Disclaimer: See chapter 1…of course I don't own Harry Potter and all that jazz
A/N: Sorry for the late update. The first part of this chapter was terribly hard for me to write for some reason then things got kind of wacky for a while and then I was sick for the past few days. I've already got a few thousand words done on the next chapter. From where I am now, the next chapter will cover the rest of the summer and the trip on the Hogwarts Express.
The next chapter will by out Monday... My schedule is going to change for the next month and I'm hoping that it gives me more time to write during the week…we shall see.
Noticed a question about what happened to Lockhart in one of the reviews – err yes…I forgot about him, but I would say its safe to believe that he ran off when he learned about the Basilisk…not to mention I doubt that the teachers would have tolerated him for another year…oh and the review about Harry and Cho – Harry is most definitely not going out with Cho…I thought that would have been self-evident.
Chapter 12: Revelations and Secrets
Even from a sitting position Tonks somehow managed to trip over herself when she jumped in surprise. Harry chuckled awkwardly as he looked down at the prone auror. He looked back up at the two awed marauders. Sirius raised his eyebrows and said simply, "Explain."
"No, as much as I want to hear this story we need to get back. Dumbledore will be having a fit. He probably has the Order out searching for Harry ever since we sent back the house was empty," Lupin interrupted before Harry could start.
"Okay, but…" Sirius frowned in defeat, "Harry can you flame to headquarters? It would be safer and quicker."
"Is that where Ginny is?" Harry asked. Sirius and Lupin nodded. Tonks just grunted an acknowledgement. "No, I can't…I…" Harry stopped not wanting to reveal more in front of Tonks. He was sure he could trust Professor Lupin, but Tonks was still an unknown quantity to him.
"At least one of our security measures seems to be working," said Lupin with a familiar warm, but tired smile. Harry received the distinct impression that Sirius and Lupin had been talking. "Padfoot, show him the piece of paper."
Sirius handed Harry a folded piece of paper. Opening it gingerly, the note's message read: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
He had no sooner finished reading the note than he felt practically a flood of information flow into him. Everything that Ginny had tried and wanted to say about where she was staying over the past couple of weeks became clear.
So can you flame here now?
"So?" asked Sirius. Harry nodded affirmatively for Sirius and also answered Ginny. "Great. Flame there and we'll follow. Dumbledore will probably already be there," Sirius smiled wickedly, "Just as a heads up."
Without a word he transformed and was once more looking up at the three adults. Sirius and Lupin regained their impressed expressions and Tonks still looked confused. "But how can he…"
"Don't worry about it Nymphadora," said Sirius teasingly.
Tonks did not take the tease well and had stood and drew her wand in a flash. The two men and one phoenix were very impressed at her gracefulness. "Sirius Orion Black, what have I told you about using my first name?" Sirius fidgeted and mumbled something, "That's right. You are not to use it. Ever," Tonks continued. She took a step forward, with no disastrous results, and then took another. However, this time the tip of her foot swung slightly outward so that it hooked with Lupin's outstretched leg and she tripped.
Both men reacted immediately, if differently. Sirius started laughing and was soon clutching his sides. Lupin had caught Tonks who was now staring up at him with a look that somehow showed both irritation and amusement. She flung her pink head back so she could look at Sirius unknowingly giving Remus a view of her chest. Remus blushed and looked up. Tonks did not notice, "You just wait cousin! I'm going to get you back!"
Are you believing this? I thought they came to get me. The only response was giggling that quickly turned into full-out laughter.
"All right, all right, I'll be good," Sirius' face clearly said that he was going to be anything but, "Why don't you go and warn them that were coming." Tonks nodded, smiled at Remus and grabbed her invisibility cloak before running off.
Back at Number 12, Molly Weasley woke suddenly to the sound of laughing. It took her only a moment to realize the laughter was coming from Ginny's room. Molly slowly pushed the exhaustion away and looked at the clock. It was well after eight. She was not surprised she had overslept. It had been a very long night with Arthur on guard duty. Whenever it was her husband's turn Molly never slept well.
