A/N: Yeah, I know. I suck. Big time. What can I say, life's a bitch. I have been admitted to hospital twice and I had an exam to day which could have gone better. On the plus side I had my birthday hehe :P Sorry about the note for the last chapter and this is another reminder to go and check out the start of my one-shots… no, that wasn't a hint at all haha!
Now, I have several people to thank and acknowledge for this chapter, so here it goes:
To Marie1000- Thanks for your review. It made me look back at the ending to my last chapter and hopefully I have gone more into Harry's feelings about the interaction between him and Sirius. I hope you like it and it makes up for the disappointment!
To the anonymous reviewer 'gin bug'- Your review made me smile a whole lot, so thank you very much :D It's not every day you are likened to the great inventor of the Potter universe!
To Lightning Eterna- You are actually the whole reason why this first scene is in here. You questioned me on it and I hadn't actually considered it before you asked. It also helped me work out what to do about the housing arrangements for the married couple. Thank you very much! The reactions towards the end of the scene are very vague, but I felt that that was all that was needed.
To Dimcairien- You are the one who finally helped me work out how to sort out where to put the married couple when they stay at Hogwarts, so you deserve a big thank you and the acknowledgement!
And finally, to all of my lovely reviewers! I love you all!
Warning (because I feel I have to): slight swearing towards the end of the chapter. Only a couple of words but I know that some people may get offended by it :D
Disclaimer:- I do not own anything to do with the Harry Potter universe- that sole privilege belongs to the fabulous and esteemed J.K Rowling and any recognisable places or characters belong to her. All I own (well, have) is a very cool 80 year old great-grandmother who has some serious bling! (she has a glittery walking stick and tiara!)
Listening To: Titanium- David Guetta ft Sia.
LMMRLMMRLMMR
Vows and Friendship
The quiet babble of hushed conversations reached Albus Dumbledore's ears as he pushed open the door that lead to the staff room. All of the teachers at Hogwarts were surrounding the table, talking to their neighbour and catching up on their summer activities. Only two teachers were immersed in their own worlds- Sybil Trelawney (who could be seen shuffling a deck of cards and muttering to herself) and Dolores Jane Umbridge.
Albus hesitated unnoticeably as he looked at the Ministry employee. Harry and Ginny had warned him that she was going to be hired and that she was going to undermine his authority as well as try to take over the school and, if he was honest with himself, the fact that she was here worried the Headmaster slightly- especially as he was about to divulge some information that she could potentially use to destroy a family. Who knew though, maybe she wasn't as bad as they made out…
"Good Morning," Albus greeted quietly as he walked into the room with a smile fixed on his face. The conversations stopped and some people welcomed him as well.
"It is that time of year again where we welcome back our old students and gain a few fresh minds to teach. I know that you are all very busy preparing for lessons tomorrow, so I shall keep this short-"
"Hem hem."
The ridiculously high pitched clearing of a throat cut across Albus' words. He stopped and blinked once before looking around at his members of staff. Most of them sat and looked stunned- after all, nobody had ever interrupted him before. Minerva, however, had turned and glared at someone down the table. Following her gaze, Albus' eyes landed on a short and stout woman who was wearing a fluffy pink cardigan and a large bow in her hair. He resisted the urge to sigh. 'And so it supposedly begins…'
"Ah, yes. If I may introduce Dolores Umbridge who shall be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Snape (who had so far been sat quietly in the corner) barely repressed the urge to roll his eyes as Umbridge's toad -like face split with a simpering smile while she moved to stand on her feet. It was amazing how small she was considering her height only changed by about an inch from when she had been sitting down.
"Thank you for the introduction, Headmaster," her girlish voice rang out, "I must say that I am somewhat excited to be here. After all, it is not everyday that a person of such a high status in the Ministry of Magic as myself is given the opportunity to help mould the young minds of the next generation and help reform the consequently lax attitude and inappropriate educational style my fellow colleagues have displayed so far."
