally begun to notice her, like he'd done with Cho in his third year, except her confusing and hostile actions towards Padma and himself were baffling, and made it inexplicable for him to become more interested in her.
Then there were the equally inexplicable distrust for Hermione and their friendship. When people grew up, sometimes they grew apart. Harry wasn't unaware of that. However, she'd done nothing to deserve any of the dislike and distrust. Something wasn't definitely wrong.
Harry's frustrations were only mildly abated after he knocked the table aside. Violence really didn't help that much, at least when directed at an inanimate object.
The teenager sighed deeply. With a small amount of effort he righted the table and returned it to where it was before. Hermione had left a few minutes before with Padma to discuss things privately, leaving Harry in an unused classroom she had chosen after their conversation in the Great Hall.
Taking slow, deep breaths, like he had heard helped calm people down, he leaned against the upright table and closed his eyes.
Magic…
There were all different types of magic in the world. There were magics of destruction, of healing, of defense and offense, of alteration and reparation, of darkness and light…of love and of lust.
Had Ginny really done something to him? Those three Gryffindor girls he had overheard all those weeks ago seemed to think she was capable. After seeing a glimpse of a jealous, possessive Ginny when she confronted him and Padma, Harry wasn't as quick to defend her as he would've been three months ago. The situation had changed, and he was playing catch up.
She wanted him and she did not appreciate the appearance of other contenders.
Was there any other explanation? Who had the most to gain from destroying his and Hermione's friendship? Who had the most to gain by Harry falling in love with Ginny?
Then there were Hermione's dreams. According to her, her memory was still incomplete and appearing less and less often now. What did that mean? What did any of it mean? Was Hermione right when she said that Mrs. Weasley might have had some involvement in her and Ron, and now Ginny and himself? Mrs. Weasley had used a love potion to gain the attention of Mr. Weasley back when they were in Hogwarts. What if in some twisted, sick way, Ginny thought that would work with him? If Ron hadn't gone ballistic like he had, would he and Hermione still be together? Then they really would all be a family.
Harry stared down at the table. After the knock to the ground one edge had lost a small piece of timber. The chip was on the ground several meters away. The Gryffindor stood watching it for a solid minute.
How could she do something like that to him? And what exactly had she done to him?
He could almost feel whatever it was fighting to control him. Was it like the Imperius Curse? Could it completely overcome his thought process? Make him do whatever the caster, brewer, whoever wanted? Would he become a willing slave to the magic affecting?
The consequences, if that came to pass, were boggling. He'd be useless against Voldemort when he next came for him. He'd be slaughtered in a duel while thinking of how wonderful Ginny's hair looked the last time they were together.
I'd like to think I'm more capable than that. He grimaced.
Then there was Hermione. His attitude towards her all year … his sometimes less than welcoming personality towards her during moments alone, the way he could sometimes control it and others it would slip out, unintentional yet honest, at the time at least … the way he slowly at first, then quickly in the last couple of days, concentrated on the redhead when she was in the room or even during Quidditch practice … the feeling of wanting to sweep the girl up and take her with him to his room … and so many other thoughts and images ...
There were more, Harry knew, but his mind lost focus on finding those signs. The redhead in question filled his thoughts, enveloping his mind in a soft, yet omniscient light, making him forget all the revelations he'd just had.
Harry leaned down onto the table, gripping the edges tightly in his hands. Clenching his eyes to remain shut, the teenager attempted to eradicate Ginny from his mind, to maintain the little clarity of thought he maintained, for who knew what would happen if he lost to the magic.
It wasn't working.
There was a knock on the door which Harry ignored, concerning himself with resisting whatever was affecting him. If it was Hermione at the door, she would enter. If it wasn't…well, who'd be knocking on a door to an unused room unless they knew someone was in there?
Eyes still closed, Harry heard the door open and close a moment later. Two sets of feet crossed the floor, one moving to the front of the room and another to where Harry was, near the middle, hands white from his grip on the table edge
"Are you alright Harry?" Padma asked softly, a hand gently landing on his shoulder.
Harry sucked in a breath. Even without the hand or words he could sense she was very close. The table he was gripping moved a little, signalling to Harry that Padma had leant her other hand, and most of her weight, on the table. Adding to that was the near silent sound of her breathing just centimetres away from his ears.
Tell her to sod off.
The Gryffindor clenched his eyes closed further, furiously trying to resist the loss of understanding. That other part of him, the one that wanted to ravish Ginny Weasley, was pounding at his insides, ordering him to speak out against the young woman's proximity.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Padma asked uncertainly. She saw his tightly clenched eyes and hands, gripping the table tightly. Had she done something wrong? Or was this what Hermione had feared come to pass?
The dark skinned Ravenclaw looked back to Hermione who was studying Harry intently. The abnormally intelligent Gryffindor drew her attention away from Harry to meet Padma's eyes. If they needed any confirmation at all to their thoughts, this was it.
"Can you not stand so close, Padma?" Harry asked quietly, still not opening his eyes, struggling not to let go off the table and push her away.
If looking at Ginny caused radical upsurges in his 'feelings' towards her, and looking at Hermione caused radical upsurges in his distrust and dislike towards her, then keeping his eyes closed would be a far simpler way of finishing this conversation quickly and, relatively, safely.
Whatever was affecting him was definitely worsening. He wasn't looking at Padma, yet her presence alone was riling him up let alone her hand on his shoulder.
Slow, deep breaths…
Slow, deep breaths…
Slow, deep breaths…
Padma slowly removed her hand from the male's shoulder, examining Harry's face intensely. Her weight on the table disappeared a moment later. She watched him as she walked across the room to stand by Hermione. The two women exchanged worried expressions.
"Sorry," he apologized as sincerely as he could manage in his condition. He wanted to at least maintain one friendship if he could from this mess.
"It's not your fault, Harry," Padma consoled him as best she could from a distance. "We think we might know something about what's causing this."
Harry barely reacted. Honestly, he was too focused on how ashamed with himself he was. Losing Sirius was painful and had changed him, resolved him to work harder so nobody else close to him would have to lose their lives. He'd concentrated almost entirely on his school work and the DA, with the only lengthy exception being the trip to France and Fleur, and not enough of the menial matters. At least they were menial in his mind at the time. He should've noticed how he was treating Hermione and fought against it earlier. He should've paid Ginny more heed, seen how she was acting and how rapid his thoughts had altered for no reason. The thought that magic was fabricating emotions escaped him as he criticized himself – a distraction, if a negative one.
More than once he and Hermione had argued over simple matters, matters that, even three months ago, would be considered trivial between them. Deep down inside, he knew it was not his fault. There was little he could've done differently.
Even so, his mind discarded these facts. His actions weren't those of a true friend. Even if he was under magical influence, which remained to be confirmed, though seemed the only conclusion, Harry hated himself for letting their friendship deteriorate without any effort from his side to bridge the gaps, magical influence or not. Hermione meant far more to him than that.
If Harry had been able to look at her without any of the feelings of distrust and dislike, he wouldn't have looked her in the eye. He couldn't. He didn't deserve to.
"How about we just talk and you listen until we ask questions, Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.
Harry nodded absently, still facing away, hands and eyes clenched shut.
Padma leaned back against the wall and looked towards Hermione, who, in return, sent a questioning look back. The dark skinned girl jerked her head in Harry's direction. It was Hermione's story to tell.
Hermione got the message and faced Harry's back, sending a worried glance at his hands, seeing how tightly he was holding on to the table. Taking a deep breath, she started on what she thought was the truth.
"I do believe that someone – Ginny - has either enchanted you or spiked your food and or drink." Hermione said quickly, hoping to get it out in the open as soon as possible now that she'd started.
Harry said nothing.
"I noticed for the first time today that it truly is her," she continued, half ashamed at the admission she hadn't noticed it before. This had been her plan to wait, to not seek professional help. Harry had expressed his doubts, even she had mentioned her own, yet still she had followed through. It hadn't been a smart choice.
