Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER SIXTEEN –

Return to Hogwarts

While Mrs. Weasley went to collect some gold from Gringotts, Harry, Ron and Ginny made their way to Flourish and Blotts. As they entered the shop, the manager hurried over to them.

'Hogwarts?' He asked hopefully. 'Come to get your new books?'

'Yes,' replied Harry 'why, is there a problem?'

'Oh no, it's just that there are so few students returning this year, our sales have dropped terribly.' He looked sadly at the small table piled high with school books. 'We've overstocked every school book, the only ones that are selling are the Defence against the Dark Arts books, and those are mainly being bought by adults, probably trying to relearn all the material themselves.' He muttered to himself sadly. 'Anyway, which books will you be needing?'

Ron and Harry pulled out their lists, along with Hermione's, and gave them to the manager, who glanced over them quickly. They threw odd glances at Ginny, who shrugged and said that Hermione had told her she could have her old ones, which were in pristine condition anyway. The manager looked unhappy, but hurried off, running around the shop pulling out a book here and there. He quickly returned with a pile of books for Harry, and went to get the same books for Ron and Hermione. After dropping those off, he went to find the books for Hermione's extra classes, and he was just returning when Mrs. Weasley strode in.

'Are you all done then?' She asked, looking at her watch. They nodded, and after they had paid, hurried over to Madam Malkin's. Madam Malkin had been having the same problem as the manager of Flourish and Blotts, and was ecstatic to see the four of them. They all bought new school robes; Harry and Ron had both grown several inches since June, and while they were having their uniforms fitted, told her that she might have another customer the next day. Happy at the prospect of more business, she finished quickly, and soon they were heading towards the apothecary to buy their potions ingredients.

When they were finished, they walked over to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to see the twins. Like last year, the joke shop was busier than any other shop in Diagon Alley, and they had a hard time moving through the crowd. As they approached the counter, Fred spotted them and bounded over.

'Well hello there!' He exclaimed as he reached them, but stopped suddenly. He looked at them and frowned. 'Where's Hermione, you didn't leave her in Flourish and Blotts did you?' Ron and Harry grinned, but Ginny scowled.

'No, she's in St. Mungo's. We had a run in with some Death Eaters this morning while in Godric's Hollow.' Fred looked horrified. 'Don't worry though; she's going to be alright. They weren't very experienced and we captured all of them without too much difficulty. Hermione got hit in the leg with a Cutting Hex, so she's staying in St. Mungo's overnight.' Fred looked relieved, and asked them excitedly how many Death Eater they'd taken on. 'Five,' she replied smugly, 'and I got a Ministry warning for performing underage magic.'

George, who had ambled over by that point, thumped her on the back and congratulated her. Mrs. Weasley scowled but didn't say anything. Harry asked the twins if they'd developed anything new since his birthday, but they hadn't. They were working on some new products, but business was booming and they hadn't had enough time to finish testing them.

After Ron and Ginny had a quick look around at the shelves and displays, Fred saw them to the front door, and waved at their retreating backs. Mrs. Weasley led them to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, from which they apparated back to the Burrow. Ron and Ginny ran upstairs to start packing; Mrs. Weasley had insisted that they finish before playing anymore Quidditch, while Harry apparated to his flat.

Once there, he quickly collected all his belongings, and packed them all into his trunk. He locked the door, closed the windows and walked over to the fridge, pulling out his wand. Opening the door, he muttered 'Evanesco' and closed it behind him. Walking back into the lounge, he said 'Colloportus', pointing at the doors and windows, which made squelching noises. Satisfied, he cast a Featherweight Charm on his trunk and picked it up, summoning Hedwig's cage and Fawkes' perch simultaneously.

Harry called Fawkes, who appeared with a burst of flame, and asked him to take them to the Burrow. Fawkes presented his tail to Harry, who gripped it firmly, and with another burst of flame, they appeared in Ron's room. Ron, who had been shoving the last of his belongings into his trunk, fell backwards in surprise at their sudden appearance, but he quickly recovered his composure.

Harry grinned and dropped his things on the floor.

'Almost finished? I want to go play some Quidditch.'

'Almost done Harry, I was just trying to put the last things in my trunk.' Ron replied. Harry opened the door and started down the stairs.

'Right, well when you're done, give me a call; I'll be in Ginny's room.' Harry yelled as he hurried down the stairs. Ron looked confused for a moment.

'Hey, no funny business Harry, I thought you two had broken up!'

'We have, I just need to talk to her.' Harry replied. Satisfied, Ron turned back to packing his trunk.

Harry slowed down as he reached Ginny's door, and hesitating for a only a moment, knocked.

'Come in.' He heard Ginny call, so he opened the door. Ginny had all her clothes spread out on her bed, and was sorting out what she wanted to take back to Hogwarts. She turned to see who it was, and seeing Harry, smiled.

'Hey, how are you? Have you already packed?' Harry smiled and nodded.