There was silence for a moment after Umbridge had sat back in her seat and stared at them all with a sickly sweet smile fixed on her face. Albus just blinked at her again. He had to admit that a small part of him had brushed off the Potter's concerns when they approached him on the subject of the Undersecretary and he regretted underestimating the employee; he couldn't comprehend what she had just stated to the entire room.
Severus had merely raised an eyebrow at her and sat back, waiting for the show that he knew was about the begin. McGonagall, he saw when he glanced at her, had her lips set in a straight line and her eyes were narrowed at the short bitch- oops, he meant 'witch'.
"I beg your pardon?" McGonagall stated in a sharp tone that was usually reserved for a certain set of twins. This time Dumbledore did sigh, but he made no move to stop his Deputy. Umbridge turned her face towards the Scottish witch, a mockingly puzzled look on her face.
"I'm afraid I do not understand your question, Minerva. I believe that I made myself perfectly clear with what I said."
McGonagall swelled in indignation and she spoke with distain. "I heard what you said, Madam Umbridge. I just do not agree with your view on our supposedly lacking style of how we teach the pupils who come to this school."
Most of the teachers in the staff room missed the flickering of a sneer that crossed the toad's face.
"If your teaching methods were deemed to be appropriate and effective, Minerva, then I would not have been appointed by the Minister of Magic himself to such a position. Quite frankly I am astounded that something has not been done before!"
"Nothing has been done before because nothing has needed to be done before!" McGonagall spat out as she drew herself up to her full height. Professors Sinistra, Vector, Sprout, Flitwick and Burbage nodded along in agreement with her while Snape shared a warning glance with Dumbledore.
"Professors," Dumbledore cut across as he saw Umbridge open her mouth to answer back, "I'm sure that you can continue this discussion later as now is not the time. We have much to discuss and very little time in which to do so."
He levelled them both with a stern look and watched as Umbridge's polite mask fell back into place and McGonagall shoot him a defiant glare before continuing.
"Now, as I was saying, before we go on to talk about the news and plans for our subject teaching, I must inform you of a new circumstance that has come up involving two of our students."
"What circumstances?" Sprout asked as Flitwick exclaimed, "Which students?" Though they knew what was going on and who was involved, they did not know what arrangements had been made for the young couple during this school year and they had a role to play.
After sharing a quick look with his potions and transfiguration teachers, Dumbledore looked down at his hands and contemplated his next move carefully. What he was about to divulge had the potential to ruin any carefully laid out plans and pass on more information than was appropriate to ears that would put it to catastrophic use. He had to tread carefully and he knew that the measures he would have to take in order to assure his students' and ward's safety will not be well received by a certain person.
"Before I tell you what the situation is and who it involves, I must ask you to take an oath." he simply stated. The staff around the table shared surprised looks but nodded at him in agreement. They knew that if Dumbledore was asking them for such a thing then the situation must be more severe than they had guessed; after all, making an oath about something was not to be taken lightly.
Of course, there was one member of staff who looked outrage at such a suggestion.
"Excuse me, Headmaster," Umbridge's voice rang out with a slight hint of anger and suspicion. "Do you really think that such a measure is necessary? After all, if the circumstances require such a thing, then the Minister should be informed!"
Dumbledore closed his eyes briefly. This is what he wanted to avoid. They could not have the Minister aware of the Potter's situation, especially in the current political climate. He would no doubt use it to destroy Harry's life and both him and his wife's reputation. Dumbledore also could not keep Umbridge in the dark about the whole thing; she would no doubt become suspicious and inform the Minister that something was going on and that would just lead to trouble. He was short of options and the only one that he could think of that would lead to the least amount of trouble was to include the Undersecretary in the oath.
"I am afraid, Dolores, that such a thing is necessary in order to protect the students involved. I have already obtained permission from their legal guardians and I do not feel that the Minister should be involved as it would only affect the school if it was not handled properly, not the Ministry."
Umbridge's face turned into a ugly scowl. "This has something to do with Potter, doesn't it?" She snarled.
Severus almost snorted; looks like the hag did have some semblance of a brain after all.
