Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all my readers in the past week. This story has now accumulated more than 13,500 hits. And a special thanks to my reviewers.
ProfessorChris: Hey, sorry man, that's just the way these things work. Interestingly, Arsenal would go on to win the Premier League and FA Cup in the 1997-98 campaign (during which this story takes place). As for the team I support... well, I'll leave that for later. And let me just say that Ginny had never thought of Harry cheating on her before seeing the necklace. It's just that she's under a lot of stress and stress tends to make someone's mind work in funny ways. Thanks for the feedback.
Okay, last week's Monty Python reference was the advice that Geoff gave to the students gathered at the Christmas meal. The line comes from "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" and is the actual meaning of life as presented in the movie.
Alright then, lets get on with it.
Chapter 22: The Power of Love
It was almost midnight and the Gryffindor common room was nearly deserted while the fireplace was burning just bright enough to serve the needs of those still there. And at the moment, there were three people in the common room who were discussing an important topic.
"I'm still not so sure, Henry," Ron Weasley remarked.
"And why the bloody hell not?" Henry Gryffindor inquired sharply, his arms folded over his chest to show his displeasure with the Head Boy of Hogwarts.
"Do you really need to ask Henry?" Mohammad Hazan asked rhetorically, "It's because she's in Slytherin. That's why he doesn't trust her."
"And if you two had seen what I've seen in the last seven years, you wouldn't trust a Slytherin either, I assure you of that," Ron retorted, "I know Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor turned traitor, but that's the only bad one I can think of from this house."
"And every Slytherin you know has turned bad?" Henry asked.
"Well, no, not every Slytherin," Ron admitted, "But from my experience, when something in this school has gone dreadfully wrong, someone in Slytherin had something to do with it, without fail."
"It wasn't a Slytherin who ratted out Dumbledore's Army last time," Henry pointed out.
"Of course it wasn't a Slytherin who ratted us out last time," Ron answered, getting quite annoyed with this argument, "We didn't have any Slytherins in Dumbledore's Army back then!"
At this point, Henry just lost his nerve and, for a moment, his mind. "Burma!" he half-shouted.
Both Ron and Mohammad were confused by this. "Why did you say Burma?" Mohammad asked his friend quietly.
"I panicked," Henry replied, now feeling rather embarrassed about what just happened.
Mohammad turned back toward Ron, determined to continue sticking up for his friend. "Look, just because one house tends to produce all the Death Eaters doesn't mean everyone from that house is rotten," he reasoned, "I mean, look at Professor Slughorn."
Ron nodded. He couldn't disagree with that. Professor Slughorn had a good heart. And there were some Slytherins around whom he could not deem to be evil. Theodore Nott came into mind as falling into that category, and he agreed with Ginny that Blaise Zabini was a "poser" (although he had probably been corrupted by his mother's way of life). "Okay, on that you're right," Ron admitted, "But I feel like it's better to be safe than sorry. And she scares me sometimes, to be honest with you."
"Scares you?" Henry remarked, more in surprise than in ridicule, "How does Megan scare you?"
This was something Ron wasn't embarrassed to admit. "There's something dangerous about her, Henry," he warned, "I can't put my finger on it, but something isn't right with her. She doesn't seem to show any restraint. Don't tell me you already forgot about the broken arm she gave you."
"It was an accident," he defended. He hadn't forgotten about that incident, but he forgave Megan even before his arm had been healed.
"It wouldn't have happened if she had followed our instructions," Ron countered, "We keep telling you to use restraint, but she never does."
"She's a Muggle-born, like me," Mohammad said, "She's got a chip on her shoulder. She wants to prove she belongs here with us."
"I know that's true for you, Mohammad," Ron replied, "But Megan is a different story entirely. Whenever I look at her and see her eyes, she scares me because I don't see anything there in those eyes. Nothing evil, nothing good. And that scares me, guys. Those are the eyes of a monster."
"Oh please," Henry said dismissively, "You're just paranoid."
"I hope I am," Ron responded honestly, "Because I'm going to allow Megan to stay in Dumbledore's Army for now. At least she won't betray us to You-Know-Who because she is a Muggle-born. I just have a very bad feeling about her." And with that, Ron walked up the nearby staircase to his bed to get some sleep from this day that had completely changed everything.
