Chapter 13 – TBD (Ginny's Birthday)
A/N: Some of the descriptions and topics below may disturb some readers. You have been warned!
The morning sun shined brightly outside the windows of the little house in Godric's Hollow. The cool Welsh morning filtered in the slightly opened windows. Harry curled snug under the thick comforter. Thoughts about the past couple of days haunted him.
Harry had more then his fair share of bizarre summers. Every summer since receiving his first letter from Hogwarts resulted in something out of the ordinary happening. Harry smirked slightly in his covers. The extraordinary was ordinary for him!
This summer beat them all. First was meeting Mike. Mike was so different from any of the other Dursleys that Harry had met. Mike befriended him and physically trained Harry to deal with his coming trials. The other events seemed to blur; finding Malfoy in the road, the Death Eaters attacks on the Burrow and Diagon Alley, and coming back together with Ginny just named a few.
The Weasley family joined the Order of the Phoenix since the beginning of the second war. Every member except Percy had joined. Several of the Weasley's had come close to death in the last couple of years. In her first year, Ginny fell under the sway of a young Tom Riddle. Voldemort's snake bit Arthur Weasley and only a "dream" of Harry's saved his life. Just two months ago, Bill received serious facial injuries from the werewolf Greyback. Now one of the family members had been lost in battle.
Charlie Weasley returned to England for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Asked by the Order, Charlie remained to assist in the fight. When word was received of a Death Eater attack on a wizarding household in London, Bill joined Tonks, Remus and Moody. Tonks was seriously injured but Charlie was hit by an unknown curse that caused something like a brain aneurism. No wounds appeared on his body, just a small trickle of blood from his nose.
The news that Snape led the attack smashed through the Order. Their one-time collogue now openly flaunted his Death Eater status. Leading a group of five masked Death Eaters, Snape attacked the home of a Muggle-born witch who wrote for the Daily Prophet. Although Snape did not cast the spell that killed Charlie, his role in leading the Death Eaters could not be denied.
The news devastated the entire Weasley clan. Molly Weasley spent two days at St. Mungo's Hospital due to a breakdown. Molly's grief drove her to the point she regressed to insist that she was still a student at Hogwarts. Madame Pomfrey arrived in from her summer holiday to help with Molly's case. On her release the once happy and loving witch seemed distant.
The rest of the family suffered the combined pain of Charlie's loss and Molly's hospitalization. Ginny cried on Harry's shoulder for hours after the initial news arrived. Ron sat on the couch holding Hermione's hand and looking out the window. Fred and George arrived a couple of hours after the news looking as crushed as Harry had ever seen the normally irrepressible pair. Harry, Hermione and Dobby did everything they could to help their friends but felt helpless.
The funeral held three days after the attack failed to help the family start to heal. Held quietly in the Ottery St. Catchpole's small village church, Harry was impressed with the number of family, friends and others that made the journey to the small ceremony. The problem lay in who did not attend. Percy Weasley never attended the funeral or spent any time with the family. Arthur Weasley attempted to talk to estranged son but was told the Minister of Magic's special assistant was unavailable by Percy's secretary. The four remaining brothers swore they would never forgive Percy for adding to their parents' pain.
A large surprise did occur during the wedding for the Weasleys. Towards the end of the service a beautiful young woman with red eyes from crying approached Molly with Bill at her side. She introduced herself to Mrs. Weasley as Charlie's fiancée, Karolina. Mrs. Weasley looked shocked when she saw Bill's confirming nod, but then wrapped herself around the young woman.
Bill explained that Charlie only told him about the engagement because he wanted to keep Karolina safely on the sidelines of the war. Harry glanced aside at Ginny in a stab of guilt because that was the same as his plan for Ginny.
Mrs. Weasley decided that instant that she would accept the young Hungarian woman as her own daughter as she would have been if Charlie had lived. The next three days Mrs. Weasley spent with Fleur, Karolina, Ginny and Hermione at the Burrow. Molly said she wanted help cleaning up around the Burrow, but most of the time was spent in the living room drinking tea and telling stories about the Weasley children growing up.
Hermione tried to object to her inclusion to the group. "Fleur and Karolina are your daughter-in-laws and Ginny is your daughter. I don't think I should interfere."