Dumbledore ignored her question. "If you do not wish to take the oath, Dolores, then I must ask that you to wait a moment for me to obliviate you before you leave the room."
Umbridge sucked in a sharp breath as she stood up in outrage. Her eyes bulged grotesquely as her flabby mouth dropped open. Though she did not fully approve of Dumbledore's methods, McGonagall couldn't deny that it was satisfying to see the toad splutter incoherently as she was doing.
Flitwick and Sprout shared looks. Things really were serious if the Headmaster was suggesting that they obliviate the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. They may not have known fully what was going on but the two head of houses did understand that Umbridge's presence was not a good omen. Most of the other teachers either shared incredulous looks or resisted the urge to giggle at the look of the stout woman's outraged face; Trelawney merely lay a few cards on the table and didn't seem to have any care for what was going on in the staff room.
Umbridge finally seemed to obtain her voice.
"You… you… How dare you!" she spat out as she seemed to tremble- whether it was with rage or fear, though, was a different question. "Do you know who I am? How dare you threaten me! The Minister will be hearing about this… this… travesty!"
"How could you possibly tell the Minister if you cannot remember what has happened or that anything has happened at all?" Snape drawled out in a patronising tone as he folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at the woman.
Umbridge froze as if it hadn't even occurred to her. Her colourless eyes flashed around the room, looking for allies, but all she found was composed faces that stared expectantly at her. Inside she was panicking. She knew that she would have no choice but to commit to the oath and that would prevent her from telling the Minister. She was absolutely sure that the entire thing had something to do with the Potter brat and she seethed at the thought of him getting let off over something and not being punished- how she longed to punish the little liar! He was a threat to her position at the top of the Ministry and she would do everything in her power to stay there, even if it meant taking a vow of silence. She would find someway to punish the brat without telling the Minister.
With one last glare at the table Umbridge sat down and nodded her acquiescence with a petulant look on her face.
Dumbledore sent her a benign smile before asking that they all take out their wands. He spoke the vow, highlighting the fact that what he was about to tell them could not be spoken about outside of this room or to anybody else or any other being that is not currently in the room with them. They all agreed readily, their curiosity getting the better of them as they watched their wand tips glow golden as the vow was complete.
Dumbledore took yet another deep breath and looked at his hands as he began to explain.
He told them that Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter had come together to form a relationship after creating a bond over past experiences (he told the bare minimal of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets and neglected to tell them anything about the future) and that their relationship had progressed rather quickly. There were a few gasps and exclamations of surprise as he announced the fact that they were now expecting a child.
"But they are just children!" Charity Burbage cried out in shock. Several people around the table nodded in agreement including professors Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall and Snape who were playing the roles of shocked teachers quite well. Snape's sneer was genuine, however.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement with them but expressed the fact that nothing about it could be done and that their main priority at the moment was to keep them both safe from the general populace- after all, they should all know how rumours could spread in a boarding school.
"So what do you expect we should do about it, Dumbledore?" Pomona Sprout spoke up once he had finished speaking. Dumbledore sent her a small smile and looked directly at her though he was answering for the whole room.
"I have requested that the house elves set up one of the reserved family suites that are near the Gryffindor tower; they will be staying in those room for the remainder of the academic year."
"But surely people will notice that she is with child, Dumbledore," professor Babbling pointed out in a quiet voice that the Ancient Runes teacher was well known for. "If our priority is to protect the two from slander and any potential danger that could come to their child, then surely something must be done to uphold those values."
"An excellent point, Bathsheba, and I have already come up with a plan to tackle that issue," Dumbledore commented before falling silent. After a moment of tense silence, Poppy sighed irritably.
"Well, if you would like to tell us what measures you have actually taken, Albus, then that would be a great help." Severus smirked slightly; it appeared that the medi-witch had been spending too much time with Minerva.
"Indeed, forgive me." Dumbledore apologised before he cleared his throat. "I have already been in contact with Miss Weasley and her family and we have agreed that a few charms will help protect her child. We have decided that a simple Notice-Me-Not and repelling charm will be effective."
