Chapter 5

The Beginning of The End

Ginny POV

Harry's good mood lasted for a few weeks after Christmas. All through January and the first week of February, he was his normal self. The change wasn't that pronounced; only someone who spent most of their time watching him would notice. I wondered what it was, for there had to be a reason. Yet, without asking him, I would not be able to figure it out.

I looked quickly over to the large clock on the wall of my dormitory; all the other girls had left the room a few minutes ago. I had twenty minutes until breakfast. That meant that I had lain in bed for forty minutes mulling over Harry. I took a rushed shower but made it to the Great Hall right on time.

I took my seat next to Harry. It was nice that he, Hermione, and I guess Draco, were still able to sit next to us like normal students. Their jobs were purely teaching. They were able to go home for Holidays, go to Hogsmead and eat with us like normal students.

"Good Morning, Gin," Harry smiled at me and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

"Morning," I replied, grabbing a piece of toast from the center of the table.

We ate in comfortable silence until the post arrived. Neither of us was expecting any post, and so we continued munching on our toast. I heard a few gasps around the room and suddenly I was surrounded by owls, dropping howlers and letters in a pile on my plate. They kept pouring in and soon the entire table in front of me was covered.

Harry wasn't paying me and my pile of mail any attention. He had grabbed the Daily Prophet from the trembling first year next to him. I could see the large photo moving on the front page. It was me, on the front step of Grimmauld Place, exiting the house on Christmas Eve morning in my gown and flying away. The large headline above the pictures stated:

"The Boy Who Lived To Be Father!"

Below the photo the caption read:

"Ginerva Weasley, sister of Potter's best friend Ron Weasley, exit's Harry's home in the early hours of December 26th, dressed in the same gown as when she entered the afternoon before."

I stared at the paper for a few moments, not reading and not moving. The buzz of the Great Hall increased as my gaze shifted to the pile in front of me. Suddenly, a bunch of the howlers erupted into flames and multiples voices started shrieking.

"HOW DARE YOU…"

"YOU SLUT…"

"…JUST WANT ATTENTION…"

"…SENSELESS IDIOT…"

The flames from the exploding howlers started the large pile of letters on fire, and soon there was a large bonfire in the middle of the table.

"Augumenti." McGonagall's voice spoke behind me and a jet of water extinguished the massive fire.

"Come with me," she said softly behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder and one on Harry's. He was crumpling the paper in his fist. He threw it down on the table and pulled out his wand. Not saying a word, he pointed his wand and the newspaper exploded with a loud bang. The entire Great Hall went silent, all staring at him.

"It's not true!" He yelled, causing everyone to freeze," and when I find out who her "Informant" was, I'll kill them!"

I stared open mouthed at Harry; the anger that covered his face was like I had never seen. He never lost his temper, and if he did it wasn't ever in front of a large crowd. Being in the spotlight had taught him not to let his emotions explode out of him, awful consequences usually followed. I didn't think he would get that angry over a stupid rumor. It wasn't life threatening or physically damaging. But what did I know? Harry was an enigma, even to me.

He turned quickly and stomped from the room. McGonagall slid her arm around my shoulders and pulled me gently after him. By the time we made it to her office, Harry was already seated in a wooden chair across from her desk. He was slumped over and his face was buried in his hands. I sat down quietly next to him. There was a knock at the door and McGonagall excused herself for a moment, leaving Harry and I in the room alone. He looked so angry and tense. I couldn't figure out what he was so worked up about. A small voice in my head told me that he was angry with me, for insisting on riding my broom home instead of flooing.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him.

His head whipped up and he glared at me angrily, "Sorry for what?!?!?" he demanded.

I was shocked; it took me a while to form words.

"f-for flying home, for letting them see me. It's my fault."

"You think I'm mad at you?" he asked, incredulous.

I nodded, unable to answer without letting out the rush of tears.

"No, no, no!" he yelled. He stood up and paced around the room. "I'm mad at Skeeter, and whoever told her that you were pregnant. But mostly, I'm mad at myself for letting this happen," he sighed and sat back his chair.

Now it was my turn to get angry, "WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE?" I yelled across the room. There was absolutely no way I was going to let him take the blame for this.

"I don't know," he mumbled, looking intently at his hands," something. I thought they would be done with me. I'm old news. I never expected to be in the papers again, I've done nothing spectacular lately."

I walked over to him and put my arms around him. "Being you is spectacular to them. Well, for me as well." I squeezed him in my arms, "But, you can't blame yourself for this, and I can't blame myself either. We just have to be a bit more conscious of our actions."

The door burst open and McGonagall came storming in with a haggard looking Reta Skeeter by the ear and the Minister of Magic himself, Kingsley walking regally behind them.

"Apologize," McGonagall demanded, throwing Reta to the floor.

Reta looked up at us, anger clear in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she spat at us.