"I didn't want to believe that Ginny would do that to you … Whenever you look at Ginny, you feel some sort of desire to, or an influx of thought, complimenting her in some manner. Am I right?" She did not wait for a response, knowing she was correct already.
"At first it would've been barely noticeable, subtle. As time went on, like what I'm assuming happened at lunch, the desire has increased exponentially. You want to either kiss her or…more, so to speak."
Had this not been such a serious situation, Harry and Padma might've found Hermione's reluctance to say 'sex' amusing. She often avoided the more adult terms, especially in regards to cursing. This, however, wasn't the time.
"That's not all," Hermione went on after taking a deep breath. "Judging from your actions presently and throughout the year, you've…you've…you've also been having a rather large amount of negative thoughts towards me, right?"
Harry, through all the haze of distrust and near hatred, was able to detect the trace of faint trace of hope in Hermione's voice.
It nearly broke his heart.
Hermione was worried, struggling to maintain their connection as friends. Through everything else in their lives, she was aware of the growing distance, but had tried her utmost to appear as if nothing was the matter. More than once she'd said that she didn't know what would've happened to her if he never came into her life. Right now, she was placing all of her hope, all her belief into this one theory. If she was wrong and he wasn't magically affected at all and really could not stand her now…
He couldn't think about what Hermione would do.
Hermione started talking again, something about his mind becoming unfocused when he thought negatively about Ginny, that it became stronger as the weeks had passed.
Harry wasn't listening anymore.
Her words had ignited a ball of anger inside of Harry from the core of his being. The ball pulsated with every negative thought towards the redhead, and towards Hermione and Padma due to their proximity. Both sides were failing, losing control. He was just angry at his situation, the injustice of it all. Why could people not just leave him be?
His introspection served a useful purpose, however. He could sense it now; there was something inside of him, nudging him gentle sometimes, forceful at others. Hermione was right; at first it had been subtle, but now it was controlling, demanding. Whoever had cast the spell or spiked his meals must've grown tired of waiting and increased the potency of whatever was affecting him. And it was cumulating now.
The anger grew. It was anger against Hermione and it was Harry's own anger over Ginny. In his increasingly clouded mind he'd managed to shift his mind and convince himself it was Ginny's fault at great expense to his self control. The influenced and the unaffected parts of Harry were at war in his mind, two different types of anger arising inside of him, fighting for dominance, for control. He needed a release and he needed it now.
His hands unclenched slightly before tightening again.
Shock flowed through him. He'd forgotten the table. His grip had been so tight that his hands were near numb.
"Harry?" two female voices penetrated his inner turmoil. He ignored them.
Maintaining his tight grip on the table with one hand, Harry switched his grip with the other from on top to underneath the table. The other hand followed suit a moment later.
The two sides raged inside of him. Harry's mind willed the invader aside. It proved an endless, if not fruitless, task as he was slowly overridden with thoughts he had no real desire to think. He was losing control, and while he was well aware of it, he had no control whatsoever.
At last the dam broke.
The muscles in Harry's arms tightened, lifting the table off the ground and throwing it at the wall to his left. For a second time in ten minutes, there was a resounding crash in the abandoned room. This time the table suffered more than a single missing chip.
A leg had been completely torn off along with a large chunk of one corner. A second crash was heard not even a second after the first as the three pieces fell to the floor, the two broken pieces bouncing before lying still on the stone floor.
Hermione and Padma jumped at the crash, taken completely by surprise at the act of violence from Harry. Even in his angriest moment before now he'd never taken it out on anyone or anything through violence. Words had been his forte in his anger, unlike Ron earlier in the year.
Harry about faced and rounded on the two females with him.
"You're right, Hermione," Harry seethed through clenched teeth, locking gazes with her. Pure, undeterred, unadulterated anger was emanating from him. "You're right as always. I can't control this anymore!"
He closed his eyes, trying to resist the urges to strike out at his friends.
No, Harry, they're not. They're against you, plotting to keep you away from her.
He clenched his eyes tightly, fighting the impulses.
Yes, they are. These two are my allies, friends, people that will help me. People that care.
Through great effort, Harry managed to stave off another release of anger and, at the same time, his mind from clouding again.
It would only be temporary, and he knew it.
All three of them were asking themselves the same question; where was this sudden upsurge in hatred coming from? They needed to know the source.
"How do we stop this?" Padma asked Hermione quickly. She couldn't bear to see this anymore. This wasn't the Harry either of them knew and cared about. There was no denying it to themselves anymore, no hiding, hoping, from the facts. Magic was at work here, powerful magic at that.
"I don't know," Hermione said shaking her warily; her eyes not leaving Harry's closed ones for a moment. "This is not a love potion, we ruled that out already. Those only cause an obsession, a desire towards a singular target, and although they do limit the attentions towards any others, this has been far too subtle to be one, not even including the massive amounts of hatred and anger expelling from him now."
"So what do I do?" Harry said through fiercely clenched teeth. His foot began to move on its own accord, the magic finally starting to win out against him. It wanted him to leave, to find her.
"Stick me to the ground, now!" Harry practically screamed at the two females.
Afraid, Padma fumbled with her wand for a few seconds before managing to point it at Harry's feet and casting a Sticking Charm. It wouldn't last if Harry was completely determined to move. By now she knew that Harry was easily an above average wizard. Padma kept her wand handy in case she needed to cast a Full Body Bind, though hoped it would never, ever come to that.
The unaffected side of Harry was momentarily satisfied. The affected side only grew angrier.
"Let me go," it muttered quietly. Harry wasn't struggling to get out of the spell but that didn't dumb down the intent behind his words one bit.
"Hermione," Padma said warily. Whatever this was, it was strong. Far stronger than they had imagined. "What can we do?"
"I don't know!" Hermione repeated.
"Let me go!" Harry repeated, much louder. The air crackled sharply, causing the two females to jump.
"What was that?" Padma asked, watching Harry with a small trace of something she had not ever expected to feel around him; fear.
"I don't know!" Hermione said again. She started shaking her head, bushy hair flailing everywhere. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Harry! I'm sorry I didn't notice it was her until today! I don't know how to fix this…"
Tears began welling up in her eyes. Why couldn't she have noticed this sooner? Why couldn't she have paid more attention to how he was acting around Ginny? Why couldn't she see through the redhead's façade? Why couldn't she have found the solution already? Why couldn't she –
Padma took a step towards Hermione, raised a hand and slapped her on her cheek.
Both other occupants of the room stopped moving and making noise. For several seconds, there was nothing to be heard inside the room.
Hermione stared at Padma, her shock and surprise preventing the pain from registering. A hand belatedly rose to her cheek to caress the tender skin. A sliver of pain managed to find its way through the shock.
Padma was in a similar state. Shock, undeniable shock at what she had just done, flowed through her as easily as blood. She had not meant for it to happen… it just did.
It took several moments for anyone to regain their composure.
"Hermione," Padma said softly. "We need to figure this out, and you panicking is not going to help any of us. What happened to you two this year? I've never heard of either of you panicking so strongly before. You two are on top of everything. Always."
Harry wasn't in a fit state to give a constructive answer to that question, and Hermione was slowly regaining her senses. Padma's question was left unanswered.
Everyone panicked; it was a fact of life. No matter how confident, how powerful one would be, there would forever be moments where even the best would falter, even just once. Harry and Hermione had now had theirs. It was Padma's sincere hope that it would be their last.
"Ginny's the one behind this, right?" continued Padma gently. "Let's go confront her and get the information out of her."
"You leave her alone!" Harry called out, his afflicted side regaining control.
The two females ignored him. "She won't tell us willingly." Hermione replied slowly. "If she resorted to magic, she has very little, if anything, to lose by being caught out."
Padma absorbed that piece of information and thought on it for a moment.
Within seconds a plan formulated in her mind.
"We let Harry bring her here," Padma said to Hermione quietly.
"Harry bring her here?" Hermione repeated in the same slow voice. "He hates us right now. There's no way he'd bring her here to help us."
"I'm right here you know," Harry called out, irritated at being ignored.
Again, his words were ignored.