"He's so stupid," Henry muttered, "Megan would never betray us."
"I'm not so sure, Henry, to tell you the truth," Mohammad admitted, drawing a shocked stare from Henry, "Ron is right. I see the same thing that he does."
Henry was now incensed. "You are so wrong!" he raged, "Megan is a good person and when I see her, I see nothing but good in her eyes."
"That's because that's what you want to see in her," Mohammad pointed out, remaining calm in the face of Henry's anger, "You should just come out and admit that she's your girlfriend, Henry. It's so obvious."
"Girlfriend!?" Henry exclaimed, "She's not my girlfriend, Mohammad! She's just a friend."
"She's more than that to you Henry," Mohammad countered, "You and I both know that. And I know what it feels like, to be close to someone who really gets to you deep down inside."
"What's your point?" Henry asked, "What is it you want to say to me?"
Mohammad sighed. "I think Megan may not really be on our side, Henry," Mohammad explained.
"She'd never join forces with You-Know-Who!" Henry roared in frustration, "She has to be with us! There's no other choice!"
"But there is," Mohammad pointed out, "She may be in this for herself, for her own personal gain."
"Why would she do that?" Henry asked, "What could she possibly get out of being in this just for herself?"
"Power," Mohammad answered simply, "The kind of power that Slytherins would use any kind of deception to get at."
"She's only 11 years old, Mohammad!" Henry said incredulously, "What would an 11-year-old want that kind of power for?"
"An 11-year-old couldn't use it," Mohammad explained, "But a 21-year-old, that's a different matter entirely."
"You think Megan would masquerade as You-Know-Who's pawn for ten years for that?" Henry inquired.
"I don't know," Mohammad began, "But I'm absolutely certain she's capable of it. If she wants You-Know-Who's throne ten years from now, she is capable of getting it. And in the quest for that kind of power, no sacrifice is too small. You-Know-Who is proof of that."
"You're nuts!" Henry declared, "You must be out of your mind! You know, I'm just going to go to bed now and assume that this is just a bad dream of mine." He muttered all the way up to his bed.
Mohammad knew that there was no convincing Henry about his point. Henry had let Megan too far under his skin for him to think there was anything bad about her. Mohammad had no doubt that Megan was an extremely cunning person, who would resort to many things to get what she wanted. He only hoped that Megan liked Henry just as much as he liked her. Like Ron, Mohammad hoped that he was wrong as he went up the stairs to his bed to get some sleep, though most of the Gryffindors wouldn't sleep well for a long time.
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It was one minute before midnight when Ginny quietly came off the staircase into the Gryffindor common room. She looked around and found it to be completely deserted and that the fireplace was burning dimly, although its magical flame brightened a good amount when it sensed Ginny's presence enter the room. She didn't need that to remind herself that it was the fireplace she needed to watch for. From Geoff and Harry's pointing out the fireplace, Ginny knew that Harry would either be coming through the Floo Network or that they would be talking to each other over it. She was desperately hoping that the former would be the case here.
The minute took forever to pass, but finally both hands of the grandfather clock in the common room hit the 12 at the top of the dial, switching the day to December 26, 1997 automatically. The clock also softly chimed twelve times. Ginny kept staring at the fireplace for some sign of change, but nothing happened. And as the final chime of the clock sounded, she started to think that whatever Geoff and Harry had planned for tonight was interrupted by some unforseen event, perhaps something to do with the Ministry takeover.
As she looked away from the fireplace for a moment to give her eyes something else to look at, however, she heard the fireplace give off a loud noise consistent with a sudden increase in the fire's activity. She heard this and looked back at the fireplace and what she saw there made her shake her head with her eyes closed for a moment before opening them again. She had seen this before, but it was a bit of a shock to see Harry Potter's head floating in the middle of the fire.
"Hello Ginny," Harry's head greeted, "It's good to see you again after so many months."
It took Ginny a moment to set her head on straight again, but once that was done, she was eager to talk with the most wanted fugitive in Wizarding Britain. "It's good to see you too, Harry," Ginny answered as she stood up and walked over to the fireplace, "Thanks for the necklace. It's beautiful."