Harry lunged forward towards Reta, but I grabbed his robes and pulled him back into the chair. "No, Harry!" I tried to restrain him, but he was going to break loose soon, "It's not worth it."

"Harry," McGonagall's angry tone caught his attention and he stopped struggling, "I understand your fury, but for now, don't harm her." Harry nodded at her and sat back in his chair. I walked over to mine and pulled it close to him. "We are going to do an interview. Reta will be publishing it in the Daily Prophet tomorrow. The Minister assures me that he will be personally making sure that this happens." McGonagall grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill off her desk and handed them to Reta.

" Why can't I use my own quill?" she asked with a bit of acid in her voice. McGonagall glared at her.

"Do you take me for a fool, Reta?" She turned her attention to Harry and I. "What would you like said?"

"Ginny is not pregnant. She was visiting me and her brother Ron, who lives with me. Also, I will be moving shortly, as my privacy is now invaded. And lastly, please stop sending hate mail to Ginny, she has done nothing wrong."

Harry stood up abruptly, turned on his heel and stalked out the door. I sat wide-eyed in my chair, McGonagall looked at me sympathetically.

"Ms. Weasley," she began, "Your mother is very worried at the moment. She wants to talk to you. Is that alright?" she paused, taking in my expression of shock, "Or I can tell her you are ill, if you would prefer."

I groaned into my hands, she wouldn't take no for an answer. It would be worse if I postponed it.
"I'll talk to her," I mumbled.

The moment I spoke, the flames shot up in the fireplace and my mother emerged, red face clashing with her red hair. She ran out of the fireplace and scooped me up into her arms. McGonagall grabbed the back of Reta's robes and pulled her harshly from the room.

"Let us go send this to the Daily Prophet with The Minister."

I watched them leave and then turned back to my mother. She eyes me critically for a moment.

"I'm not pregnant, Mum." I answered the question in her gaze.

"Of course not," she answered quickly. But I could see the relief in her eyes.

"We're not like that," I answered. Yet, I finished in my head.

She nodded and again scrutinized my face. "Are you alright, dear?"

I sighed and slumped back in my chair. "I'm just worried about Harry. He wasn't handling it well."

"I'm sure he will be fine, dear. Just give him time. He's been through quite a lot lately." She smiled at me. I'm sure she meant to reassure me, but I couldn't help but feel like things were going to change. I jumped up out of my seat, suddenly feeling an insane pull in my chest. I had to find Harry, now.

"Mum, I got to go. Love you," I hugged her quickly, pecked her on the cheek and left her sputtering in the middle of McGonagall's office.

I ran like a mad woman through the halls of Hogwarts. I ran straight to Harry's room, stumbling slightly as I burst into the common room. Draco glanced up from his perch in the large armchair.

"He's not up there," he yelled as I ran by.

I stopped in my tracks and glared at him.

"Where is he, Malfoy?" I demanded, not in the mood to play Draco's games.

"Dunno," His eyes went back to his book, "He left a few minutes ago."

Draco looked to calm and I didn't trust him. I burst into a run towards Harry's room.

"GINNY!" Draco screeched as he shot up off his chair and chased me down the hall.

I got to the door first, thanks to my head start, and threw it open. The room was unusually tidy, and it was empty.

"See?" Draco panted, yet his eyes scanned the room, like he expected to find Harry sitting on the bed.

"I'm going to sit and wait for him then," I stated loudly and sat down on the bed. Draco looked confused but walked back out the door into the common room.

I bent down and picked up the thing that I saw when I first walked in; the thing that assured me Harry was still in the room. His wand.

"Alright Harry," I announced to the empty room, "Take off your cloak or I'll just start sending hexes all over 'till I hit you," my voice stronger than I actually felt. I heard him sigh behind me and felt the bed shift as he removed the cloak. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. I turned and sat across the bed from him.

"Sorry," he mumbled, slightly cringing under my intense gaze.

"Were you leaving?" I accused, pointing towards this half-packed trunk.

Suddenly, his expression changed. His eyes were blazing and it startled me.

"I didn't know what else to do!" she shot forward and grabbed my arms, looking half-mad. "They hurt you, because of me! I thought that maybe, if I left, they would leave you alone." His hands slipped down my arms and grasped my hands.

"You idiot," I whispered, "That would be the worst thing you could do."

"Oh," he mumbled, but he didn't look convinced.

I scooted forward and placed my hand on his face.

"I know this sounds cheesy, but I'd rather we were together. We can handle all the rest. After all, Skeeter ain't got nothin' on Voldemort, and you defeated him."

He smiled at me hesitantly. The small voice in my head reminded me that Harry left me to beat Voldemort and I had a feeling he was capable of doing it again.

A/N Thanks to EK again for proofreading for me! Love you dear! And for those who actually like my story and review... *hint hint* The next chapter is a doozy! :-D

-Sarah