Mrs. Weasley put that argument to rest immediately, much to Ron's embarrassment. "Hermione, dear, I have thought of you as a daughter since your first time visiting the Burrow. And if you don't become my daughter-in-law someday, then Ron is a big a git as Fred and George are always claiming."
Harry rolled over in his bed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was a gift from Miranda Goshawk. She had heard about Muggle digital clocks that showed the time, date and the weather outside. Miranda went a couple steps beyond. Harry's clock did show the time and date like a Muggle clock. It also showed the weather outside. Not the forecast, but a literally a bird's eye view of Harry's house so he could see the weather.
Noticing the date of August 11th, Harry quickly rose and put on a tee-shirt and jeans. Harry then made his way to the kitchen where Dobby already had breakfast waiting.
"Good morning Dobby." Harry said as he entered the room.
"Good morning, Harry Potter! Can I get you your breakfast now?" the house-elf asked with his boundless enthusiasm.
"Yes, please. Is anyone else up yet?"
"No, Harry Potter. I think your Wheezy and Lovey did not sleep well last night. Dobby heard them late in the night," the house-elf replied looking a little sad.
Eating his breakfast, Harry opened a copy of the Daily Prophet. The front page stated that Edward Ollivander's body had been discovered in rubbish bin outside London. The wand-maker had been missing for a couple of months but seemed to have been killed recently. The Aurors said the body was accidentally discovered by a homeless Muggle
Harry sat back in his chair to consider the news story. Why would Riddle seek to hide the body? Usually he liked to leave his victims in very public areas to add to the population's fear of his power. This seemed out of character to Riddle.
The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs stopped Harry's pondering for a while. Ginny and Hermione sleepily walked in with dressing gowns over their sleeping clothes. Harry smiled as he looked at Ginny. She was a rumpled mess with hair undone. He thought she never looked more irresistible.
Seeing the gleam in Harry's eye, Ginny turned a little pink and said, "Oh, shut up. I need my tea."
Dobby ran to get her tea while Harry and Hermione laughed. They received a glare over Ginny's cup rim making them laugh harder. Ginny then ignored them until Hermione proceeded to get her breakfast.
A couple minutes later Ron arrived looking a bit bleary eyed. Ron had never been a morning person. Harry glanced around at his friends and felt the solace that had surrounded him since his arrival in Godric's Hollow.
Harry looked at Ginny and asked, "Are you feeling human yet?"
"I can still hit you with my Bat-Bogey Hex, Mr. Potter," was the reply.
"Hm, then should I save my birthday gifts until it is safe?" Harry asked with a smirk.
Ginny's face dropped as she realized that today was her 16th birthday. In the confusion of Charlie's death and funeral it had been the last thing on her mind. Apparently it was also the last thing on her brother and best friend's mind as well.
"Harry, why didn't you remind me!" Hermione hissed at Harry.
Harry looked at her in surprise. "Remind you? I thought the fact you had not reminded me was you just trusted I would remember." Hermione looked even more stunned that Harry had remembered without her prompting.
Harry rose and said, "Happy birthday, Ginny." Then he kissed her lightly on the lips.
Ginny smiled in a seductive manner at Harry. "Now that is a better way to start the morning."
Harry turned to Dobby and asked him to bring Ginny's gifts. A moment later the house-elf reappeared with several objects. If Dobby's grin grew any wider it threatened to swallow his entire head.
Harry took the first gift from Dobby and placed it on the table in front of Ginny. The unmistakable shape of a broomstick in thick paper filled the space in front of her. Ginny blinked and then looked at Harry.
"Harry, you shouldn't have!"
Harry grinned, "Of course I should have."
Ginny ripped the paper of the broom to reveal a brand new Nimbus 2002. Ginny sat back in shock at the gift Harry had given her. The Nimbus 2002 was the newest model of the Nimbus line. Not as fast as a Firebolt, but even more maneuverable. A new charm allowed the flyer to perform a 90 degree turn without being thrown from the broom. If the Firebolt was a Seeker's broom, then the Nimbus 2002 was definitely a Chaser's broom.
"That is awesome!" a stunned looking Ron said. "Ginny, you just became the luckiest Chaser in Hogwart's history."
Ginny stood up and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him. "Thank you for my wonderful gift!"
"Hey, stop snogging my sister in front of me!" Ron yelled, teasing the couple. "Ginny, I think Dobby has something else for you."