"Thanks," Harry replied as Ginny crouched down so as to be on the same level as Harry's head. It was at this point that she examined him closely and saw how remarkable it was that she recognized him at all. It was only because of his brilliant green eyes that she recognized him so quickly. Starting from the bottom, she noticed that his chin and the sides of his head were starting to turn black as he was starting to grow a proper beard for the first time in his life. Moving up the face, his glasses were missing. And as a final touch, the hair on Harry's head had been cut by a drastic amount as he now sported a crew cut. Ginny thought this would make the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead more apparent, but she saw that even this was gone now. Harry chuckled as he saw Ginny looking across his forehead several times, looking for it.
"Geoff has done a number on my appearance over the past month, I'll tell you that much," he commented with a chuckle, "He even wanted to change my eye and hair color, just to be on the safe side. I guess he had a point, since you recognized me almost immediately."
"Uh, yeah, I guess so," Ginny replied, "What happened to your scar?"
"It's still there," Harry assured her, "It's just covered up at this point. A bit of Muggle make-up work. I'm wearing contacts now as well, although Geoff insisted that we get a set with blue irises to further the disguise. He insisted that my green eyes are far too recognizable, especially around those who know me."
He's right about that, Ginny thought. "But blue eyes and black hair don't fit together usually," she pointed out.
"Which is why he also proposed turning all my hair blonde," Harry continued with a grimace, "I don't like that idea, but unless I do it, I get the feeling I'm going to be stuck hiding in dark places for a rather long time."
"Don't you think it's a bit dangerous to talk via Floo Network now that the Ministry is in You-Know-Who's hands?" she inquired, that thought having just surfaced in her mind, "Where are you, anyway?" She knew that Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was not connected to the Network.
"I've been assured that the Death Eaters won't be able to gain control of the Floo Network until later this morning," Harry answered, "As for where I am, all I can tell you is that I'm in a secure location. You don't need to worry about my safety, Ginny, so don't you worry about me."
"I can't help it, Harry," she admitted, "I won't be able to talk to you anymore now that every line of communication out of Hogwarts is going to be monitored or severed. But I guess I shouldn't feel too upset, considering that you only have one Horcrux left to go before you can finish off You-Know-Who."
"One that we know of," Harry cautioned, "Geoff tells me that there could be another one. But I'm out of action for a while here, so it won't be until March that I'm of any use to anyone again."
"About that," Ginny began, "How is your arm doing?"
"It's getting better, although it still looks charred," he explained, "It doesn't hurt so much anymore, but it is really unnerving to look at it. It just reminds me too much of what happened to Dumbledore."
Ginny nodded. Harry didn't need to say anything more about that, nor did he want to. And she didn't want to relive that night, either. She decided to talk about something else. "If the Ministry isn't watching the Floo Network right now, why don't you just come through and see me in person?" she inquired, hoping that Harry would do just that.
But he had to disappoint her on this occasion and shook his head. "If I came through, you'd never let me go back," he explained, "Plus if someone were to walk in on me, things would get very complicated very quickly. Trust me. This is better for both of us right now."
Ginny frowned upon hearing this. "I miss you so much," she pointed out.
"I miss you too, Ginny," he replied, "And when this is all over, I promise that I'll never leave you like this again. How are Ron and Hermione doing?"
"Ron got into a bit of a row with Professor Gryffindor's son earlier today over some Slytherin girl Henry's really close to," Ginny informed him.
"Is this girl's name Megan Blaire?" Harry inquired.
"Yeah, that's her," she affirmed, "She's the only Slytherin in Dumbledore's Army and Ron said that we needed to kick her out because of that. Henry got really pissed at that. I don't know where I stand on this issue, but she scares me, Harry."
"She's only a first year," he stated while stifling a chuckle, "What's there to be scared about?"
"She's pretty damn powerful," she answered, "And her eyes . . . Harry, there's nothing there in those eyes. Nothing at all. It's as if her soul is dead or something."
Harry had to think back to Halloween to remember what Megan looked like. "I never really took a good look at her, so I don't really know about this one," he said, "But she was nice enough to help me get back to Geoff's office, so she can't be all that bad."