The laughing continued in the room next door. Molly shook her head. She still could not get a straight answer out of her daughter why she needed a private room. After the decision to send Harry to Privet Drive Molly knew Ginny was disappointed and angry, but she had not expected her to retreat to bed early every night and rise late. Molly was worried that Ginny was avoiding her and she hoped that one day she would understand. She simply could not allow her only daughter and youngest child stay with a hormonal teenager – no matter what the circumstances were. As far as she was concerned, Harry and Ginny would only be married when there was a wedding.
Grabbing a robe, she quickly donned it, and walked to the door. More noise than just laughter assaulter her ears when she opened the door. Racing footsteps could be heard running down the hallways below her and she thought that she could hear the screaming of Sirius' awful mother. Then all commotion stopped and she could hear the outside door open and close. Then a loud clatter sounded. Molly knew this specific clatter well – it was the troll's foot that acted as an umbrella stand. Molly sighed…Tonks had arrived.
Her momentary relief passed as quickly as it came – Tonks was supposed to be guarding Harry tonight. Molly was racing down the stairs and was in the kitchen in a flash. Tonks was apologizing to Mad-eye Moody profusely about the umbrella stand when Molly entered the kitchen. "What's happened? How's Harry?"
Both Tonks and Moody looked up surprised at her entrance, but neither of them answered her. Instead a calm voice from the right answered, "He is fine, Molly. Tonks just finished explaining what happened. He will be here momentarily. There is nothing to worry about," assured Albus Dumbledore.
"What do you mean nothing happened?" Molly's voice had elevated. She was not yelling yet, but she was nearly there, "If nothing happened you wouldn't be here. Now tell me what's going on!"
Dumbledore did not answer for a moment. He was unsure on how to broach the issue. Molly Weasley was going to be angry, very angry. "Earlier this morning I checked on the wards surround Privet Drive. By now they should have nearly been fully recharged, but they were…" Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch and examined it, "…are nearly gone. I asked Remus to leave immediately and retrieve Harry before the wards failed entirely." Molly looked like she was going to interrupt, "I don't know why the wards are failing, but I only know of two reasons why the wards would fail like this: First, Harry has not been staying at the Dursleys, which we know he has. The second is if they had been under constant attack and again this is not the case."
All further conversation stopped when a delighted scream of "Harry" penetrated the kitchen from two floors above. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in mirth, "I believe that your daughter has a visitor."
Ginny excitedly threw her arms around Harry. She had practically just left him, but she was incredibly happy that she was finally able to see him outside of their nighttime meetings at the Manor.
Harry responded in the manner that had become almost habit while at the Manor, he kissed her. Harry did not know what was going on with him. Ever since the start of the summer, actually when he thought about it before that, whenever he was around Ginny he wanted to touch her in some way. It was a lot like the stage of the bonding where he needed to be in close proximity to her. However, this feeling was a little different. This one was not a feeling borne out of need, but of desire.
His hands began their automatic roaming and just as one hand had buried itself in Ginny's mane of red hair he blushed in realization. Sirius had talked to him about hormones. Harry suddenly worried that he was taking advantage of Ginny. The kiss broke and he felt Ginny's hands reach up and grasp the sides of his head. She pulled him down so that they were both at eyelevel.
"Stop thinking Harry," was all she said as she pulled him toward her.
"GINERVRA MOLLY WEASLEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" screamed an irate Mrs. Weasley. Harry instinctively pushed Ginny behind him. His move forestalled an immediate confrontation between mother and daughter and gave Dumbledore the moment he needed to speak.
"Harry, it is good to see that you are okay. Please come downstairs. We have much to discus," Dumbledore turned to leave and hoped Molly would follow.
Mrs. Weasley glared at her daughter, still behind Harry, "Were going to talk later." She could be heard muttering about scarlet women as she went down the stairs.
Ginny was fuming, "How dare she? Scarlet woman? You would think I was doing something wrong…"
"Ginny! I've got to go downstairs…" Harry turned his head to look down the hall and could see Ron and Hermione coming to investigate the yelling, Stay here and keep Ron and Hermione from asking too many questions.