Nobody spoke as they all took in what they were being told. Septima Vector, however, found another flaw within the plan.
"But what are we going to tell the other students when they realise that Potter and Weasley are not staying within Gryffindor Tower?"
"The official story will be that after a health scan over the summer they were both found to have the beginnings of a currently unknown illness and we wish to minimise the contact they will have with the other students as we do not know if it is contagious, yet we do not want to impair their education."
Poppy raised her eyebrows. "That is actually rather brilliant. The fact that they supposedly have an unknown illness will also mean that they will be able to visit me in the Hospital Wing which will allow me to check on the pregnancy without creating suspicion."
Eventually, all of the teachers seemed to have come around to the idea and vowed to do everything they could to help the two students in any way that they could.
None of them noticed the fact that Umbridge had been silent throughout the entire discussion as she carefully filed away all of the little details for later, a disconcerting and malicious smirk curving the ends of her pasty lips.
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Harry sat staring listlessly out of the compartment window of the Hogwarts Express. Neville was crooning to his plant, Luna was reading The Quibbler upside down and Ginny had just run off to go to the toilets. Only the occasional scratch of Luna's quill and Neville's mutterings penetrated the otherwise quiet room, allowing Harry to get lost in his thoughts.
Sirius' words to him echoed throughout his head. 'James wouldn't have minded… Pity you aren't more like him…'
Despite what he had written in the brief letter he had left for Sirius those words had greatly hurt him. Yes, he had understood why Sirius had lashed out at him but he couldn't believe that he had said that to him.
'Pity you aren't more like him.'
It was at times when Sirius acted like he had this morning that Harry temporarily agreed with Molly; did Sirius actually see him as Harry, or was he like Snape and only saw James? His mind instantly replied with a negative- of course Sirius didn't think of him as his father! He loved Harry for Harry, his godson. Still, he couldn't deny that the occasional reprimand and likening to his father that Sirius had said to him (the first time round as well as the present day) caused his stomach to churn in shame, hurt and a touch of anger. He wasn't entirely sure who the anger was directed at- was it at Sirius for saying what he did, or for comparing him to his father when they are two separate people? Or was the anger aimed at himself for feeling ashamed at the fact that he wasn't like his father?
He sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. It was so confusing! The hurt and slight betrayal he could understand but the rest was anyone's guess. Why was he filled with shame at his godfather's words? Was he was ashamed because he wasn't like his father? Did he feel he let people down by not being who they wished him to be- a carbon copy of the man who had given his life for him and his mother? Or did he feel it because he had pushed Sirius to say such things to him?
While one half of his mind agreed with the many questions in his head, another part of him rose with indignation. It wasn't his fault that Sirius had said what he did. He didn't exactly ask for it! And who cared if he wasn't like his father? James Potter was dead and Harry was his own person. He had always tried to make his parents proud of him, to show the world that their sacrifices were not in vain, but that didn't mean that people couldn't see him for what he was.
"Trevor, no!"
Neville's shout interrupted Harry's thought process and he looked up, somewhat startled, to see his bumbling friend leap off his seat and flee from the room, shouting to his wayward toad as he did so.
Harry couldn't help but let out a shout of laughter as he shook his head; that toad had some serious boundary and obedience issues. The amount of times he had found the pet in the most random of places…
"I think Trevor has been infected with Nargles." Luna pointed out dreamily. Harry looked over at the waif of a girl to see her looking directly at him, her clear blue eyes unblinking. Though he had been used to this stare when he was older, Harry couldn't help but squirm in his seat as her gaze seemed to penetrate his soul. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"I just think he likes to run away, if I'm honest Luna." he answered her kindly. Luna nodded absentmindedly.
"That would be the Nargles- they make your brain go all fuzzy, you see," she responded. Her gaze never wavered from Harry and he found that he couldn't really look away.
"Oh."
She nodded at him again though it was a more precise this time. "You've been infected too. Your head is full of them."
Harry couldn't help his chuckle; that had been such a Luna thing to say.
"Really? How can you tell?"