"No, I suppose not," Ginny agreed, "As for Hermione, she's the same as ever, reading all the time or else berating Ron's lack of intelligence." They shared a smile at this.
"Sounds just like old times," Harry said nostalgically, "I really wish I were there to see all this."
"Yeah, same here," Ginny replied as she looked toward the floor.
"I needed fulfillment.
I found what I need in you . . . "
"Ginny, listen," Harry began, making Ginny look up again, "Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to find the last of those Horcruxes and then kill You-Know-Who. And then we can live happily ever after."
"I hope so," Ginny responded quietly, "Do you know anything about any members of the Order?"
Harry shook his head. "Nothing for certain at this point," he answered, "I'm sure most of them are still alive, although they're now scattered all over the place. We're going to have to find some way to keep everyone in touch with each other. I'm sure Geoff has a plan for that. He's a very smart wizard, you know."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed, "And he doesn't give you false hope, that's for sure."
"What do you mean by that?" he inquired.
"He told us that our friends and family could be attacked by Death Eaters now," she explained, "That they would be targeted to make us give in to their demands. I just hope my family will be alright."
"Actually, I have some news for you about that," Harry said as Ginny's words reminded him of something he heard from Severus earlier that day, "Bill and Fleur will be leaving by boat for France, first thing tomorrow morning. They'll be safe with her family, at least for a while. Haven't heard anything about Charlie since the wedding back in August."
"That means he's back in Romania with the dragons again," Ginny deduced, "They shouldn't bother with him."
"I would think that's true," Harry replied, "Percy isn't a pure-blood fanatic, but I would be shocked if he broke from the Ministry line, so he's not going to be hunted at all."
At the mentioning of this brother, Ginny scowled. She couldn't help it. Percy's behavior had become worse since the wedding. He was now so disconnected from the rest of his family that she didn't even consider him to be related to her in any way anymore. "What about Fred and George?" she inquired.
"They can get out of any trouble the Death Eaters can throw at them," he assured her, "They've probably already abandoned their shop and have gone underground. They're probably plotting some devilish scheme against the Death Eaters as we speak."
Ginny nodded. That sounded like Fred and George for sure. "And my dad?" she asked.
"I think he'll be safe for now," Harry responded after a moment, "He does some good work for the Ministry, so they'd rather not use him as a hostage. And your mother is really strong willed. I'd like to see a Death Eater in their right mind threaten her husband or any of her children. I wouldn't worry about Geoff's warning, Ginny. Your family members are fairly safe compared to some others."
"Like who?" Ginny continued. She needed to prepare herself to face those who would be struck with tragedy.
"Well, the parents of any of the Muggle-born students will be at especially high risk," Harry reported, "Geoff has contacts all over Britain, though, so they'll do whatever they can to protect them. In fact, we're going to be watching over Greater London."
Ginny smiled at the thought of Harry going outdoors as he currently appeared. "You can't go outside looking like that," she stated, "It just doesn't work."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," he replied as he stroked his facial hair, "I think I should go with a goatee. It would fit better with my shaved head, I think."
Ginny nodded. "And then you could join your mates at Craven Cottage," she suggested, "You'd fit right in."
They both laughed at that. "Unfortunately, I don't think my current guardians are going to allow me to do that," Harry pointed out, "Too much danger to myself and those around me."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Ginny admitted, "It's so strange, how just a hair cut and facial hair can make someone look completely different."
"Yeah, it shocks me as well, I assure you," Harry confirmed, "From a distance, I don't think any Death Eater would be able to recognize me now."
"It would certainly be a challenge," Ginny agreed, "Did you hear about the Gryffindor-Slytherin match yet?"
"Geoff told me you guys won," Harry responded, "But was there actually a fight on the pitch?"
"Mohammad got whacked in the head by Crabbe, and he's not the kind of person to let something like that just slip past him unnoticed," she answered, "He was holding his own against Crabbe until Goyle ran up and gave his head another swing."
"Two hits to the head with Beaters' bats?" Harry asked incredulously, "That kid must be pretty resistant to pain to keep walking after those and a fight."