Padma looked at him briefly. "Whatever she did to him … he can fight it sometimes. Right now it seems to have won out. If we could bring out his unaffected side again…we'll have his cooperation, even briefly."
"How?" Hermione asked the obvious question.
"Just calm down, Hermione," Padma said as soothingly as she could in their situation. "Calm down and help me think. We're not two of the smartest witches in the school for no reason."
That did seem to have the desired effect as Hermione sobered up within seconds.
The two of them turned to study Harry. Their male friend was still stuck on the floor, glaring darkly at the two of them. A pang of hurt ran through both their hearts at seeing their friend look at them that way with such dislike. The two of them told themselves that it wasn't him and pushed the hurt aside as best they could. They would repair their relationships after everything else was fixed.
What could be done to temporarily reduce the effect of whatever was causing this?
Hermione tried a simple 'finite'. Unsurprisingly that did nothing to help. All it did was temporarily free Harry from being stuck on the floor, which Padma quickly rectified.
Padma and Hermione tried the same thing together. Unsurprisingly that did nothing to help either, except to aggravate their captive further.
A few seconds of silence later, Hermione suddenly slapped her forehead.
"Of course!" she exclaimed.
Padma and Harry stared at her in surprise.
"Accio wand," Hermione said confidently, pointing her wand at Harry. His wand sailed out of a pocket and directly into Hermione's left hand. Harry attempted to grab hold as it flew past, but reacted too slowly. The wand had been completely forgotten until that stage.
Turning to Padma, Hermione pocketed Harry's wand and pulled the Ravenclaw to the door. Removing the Locking Charm, Padma was pushed through the door with Hermione right behind her. The Gryffindor replaced the Locking Charm and faced Padma with a smile on her face.
"What's the trigger for the anger?" she asked excitedly.
"You… and to some extent me-oh," Padma answered, pausing as she realized what Hermione was getting at.
"Exactly," Hermione responded. "We just spent a fair bit of time with him and over the time the anger only increased, right? Therefore when we leave, it should abate. I'd say give him a few minutes and he'll be back to being our relatively normal Harry."
"And if it doesn't work?" Padma asked quietly.
The smile faltered. "We force Ginny up here ourselves if necessary."
Padma nodded, understanding that Hermione had thought this through. The dark skinned girl sighed, leaning into the wall. This was not something she'd ever had to deal with before. Love potions, spells or whatever this was, was not one of her usual reading topics.
For an instant she cursed herself for that. And an instant later she chastised herself for cursing herself. There was no way she could've known this was coming. She prided herself on being prepared. It came from a deeply imbedded desire within her. On most occasions, she was on top – perfect even – and rarely faltered. This was not one of those occasions.
Padma pushed away those thoughts. There was something else niggling on her mind, something far more important to her.
Recently she had noticed that Ginny had made a new friend. Her sister had been seen sitting next to, and chatting with, Ginny Weasley quite a bit over the past weeks.
It hurt her deeply to admit, but Padma had no alternative.
Parvati was somehow involved too.
The timing when they became friends was far too great to be a mere coincidence. Padma had never fully believed that her sister's crush on the Boy-Who-Lived was ever gone after the disastrous Yule Ball date. Harry had only danced a few dances at the start with her and sat down, ignoring her the rest of the night, staring intently at Cho and Cedric, and occasionally Hermione and Krum. It was plain to see to those paying attention who Harry had wanted to attend with. It was too convenient for her sister's desire to have dissolved completely after that.
Parvati's pride had been bruised that night by her date, the famous Harry Potter, spending much of his time wishing to be with someone else. Padma and Lavender had seen it in the following weeks. Her sister was depressed, uninterested in anything at all, including her beloved clothes, Divination and, perhaps most surprisingly, the numerous rumors of who hooked up and who screwed up at the Yule Ball.
Had that crush developed further, so much that she would jump at the opportunity to have him for herself, magical means or not? But how would that work out? Would Ginny share with Parvati?
That was unlikely.
Perhaps it was worse.
What if Parvati hated Harry for the Yule Ball? What if that hatred had developed into something that would aid a delusional Ginny Weasley into capturing Harry's heart through magic and effectively enslaving him?
That would be an interesting revenge, helping Ginny force Harry to be with someone who he didn't want to be. By spending the Yule Ball wishing to be with someone else and making Parvati be with someone who didn't want to be with her, Harry was now being forced to be with someone he didn't want to be with.
Padma kept those thoughts to herself. Her sister she would deal with on her own.
Hermione tapped Padma on the shoulder, nodding in the direction of the door.
Looking at her watch, Padma noticed that ten minutes had already passed. A muttered Unlocking Charm later and a Locking Charm later, the two females were back facing Harry. Already he looked much better, if not worse in some ways.
There was no anger left on his face, merely deep sorrow and regret. He was slouching deeply, eyes downcast and unfocused. He was the living essence of tiredness.
"I'm so, so sorry, Hermione, Padma," Harry said barely audible, still facing the floor.
"We can apologize to each other later, Harry," Padma said quickly. "We don't have much time."
Harry jerked his head up, staring into Padma's eyes as she met his. His gaze was penetrating. The emotions in his green eyes and the intensity were overwhelming. All mental barriers appeared to have ceased. As they lingered a little longer, it was as if he was able to see into her mind or soul. Her heart skipped a beat and a bead of sweat glistened down from her forehead.
"We need you to find Ginny and bring her here," Hermione explained, oblivious to the silent exchange. "Can you do that?"
Harry took a moment, but nodded his affirmative. "I pretty sure I can control myself long enough if she isn't that far off."
"Good," Padma said, shaking her mind clear from other thoughts. She withdrew her wand and waved it absently. Harry leaned forward suddenly, his feet no longer stuck to the floor.
"Thanks," he said calmly. Within a second he had the Marauder's Map out, the infamous Marauder words on his lips.
The parchment filled with ink quickly, mapping out the hallways, corridors, spare rooms, offices and dormitories. It took Harry fifteen seconds to find Ginny. She was just outside the door to the entrance of school standing with Parvati.
Padma, now looking over Harry's shoulder, saw her sister standing with their target. Her suspicions were only magnified by this sight. Ginny had to be aware, to some extent at least, of the state Harry was in and if she was still keeping company with Parvati… Her complexion paled, though not visibly with her dark skin.
Hermione grabbed onto Padma, pulling her away from Harry, shaking her head slightly. Padma understood her meaning very clearly. Keep as much distance between them and him as possible.
Seconds later, Harry packed up the Map, gave it to Hermione and nodded to the two females before walking out the door after Hermione removed the Locking Charm.
The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw females sighed deeply.
It was down to Harry. Even with their help, it was down to Harry and Harry alone, again.
With all their might, the two of them hoped and prayed Harry would overcome the temptations inside of him long enough to bring Ginny Weasley up two floors of Hogwarts.
-x-x-x-x-x-
Harry moved quickly, dodging around the majority of the Gryffindors as they returned to their common room after another satisfying lunch. Cursing them internally for their lack of problems, the raven haired teen pushed through a group of three females, who happened to be the three he had overheard weeks ago, muttering a quick apology and hurrying forward.
"Hiya, Harry," a very familiar voice called out.
Harry turned his head sharply to the left and saw Colin Creevey waving at him from the top of the first floor staircase to the second floor. The poor fifth year was left standing there very confused after Harry sent a scowl his way and moved on ahead.
Even when Harry didn't have a seemingly ticking time bomb inside of him, he did not particularly enjoy the camera obsessed Gryffindor's company. Still, he felt a little bit sorry for the fellow who had the unfortunate luck to try and talk to him at probably the worst point of his year.
Within thirty seconds Harry was down the final set of stairs and was walking briskly across the Entrance Hall heading straight for the door.
The sun was hidden by a multitude of clouds when Harry stepped out into the open. A soft breeze threatened to keep Harry preoccupied in the cool, but nice afternoon.
Disregarding the pleasant, albeit dark, outside world, Harry took the left most path out of the numerous before him.