Harry slowly walked down to the kitchen wondering how mad Dumbledore was going to be when he found out that not only had Harry not obeyed him, but he had also become an illegal animagus. When he walked through the door he was faced with a veritable interrogation team arrayed around the kitchen table. The end of the table was left open presumably for him, but the other five chairs were occupied. At the opposite end sat Dumbledore. The two chairs to his right were occupied by Professor McGonagall, looking as grim as ever, and Mrs. Weasley, who was still red from yelling. On the left sat Sirius and Remus Lupin. Harry sat down and looked expectantly up at Dumbledore, who shift his gaze to look at either side of the table before beginning.
Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley looked to be nearly consumed with worry. Remus and Sirius also bore serious expressions, but were tinged with a little amusement. Remus looked better than Harry had ever seen him look. He figured it must have had something to do with spending a lot of time with one of his best friends. Sirius was also looking better; his eyes did not have the same haunted look and his hair was properly cared for.
"Thank you, Harry, now I am going to describe what has brought you here. Once I am done please fill in the gaps. It was only a little before dawn when I returned from a very late meeting with the Wizengamot. Before retiring I made a check on the wards surrounding Privet Drive in order to determine when it would be safe for you to leave. I did not find the strength of the wards increasing at all; instead, I found them near exhaustion. I immediately asked Remus to take whoever was available and retrieve Harry. I never expected it to take so long. Harry," Dumbledore peered over his glasses at Harry, but annoyingly he did not make eye contact, "Can you tell us what happened?"
Harry squirmed in his seat as every pair of eyes turned toward him. "Don't worry, Harry, just tell him," encouraged Remus who, like Sirius, had a slight grin on his face.
"I...I…haven't…er…been staying at the Dursleys," everyone seemed surprised except Sirius and Remus. Dumbledore made a motion with his hand that somehow conveyed for everyone to remain silence and that Harry should continue, "I've been at the Dursleys during the day, but at night I've been sleeping at the Manor."
Not even Dumbledore could stop the inevitable questions. Sirius and Remus both choked out the word, "Manor?" while Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley were making demands to know why he had not been staying at Privet Drive.
"Wait," said Professor McGonagall. Harry recognized the shrewd look on her face – it was incredibly similar to the look Hermione got when she had worked out something very difficult, "What manor and how did you get to it? For that matter how did you arrive here? You did not come with Remus and Sirius."
Harry turned his head so that he was facing Professor McGonagall, who met his gaze, which Harry found more comforting than Dumbledore's faraway gaze. "I'm an animagus." Sirius beamed with pride. Remus tried to hold back a grin, but was failing miserably. Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley were once again shocked and, as usual, Albus Dumbledore looked serene and unsurprised. "I'm a phoenix," Harry explained.
"Oh my. Why I never…simply amazing and so young," Professor McGonagall said as she struggled between equal waves of awe and anger at the perceived irresponsibility. Mrs. Weasley remained quiet with her face making an impression of a gold fish.
Professor McGonagall soon launched into a barrage of questions. Harry did his best to answer truthfully, but steered away from saying anything about Ginny's abilities. Mrs. Weasley, however, was suspicious. Her eyes had narrowed, but when she pushed back from the table and stood, she did not yell, but only said, "Excuse me, I need to take care of something." She walked out of the kitchen with a purposeful stride.
Outside the kitchen Ginny was doing her best not to allow anyone to use the twins' newest invention: extendable ears.
"Come on Ginny," pleaded Ron. Fred and George had moved to stand behind Ron in an obvious show of support, but that had the added bonus of putting Ron between them and any of Ginny's curses.
Hermione stood beside Ron with an irritated look on her face, "Ron's right Ginny. We have a right to know!"
"Oh, you do, do you?" responded Ginny coolly. The Weasley boys took a step back. Hermione, however, either chose to ignore the danger in Ginny's voice or was not aware of it.
"Yes. Harry's our friend. We deserve…" Hermione's eyes went wide as she trailed off.
"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!" yelled Mrs. Weasley. Everyone else turned to flee. "Don't even think about it! All of you – in the study NOW!"
The Weasleys and Hermione followed the matriarch into the nearby study.
Harry! What was the last thing you said before mum walked out?
Weren't you paying attention? Replied Harry, slightly irritated.
Cool it! I've been keeping my brothers and Hermione from listening in – that's a fulltime job you know?
