Chapter Ten: A Conflicted Heart

On Monday at breakfast, Harry tried his best to keep his thoughts away from the Dursleys and the Death Eaters. He had purposefully gotten up early to be one of the first to breakfast, so as to avoid any more worried looks from Ron, Hermione, of Ginny, who Harry knew had tried very hard not to ask him what was wrong the day before after he snapped at them. After quickly eating, Harry went to his classroom and focused on his upcoming lesson with the first years. Harry and Hermione were going to be teaching them Expelliarmus. Harry walked around the classroom, using his wand to move the desks and benches along the wall. Once the room was cleared, Harry sat behind his desk at the front of the classroom and waited for the bell to ring and students to arrive.

"Professor Potter?"

Harry looked up and saw Earc Maclean standing nervously in the door.

"Earc, you're here early."

"I-I wanted to talk to you about something before class started, if that is okay," Earc said, twisting the bit of parchments in his hand.

"Of course, come in, Earc. What's going on?" Harry asked, bringing one of the benches in front of his desk with a flick of his wand.

Earc sat down and handed the parchment to Harry. "There's been another attack on Muggles and, and, to be honest, sir, it's freaking me out."

Harry looked down at the parchment. It was the front page of the Daily Prophet. The headline read:

Does You-Know-Who Have A Successor?

Another Muggle Home Attacked

Harry skimmed the article quickly and was relieved to know that they had not named the Muggle family who had been murdered.

"Thank you, Kinglsey," Harry muttered to himself.

"Sir?"

Harry turned his attention back to Earc.

"Earc, it's understandable that you're afraid but you do know that Hogwarts is the safest place you can be right now, don't you?"

"I know, sir. It's not me that I'm worried about, it's my family. I'm, I'm muggle-born, you see. What if the Death Eaters attack them next? They won't be able to protect themselves," Earc said fearfully.

Harry wasn't sure what to say to comfort the boy. He was tempted to tell Earc that he didn't need to worry because the Death Eaters were only trying to get to Harry by attacking the people closest to him. He wanted to Earc that the family that was killed was Harry's last living relatives. Earc was too young to be consumed with fear and worry about the safety of his family from dark wizards. No one should be living in fear and worry with Voldemort gone.

"Earc," Harry began, choosing his words carefully, "I understand your fear and worry, I would be feeling the same way if I was in your shoes. I won't lie and tell you that your family is in no danger because the truth is, as long as those Death Eaters are out there, we are all in danger. Muggles and wizards alike. But I will tell you this, if you let your fear and worry consume you, they win. These people, they thrive on spreading fear and chaos because they know it makes us weaker. So we have to be strong, we have to be brave, and we have to prepare ourselves the best we can to defend ourselves and the people we care about most in this world."

"It's like what Professor Granger told us at the beginning of the year, isn't it? That evil is always around so we always have to be prepared," Earc said with a determined expression on his face.

"Exactly," said Harry. Then, leaning forward on his desk, he said, "You already know that we're going to be practicing Expelliarmus today but what no one else in this class, besides Professor Granger, knows is that it is the spell that saved my life the two times I dueled Voldemort."

Earc looked at Harry in awe and excitement. "Really?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Now, Expelliarmus won't always guarantee a victory, especially if you're dueling a skilled wizard, but it is a foundational spell in defensive magic."

"Still, I think I'll feel a little bit better once I've got that spell down. Who knows, maybe it will help me protect my family one day," Earc said, all the worry gone from his voice.

Harry laughed, "You never know."

At the moment, the bell rang and Harry could hear student's voices coming down the corridor. Earc stood up and walked to the center of the classroom as Harry moved the bench back against the wall. Harry glanced at his pocketwatch.

"Odd," he thought to himself, "Hermione should have been here by now."

Hermione still had not arrived when all the students were assembled in the middle of the classroom. Harry, not knowing what else to do, decided to go ahead with the lesson.

"Alright class. Last week we talked about some of the basic defensive spells every witch and wizard should know. Who can tell me two of those spells?" Harry asked.

Immediately, Earc Maclean's hand shot in the air. Harry grinned.

"Yes, Mr. Maclean."

"Expelliarmus and Protego," Earc confidently stated.

"Very good. 5 points to Gryffindor. Now, today we are going to practice Expelliarmus. So, if everyone will find a partner, and then situate yourselves on opposite sides of the room, we will begin."