Ginny broke off from kissing Harry and looked over at the hugely grinning house-elf. In his hands was a small rectangular box in silver wrapping paper. "Harry, you did not get me something else also did you?"
"Maybe, Ms. Weasley. I guess you will have to open it up to see."
Ginny accepted the gift from Dobby and carefully unwrapped the paper. Taking a breath she slowly opened the box. "Oh, Harry."
"Consider it an apology for putting you through a difficult time at the start of the summer."
Ginny turned the box so Hermione and Ron to reveal the silver necklace and emerald Harry had bought after his fight with Dudley. Hermione let out a squeal of delight at the beautiful necklace. Even Ron looked impressed. (Although he kept looking at the Nimbus still on the table.)
Harry took the necklace from the box and placed it around Ginny's neck as she held her hair out of the way. Then he said, "I bought this in a Muggle mall the day before I left Privet Drive. I also made a couple of changes to it."
Ginny lowered her hair and looked at Harry with a curious expression on her face. "You bought this before we got back together?"
"Ginny, I may have been stupid for breaking up with you, but that does not mean I didn't love you the whole time. Even if you never wanted to see me again, I knew I wanted you to have this."
Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry again and kissed him more intensely then ever before. "I love you too, Harry James Potter, and I will never not want to see you again."
Ron sighed theatrically, "I would say 'Get a room' but you might take me seriously and then Mum would kill me."
Hermione slapped him in the head for his comment, although her grin indicated she probably agreed with him. "Harry, how did you change the necklace?"
"I stole the idea off of you, Hermione. I got the idea from the DA coins you made in our fifth year. I linked the emerald with Godric's ring. If Ginny needs me she just needs to touch the emerald and think what she needs. I will be able to hear her thoughts and she can hear mine. We will also be able to tell the direction and distance we are from each other."
Ginny looked pleased at her necklace, while Hermione looked impressed. "Harry, that's an impressive piece of charm work! I had to get Professor McGonagall to help me with the coins."
"I worked it out over the summer. Mike made me spend my afternoons revising my texts. I used your idea and expanded on it." Harry gave Hermione a slight grin. "If the brightest fifth year witch could figure it out then I figured an average seventh year should too."
Hermione shook her head. "Harry, that piece of work is well above N.E.W.T level. Professor Flitwick might pass you out of his class based on that work alone!"
Harry suddenly stiffened and his face turned bright red. Whirling around to face Ginny, Harry said, "Stop that!"
"Hmm," Ginny purred, "I can do pictures too."
Hermione and Ron fell out of their seats laughing as a very embarrassed Harry Potter stared open mouthed at his girlfriend.
Thirty minutes later the group had settled around the table to finish their breakfast. Harry was glad that Ginny's presents helped lighten the mood of his friends. Ginny was still snickering occasionally in her cereal.
Harry reluctantly brought the Daily Prophet article to their attention. Hermione took the paper and quickly read the article.
"It says that he was killed by a gunshot to his head," Hermione said in surprise.
"What is a gunshot?" Ron asked in a puzzled voice.
"When you are shot with a Muggle gun, it is called a gunshot," Ginny answered him quietly.
Harry grinned, "I guess sneaking those Muggle romance and detective books to school paid off."
"You shut up or I'll hex your nose off!" Ginny threatened her chortling brother and boyfriend.
"Would three stop fooling around for a minute? Why would Ollivander be killed by a Muggle?" Hermione asked.
"Could it have been a random crime?" Ron asked.
"No," replied Harry, "Ollivander has been missing for months but the article claims he only died recently. He had to be held somewhere or in hiding for that time."
Hermione, still reading the article, commented absently, "Why would he want to kidnap Ollivander anyway?"
Ginny tentatively replied, "I think I have a good theory." Seeing she had everyone's attention, she continued, "I don't have any evidence to back this up but the facts fit. The simple answer is because of Harry's wand."
The group looked at each other as the implications sunk in.
Ginny continued, "Riddle needed Ollivander because he knew wands better then anyone and he sold both Riddle and Harry their wands. We know that Riddle has set Harry aside as his private vendetta, but he and Harry can't use their wands against each other. So he must be looking for a way to change that."
Hermione looked in shock at her friend. "I feel like an idiot. I can't believe I didn't make that connection!"