Sorry…I told her that I was an animagus and…
This is not going to be pleasant...
"How many of you are animagi? I know Harry would not have done this by himself," Mrs. Weasley said beginning her questions. Hermione and Ron looked confused then Hermione looked very irritated while Ron continued to look mystified. The twins had paled at their mother's words and Ginny had taken a step back to try and hide behind them. "No you don't Ginevra! I know you had to be involved. Hermione, Ron what about you two?" It was obvious that Mrs. Weasley was barely controlling her temper.
Ron shook his head, "I didn't know…I promise." Mrs. Weasley narrowed her eyes and looked at her youngest son closely. Satisfied she turned her gaze on a now indignant looking Hermione.
"Of course I didn't help him – it's too dangerous there's a reason why it's illegal to become an unregistered animagus," she turned and glared at Ginny. Mrs. Weasley nodded her head in agreement and then turned and looked at Fred and George with a stern face.
"Tell me the truth – if you don't you won't live to graduate. Did you help Harry?"
It was strange, but Fred and George almost looked relieved at their mother's question and George answered, "No, mum, we promise." Mrs. Weasley was shocked that her two troublesome sons had apparently avoided this spot of trouble, but then Fred opened his mouth.
"But, if I don't say so myself, we wish we had. An animagus – absolutely magnificent. Imagine…"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. She looked incredibly tempted to continue scolding, but another red head caught her attention, "GINEVRA! Out with it."
Ginny stepped out from behind George, who snickered. She promptly kicked his shin. She sighed. Her mother never used her proper name except when she was in real trouble, "Yes, mum?" she answered trying to put on an innocent face.
"Do not even try that with me young lady! If Harry is an animagus, I know you were involved – you two do everything together," Mrs. Weasley said while still hoping against hope that her daughter was not an animagus, but she knew that even if it was true it was probably not from lack of trying.
Not seeing another way out other than the truth Ginny decided to confess a partial truth, "I'm a panther." She transformed hoping that the shock from it would give her some time to prepare for the inevitable lecture.
Fred and George broke out in huge, identical grins, "Excellent! How long…"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! FRED, GEORGE, LEAVE NOW!" screamed Mrs. Weasley. She momentarily glared at the spot where the twins had disapparatted and made a mental note to try and watch them closer. She was sure this would only give them ideas. "Ginevra Molly Weasley," the panther's ears folded down at the use of her full name for what seemed the tenth time, "How dare you? Don't you know how dangerous that was? AND you broke the law. How will this look for your father? He's already having enough trouble – oh, this would ruin his career."
Ginny sat down and hung her head. This was going to be a long lecture. Ron and Hermione were behind her. Hermione looked on in either amazement or disgust…it was rather had to tell. Ron looked on with overt jealousy, but was doing his best to hide it due to his healthy respect for his mother's temper.
Back in the kitchen Harry had finally finished explaining how he spent the day outside allowing whoever was guarding him to see him and then flamed to the Manor during the evening. He had told those at the table almost everything from being able to sense his guards because his panther form. He even revealed Ginny's panther form, but that she could transform into a phoenix too. Dumbledore had his hands steepled in his now familiar thoughtful gesture. Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion, "Thank you for being honest with us Harry. The wards around Privet Drive are too weak to risk you going back there for now; so I see no other option than to allow you to remain here." Dumbledore turned toward Professor McGonagall, "Minerva, could you please notify the Order that we will have a meeting tomorrow night."
Professor McGonagall nodded curtly. Dumbledore stood and left. Harry expected him to say something more or at least to look at him, but Dumbledore only nodded his head at the adults. Once he had left, Professor McGonagall looked at Harry intently struggling again between conflicting emotions. "Mr. Potter, what you did was very dangerous and I'm very disappointed in your irresponsible behavior. That said, could you please demonstrate," she waved her arm in encouragement. Harry smiled back at her and transformed. "Impressive. Two forms…very impressive. A magical animagus at that. Well, at least it's nice to know you have a way out of those tight situations you seem to find yourself in."