"He's probably going to replace Ron at Keeper after this year is over," Ginny informed, "He's only been scored upon once in competition and never in practice. I've seen him in action defending the goals and it is remarkable. It's as if he knows exactly where that Quaffle will be going before the other team's Chasers know."
"That's impressive," he replied, "Too bad I won't be able to see him in action."
"You won't be playing Quidditch next year?" she inquired, with a tone of shock in her voice.
Harry shook his head. "Not allowed to," he explained, "At least, that's what Geoff tells me. He's going to set me up with a professional Quidditch trainer, anyway. Says I've learned all I can playing Seeker for Gryffindor House. If it weren't for all the missed games I've had, I'd probably be getting visits from all the professional teams already. As it stands, I've had so many documented incidents within Hogwarts that all but the most desperate teams have labeled me with a red flag. Why on Earth do you think Fred and George aren't professionals at this point?"
Ginny initially thought that labeling Harry Potter a deviant in any way was absurd. But then she remembered all the times he had run afoul of the school rules. There was the incident with Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback in his first year; the pudding incident and the Ford Anglia catastrophe during his second year; the trouble with his aunt and being associated with Sirius Black's escape in his third year; and the puzzling situation of becoming Hogwarts Champion in his fourth year. The fifth year saw the infractions really rack themselves up, though, mostly due to Dolores Umbridge. Now that she thought about it, Harry had a rap sheet that would cover at least two rolls of parchment. And Fred and George had far too many real offenses for any professional Quidditch team to spend money on. She had read through Ron's book on the worst decisions in Quidditch history, and quite a few of those stemmed from wizards and witches who just couldn't stay out of trouble. "I'm sure someone would take a good look at you, though," Ginny assured.
"Geoff told me he's in almost constant contact with a Ragmar Dorkins, whoever that is," Harry informed, unsure of the significance behind that, "Is he some sort of scout?"
Ginny was absolutely shocked at how perfectly things seemed to fall into place now for them. "Harry, Ragmar Dorkins is the manager of the Chudley Cannons!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, you can't be serious," Harry answered with a grin, "What would Ron say if he knew this?"
"Probably that he would give you anything for a title," Ginny replied coyly, "Including his only sister."
They both shared a huge laugh at that statement. "Don't tell him, though," he ordered, "I want to see his reaction myself. And it's not like I've made the team yet anyway."
"Too true," she agreed, "What do you think of that new version of Quidditch they're trying out from the States?"
"Timed Quidditch?" Harry started, making sure they were on the same page, "I like the idea, though I think there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out of it. I'm very interested in watching that United States-Bulgaria friendly here in England on January 2."
"You mean you're going to see it yourself?" Ginny inquired.
"No, they wouldn't let me do that," he denied, "Though I know they're playing the game at Puddlemere Stadium in Ipswich. I've been promised a recording of it and the Prophet is sure to report on it anyway."
"Speaking of which," she began, "Geoff tells us not to listen to the Prophet starting tomorrow. Well, today, actually."
"Well, I would think they'd still report on sports well enough," Harry mused, "It's the real news that I'd be careful about. Assume that nothing reported there is true unless Geoff tells you otherwise. I suppose that's a good rule of thumb for everything. Just listen to Geoff."
"You sure?" Ginny inquired, "I've heard some bad things about his past. It's rumored he committed some murders in the past or something."
"He's killed Death Eaters, yeah," Harry confirmed, "And he still does. But he'll get us through this. Just listen to him. It's kept me alive so far."
Ginny nodded in response to this. She simply could not see Geoff secretly cooperating with Voldemort or Death Eaters. But she had heard stories from her father about some of the things he supposedly did, though he was never convicted of any crimes. And she was nervous about Harry being so close to someone who possibly was so ruthless. "Some of these things my father told me about him," she commented, "He sounded almost like You-Know-Who, just on the other side from him and not necessarily with us."
Harry nodded. He heard most of Geoff's past from the man himself by this point. "It is a little disconcerting, but none of the real alternatives are much better, the way I see it," he responded, "He wants to see You-Know-Who dead at his feet, once and for all. I have no doubts about that. Just keep listening to him and you'll be fine, Ginny. I promise."
