Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

If You Can Help Her – Chapter 32 – The Party

"Ginny, dear," assured Molly as they had their discussion about boys in Ginny's bedroom, "No matter what Percy said, the way you handled Michael was right, especially the fact that it was public. Now, every girl that was at the dance will know that he is not to be trusted. If Harry ever gets like that…"

"Harry never will!" declared Ginny adamantly.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do something like that," agreed Molly, "but if you ever feel that he's pushing you to do something you don't want to do, I want you to do the same thing to him."

Ginny shook her head, "He's not going to do that, mum. His problem is low self esteem because of the people Dumbledore made him stay with. He doesn't feel worthy of my liking him at all. He'll never get the idea that he deserves more affection than I give him. Quite the opposite, really. Besides, all he seems to worry about is whether I'm happy, not himself. He'd probably hex himself on the spot if he ever lost control for a moment and tried to force me to do anything." She took a deep breath. "You may not want to believe it, but he loves me. He's not interested in using me. He just wants to give me a reason to smile every day."

Molly sighed. She felt they were way too young to know what love was, but also knew there'd be no point in trying to tell Ginny that. "I'm glad you're happy, and that Harry treats you properly, but sometimes a young happy couple like you can get caught up in the moment and do things they'll later regret. Now, I wanted to talk about what goes on inside both boys and girls at this time in your life. You see, boys…"

She gave a long lecture that talked about hormones, choices, responsibility, sex (don't do it until you're ready to handle a baby), pregnancy (prevention), and basically everything that she could think of. It made Ginny uncomfortable and embarrassed, but not as much she would've expected. She also felt happy. Ginny decided that the point of this 'talk' was so that she'd never feel comfortable around a boy again.

-IYCHH-

Several miles away, Harry was happily getting the house ready for the party when he suddenly felt embarrassed for no apparent reason. He tried to figure it out, but the only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with Ginny. He shrugged it off as nothing and continued his work.

-IYCHH-

When Mrs. Weasley was done talking about that, she asked Ginny, "Now, what can you tell me about what happened during Harry's hearing?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's never happened before. I just…felt his emotions. His anger first. It must have been when Malfoy showed up. He said he calmed down. Maybe by transferring his anger to me. Then, I felt his joy over the ruling. I need to talk to him about it."

"Do you know how he feels now?"

Ginny closed her eyes and concentrated. She smiled broadly. "I think he's…happy…not as excited as the moment the ruling was given, but happy nonetheless."

-IYCHH-

It was five minutes to seven, and Harry was just finishing up in the kitchen. He'd decided to put his experience with the Dursleys to good use for the party celebrating his official separation from them. He baked a few frozen pizzas, as well as several cupcakes. He also provided snacks, such as crisps and drinks, such as butterbeer. He heard the fire change and walked out of the kitchen to see who had flooed in first.

"Hello, Harry!" greeted Ginny as she dusted herself off before running up to kiss him.

"Hello, Ginny! I missed you!"

"I missed you more," countered Ginny with a smirk. "We need to talk privately before I leave."

Harry couldn't respond to this because George just stepped out of the fireplace, and Padfoot walked into the living room.

Within minutes, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was filled with all the Weasleys in the country except for Percy, as well as Hermione, Lupin, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

When the pizza was served, Albus commented, "I haven't had pizza for twenty years, and it's entirely my fault. Tomorrow, I shall instruct the house elves to include pizza as part of the meals that Hogwarts offers."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," agreed Harry as he wolfed down a slice. Ron had a plate with six slices on it, much to Hermione's annoyance.

Most of the evening was spent talking about James and Lily Potter, and how happy they'd be to know that Sirius finally had custody of Harry. Several people had brought gifts for Harry and Sirius. The twins gave a package of diapers with a note saying, 'To Sirius for Harry as needed.' Mrs. Weasley didn't appreciate the gag-gift, and berated the twins for it. After the presents had been opened by him and his guardian (Harry liked that thought), Harry finally got to sneak away with Ginny into another room.

Harry grinned at her. "You do know that everyone will think we snuck off to snog, don't you?"

She giggled merrily. "That's usually true, anyway. I guess you want to know what I wanted to talk about."