Harry was floored. McGonagall had given him a complement. Yes, she had admonished him first, but she was impressed. Harry walked out of the kitchen in a daze and a slight smile on his face. Overall, the talk had gone very well. He had not been yelled at once. His smile faded when he aimlessly walked into the study. Ginny was still in her panther form being told off by Mrs. Weasley.
When he entered the room Ginny took immediate notice and slunk away from her mother so that she was sitting besides a now petrified Harry. Harry reached down thoughtlessly and scratched behind Ginny's ears. Mrs. Weasley seemed to have finally blown herself out and stomped into the kitchen.
A minute later yelling could be heard. Evidently Mrs. Weasley was now venting at Sirius and Remus for not being responsible.
...or perhaps for not yelling at you, sent Ginny as she transformed back into herself. Ron and Hermione were simply staring. It took several minutes for them to come out of their stupor.
"I can't believe you didn't tell us," said Ron in a low voice.
Hermione made a sniffing noise, "Tell us? He should not have done it at all! What were you thinking? Do you know how many things could have gone wrong? It's against the law too – you're not even registered."
"Hermione, it didn't go wrong though and it got me away from Privet Drive – so I'm happy," Harry retorted hoping to end her diatribe.
It did not work. Hermione seemed to puff herself up even more, "Yes and now look. The wards surrounding Privet Drive are failing and you're not safe anymore. If you had not illegally become an animagus then you would still be safe."
Ginny and Harry stared at Hermione wondering how anyone would think staying at Privet Drive was worth the safety. Even Ron was looking at Hermione like she had lost it. As Hermione continued to prattle on about the benefits of Privet Drive and Harry's sheer irresponsibility he had a thought that made his blood run cold, "You want to know why I didn't tell you? I didn't tell you because you would have told Dumbledore just so you could make sure that I couldn't leave Privet Drive!"
"Hmph, well, it would have been the right thing to do too!" snapped Hermione angrily. She gave them a self-righteous look and stormed away saying that she was going to go study for O.W.L.s.
Surprisingly, it was Ron who broke the silence as they watched Hermione disappear, "What's she mad about anyway? It's not like we haven't broken rules before…"
Harry did not care why Hermione was mad. The only thing that really mattered to him was the knowledge that Hermione would have given him up and forced him to go back to the Dursleys.
Further musings about Hermione's reaction, however, were interrupted by the emergence of Remus and Sirius. Both of them looked like they had weathered a rather strong hurricane Weasley. They gave Harry a weak smile before Sirius spoke, "Follow us." Shrugging at each other the three followed the two marauders up into Sirius' room.
When the door closed Remus muttered a few spells under his breath, "Now that it's safe to talk…"
Sirius beat him to the punch, "You can tell us what you left out," Sirius finished for Remus.
"Err…Sirius, Professor Lupin," Harry started.
"I think it would be best if you dropped the title professor, Harry," Remus said, "besides, considering recent revelations, I think it would be best if you called me Moony."
Harry let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. He was not in trouble. "What do you want to know?"
They surveyed the group. Harry and Ginny looked resigned, while Ron seemed to be trying to contain his glee at being included. "Well, Harry, Ginny, we couldn't help but notice over the past couple weeks that Ginny has been rather early to bed and late to rise. You're both panthers so it seems odd," the pair fidgeted under the stressed word, "that you, Harry, would have two forms and Ginny only one."
Well? Harry asked.
Ginny did not respond, but only transformed into a bright red phoenix. Sirius and Remus grinned, while Ron's mouth fell open. "You're a ph…phoenix? That's so awesome…" Ron felt the familiar twinge of jealousy, but pushed it away. It was rather easy to do – he was very amazed at his sister's achievement.
Ginny flew up and landed on Harry's shoulder and started to preen his ruffled hair. Harry laughed and looked at Sirius and Remus before he made the decision, "You want to become one too?"
Ron looked like Christmas had come early or that the Chudley Cannons had won the Quidditch Cup, "Would I? Of course I want to. What about Hermione?"
A dark looked past over Harry's features and Ginny looked up and made a chirp that was decidedly negative. Ron seemed to consider his statement and then nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I don't think she'd respond too well right now. When can we start?"