Both of them sensed that this conversation was beginning to draw to a close at this point. But neither of them wanted it to end. They searched through their minds, looking for one last thing to say before they spent the next unknown number of months completely isolated from each other. But neither found anything else.
"Ginny, we're going to make it through this," Harry began to conclude, "Just stay strong and we'll destroy this evil. I know that we'll win."
"I hope so," Ginny replied, not totally convinced by Harry's strong words, "I guess we should be going now."
Harry nodded. "Stay safe," he said, "And I love you."
"I love you too," Ginny replied as Harry's head disappeared from the fire and it came back down to its normal state.
A tear ran down from Ginny's right eye as she remained in front of the fireplace for a minute after the conversation had ended and thought about all they had said. She and Harry had talked about everything they could think of, knowing that they'd be out of contact for at least three months, but she still felt disappointed when it was over. Neither of them were at fault. There was just no substitute for physical contact. She wanted to touch Harry, to embrace him, to kiss him. She wanted to feel the warmth of his body pressing against hers. She wanted so much more than Harry could have given to her now.
I have to be strong, Ginny thought as she stood up again, I have to see this through. I must see this through. It's the only way I'll ever see Harry again. And with that, she made her way back up to her bedroom to turn in for the night and await Hogwarts becoming an isolated community come sunrise. But as she put on her pajamas, she pulled out the necklace that Harry had sent her for Christmas. She ran her fingers over the gold, the emeralds, the sapphires and the rubies, wanting to make sure that it was all real. The necklace alone was probably worth more than the amount of money in the Weasley Family's vault in Gringotts. That made her start thinking about just how wealthy Harry had to be to give her this beautiful necklace instead of selling it himself. Even if that thought had never crossed his mind, that alone proved just how secure Harry was with his life if it weren't for all the enemies he had hunting him. An even bigger and more obvious show of his financial stability was when he just gave those thousand Galleons to Fred and George without a second thought. Ginny herself couldn't believe it until Harry confirmed the story to her once they got back to Hogwarts the next year. The thought of Harry's financial stability had never occurred to Ginny before this time, and from all she knew, she had to figure that it wasn't an issue at all.
Almost all human beings naturally desire two things: fortune and glory. And as Ginny fell asleep, she knew that Harry Potter had already achieved both. And it was strange, but whereas most people desire those two things, Harry Potter, who had both already before he was 20 years old, cared nothing for either. I guess it's not so great being on top of the mountain sometimes, she thought as she fell asleep.
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Author's Notes: Obviously, Henry is not very happy at the moment. In fact, no one in Gryffindor House really is, what with all that's going on at this moment.
It is strange to think of Harry as a juvenile delinquent, but he does have a pretty long rap sheet at Hogwarts when you think about it. What with the dragon, the car, not to mention all the nonsense Umbridge put on him.
Trust me, facial hair DOES make a man look totally different. I know this from experience.
For those of you who don't know, Craven Cottage is the home of Fulham F.C., a soccer club based in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (which is within Greater London, but is to the west of the City of London itself). Fulham currently play in the Premier League, but during the 1997-98 season were in the Football League Second Division (now known as Football League One). They would go on to finish in sixth place in the standings that season, but would win the division the following year and were moved up to First Division (now the Football League Championship). Two seasons later (the 2000-01 season), Fulham would win that league and move up into the Premier League, where they have remained ever since, though not without some close calls with relegation. The 1997-98 season was Fulham's first with their current owner, Egyptian millionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.
I say all this because I am a Fulham F.C. fan, and so is Harry Potter. The latter statement actually makes a bit of sense in two ways. First, Harry grew up in Little Whinging, which is in the county of Surrey. While Little Whinging doesn't actually exist, the County of Surrey does and borders Greater London to the southwest. So Fulham would actually be fairly close geographically to Little Whinging. And the second reason why I chose Fulham to be Harry Potter's club is that Harry Potter actually is a Fulham fan. Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays Harry Potter in the movies, is actually a Fulham F.C. fan. Call this a case of reality becoming fiction.
And sorry ProfessorChris, but Rupert Grint (who plays Ron Weasley) supports Tottenham Hotspur. Tough luck, man.
Well, that's about all for now. Until next week, everyone.