"You were looking a bit blank, like something was troubling you." Harry smiled at her again. Though her expression changed minimally, the slight crease in her eyebrows and the tilt in her head told him that she was genuinely concerned. He shook his head and looked towards the window again. He didn't feel up to explaining it all to the younger girl.
"Is it because of your baby?"
The innocent question instantly made him freeze as though he had been petrified. A thick silence hung over them as Harry slowly turned his head to look back at her. Her eyes were as they normally were- slightly wider than usual- and her lips curled into a soft and faint smile. Harry gazed at her emotionlessly for a moment before he slumped as though in defeat. He should have known that they wouldn't be able to keep anything from Luna- she was too observant for her own good and she tended to see things that normal people missed. Though how she had suspected this he did not know. Was he happy that's he knew? He supposed so. After all, another ally could help them cover it better and he knew that Luna would not tell anyone about it. On the other hand, if Luna could figure it out, does that mean that someone else might too?
He mentally shook his head at that; no, he was pretty positive that no one else would figure out. As he had already acknowledged, Luna was one of a kind and had the uncanny ability to know things that others ignored. If he was honest he wouldn't be surprised if she could actually see through the charms that Dumbledore had cast around Ginny's baby bump. He smiled to himself as he focused once again on the girl in front of him who still looked as casual and dreamy as ever; o, he was not worried or surprised or upset that Luna knew their secret- it just meant that it would be one less person that they would have to lie to.
He chuckled ruefully. "Yes, I do worry about my baby."
Luna's smile brightened. "Don't worry, Ginny will take good care of it. I'm told her womb is quite inhabitable and safe." Harry raised an eyebrow at the last bit but thought it safer to remain quiet and not ask about it.
"That's good to know. So you know that me and Ginny are together then?" If she knew about the baby then it stood to reason that she would know about the two of them being a couple. Neither Harry or Ginny were the kinds to have one night stands after all, especially at the ages that they were currently at. The look Luna gave him was the most normal he had seen on her face in a long time. He had the urge to apologise to her for somehow insinuating that she was obtuse (even though he clearly hadn't mean to and wasn't even fully sure if he had).
"Of course I know that you are married," she said in a way that made it seem as though it was obvious.
Harry looked at her through his eyelashes as he hung his head and groaned slightly. He really should have known. Luna sat with the same blank look on her face.
"You're not from here, are you?" she continued. Harry's head snapped up at this, his neck cracking loudly as he stared at her in shock. He felt slightly dizzy; how on earth did she know that? How on earth could she see through everything, through every lie and illusion that they had put forth in order to prevent anyone from finding out the truth? Was there anything she did not know or guess? It was a good thing that the time traveller was sitting down.
"How did you know?" he whispered. Luna shrugged.
"The Humdingers told me."
Harry looked at her blankly for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed. Luna looked confused but he paid her no mind for a moment; if he didn't laugh, he would cry.
After a few moments his laughter died down to a low chuckle. "Thanks Luna. I needed that. I'm glad you know, it takes a weight off my mind."
Luna's frown became more pronounced. "Doesn't it bother you that I know?" Harry was shaking his head with a grin before she even finished her sentence.
"No, it doesn't." they both sat in silence for a moment, their eyes locked on one another. Luna's head tilted even more to the side as her eyes cleared slightly to become sharper than her usual dreamy look.
"Why?"
Harry said nothing for a moment as he looked gently at his companion. "Because you're my friend, Luna."
The younger girl blinked twice before her small face split with a breathtaking smile. Harry had only ever seen that smile on her face twice in his life and it only appeared when she received news that was glorious to her.
"I've never had a friend before. It's quite nice."
"Well, now you'll always have one, won't you?" they shared one last smile before turning back to what they were doing before; Luna with her magazine and Harry to looking out of the window, his thoughts brighter than they were before.
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Ginny grumbled to herself as she exited the toilets that were situated at the end of the train. Her little James Sirius certainly did her bladder no favours. She could swear that he purposely sat on her bladder whenever she finally got comfy. Why on earth they wanted to name him after Harry's father and godfather she didn't know; it was appropriate though, considering that he seemed to be a prankster already. The Marauders and the twins would be proud.