"Moony, old pal, what do we have here? I do believe we have a group of rule breakers trying to follow in our footsteps," said Sirius the fake revulsion in his voice evident, "Whatever are we going to do? Should we turn them in?"
The look on Remus' face was unlike any Harry had seen on the former professor's face before. It was down right mischievous and for the first time Harry understood and could believe that Moony had been a true Marauder. "No, Padfoot, I think we should induct them once their third member achieves the standards needed for acceptance into our illustrious club." Remus and Sirius snickered and smiled at the future marauders.
Harry sat down on one of the chairs in the large bedroom and Ginny flew down to the floor so that she could transform. "The Manor has a potions lab. We could use it; after all, if we could brew the potion in Myrtle's bathroom it should be pretty easy at the Manor where we don't have to worry about anyone disturbing us."
"Potter Manor," said Remus in an awed voice, "I haven't been there since…" he trailed off.
"It would be nice to see the place again. Did I ever told you I moved in with James after I ran away from this place," Sirius said spreading his arms wide with a look of disgust on his face as he looked around at his surroundings.
Harry knew from Ginny that Sirius detested being back in his parents' old house, but this was the first time since his arrival that he actually looked at the house in detail. The bedroom was very large. It featured what had to be a king size bed, a huge chest of drawers, a table that could seat four, and a large desk. If Ginny had not told him that Sirius was using the master bedroom as Buckbeak's room, Harry would have guessed it was a master bedroom. Despite its splendor and its rundown appearance (which was due to not being cleaned for several long years), the place had an awful feel to it.
Evidently Sirius read some of the thoughts that Harry was thinking because he gave a gruff, bark-like laugh and said, "The Ancient and Noble House of Black was very black, Harry; most did not actively support Voldemort, but few opposed him. I had an uncle who was pretty good and of course Aunt Andromeda, that's Tonk's mother, but for the most part they were all pureblood maniacs. Bellatrix and Regulus actually became Death Eaters…although my brother did turn away from them, but they killed him in the end." Sirius sighed at his memories, "Potter Manor holds much better memories for me. James' parents, your grandparents, took me in when I ran away. Both of them died during our last year at Hogwarts," Sirius said sadly.
"Oh…" Harry had never really thought about his family beyond what had happened to his parents; it had always been too depressing knowing that his only blood relatives were Aunt Petunia and Dudley. "How?" the moment he asked the question he regretted it, but at the same time still wanted to know.
Sirius did not answer, hanging his head while Remus patted him on the back, "Voldemort," the former professor answered his own eyes becoming misty.
Ron could not believe his luck. He was going to become an animagus…before Hermione too. He was going to be able to do something Hermione could not. His smile grew wider and then he thought he understood what Hermione's problem was. There was no doubt that she was mad at the danger Harry and Ginny had put themselves in, but now that he thought about it she was probably even more upset that they had achieved something that she thought was impossible or even worse something she thought she would not be able to do. Ron's smile had faded as he thought of Hermione's reaction, but it returned now. He would talk to her.
Moving his attention back to those in the room, Ron asked his question again, "When can we start?"
"Tomorrow?" Ginny stated and asked at the same time. Remus and Sirius looked pensive; they were obviously thinking about how to escape without Mrs. Weasley finding out.
"I don't know," Remus began, "Molly is pretty serious about getting the house clean and…"
"…and it's not like that good-for-nothing house elf is worth anything," finished Sirius.
"House elf?" asked Harry.
"Kreacher," growled Sirius. "Miserable, foul thing. If I had my way his head would be on the wall next to his ancestors." Sirius' eyes momentarily gained their haunted look again as he thought about the house elf.
Remus saw Sirius' mood darken and decided to return to the previous topic, "Tomorrow will probably work – Molly has to go out for most of the day, but we are going to have to figure out how to get past her later."
"We can figure that out tomorrow at the Manor," announced Ginny, "Are you going to tell Dumbledore?"
At the mention of Dumbledore's name Sirius frowned and his expression darkened. He obviously was not pleased with the headmaster. "I'm all for leaving this place," he said. He did not have to add that he was not going to inform Dumbeldore.