It took him mere seconds to come across Ginny and Parvati. The two of them were seated on a picnic bench in front of the castle, encased between several trees along an avenue of them. This part of the garden was not far from where Harry and Ron had overheard Hagrid and Madam Maxime two years before.
The instant Harry laid eyes upon her, his mind went blank. For a second, the teenager was standing stock still, unable to grasp any coherent though. Then the blankness suddenly was replaced by massive amounts of memories, both real and fake, of Ginny Weasley.
Amongst them was the time Harry saved had saved her from the Basilisk and Ginny was holding him tightly. There was also the time that Ginny had accidentally stuck her elbow in butter at the Weasley house so long ago in such simpler times. Then there was a memory of Harry dancing with Ginny at the Yule Ball alongside Krum and Hermione, Cho and Cedric and Fleur and Davies.
Harry closed his eyes and willed the memories aside. He was here for a purpose, but what was it?
A 'memory' of Harry taking Ginny for walk outside the Great Hall on the night of the Yule Ball fluttered through his mind, distracting him.
What…? No, that isn't how it went. Bloody hell, what was I here for?
As quick as lightning, Harry had Ginny up against a wall. A light tinge of red covered the redhead's cheeks, her breath rapidly becoming harried and quick. Her eyes roamed Harry's face, searching, wanting.
I was supposed to take someone somewhere, but who and where?
His hands moved quickly, one to the hem of her dress and the other to her cheek.
This didn't happen! This isn't real…
His head moved closer, his own breath quickening at their close proximity. Their breaths could be felt on the others' faces, the warmth warming the skin, only to be chilled quickly by the cool, night air. Finally, Ginny leaned forward and closed the gap. For a long second, Harry and Ginny were locked together by their lips.
This is her fantasy…what she wanted to have happen that night. What if…
The 'memory' switched to another time. Ginny was lying on the floor, ankle broken and in visible pain. She was in the Planet Room at the Department of Mysteries.
…I think of what really happened? Would that cancel out the effects?
An unknown Death Eater appeared out of nowhere, wand in hand, a curse on his lips. Ginny's wand lay to her side, too far to be gotten in time to stave off whatever curse the Death Eater would use. An explosion caught both their attention. The Death Eater, his focus on one end of the room, failed to notice Harry sneak up behind and blast him with a Reductor Curse in the back. The Death Eater was knocked clean across the room, the sounds of bones cracking and breaking filling the air.
Think, think, think… I was with Hermione and Neville. Dolohov nearly killed her. Neville had a broken nose.
Harry knelt down to check on Ginny. He noticed her ankle and tapped it with his wand. Instantly the bone was healed. Ginny, tears in her eyes, enveloped Harry in a tight hug.
Time switched forward.
It was later that night in a bedroom. Harry talking to Ginny about Sirius, how he failed to save him, how it was entirely his fault that he lost his Godfather.
Neville carried Hermione and we met up with the other three in the room with all those doors.
Smashing objects and then yelling at him. Dumbledore talking to me, telling me the prophecy.
Ginny leaning forward, grasping Harry's hand and pulling him back with her. Then Ginny closed her eyes and began drawing him in closer, their lips meeting.
The prophecy… she doesn't know it so I didn't tell her about it in her fantasy… Voldemort… the DA revival… the twelve of us…
Two robes flying through the air, discarded. Two shirts, a tie, two pairs of shoes and socks and a pair of pants followed suit. Harry was all too quickly in his underwear, lying on top of Ginny on the bed.
Malfoy…Daphne and the Oaths…Hermione and our arguments… Padma… Susan… Hannah… Ernie, Daphne riling him up… Fleur…and France…Come on; come on… what was next?
Ginny's own pair of pants laid there on the floor.
Hermione kidnapped, then her and Padma…what were we talking about? Damn…so close, I can feel it…
Together, moving within the sheets...
What was it? It had something to do with magic…Ginny…and what? Love potions or something… Wait! No, that's it!
For the third time in thirty minutes, anger bubbled with Harry.
She did this to me…did something to me… I'm supposed to bring her to Hermione and Padma…that's it! That's it, that's what I'm here to do!
The anger escalated, tapping into the magic inside of him, like it had done years ago resulting in Aunt Marge being blown up, and releasing a burst of magic that flowed from Harry causing his mind to clear in an instant. The environment didn't change, but an invisible wave through the air, giving nearby students goosebumps. Harry, panting, felt all coherent and conscious thoughts returning to him within seconds. For a moment, Harry stood, disoriented, before shaking his head, refocusing.
He opened his eyes.
There she was. Ginny Weasley. She was staring right back at him, her hair flailing wildly in the wind. A tinge of desire arose within him again, but he was ready, prepared now to make this moment of clarity last and quashed it quickly.
Harry was back in full control, he didn't know how or why, but he had control. It was finally time to end this. Who knew how long his reprieve would last.
Harry closed the remaining distance between himself and Ginny. As he drew closer, Ginny and Parvati stopped talking as they noticed him approach.
"Harry!" Ginny said his name brightly. "What a nice surprise, what can I do for you?"
The affected side took the form of a beast and rattled against his cage, begging freedom to take this girl and throw her against the wall of the castle and start…
A moment later it was quieted again, nothing more than an unintelligible whisper on the wind.
"Can you come with me for a moment?" Harry said as brightly as he could manage. He let the beast loose for a millisecond to add a genuine smile to the façade.
Ginny looked at him questioningly at first, but then smiled back to his own. She turned to Parvati, whose eyes had focused entirely on Harry's face since the moment she saw him, exchanged a look. Harry saw a glint in Ginny's eyes as she turned back to him.
Harry offered his right hand, which Ginny took after a moment's hesitation.
"What do you want me for?" Ginny asked with her excitement barely concealed.
"What do you think?" Harry answered with an attempt at a disarming smile on his face. Ginny's eyes light up and moved closer to Harry as they entered the castle.
The urge, the temptations rose again with her smell filling his senses. The beast within Harry purred with delight while the other, not affected side of Harry, shuddered with revulsion. There was no remorse within her eyes. She knew exactly what she had done and had no regrets now she was getting what she wanted. The means did not matter to her, only the result.
Harry quickly climbed the stairs to the first floor, hoping his recent control over the beast would last long enough to get the girl to Hermione and Padma. Ginny followed a step behind, her eyes shining with delight.
Seconds later Harry hit the next set of stairs with Ginny practically running alongside him. A few passersby watched the two hurry past, full well noticing how odd that was, seeing Harry and Ginny together, alone, after their distance over the year to date.
The two passed Neville, who was stunned to see the two together. He watched Harry rush the upstairs, Ginny a step behind. That couldn't mean anything good. He needed to find Hermione.
The best within Harry raged against its cage at that line of thought, threatening to break free again. Harry could feel his control slipping slightly. He stumbled on the stairs in his haste. Regaining his balance a moment later, he sent a Ginny a sheepish look at her worried glance. He turned back to the stairs and looked up to the top, thanking Merlin at the sight of the door at the top of the stairs where they would be alone at last. The beast thrashed against the cage, his thoughts washed away for a moment, forgetting Hermione and Padma, before returning a second later. The door was meters away from Harry, who then directed Ginny towards it. He placed a hand on the doorknob, turned it and opened the door.
"After you," he said enthusiastically. The beast within him broke one of the bars.
Ginny smiled brilliantly at him and another bar broke. She took the offer and walked in ahead of him. Harry winced, his reprieve coming to a crashing halt as the desires arose within him once again. Whatever had happened to allow him the time to bring Ginny here was very nearly over. It had been a ten minute reprieve at best.
"You coming, Harry?" Ginny asked him after he didn't follow her inside immediately.
"Yep, sorry, just had a thought," he answered, following the Weasley inside. A third broke.
Harry followed Ginny through the doorway and closed the door behind him. Before he'd turned back to face her, Ginny jumped him, her tiny, but surprisingly strong hands pinning his to the wall.
"You've no idea how long I've waited for this moment, Harry," Ginny whispered in a breathy voice into his ear. The four, fifth and sixth bars broke.
"Hold on…" Harry said, looking about the room. It looked different somehow… Where were Hermione and Padma? Where was the table he'd taken his anger and frustration out on?