The students excitedly began pairing up and taking their positions. Harry was pleased to see that a number of Gryffindors and Slytherians had paired up with each other. While all of the houses were still competitive when it came to winning the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup, everyone was making extra efforts to get to know members of the other houses. The younger Slytherians, in an effort to redeem their house's name, had been working especially hard at becoming friends with the other houses. So far, to Harry at least, it appeared to be working.

"Alright, now, remember as you say the incantation, wave your wand in a small circle, CLOCKWISE, with a short downwards stroke at the end," Harry instructed. "I'll be walking around the room helping you with your technique. Remember, it's okay if you don't get it right the first time, that's why we are practicing. Everyone ready? Begin!"

The room erupted in shouts of Expelliarmus. For the first ten minutes, no one had successfully disarmed their partner. As Harry went around to each pair, he corrected pronunciations, wand movements, and stances.

"It's not Expellmus, Miss Jameson, it's Expelliarmus."

"Smaller circles, Mr. Kirk. Clockwise! Clockwise!"

"Grip your wand tighter, Mr. McMurray. There you go."

"Expelliarmus!"

The class fell silent as Willow Palmer's wand flew from her hand and was caught by Earc Maclean. Then, they erupted in cheers, many walking over to pat Earc on the back.

"Well done, Mr. Maclean! 10 points to Gryffindor!" congratulated Harry. "Alright, next person to disarm someone, besides Mr. Maclean, will get 5 points for their house."

With the promise of house points, the other first years all took on serious expressions and began to concentrate. Harry was pleased with the results. A blonde Slytherian girl named Navri Rendum was the next to disarm someone. Fifteen minutes later, half of the class had disarmed their partner at least once.

"Okay, everyone. Let's take a ten minute break and then we'll go back to practicing. You all are doing extraordinarily well," Harry said proudly.

As the students filed out of the room, Hermione walked in, rubbing her eyes vigoriously with the sleeve of her rub. Harry was about to make a joke about the never-tardy Hermione being late for class, when he noticed her eyes were red and she was quietly sniffling. When all of the students had left the room, Harry walked up to her.

"Hermione? Are you okay?"

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry I'm late. I would have been here on time but Ron… Ron and I got into a fight and… Well, it's not important why we fought, but I lost track of time. I'm really sorry." Fresh tears started rolling down her face.

Harry, without thinking, hugged her. "It's okay, Hermione. Class has been going fine, they've actually been doing brilliantly. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Do I need give Ron a kick in the arse later?"

Hermione pulled away, laughing. "No, no. It was a stupid fight. We just seem to be doing it a lot lately and I didn't sleep well last night." Hermione didn't tell Harry that she couldn't sleep because she was worried about him. "I'm fine now, though, really. Thank you, Harry."

Harry wasn't sure why, but he was almost happy to heart that Ron and Hermione were fighting, though he hated that Hermione was hurting and felt a twinge of anger at Ron for hurting her. Before he could question her further, the students started returning to the classroom.

"Professor Granger! We thought you weren't coming in today," said a rather large Slytherian boy.

"Sorry, everyone. I got held up. Professor Potter tells me that you all have been performing the disarming charm very well," Hermione said to the class.

Everyone smiled and nodded.

"Earc was the first one to disarm someone!" Willow Palmer said, pointing at Earc.

"Is that so?" Hermione said, "Well done, Mr. Maclean."

"Alright everyone, get back with your partners. Let's see if we can't get everyone to disarm their partner at least once before the end of class," said Harry.

Harry and Hermione were very impressed with the students. By the end of the lesson, every single student had successfully performed the disarming charm. Harry awarded 20 points to each house and announced that they would go ahead and teach them Protego next class session. When the bell rang, the first year Gryffindor and Slytherians left the class, eager to share the news of their success with others. Earc Maclean was the only one who stayed behind.

"Professor Potter, I just wanted to say thank you again for the talk this morning. It helped me to really focus on getting the spell right today," Earc said to Harry.

"No problem, Earc. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you, as is Professor Granger. Her parents are both Muggles as well," said Harry, gesturing Hermione, who looked confused.

"Thank you, sir. I'll remember that."

"What was that about?" Hermione asked as Earc left the room.

"He read about the attack on the Muggle family in the Prophet this morning. He's worried because he's muggle-born that his parents might be attacked by Death Eaters," explained Harry.

"Oh, well, I certainly can understand how he feels," Hemione said solemnly.