Remus was also frowning, but seemed torn. He cut his eyes at Ron before he said, in a low voice, "Are the Dursleys as bad as Sirius says?" Harry knew that the question was loaded. He had told Sirius a lot about his life at the Dursleys and his godfather had not been pleased. The only one who knew more about his life before Hogwarts was Ginny.
He hung his head; he hated thinking about those times. A small hand clasped itself on his shoulder and squeezed gently. Looking back up at Remus, whose expression had become pained, he nodded.
"I don't see any reason for Dumbledore to know – so long as one of us is always with you," Remus finally said.
…………………………………
Ron found Hermione in the library pouring over three textbooks simultaneously. He could sense the angry energy emanating from her, but gathered his courage to speak, "Hermione? Could we talk?"
Hermione turned and looked at Ron with a surprised expression, "Of course, what is it?"
"I…umm…," This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, thought Ron. "I just wanted to know why you got so angry? I mean…"
Hermione moved her whole body around in the flat-backed chair so that she was facing Ron and Ron realized that he should have waited longer. "I'll tell you why I'm angry! I'm angry because all they do is keep secrets and I'm not talking about little secrets. How stupid can you be to become an unregistered, illegal animagus before you're even a teenager? It's ridiculous and Dumbledore just lets them get away with it…"
Nearly ten minutes had passed and Ron was in shock. He was not sure if Hermione had even taken two breaths. Ron looked up at Hermione, she was red in the face now, but showed no signs of stopping. "…care if their bonded. Dumbledore should do something about their ability to mentally talk – it's not really fair to everyone else. How am I supposed to compete with two minds? It's crazy…"
Ron had stopped listening and paled. What does she mean bonded? Mentally talk? Two minds? He stood and left. I've got to think… He made his way to the room he knew no one would be in: Hermione's room. Ron moved to sit down on the bed and did not bother to turn on the light. Consequently, he stumbled over one of the many piles of books that surrounded the twin bed.
Grumbling, Ron lighted several candles. The low light revealed one of the books he knocked to the floor had opened. He went to pick it up and put it back in the pile when he saw the title: Bonds for the Bonded. He opened the book to the tabbed page and started to read.
…………………………….
That night Harry collapsed on the bed opposite Ron's and thought how uncomfortable this one was compared to his at the Manor. He thought Ron had dropped off, but a "Hey" proved him wrong.
"Harry, I was talking to Hermione…" something in Ron's tone worried Harry.
"What does she have to say?"
Ron did not speak for several minutes and Harry's worry increased. "It's about you and Ginny."
Harry sucked air so rapidly that Ron heard the resulting whistle. He felt anger rise up inside him that was mixed with disappointment at Hermione's actions.
Ginny…
I'm coming.
Ron looked like he was going to say something else when a ball of flame erupted between the two boys' beds. Ginny rapidly transformed so that she was facing Ron, "So what did Hermione tell you?"
Ron's eyes widened and he sat up in shock, "So it's true. She said something about a bonding and being able to talk mentally and then, well, I went up to her room to think and I found a book there that she had put tabs in and even wrote notes in the margins if you can believe that and…"
"Ron, breathe," commanded Harry. He and Ginny were both surprised. They expected Ron to be furious not...well…whatever Ron was at the moment.
Ron did indeed take a deep breath. "This explains so much."
Harry almost laughed and Ginny did giggle. "So you're not angry?" asked Harry nervously knowing that when Ron was stressed his mood could change quickly.
Leaning back against the wall and massaging his temples, Ron contemplated his answer, "No, I mean from what I read it's like you two were meant. Besides, it's not like you…well see…with the whole bonding thing I know that you lo…" Ron stopped for another moment to collect himself, "I know that you love her."
Ginny stumbled backward in shock. The back of her knees made contact with Harry's bed and she fell into it. Harry caught her without a conscious thought and continued to gape at Ron.
Ron fidgeted uncomfortably under their gazes, "What?"
Ginny found her voice first, "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" she said and then started to laugh. Harry soon joined her leaving Ron to his increasing confusion.
"What?"
Ginny smiled at her brother and then engulfed him in a fierce hug. "Thanks, Ron," was all she said before she transformed into a phoenix and flamed back to her room.
Ron looked at Harry, confusion still evident on his face, and said, "What?"