Harry looked around frantically for the two females who were to be his saviors. Then he saw it. The room layout was different. This one was completely devoid of any furniture and did not even look like a classroom.
This is the wrong bloody room!
"Ah, Ginny," Harry said tentatively. He was beginning to get very worried right now. At the same time he was beginning to get very excited.
"Yes?" she whispered, her lips centimetres from his ear. The seventh bar broke.
He couldn't think properly. Eyes closed, clenched tightly again, he tried to resist the thought of what Ginny would do. That was his mistake. Concentrating on what she wanted to do to him only managed to break the eighth, and final, bar.
Harry, not a strong person in general, used strength he didn't know he possessed, forcing Ginny off him. Surprised, she stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the floor. Harry reached out and grabbed her before she fell, lifted her back to her feet and pushed her back. Again surprised, Ginny stumbled backwards to find her back up against the far wall.
The Weasley girl looked at Harry, seeing nothing but pure lust in his eyes as he stared down at her like a predator did his prey. She felt her face grow hot, her heart skip a beat and another area tingle. Finally, after five long years since she met him, she was getting her moment with Harry Potter, her savoir, the man she loved.
Harry took a step forward, his walk filled with complete confidence.
"You want this, don't you?" Harry said uncaringly. "You want me to take you right here, right now."
Ginny, in her surprise at Harry's tone and words, was forced to nod in response without thinking about it.
Harry smirked dangerously. He closed the distance quickly, reaching out to touch her cheek with his hand. Ginny sighed into his touch, savouring it. A second hand trailed down her right arm, gradually moving downwards.
Harry leaned inwards to kiss the redhead on the lips and end this agony once and for all.
A loud burst from behind them stopped him his tracks. Harry and Ginny jumped at the sound and turned to see what had made the commotion.
"Stupefy!" two voices called out simultaneously. Unarmed and unprepared, Harry and Ginny respectively were hit dead on with the two spells.
Hermione and Padma lowered their wands.
"That was close." Padma remarked with a rise of an eyebrow. Harry and Ginny had slumped together, knocked heads and Harry was now laying facing away from Ginny while Ginny was facing his back. Even in unconsciousness Harry wanted nothing to do with her.
"Too close," Hermione concurred. "If Harry hadn't left the Marauder's Map with us…"
Padma was content to let Hermione trail off. She didn't like the thought any more than Hermione did.
Hermione set up the usual secrecy charms while Padma detestfully picked up Ginny's unconscious form with a Levitation Charm and used a Sticking Charm on her, leaving her suspended from the wall, her feet unable to reach the floor. She also divested the redhead of her wand, pocketing it.
"I hope being unconscious resets his mind," Padma said to Hermione, both standing over Harry's body. "I'd better stick him to the ground just in case." She added after a moment of silence.
A second Sticking Charm, and a murmured 'Rennervate' later, Harry was awake, blinking slowly. He tried to move, found he couldn't, and looked up at Hermione and Padma watching him closely.
"Hermione, Padma?" he asked confusedly, his gaze passing Ginny on the wall. He paused, a look of complete and utter horror crossing his face. "Please tell me you stopped me before I did anything?" he pleaded.
"We stopped you," Padma said kneeling down on his left. Hermione knelt down on his right.
"Are you alright?" Hermione asked pointedly.
Harry looked around at himself, noticed Ginny a second time up against the wall and paled, looking away immediately. "Aside from not being able to get up on the ground, nearly snogging and doing so much more with her, I'm just peachy thanks Hermione, couldn't be better."
"That's definitely our Harry." Hermione nodded to Padma, a relieved smile on her face. Padma removed the Sticking Charm.
Harry got to his feet, Padma and Hermione one step behind.
"Keep your wands on me at all times," Harry ordered them, taking charge immediately, brushing out various creases on his robes and looking directly at Ginny. "I don't know how long I can stop it. If it looks like I'm losing control, stun me again."
The two women exchanged a dark look. Neither of them envied Ginny in the least.
"Wake her," Harry told them in a no-nonsense voice.
Padma cast the counter spell.
Ginny visibly slumped. For a moment she was completely still, the only signs of life the quiet noise of her breath. Her head rose slightly, looked around. She tried to move her arms and legs with no success.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking up. Her eyes lit up at Harry, before darkening at the sight of Hermione and Padma.
"Harry?" she said worriedly. "What's going on? Why am I stuck here?"
Harry didn't respond. He stared at her, his piercing gaze unnerving the young girl.
"What did you do?" Harry asked finally, his voice low and neutral. To those that knew him, that was a bad sign; his own version of Ron's telltale red tinged ears.
"What do you mean, 'what did you do'?" Ginny asked back, her voice nervous. She tried moving her limbs again to no avail.
"You know full well what you've done," Harry responded. "What was it? A love potion of some sort? A spell?"
Ginny didn't answer, staring back at Harry in shock.
"What did you do to me?" Harry said in a much louder, commanding voice, surprising all three others in the room.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny answered, looking away, not meeting his eyes.
"I know how good a liar you can be Ginevra Weasley," Harry practically growled. "Padma said your 'apology' was sincere, that's evidence enough of how good you can lie."
Ginny glanced at Padma, hatred in her eyes, before controlling herself and switching her gaze back to Harry. The redhead had no training controlling her emotions as her actions had just displayed. The fact that she was a Weasley, a wizarding family known to contain hot-headed and emotionally controlled children, made it even easier for Harry, Hermione and Padma to read straight through her now. When Ginny was calm, she was dynamite, someone you did not mess with. Once her emotions took control, she was vulnerable. It was right then that Harry truly understood why Dumbledore was so insistent on learning to control his emotions.
"Deny it all you want, Ginevra, but you aren't getting down from there until you admit and undo whatever you did."
Ginny stared at Harry. She had never heard him use her first name like that until a moment ago and now he was using it again. It had always been Ginny and never Ginevra.
The redhead began to panic. She was trapped, stuck against the wall in an unused room that was probably locked, with silencing charms all over it. There's no way screaming for help would work, and that would only anger Harry further.
She could see it in his eyes. It was the same look he'd given her when she accosted Padma and him in that corridor weeks ago. She'd followed Harry, to find out what he was doing down in Ravenclaw territory. Luna's appearance made her, for a moment, feel safer without any more contest for Harry's heart. Then Luna left after a very brief interaction. Harry remained seated, staring after the girl. A few minutes later Padma had appeared. Their closeness, Padma laying her head on his shoulder, where her own was supposed to reside, and then Harry laying his own head on hers... The minutes passed painfully slowly, neither making any effort to move from each other. Just as she had been about to interfere, they moved.
Padma then fell onto Harry when she had stood. It had been unintentional in reality; however an observer, especially one like Ginny, saw it differently, saw it planned, contrived to suit a purpose. And that purpose was to take Harry away from her.
It was when the two of them were about to hug outside the Gryffindor common room that Ginny had intervened, and perhaps made the first mistake.
Back then, Harry had looked at her with contempt. Now, it was that same look but magnified so much more.
She shivered involuntarily.
What else could she do? How could she get out of this? How could she achieve her aim now? There was a way, there had to be. There was always a way. But how?
She couldn't try and seduce him with the other two in the room. They'd stop him even if she was successful, which judging by his look, would be next to impossible. She couldn't think of anything suitable enough for a lie. Her mind was blank.
Ginny was left without any options.
"A spell," Ginny said with her voice barely audible even in the silent room. "It was a spell, alright, a spell."
Harry was silent. Honestly, he was surprised that Ginny had answered. He'd been expecting to be here for quite some time before he got any answers. After exchanging a quick look with Hermione and Padma, he knew he wasn't the only one.
Facing the captured girl again, Harry felt a pang of regret inside of him. There was a time less than few months ago he considered this person a dear friend, someone who would risk her life for him and his cause. The beast within Harry pounced on that thought and expanded upon it, cursing the very existence of Hermione Granger and Padma Patil with uncontrolled abandon. With all his might, Harry fought off the rising urges, concentrating on what Ginny had just said she had done.