She carefully began to walk back to the compartment that she was sharing with her friends and Harry, her feet shuffling slightly with the movements of the train. She glanced up a few times to look at the people surrounding her, her stomach churning every time until she saw that they were not in fact looking at her. She sighed in relief- the charms were working.
That had been her biggest fear. She had been so scared that people would notice the fact that she was pregnant. Though her baby bump was not very large, it was still quite noticeable and she didn't think she could deal with the consequences of if people knew she was pregnant.
Don't get her wrong, she loved the fact that she was pregnant. She loved the fact that she and Harry had created someone that they can love forever and care for. She loved the fact that she was going to be a mother and her pregnancy made her feel incredibly proud and good about herself. The reason she had been practically petrified at the idea had nothing to do with her reputation or anything either- she was not that shallow and she personally couldn't give a damn about her reputation (she was a Weasley after all and they were well known and despised for being blood traitors). No, the main reason she had been scared all came down to her future knowledge.
Everything she and Harry did at the moment was plagued by their memories of the future. Though it was rather useful, it was also rather tiring and taxing. She knew that Voldemort was going to move into the open soon and Umbridge was already on the scene. Voldemort… he was pretty self explanatory and for some odd reason, she wasn't so worried about him for the moment. She had fought against him during her first year and she had lived through a war against him. To be honest, he was an old dog with the same tricks. Yes, he shouldn't be underestimated at all-he was a very powerful and intelligent wizard after all- but she had lived through it and she knew that she could get through it again with Harry and her family by her side. No, the main focus of her anguish was Umbridge.
Because she knew what was going to happen, she knew that Umbridge was going to rise in one form or another- she had too much power and political back up for them to just get rid of her; it just wasn't possible or even really feasible. The fact that Umbridge was probably being told right that second about the pregnancy had already set her on edge, if the entire population of Hogwarts was to know as well, then it would only give her more motivation and more incentive to do something drastic and harmful towards her baby while ruining her and Harry's lives even more in the progress. Well, ruin them more than just taking away their child.
Her arms tingled as she forcibly and consciously kept her self from wrapping them protectively around her swollen stomach at the thought of her baby being taken away from her. Now she was starting to see why her mother had always been overprotective and slightly over bearing with them all.
Her arm twitched and she carefully looked around. Still, nobody was watching her. If they were and they asked why she looked like she wanted to curl up into a protective ball then she would just pretend that she had period pains… that started just under her ribs…
She snorted to herself. 'Brilliant Ginny,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe pregnancy also got rid of your ability to lie perfectly and effectively as well as the control you used to have over your bladder…'
"Ginny?"
The sudden sound of a voice calling her name made her jump slightly and stumble backwards against the wall of the train as it lurched on the track.
"Whoa, are you okay babe?" the male voice said as it got closer to her. She stayed slumped against the wall, tightly gripping the thin window ledge as her brain froze and her breathing began to pick up. She recognised that voice instantly and suddenly wished that she had decided to revert back to nappies instead of going to the toilet.
'Shit! Shit!'
How could she have forgotten? How on earth had he slipped her mind? He should have been the very first thing that she considered when they came back into this time frame! After all, the last time she had gone through this year, he was a pretty large part of her life. How could she have been so stupid?
Ginny slowly looked up, holding her breath, until her dazed eyes fell on a tallish boy in Ravenclaw robes. His hair was black and fell somewhat lankly to his shoulders
Michael.
Her previous ex-ex boyfriend who was technically still her current boyfriend even though she was now married to Harry who was her future husband and father of her child and was stuck having to act as just her boyfriend.
Yeah. Things weren't about to become complicated at all…
"Hey," Michael said as he stood a bit closer, a frown on his face. "you need a hand up?"