Harry could see that Hermione was missing her parents. He wanted to tell her that Kingsley had finally assigned some Aurors to begin searching for them, but he knew that would involve explaining that the murdered Muggle family had been the Dursleys. Harry just wasn't ready to do that yet.

"Um, well, I need to head to Potions, will you be all right for the next class?" asked Harry.

"Yes, I'll be fine Harry. Will I see you at lunch?" Hermione was concerned Harry was going to keep isolating himself from her and the others.

"I'll be at lunch, Hermione. I promise." reassured Harry.

When lunchtime came, Harry wished he hadn't made that promise to Hermione. It felt like everyone was trying to talk to Harry about the latest Death Eater attack, as though Harry would have all the answers to why it was happening and what the Ministry should do about it. Harry's responses consisted mostly of "I don't know" and "I'm sure the Minister will handle it," much to everyone's disappointment. He was grateful when Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville arrived and formed a protective barrier around him, preventing any more students from trying to sit next time him and pester him with questions. Hermione and Ginny sat on each side of Harry and Ron and Neville sat across from them. Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione were making every effort to not look at each other.

"Doing alright there, Harry?" asked Neville, reaching for a roll.

"Yeah, fine," Harry sighed, hoping they would all eat quickly so they could leave the Great Hall.

"Oh, before I forget," said Ginny, before taking a bit of Shepherd's Pie, "I decided to give us the night off from Quidditch practice since we won on Saturday. I figured everyone could use a night off."

Harry knew Ginny was hinting that she wanting "Ginny and Harry" time that night. What Harry wanted, however, was a quiet night by the fireplace in the Gryffindor Common Room to do homework and go to bed early.

"Or to be alone with Hermione and talk," he thought to himself. "Wait, no. I should want to be alone with Ginny and talk."

Harry shook his head slightly and turned towards Ginny, "Well, if we have the night off from practice, do you want to hang out tonight?"

Ginny's face lit up with satisfaction, "I would love it. How about we go for a walk by the lake after dinner?"

Harry nodded in agreement but not before glancing at Hermione. He thought for a moment that she looked disappointed.

"I'm just seeing things," Harry thought.

After lunch, Harry's 5th year Defense Against the Dark Arts class consisted of a student raising his or her hand once every ten minutes or so to ask about the most effective spells to use against the Death Eater's who had been attacking Muggles. Harry did his best to keep his temper under control and finally resorted to having the students duel each other, rather than continue his lecture on Dementors, so they couldn't ask him anymore questions. By dinner, Harry was actually looking forward to his date with Ginny, at least it meant he wouldn't be bothered about the Muggle attack. After dinner, Harry went upstairs and changed out of his school robes and met Ginny downstairs.

"Ready to go?" Harry asked, taking Ginny's hand.

"Yup," Ginny replied cheerfully.

They walked along the edge of the Great Lake for a while in content silence. The light breeze rippled the water, causing it to glitter brightly under the setting sun. After a while, Harry found his thoughts drifting back towards Hermione.

"Ginny, how do you think things are between Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked casually.

Ginny, slightly surprised that Harry wanted to talk about Ron and Hermione, said, "I dunno. I heard they got into a row this morning after breakfast. Some first years said Hermione missed the first half of your class."

"Yeah, she came in right after I dismissed them for break. She had been crying," Harry said, remembering Hermione's red puffy eyes.

"I'm sure they'll work it out. Fighting is part of what makes them, well, them. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already back to snogging each other when we get back," Ginny said.

Harry didn't say anything else. He couldn't understand why he felt both happy and sad that Ron and Hermione were fighting. He also couldn't explain this rising wish that they would break up. Was he developing feelings for Hermione?

"No, I can't be," Harry thought, "Hermione's like a sister to me. Besides, Ron would kill me, not to mention Ginny, and I would probably be hated by all the Weasleys if I broke Ginny's heart and then took Ron's girl." Still, he couldn't help but remember the moment they shared at the Burrow, both crying on the other's shoulders, all the hours they spent together putting together lesson plans, and everything they had fought through and overcome in just the past year, not to mention the last eight.

Harry held Ginny's hand tighter, causing her to stop. She looked at him, thinking he wanted to say something to her. Instead, Harry leaned forward and kissed her deeply. When they finally came up for air, Ginny took Harry's arm in hers and led them back up to the castle.

"I love Ginny," Harry said to himself, "but I think I might love Hermione too."