"What spell?" Hermione asked after a long pause, not noticing Harry's predicament.
Ginny looked towards Hermione with her own contemptuous look. Hermione winced slightly before returning the redheads gaze steadfastly.
Once upon a time Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger had been friends. Once upon a time she believed that Ginny Weasley would blossom into a great female friend who was actually close to Harry and therefore remain with her as their lives continued. Once upon a time she liked Ginny Weasley.
"What spell?" Harry repeated the question. He coughed, hand clutched to his chest, slouching slightly.
Ginny turned back to Harry and saw the state he was in. Hope arose within her. If Harry was still affected then she might get out of this without having to say any more.
"Padma, now," Harry wheezed out. Padma turned to him sharply, saw his condition and pleading in his eyes. Without another second's hesitation, she sent a Stunner that struck Harry dead on. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.
"Why did you do that?" Ginny screamed in outrage, hatred billowing from her being, directed completely towards Padma.
Unflinchingly, Padma faced Ginny and stared her down with her own look of pure hatred. "I'm doing what he asked, what's best for my friend."
"What was happening to him was already what's best for him!" Ginny said in retaliation, undeterred by the dark skinned girls' reply.
Padma didn't respond, choosing instead to stare at the Weasley's only daughter, despising her very existence.
"Padma," Hermione spoke in a soft voice. "That should be long enough."
Nodding, Padma pointed her wand at Harry and cast the counter spell again. A moment later Harry was standing, albeit disoriented.
"What spell?" Harry repeated a third time after a few seconds, facing Ginny, standing straight, unaffected, at least temporarily.
"How…" she whispered.
"His mind resets when he's unconscious," Padma answered the half asked question.
"And Padma will continue to do this whenever I start to lose control, Ginevra." Harry added distastefully. "Face it; you've got the choice of answering now or answering later. The only difference between now and later is later you will have been hanging there for quite a number of hours."
Ginny mulled it over.
"I don't know what it's called," Ginny answered softly, seeing no alternative. There was a reason Filch loved the idea of stringing up students on the walls as punishment. Here she was right now getting her own version, although, thankfully, she wasn't upside down.
"Who told you about it?" Harry asked unrelentingly.
Ginny hesitated.
"You're going to be answering my questions one way or another today, Ginevra," Harry said darkly. "Just make it easier and quicker for the both of us will you?"
Ginny swallowed, uncertain of what Harry would do to get his answers.
"Mum…" she said with her voice a whisper.
Hermione dropped her wand with a clatter. All three eyes turned to her.
She looked to Harry who looked back with understanding written all over his face.
"We were right," Hermione surmised their thoughts. Harry nodded slowly, shocked.
"All along," he added.
"Right about what?" Padma asked her two friends, head turning between the two of them.
"I think it'd be best if Ginevra answers that," Harry responded, turning back to Ginny. "And it'd be best for her to as well."
Hermione, pale faced, and Padma faced Ginny, all three of them watching her intently, awaiting her to speak.
Seeing no other options, Ginny complied.
"During the summer of my fourth year, so the start of your fifth year, mum came to me and asked me about you, Harry." Ginny began. "She wanted to know how I felt about you, how close we were and how you felt about me. I told her how I felt, that we were friends, but distant ones and that you had feelings for Cho."
"She told me an incantation, 'Vis diligo', and said that it would help,"
"Vis diligo?" Hermione and Padma said at the same time.
"Forced love," the two of them said at the same time a second time.
"Forced love?" Harry repeated, ignoring their synchronization. "That's what the spell means? It actually means forced love?"
Two nods answered his question.
Harry rounded on Ginny. "And you didn't think the name of this spell wasn't odd?" he asked sarcastically. "You felt that using a spell called 'forced love' on a friend would be alright, that I would be grateful for it?"
"I didn't know the meaning of the spell!" Ginny yelled at him, redhead hair bouncing wildly, her eyes watering. "I didn't even use it until this year. I watched you pine after Cho for months and months, hoping you would notice me now that I was able to talk around you and had a boyfriend of my own. I wanted you to notice me as a girl and deepen our friendship before we'd start dating but you never paid any attention to me!"
"For an entire year I sat by and watched you and Cho fail spectacularly, and then with half a summer at the Burrow with nothing, I was tempted alright? I was tempted to us the spell! After watching you two," she glared between Harry and Hermione. "Talk on the first night back like that, I had to! There was nothing left to lose!"
"Those noises from the girls' dormitories –" Hermione said slowly, remembering that night.
"- were you," Harry finished. "You were eavesdropping on us?" he asked angrily.
Ginny shook her head quickly, redhead hair continuing to bounce everywhere with her erratic movements. "I couldn't hear anything. Just watching you two gradually get closer was bad enough."
"And so you cast the spell on me the next day?" Harry asked, pressing her further.
"Yes," Ginny answered solemnly. "I had nothing left to lose. You still didn't notice me after I came with you to the Department of Mysteries or an entire summer at the Burrow."
"Sirius had died!" Harry yelled at Ginny, startling all three others again. "Girls were the last thing on my mind after that! How could you even think that I would be with you after that? How could you even think that I would be contemplating who I liked and didn't like after all that happened?"
"Comfort!" Ginny yelled back, tears filling her eyes.
"Like that fantasy of yours, after the Department of Mysteries in some bed?" Harry seethed, disgusted at the thought. Those fantasies of hers he had seen after looking at her outside the castle were still fresh in his mind.
Ginny nodded, shocked, not even caring to know how he knew.
"How long were you planning on keeping me under this spell?" Harry asked her coldly. He was thinking of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr. It was unnerving how close history had come to repeating itself, in a way.
Had the possession of Riddle affected Ginny deeper than anyone had ever considered? Was this the reason for the drastic changes within the young redhead? Or was it just destined to happen this way? It did not really matter. It had happened. End of story.
Ginny looked up at Harry. Through her tear laced eyelashes she locked gazes with him.
"Until you loved me."
Hermione's eyes had filled with tears of her own. Had she not had the dreams she'd had this year, Hermione wouldn't have been able to accept what she was being told. The dreams had robbed her of her trust for the Weasleys.
As friends throughout Ginny's first through fourth years, Hermione had had many late night conversations with the girl. Hermione knew about Ginny's crush before and after the Chamber of Secrets ordeal. It had been she who mentioned moving on, dating others.
"So everything that's happened since then," Harry said as calmly as he could with two types of anger rising within again. "Suddenly noticing you, my deteriorating friendship with Hermione, being short with her, is all because of this spell?"
Ginny nodded a second time, a tear falling to the floor.
"This spell" Harry continued, ignoring her tears, thinking about the spells' nature and how to undo it. "Seems to create distance between the people closest to the target, but how does that explain the distrust and hatred towards them like I've been feeling the last couple of weeks?"
"Mum told me to cast the spell only once a week so you would only gradually change," Ginny answered sadly.
"And you feared that I, someone else to contend with, was getting close to Harry and interfered that night?" Padma spoke up again. "Then you started casting the spell more often, increasing the effects, am I right?"
"She didn't start till after I returned from the attack at Diagon Alley," Harry interrupted. Hermione and Padma turned to him with confused looks on their faces.
"How do you know?" asked Hermione, disbelieving.
Harry sighed; he might as well tell them who he was with while he was away. It wasn't like the entire group hadn't already guessed there was something between them after her last visit and his depression afterwards.
"I was with Fleur for those three nights," Harry responded, turning to face a far wall, away from their accusing eyes. "We … we were close."
Ginny looked up with surprise covering her features.
"I thought she was engaged to Bill," Ginny said, voicing Hermione and Padma's thoughts also.
"She is," Harry replied bluntly.
There was a small silence.
"That bitch…" Ginny muttered. Harry rounded back on her, stepping forward and grasping her robes tightly.
"Don't you dare call her that!" Harry yelled in her face, startling the other three deeply. "You have no right; no right whatsoever to pass judgment on something you know nothing about! You have no right to pass judgment on anyone after what you've done!"