Blinking a few times as she willed her mind to unfreeze, Ginny watched with rising panic as he started to walk towards her, his hand outstretched and a smirk that he seemed to find attractive on his face. She scrambled to her feet, but stayed against he wall of the train. She couldn't help but cringe slightly as he got nearer and nearer to her…
Michael's face suddenly went slack when he was two steps away from her as he stopped briefly before taking a few large steps back. Ginny watched with bated and confused breath as he slowly shook his head before turning his somewhat hazy eyes on her.
"Sorry, Ginny. Sudden dizzy spell, I guess." he smiled at her again. Ginny gave him a shaky one back as she silently sent a thank you to Dumbledore and his skill in charms; it looked like the repelling charm worked like a dream.
"Oh, that's okay Michael. I'm fine now anyway, you just startled me." she answered him as she forced a relaxed smile on her face. Inside she was far from the calm she portrayed. How on earth was she going to explain all of this to him without actually explaining anything?
He smiled at her again. "I was waving to your through the window."
"Oh, were you? Sorry, I didn't notice," she giggled nervously as her eyes darted down the corridor. She was immensely uncomfortable and Michael frowned deeper at her as he took in her tense stance.
"Ginny? Are you sure you're okay?"
Ginny looked down at the floor briefly. She had to talk to him right now and somewhat explain the situation. Or at least break up with him. It wouldn't be fair on either Harry or Michael if she pretended to stay with the Ravenclaw; not only would she feel like she was betraying Harry, but he would be acting all understanding about it and that would be worse than if he reacted angrily.
She let out a huff of air and ran her fingers through her long hair. This was not going to be fun.
"Michael, I think we should go somewhere private," she suggested gently as she watched his face. She expected him to already guess what she wanted to say and get angry or rejected or something. Instead, his smile turned into a cocky smirk as he crossed his arms and leered at her slightly. Ginny had to use all of her self control not to openly recoil. What on earth had she seen in him?
"Well, I never knew you were that kind of girl, Weasley," his voice was full of suggestion.
"No!" she burst out as her eyes widened in disgust. "No, I just need to talk to you!"
He rolled his eyes slightly at her. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?" Ginny fidgeted.
"Well… I think we need to talk about… u-us." she managed to get out. Inwardly she rolled her eyes; could she be anymore cliché? 'I think we need to talk about us'. How original.
Well, at least Michael finally clicked on things. That's what she assumed his suddenly harsh expression meant, anyway.
"I see." he stated in a clipped voice. His eyes were blank and his jaw jutted out a bit in defiance and anger. "I take it this is why I didn't hear from you all summer."
She flinched at the statement. She also distinctly remembered having a similar conversation the first time round, though she didn't think that it would go as smoothly this time.
"My family went away this summer and I wasn't allowed to use Errol because my mum said that the journey to and fro may kill him."
Michael snorted as he looked away from her. "Sure."
His brush off of her rather valid answer caused her Weasley temper to flare. "It's true Michael." he turned and looked back at her, his brown eyes cold as he sneered slightly at her.
"Sure, I believe you, but we both know that your family owl isn't the reason why you wanted to talk to me."
"No, it's not." she sighed. She rubbed her hands over her face and stayed silent as someone walked past them. How was she supposed to explain things to him? She couldn't exactly tell him that she had the mind of a 22 year old and she only looked as thin as she had done because of some clever wand work. She knew that the whole school would know about her and Harry soon enough and that it would only just makes things worse if he found out about them in a few day, so she decided to embellish the truth slightly (okay, mostly).
"When me and my family was away, Harry was with us and-" she was cut off by a derisive shout of laughter from Michael.
"Potter. Should have known that this would have something to do with him."
"W-we were alone a lot… and it just….we…." Ginny trailed off as she heard what she was saying. That had to have been the most pathetic excuse she could have come up with. What was wrong with her today? She was acting like Parvati and Lavender with the whole 'We need to talk, it just happened' routine. Hermione would be laughing her skirt off if she was here.
"Cut the shit, Ginny." Michael kind of snapped at her. "Everyone in this school knows that you have been waiting for the day when the Boy-Who-Lived would finally notice you and we all knew that you would drop whatever and whoever to be seen clinging to his side."