'It's a lot easier using magic; do you want me to pack these for you?' he asked, pointing at the clothes on the bed.

'No thanks, I need to decide what to take; I don't have enough space in my trunk.' Harry grinned, whipped out his wand; and pointing at the piles of cloths, said 'Reducio'. The clothes shrank down to a more manageable size, and Harry flicked his wand lazily at them, saying 'Locomotor Cloths'. The clothes rose a few inches into the air, and Harry directed them to Ginny's trunk, dropping them in slowly.

He put his wand away, and turning around, he saw Ginny grinning slyly. With a smile on his face, he said 'Done. Now, we need to talk.' She looked disappointed and pouted.

'Can't you quickly pack the rest of my stuff for me?' She asked grumpily. 'It would speed things up a bit.' Harry chuckled and pulling his wand back out, packed the rest of her things.

'Right, now that that's done, can you please explain what you thought you were doing earlier? Didn't you understand what I said after his – his funeral?' Ginny looked up at him sadly.

'I understood you, but it doesn't mean I agreed with your reasoning, and you didn't give me a chance to tell you what I thought. Weren't you listening when I told you that I'm in no more risk staying close to you than far away? I'm a blood traitor Harry, if a Death Eater sees me; he's going to kill regardless of my links to you. Please Harry, I don't think either of us can stand this separation. Every time I look at you, I think of the time we had together, and you know what? I miss it, I really do. That's why I did what I did at the hospital; I wanted to remember the feeling, to remind myself of you, because I don't know when you're going to come to your senses and -' she was suddenly cut off as Harry pulled her into a tight embrace, and kissed her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry heard a loud knock on the door and pulled away from Ginny. She looked dazed, and it took Harry a moment to notice what Ron was saying.

'Oi Harry, I've finished packing, has Ginny finished yet? We can go out and play a bit before dinner if you want.' Harry had to shake his head vigorously to clear his thoughts, which were entirely focused on Ginny.

'Err yeah, she's finished Ron, we just need to finish our conversation. We'll meet you downstairs in a minutes okay?' His voice sounded a bit strangled, and as he heard Ron go down to the kitchen, he wondered how Ron would take this new development.

He turned back to Ginny and opened his mouth to speak, but she wiped anything he was about to say from his mind as she kissed him fiercely. They were locked in together for a few long moments, but eventually pulled apart. Ginny looked very ruffled, and breathing heavily, smirked.

'I think you've finally come to your senses.' Harry grinned.

'I think you've just driven away any sense I had!' Ginny laughed, and tried to straighten her hair.

'I think we should go downstairs before Ron gets suspicious.' Harry nodded, and ran back upstairs to get his Firebolt. Joining Ginny and Ron in the kitchen, he walked out into the garden, and played Quidditch with them until it was dark and Mrs. Weasley called them into for dinner.

The next day, they practised some sword fighting until they had to pick up Hermione. At five, they all apparated to St. Mungo's and finding Hermione waiting for them, went to Madam Malkin's to get her new robes. When they got back to the Burrow, Hermione and Ginny went up to pack Hermione's trunk while Harry played Ron at Wizard's Chess, who thrashed him over and over again.

When the girls came down, Hermione had a twinkle in eyes, and Harry strongly suspected that Ginny had told her about the previous days' events. They ate dinner and went to bed early, needing to get up early to get on the Hogwart's Express on time.

Their departure was very smooth the next morning, which was probably due to the fact that the twins were no longer at Hogwarts. Without having to deal with their antics, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were able to get downstairs, fed and with all their trunks by ten thirty. There they met Kingsley and Tonks, who would be apparating to platform nine and three quarters with them. Tonks gripped Ginny's arm firmly, while Kingsley picked up her trunk and cage, and they all apparated to King's Cross.

Harry was beginning to get used to the feeling of apparating, and as they headed towards the train, he looked around the platform. There were Aurors everywhere he looked, all nervously pacing, their wands drawn. Harry noticed that there were a lot less students on the platform than was usual, but wasn't surprised. After all, the manager and Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin had both told him that there were fewer students attending Hogwarts than in previous years.

He looked around and noted that Slytherin was by far the least represented house this year. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of Slytherins who had returned for NEWT classes. 'Well that's not a surprise' he thought grimly, his mind drifting to Draco and Snape.

They climbed aboard the train, and found an empty compartment, which was no longer difficult, and stowed their trunks in the luggage rack. They climbed back down to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, and found Mr. Weasley, the twins and Remus with her. Ginny ran forward and threw her arms around her dad.

'What are you all doing here? I thought you said you needed to work.' The twins smirked.

'Well the Ministry assigned my Office to help guard the Express this morning, the Aurors are spread very thin at the moment.' He replied, smiling down at her.

'Well doesn't she sound happy to see us?' Fred asked, turning towards his twin.