Harry studied her face closely. Her eyes were closed, her face contorted in an expression of sincere sadness. A second tear dropped to the floor.
Harry looked away, releasing her and saw Hermione's horrified expression. Remembering her dreams, he turned back to face the redhead.
"What about Hermione?" Harry asked, controlling himself.
"What about Hermione?" Ginny asked back, genuine confusion in her voice. "If something's been done to Hermione then it wasn't me."
Harry was left speechless, his anger abated temporarily. This time he could tell she wasn't lying. She had nothing to gain by lying anymore.
"Who else knows of this spell besides you and your mother?" he asked hurriedly. She had to know the answer.
"Just us I think," Ginny responded, thinking. Her eyes then opened wide, an 'oh' escaping her lips.
"'Oh' what?" Harry pressed Ginny further. The Weasley gave no response. Harry asked again, losing patience.
"…Ron might have overheard us…" Ginny responded slowly.
"Might have?" Harry pressed again.
"We were talking in the kitchen and as soon as the conversation finished Ron entered looking…flustered, I suppose, like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have," Ginny answered, dropping her head downwards again. "I didn't think much of it at the time. We were in the middle of prank war with Fred and George … I thought it had something to do with that."
There was a long silence following that admission. There was so much to absorb.
What if Ginny had never overused the spell? Would Harry have ever noticed? Would any of them have noticed? Would Harry and Ginny have been together at this point, or would've been soon enough?
Harry reached for Ginny's robes again, grasping hold tightly and leaning in closely.
"Do you even realize what you've done to me?" he asked quietly. "Do you realize that you've betrayed my trust, something I will never be able to give you again. Do you realize that whenever I see you, I'll think of this moment and you'll never be thought of fondly? Do you realize that this ends our so called friendship? You said you had nothing left to lose, but you lost my friendship, my trust and my faith in you."
Harry let go of her robes and took several steps back.
"I hope you're happy with the results of your gamble," Harry muttered. "Now tell us how to undo it."
Two more tears joined the first two on the floor. "Add 'terminus' to the front of the incantation."
Harry turned to Padma. "Cast the spell on the wall or something first. No surprises."
Padma nodded and proceeded to cast the spell. A short, pink-ish beam, tinged with black, spat from the wand. It did nothing to wall. No damage, nothing.
Harry faced Padma again. "Cast it on Hermione first. Just in case. I can wait."
Padma nodded, mind preoccupied with all that had just been revealed. She felt out of place, like she didn't belong here. This felt like it had been a moment between the three of them, something she shouldn't have been a part of… yet she couldn't bring herself to leave. It wasn't simple curiosity that kept her but her will to help Harry and Hermione, who were now two of the best friends she'd ever had or probably ever would have.
Facing Hermione, she raised her wand. Hermione faced Padma back, her expression resolute.
Padma took a deep breath and prayed that this would work. "Terminus vis diligo."
Hermione's eyes glazed over, her heart began to beat rapidly, mind a rush with activity.
"Did it work?" asked Harry warily.
Hermione nodded, but she was barely paying attention.
Padma turned back to Harry and cast the same spell with his confirmation. His eyes glazed over, heart began to beat rapidly and his mind flurried with activity.
Both Harry and Hermione were standing stock still. Odd concoctions of feelings were rushing through them.
Harry's lust for Ginny, distrust for Hermione and hatred for her and Padma were leaving him, giving rebirth to his own, real, honest emotions for each of them.
Hermione's, to her surprise, own small feelings of distrust towards Harry were wiped away, her own real trust for him returning.
A mixture of other feelings were wiping away and being replaced by their real, former, true feelings. An emotional outpour…
Regret was a prominent emotion filling both Gryffindors. Like before, Harry was ashamed of himself for letting his relationship with Hermione deteriorate like it had. Hermione was regretting her, even minor, bickering with, and mistrust of, Harry and for not noticing and realizing the problem a lot sooner.
Harry turned back to Ginny, who was silently crying from her perch on the wall. Padma closed the gap between Harry and herself and placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
"I can't believe she would actually do it." Harry whispered to Padma.
"Betrayal, from close friends especially, is one of the most painful and hard to accept acts in the world," Padma replied, her eyes watching the silently crying redhead. "Here," she said, offering Harry back his wand.
It took Harry a few seconds to realize what she was giving him back and he took it gratefully.
With a quick flick, Ginny was released from the wall and crumbled to the ground, Ginny letting out a small shriek at the sudden ability to move.
Harry stared down at Ginny, who was crumbled on the ground. "Leave us alone from now on, alright?" Harry told her emotionlessly. "Leave us alone and we won't tell anyone about this. Don't tell anyone about anyone of this – Fleur included – and don't talk to any of us, got it?"
Ginny looked up into Harry's eyes and saw the hurt, the pain and the honesty in there. He never wanted to speak of this day again and she saw it.
Nodding, Ginny stood up and walked to the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob and turned back to Padma, who threw her her wand. Turning a bit further, Ginny faced Harry's back.
"Harry, I'm…" she started to apologize.
"Don't, Ginny," Harry interrupted her. "Just leave."
Tears still flowing, Ginny tried to open the door, found it locked, cast the counterspell and opened the door. With a near inaudible click, the door closed behind her.
Harry fell to his knees and punched the ground, hard. Groaning at the sudden pain in his knuckles, Harry sat down and brought his fist close to his chest.
Hermione slumped to the ground as well, exhausted emotionally and mentally.
Padma stood off to the side, very well aware of how she shouldn't be there any longer. The two of them needed to heal, to bond together and reaffirm their friendship and that wasn't something she should see. It was private, between them.
This time obeying her instincts, Padma walked to the door and left.
For a long time the two Gryffindors sat in silence, far too wrapped up in their own thoughts.
It was Hermione who was the first to speak.
"You were in France with Fleur all that time," she said softly, startling Harry who'd forgotten he wasn't alone. He looked about and found Padma gone. Silently he thanked her for her discretion.
"Yeah," Harry replied honestly. There was no point hiding it anymore. It wasn't like it was the beginning of anything special. Her choice had been made.
"Her house is under Fidelius then?" she asked softly still.
"Yeah," Harry repeated.
"You said you were close … how close?" Hermione asked hesitantly, getting on her hands and knees. Harry looked up to face her and found her looking at him intently, tears in her eyes. "Please Harry; I just want us to be friends like we were for the past five years. I just want us to be able to be honest and be able to confide within each other again. I know you're a private person and this might be asking too much …" she paused and cast her eyes down. "But, please, can you tell me about France?"
Harry didn't have the heart or resolve to say no, even if he didn't want to hide those three nights any longer.
"As we, Fleur and I, were leaving Diagon Alley, we spotted Narcissa Malfoy and some woman talking with a Silencing Charm around them." Harry began in an equally soft voice to Hermione's. "After losing out on five hundred thousand galleons, I figured it was rather suspicious for her to be talking to someone under a Silencing Charm and so did Fleur. They attacked us, I knocked Fleur out of the way of the Cruciatus and it hit me."
Hermione, listening intently, moved forward slowly. Back on the first night here, they'd reached a new level of friendship, of understanding with each other. Harry's friendship was her ground, her point of focus. Without him, she was sailing blindly, uselessly in the world with nothing but books as companions. She wanted her anchor to the wizarding world back.
Harry continued, not noticing Hermione drawing closer. "Fleur lit Bella alight with one of her Veela powers. I don't really understand how," he said shaking his head while staring off into the distance, unfocused. "She picked me up and dragged me into the Leaky Cauldron. I told her not to go to Hogwarts or the Weasleys and asked her to go to her place. We Apparated there and I think I must've passed out because the next thing I knew I was in a bed and Fleur was crying beside me…"
Hermione continued moving closer while Harry was talking, absorbing everything he said eagerly. She finally stopped and sat down facing him, just in front and to the right of where he was facing.