"Yes, Ginny." Her face took on a nervous expression. "What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing. It's just…I…During the hearing, I think I started feeling your emotions when Mr. Malfoy walked into the courtroom. I was washing a plate when this rage hit me and I dropped the plate on the floor. I was in a rage that I somehow knew was related to you until it turned into joy."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds. "For a moment, when I saw Malfoy step into the room, I was ready to stand up and start screaming at him, maybe even hex him. Then suddenly I was calmer. I was still angry, but I had control of my temper."

Her eyes widened. "Do-Do you think I somehow, er, calmed you when I got mad?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. I didn't know how I'd calmed down enough to realize that I'd only ruin the hearing if I lost my temper, but I was glad I did."

Ginny looked confused. "Glad I could…er, help, but what do you think happened?"

"I…I don't know. Do you think it has something to do with our bond?"

"I know Hermione has mentioned our bond a few times. I think she was going to research it."

"Maybe we should ask her about it," suggested Harry.

Ginny looked deep in thought for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "I suppose we can tell her, but I'd like to keep it generally a secret. Mum knows, and that's it. I think this should be private."

Harry took her hands in his and held them to his chest as he gazed into her eyes. "Whatever you want, Ginny. Stay here. I'll go get her."

Harry left Ginny and found Hermione talking to Ron. He walked up to them and said, "Hi, Hermione. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" He then turned to Ron. "I hope you don't mind. It's kind of important."

Hermione looked curiously at him. "Sure, Harry. I'll be back later, Ron."

"Fine," Ron replied sulkily as Harry and Hermione walked away. He watched as they went into the hallway and followed from a distance. He was surprised to see them enter a bedroom.

-IYCHH-

Hermione stepped into the room and immediately saw, "Ginny? I didn't know you were here."

"We wanted to talk to you about something we want kept secret," explained the redhead.

"We would really appreciate your help figuring this thing out," added Harry, earnestly.

Hermione looked at her friends. "Of course. You know I'll help in any way I can."

They proceeded to explain how they were beginning to feel the other's emotions, and even realized that they were still doing it. Harry mentioned how he'd felt embarrassed earlier that day and Ginny said what she and her mother had discussed. Hermione soon asked, "So Harry, you were still angry at the hearing, but not as angry as before?"

"That's right."

"And Ginny, you had no reason to be angry, so you were totally calm before you felt Harry's anger?"

"Yes."

"It sounds like you're sharing each other's feelings," Hermione exclaimed. "You basically split Harry's anger between you so that it could be better controlled. That's…wow! So romantic…I've never heard…I wonder if it's your bond?"

"Yes," replied Harry. "We were thinking that it might be related to our bond, and were hoping you could help us research it."

"I'd be glad to help," promised Hermione happily. "Once we get back to school I'll check the library. What we need might be in the restricted section. What then?"

"Then I guess you'll need to tell me what book to order from Flourish and Blotts."

-IYCHH-

Hermione left the room first with a big smile on her face, followed by Harry. Ron was at the end of the hall watching. He shouted, "So, Harry, what did you have to 'talk about' in a bedroom with my girlfriend for a half hour? Where's your girlfriend Ginny, by the way?"

"I'm right here, Ronald!" shouted Ginny as she exited the room. Ron paled upon seeing her. She then got an evil expression on her face. "We wanted to know how to brew the anti-pregnancy potion!"

Ron replied shakily, "You, you're not really…y'know…don't need that?"

Ginny glared at Ron. "No we don't, but it's none of your business what we were talking to Hermione about."

"That, that's fine. I just thought that Hermione and Harry were, y'know, alone in there and was watching out for you."

"You mean you don't trust me or Harry, so you were jealous!" shouted Hermione.

Ron's face now matched his hair. "I, er, well it's because..." He sighed, realizing he had no excuse. He put his head down. "I, I'm sorry, all right. I was jealous. I should've trusted you both."

"Wow," commented Ginny, "An actual apology. Maybe there is hope for Ron, after all."

-IYCHH-

They decided to accept Ron's apologies, and the rest of the Christmas break went by quickly. Before they knew it, they were back at Hogwarts for what would prove a very interesting term.

-IYCHH-

Chapter end