'No Fred, I don't think she is. I think she'd rather we were at work. Don't you think so?' Fred grinned broadly, and they both pulled something out of their pockets. Harry couldn't make out what they were, but jumped back in surprise when they were expanded into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stalls. Everyone laughed loudly, apart from Mrs. Weasley, and suddenly a wave of students ran towards them.

Next instant, the twins' stalls were swamped with students eager to buy their products, and the others had to retreat a bit to get some space. Remus grinned at their antics, and grabbed Harry by the arm, greeting him warmly.

'How are you doing Harry, I heard about you're fight at Godric's Hollow. The Aurors were very impressed, and I must say, I'm proud of you.' He smiled at Harry, who blushed at the praise.

'I'm fine, really. We've been practising using the books I got for my birthday – thanks by the way – and using some books from my family vault. There are some really rare and old ones down there, and we've learnt a whole bunch of old spells which have turned out to be very useful.' Lupin nodded.

'Yes, I heard that Ron banished two Death Eaters into the air, blinded one, and that you bound one with iron hoops. I was wondering if you could teach me them?' Harry smirked.

'Well, I suppose I could,' he hesitated, pretending to concentrate, 'but it'll need a lot of practise. Why don't we show you what we learnt over Christmas? I think Mrs. Weasley mentioned something about us going to Grimmauld Place.'

'Yes, that's right. The Order wants to keep a close eye on you over the holidays, so you can teach me the spells then.' The train's whistle blew behind them, but no one was on the train yet.

There was a panic as the students left the stall and sprinted back to the train. Harry and the others quickly said their goodbyes, Mrs. Weasley insisted on hugging all of them before they left, and clambered onto the train. Ron and Hermione headed off towards the prefect carriage, leaving Harry and Ginny alone, but they were soon joined by Luna and Neville.

'Hi Harry!' Neville said happily. 'Did you see what Fred and George did? It was brilliant; I managed to by a fake wand before the whistle blew!' Harry smiled, but turned to the window. The Hogwarts Express was gathering speed, but he could still see the Weasleys and Remus, and waved to them enthusiastically. Remus smiled and waved back, while Mrs. Weasley cried, and Mr. Weasley comforted her. Soon though, the platform disappeared, and Harry turned back to the conversation the others were having.

They were discussing the books they'd had to buy, wondering what the new curriculum would be. Ginny was telling Neville how she thought they'd be getting lessons in how to fight the Dark Arts instead of just defence against them, to help fight against Voldemort. Neville thought that they were just reinforcing the Defence against the Dark Arts classes, while Luna said in her dreamy voice, that the Board of Governors were trying to form an army to take over the Ministry. Harry just sat there and listened intently, and after a while, challenged Neville to a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny pulled out a book on Healing Charms, and Luna starter reading the new edition of The Quibbler.

They passed the time like this, Ginny and Harry glancing at each other every few minutes and smiling shyly. Hermione and Ron came in a few times, but had to continue their patrols. Hermione insisted on setting a good example, although she did stop once long enough to tell them that the new Head Boy was Ernie Macmillan.

As it grew dark, Harry and the others changed into their school robes and waited impatiently for the train to stop. Harry was ravenous, even with the usual horde of sweets that he bought from the plump witch pushing the food trolley, and he was one of the first ones off the train when they stopped in Hogsmeade. He dragged Ginny into one of the carriages, and was soon joined by Hermione and Ron.

As the Thestrals pulled them up to the castle, Harry asked Hermione and Ron about their prefect duties. Hermione went into a long monologue about responsibilities and her new duties as Head Girl, while Ron just sat there, looking out at the grounds. Noticing Ron's look of misery, Harry asked him what was wrong.

'This is our last year, the last time we're going to make this journey. I'm just trying to remember as much of it as possible.' Harry's stomach clenched, he hadn't thought about that. Hogwarts had been his only real home for a long time, no matter what Dumbledore had said, and he couldn't imagine never coming here again. 'That's if I live that long' he thought pessimistically. Ginny squeezed his hand reassuringly.

'It's going to be fine Harry, don't worry.' Harry smiled weakly, and squeezed her hand back. Hermione watched this play of unspoken affection, and a small smile graced her lips.

A few moments later, the carriage stopped outside the steps to the front door, and Ron got out, quickly followed by Hermione, who pulled him away for an instant. Ginny watched them for a moment, before turning back to Harry, she looked worried.

'Harry, are you sure you're alright? You know you don't have to go through this. If it brings back too many memories, you can always turn back; we'd still see you during the holidays.' She added sadly. She didn't want him to leave, but felt compelled to give him the choice.

Harry smiled at her sadly, 'I'll be fine, it just takes some getting used to. Anyway, I don't think I could last a whole term without seeing you.' She smiled back, and leaned forward at kissed him gently on the lips.

'That was really sweet, thank you.' Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the carriage, and catching up with Ron and Hermione, they walked up the steps of Hogwarts together for the last time.