"You are not the only one," Harry told her. "When did you come up with this theory?" he asked Ginny.
Ginny glanced down into her bowl and smiled slightly. "I did not spend the entire months of June and July sulking over some git who broke my heart."
Harry smiled, "I think I will be hearing about that for the next thirty years."
"You will if I have anything to say about it," the red haired girl replied.
"Harry, do you think Voldemort got what he wanted out of Ollivander?" Ron asked returning to the main subject.
"I don't have any idea. If Ginny's theory is correct, the fact Riddle tried to cover-up the killing would seem to mean he wanted to hide something else. He has never cared about leaving his victims to be discovered before." Harry shrugged, "We can ask the Order to keep us informed of the investigation. I am sure they know more then the Prophet has in this article."
Harry and Hermione met later in Harry's Room of Requirement. Ron and Ginny were working on assigned homework from Hogwarts. Although not believing they were returning for their seventh year, Harry and Hermione both completed their assignments before going to the Burrow. Hermione completed them simply because they were assigned. Harry completed them at the instigation of Mike during their training time before leaving Privet Drive.
Harry asked Hermione to meet him in the Room for some research. The Room now matched the Hogwarts library. The advantage here was there was no lock on the Restricted section. Also if Hogwarts did not have the book, the Room would still be able to provide a copy.
"Hermione, I need you to research transportation magic. We need a secure way for us to move around without raising suspicions." Harry started off their discussion.
"Are you talking about using Portkeys or something else?"
"I would like a doorway from one place to another. We need to be able to change what doorway we connect to or turn it off and block it. I got the idea from the cabinet Malfoy used for getting the Death Eaters into Hogwarts. If we could set something up for us to leave school undetected it would be much safer for all of us." Harry explained.
"Wow, Harry. You don't give me easy ones. This will take a lot of work." Hermione said, but Harry could already see the wheels turning in her head as she considered the challenge.
"We should be able to use the transportation from within school. That will save us from having to sneak off the grounds whenever we need to leave," Harry informed her.
Hermione looked at Harry with a quizzical expression. "We are the Head Boy and Girl. Why would we need to sneak around?"
Harry grimaced, "Two reasons. One, I am sure Riddle has sources within the students and staff. Second, I know the Order does. I don't know that I want either one knowing everything we are doing."
Hermione smiled briefly. "Thank you for the 'we'," she said. Then she frowned, "Why don't you want the Order to know what we are doing?"
"The Order wants to protect us and most of them are sincere. However Dumbledore never shared with them the secret of the Horcruxes or the full prophecy. He specifically told me I could share with you and Ron and later, Ginny, everything that I learned. But he never told the Order as a whole. Dumbledore may have told some of them pieces but they have not approached me to say they know about any of this. I have to respect he had a good reason to keep the information secret."
Hermione nodded. "I understand your reasons. I don't like them much but I understand why you feel that way." Looking around the Room, Hermione smiled, "At least Professor Dumbledore provided us with an excellent resource for us to work. And what will you be working on, Harry?"
Harry looked around the Room also and said, "I am going to become one of the top experts on Horcruxes and other Dark Magic in the wizarding world."
A sudden chill of alarm ran through Hermione. "Harry, do you think that is a good idea? That type of magic is very dangerous."
"I have to learn it anyway. I have to learn to fight the dark magic and to really do that I need to understand it. To be frank with you, I am scared. I am going to need you three to support me in this so I don't get dragged in."
Harry looked at the ground. "I read a Muggle philosopher last summer while I was at the Dursleys. I did not understand most of it but I understood one thing very well. 'He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.'".
Hermione shivered slightly at the look on Harry's face. "Are you really afraid of that?"
Harry nodded, "The prophecy says that Riddle and I have to kill each other. How am I supposed to do that without coming close to make a monster out of myself? Riddle has fifty years of experience in dark magic."
Harry looked at Hermione, "Let me ask you some questions. Do you think it would be acceptable for me to kill Riddle with anything short of the Killing Curse? Would the Killing Curse be acceptable in Riddle's case? Do you see how close that abyss really is?"
Hermione stood with tears forming in her eyes. "We will support you, Harry. We won't let you fall into the abyss."
A/N: Harry quotes Freidrich Nietzsche from Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146
A/N2: I know no action took place in this chapter. It is a transition chapter that sets up certain items or events for later in the story.
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