"We talked for awhile," Harry went on. "I met her parents who are pretty nice, especially since they let me stay though they don't know a thing about me. Fleur and I had dinner in, as I found out, her bedroom and eventually it came to time to go to sleep. I said I'd sleep on the floor but Fleur kept pushing me back. I couldn't really resist with the constant twitches preventing me from being able to function properly. She said she was sleeping in the same bed in case I needed anything."
Harry cast his eyes upwards, thinking. "Now that I think on it, I think her plan was to keep me distracted by using her presence to distract me from the pain. It actually worked quite well and I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly with no potions or anything."
"We spent the next day exploring their property and just talking, getting along well," Harry said with a small smile on his face. Hermione watched him recall his time in France with intense interest, her eyes still clouded with yet to be shed tears. She reached out and brushed a strand of hair that was covering Harry's left eye. Harry didn't notice it at all, too swept up in the memories and still overwhelming influx and outflow of emotions from the removal of the spell that had affected them both for so long.
"We slept in the same bed again that night and by morning I was fine. We went shopping in Paris and I finally got some new Muggle clothes." Harry smiled to himself. "I quite enjoyed shopping actually. She didn't boss me around or anything. She asked what I liked; pointed out a few things she did and didn't pressure me into anything. It was … fun."
"You were happy," Hermione whispered, a tear finally streaking down her cheek. Harry nodded.
"When she was holding me when we were in bed … it was the first time anyone had ever done that to me … I felt happy, even though I was in pain, I was… I think I was almost at peace." Hermione let out a small sob, another tear joining the first one.
"The third night … by that time I was already used to her holding me and I know she enjoyed it too …" Harry paused, a tear of his own trailing down his right cheek. Hermione reached up and brushed it away.
"We just kissed … it took a bit of time but we did …" Harry paused again. "I thought I'd ruined our friendship by doing that. I was getting along with her so well … but she was engaged. That had stopped me from kissing her for what had to have been an hour that night …"
"Then she kissed me on her own volition and I kissed back." Harry smiled at the memory, the feel of her lips, fresh in his mind now that Ginny's spell, which had drowned out the memory over the past weeks, was gone. He put a finger to his lips, pulling ever so slightly on his lower lip at the memory of Fleur doing the same with her own lips.
"When we awoke … things were a little weird between us … we didn't know where we stood with each other anymore and then tried to ignore everything else. It didn't last … we went and got my Apparition license from the French Ministry and met the Minister, Aldric Dolton. He's the one who told me about Voldemort's envoys."
Hermione nodded sadly. She understood almost everything now. Harry had bared his heart to her, giving out his deepest, happiest moment of his life willingly. Had it been any other time, he wouldn't have told her about this. This was something very personal and she could understand now Harry's hesitancy to mention anything. She sobbed again, thinking that she may have just been taking advantage of Harry in his emotionally fragile state. She couldn't help it, she needed it too, something powerful to draw them back together.
Reaching forward, she placed a hand on Harry's right, with his left still up near his lips. Harry turned to face her, his own eyes filled with unshed tears. There was a great sadness behind the tears, sadness at being betrayed and sadness at losing Fleur, someone who Hermione was almost certain he had fallen in love with.
"We parted without sorting anything out between us …" Harry said while staring straight into Hermione's own eyes. "When she came here with the pensieve … afterwards … she told me she was staying with Bill." Harry smiled to himself. "I expected it, knew it was coming, knew it was an impossibility for her and me to be together, and I was still hurt, more than I think I let myself believe, by it."
"I suppose all of you figured there was something between us?" Harry halfheartedly asked, already knowing that there had been speculation about it.
Hermione nodded, her eyes never leaving Harry's for a moment. Her left hand remained on his right, her right hand rising to his left cheek.
"Harry," she breathed. Harry felt her breath on him.
"Hermione," Harry whispered back. Hermione could feel his breath on her lips as she unconsciously moved closer.
"What … what are we doing, Harry?" she asked, still moving closer.
"This … this isn't right," Harry replied softly, their eyes still never parting for any period longer than a blink. He could feel her breath on him strongly. She was close, very close.
Hermione closed her eyes and closed the miniscule distance between herself and Harry. Harry, realizing the similarity to the situation he was in last year, closed his own eyes and leaned forward slightly.
But at the last second, he stopped and turned aside. Hermione opened her eyes, filled with tears, and looked at him worriedly.
"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione quietly, leaning away from him.
"I'm sorry," replied Harry, shaking his head. "We're not in our right minds yet, we can't do this. I know we'll regret it later."
Harry's heart was beating quickly, mind rushing with the knowledge that he and Hermione had nearly kissed. It couldn't happen, not this way at the very least. He was still hung up on Fleur; he knew it deep down, although he wouldn't admit it aloud. One did not just quit caring about Fleur Delacour, especially considering the dynamics between them.
Then what would have happened if he had never kissed Fleur? Would he have kissed Hermione?
For a moment, he couldn't help but wonder if he had given in. Would that have been the end of their friendship, or the start of more?
It was something he would not know the answer to in his lifetime.
Hermione was worried, concerned, desperate and embarrassed all at once. She was worried she had made a fatal mistake. This was a time of great importance in the recovery of their friendship and, in her moment of weakness, she had nearly ruined things for certain. She was concerned about Harry and how he was fairing, if he would continue to distrust her after what she had nearly done. She was desperate to have Harry back in her life like he had been before, and she was embarrassed for letting herself give in to her unexpected desire in her emotional state.
"Hermione?" Harry said softly, breaking Hermione out of her reverie.
"Harry…" she whispered before raising her voice. "Harry, oh Harry I-I-I didn't mean to…" Hermione started shaking her head, unable to accept that this could be the end, even after being released from the spell affecting them both.
"Hermione…" he whispered, unable to look away. Harry didn't know what to say to comfort her; he didn't know what he wanted to hear, let alone her. This was all so confusing. The emotional outpour was still affecting him, his judgment impaired.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered back, moving backwards, away from Harry. "It-it-it must be the re-emergence of our old emotions all at once."
Harry shook his head, not in disagreement, but trying to clear his head. Still, he could not think of a way to straighten things out quickly.
"We should go sort ourselves out," he said eventually. "Make sure we're in our right minds…"
Hermione nodded, biting her bottom lip. She stood shakily, nearly falling twice before regaining her proper balance. Harry followed suit, having similar problems with his balance.
Both seemed reluctant to make the first move. Their minds were shut down, not yet able to comprehend the meaning of all that had happened in the past hour.
After what seemed like an age, the two of them moved at once for the door. Harry paused and let Hermione open the door. She stepped out into the corridor and Harry followed a few steps behind.
The two stood beside each other, though not facing each other for a long moment. The silence pressed around them. Harry felt he should say something, anything to fill the void.
"We'll be okay." Harry said softly, but adamantly. It was all he could come up with. He hoped it would be at least something of comfort.
Hermione nodded. Whether she had registered the words or not was undeterminable for Harry.
"We will." Hermione replied in the same tone.
Harry took a step forward and tentatively reached out to touch her, the contact important. He still hesitated, uncertain whether he should or not. Hermione reached out, and the two shared a brief moment of contact. He met her eyes and offered a tired smile, and she returned it.
An unspoken agreement passed between them. They needed a bit of time alone to sort things out, and then they could return to normal.
Without another word, she took off to the right. Harry didn't feel offended by the act or try and stop her. He, after all, was in the same boat as her; confused.
Out of it, Harry marched his way back to his dormitory, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him. In his room, Harry looked around, taking in his surroundings. The usual mess was present, stemming mostly from Dean and Seamus' beds, with Ron a few steps behind.
The teenager was alone in the room. It was still only mid-afternoon and everyone was either downstairs working on their homework or outside, enjoying the last vestiges of daylight before snow season came in its entirety. Dozens of voices drifted up from the school grounds to the window. The constant chatter of happy students, without a care in the world except for homework or Quidditch, passed through Harry's mind unnoticed.
Harry sat down on his bed, closed his curtains and lay down on the covers. His constant, shallow breathing was the only sound from his bed for some time. He lay there for hours and thought, long and hard, trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last day, his friendship with Hermione, and discern what direction his life would head now that he was down another friend.