Ginny gaped at him with her eyes wide. This definitely was not going smoothly. And did people really think that of her? Surely not. Michael was making her out to seem-
"It's beyond desperate, it's pathetic." he carried on. His arms had dropped down to his side and his hands were balled into fists as he glared at her. His mouth spat the words out to her and she seemed unable to move at all. "But if you want to be that person then fine. I feel better knowing that you'll soon get bored of him and jump to the next person. Silly little girls like you always do."
Those last accusations finally snapped Ginny out of her shock. Her anger rose fiercly as she stood up straight from the wall and glared at him, her cheeks reddening in a blush that normally acted a warning signal for the people who angered her.
"Who do you think you are?" she shouted at him, causing the people in the carriages nearest to them to peer cautiously and curiously through the glass windows of the doors. "How dare you accuse me of being a… a what? A slut? Suddenly I'm some kind of gold digger cow who jumps from one guy to the next just because I don't want to be known as your girlfriend anymore? I don't think so!"
"Well you jump from me pretty quickly, didn't you?" he questioned as his voice began to rise to match hers.
"Because I love Harry!" she shrieked back at him.
"Oh really?"
"Yes really!"
"Hey!"
They both turned from their glaring to see the person who had interrupted them standing a few feet from them, their arms folded authoritarian like and a stern look on their face.
"Potter. I should have known she'd be having you acting like her lapdog soon enough."
Ginny bristled even more and she took a step towards him when a dangerously low voice reached her ears. Looking back at Harry, she saw that he had moved to stand between the Ravenclaw and his wife. The set of his jaw line and his tense posture showed how furious he was. The people in the windows dragged their friends to watch the drama unfold.
"Do you want to say that again?" Harry asked in a deadly calm voice. Michael couldn't help but quail a bit at the icy glare Harry shot at him. However, even though his robes showed the tranquil blue of a Ravenclaw, he seemed to have left his brain behind at home as he once again opened his mouth.
"Yeah, I do. She'll wrap you around her little finger and then drop you the next time her eye wanders."
Harry snarled at him and moved to grab a fistful of his robes when yet another voice cut through the practically frozen, yet electric air.
"OI! Corner! Clear off before I give you detention with Snape!"
Ron had moved swiftly to Harry's side as Hermione wrapped an arm around Ginny's waist. The bushy haired girl could feel the young mum trembling with rage and so she tightened her grip.
Michael turned his sneer onto Ron. "Standing up for your sister I see."
"Yeah, you got that right. Now clear off before I let Harry knock your block off."
Michael locked eyes with each of them before shooting a nasty grin at Ginny. He turned on his heel and walked off, his neck tight with fury.
"Alright, you can stick your necks back in now," Ron called out to all of the people watching through the windows. They quickly scrambled to look like they were doing something while thinking of ways to pass along what had just happened to their friends and dorm mates. "Bloody nosy buggers." Ron muttered under his breath. He turned around to see that Harry had Ginny in a tight embrace and Hermione was rubbing the younger girl's back.
"What was all that about?" he demanded in a aggravated tone. Ginny groaned into Harry's chest as she turned her head to look at her brother. He clenched his jaw as he saw the tears in her eyes.
"Nothing, he just didn't like me breaking up with him for Harry, that's all." she told him as she sent him a small smile. Ron's eyes popped open as his jaw dropped.
"You a-and Michael? Since when?" he exclaimed in shock. Hermione giggled at him as she patted his arm commiserating.
"It happened after the second task last year and we didn't say anything because all of the focus was on the tournament."
Ron opened his mouth to likely protest or to say something stupid but the glares that Harry and Hermione shot him made him gulp.
"Well…. He should learn when to give it up, shouldn't he?" he cleared his throat as he ran his hand through the hair at the back of his neck. Ginny sent her big brother a happy smile as a thanks for the effort he was showing in not jumping down her throat about dating Michael.
"He should learn not to open his mouth at all." Harry growled lowly.
"Who shouldn't open their mouth?" Neville asked in a cautious voice as he and Luna appeared next to them. He seemed to have found Trevor and Luna had a serene smile on her face and her magazine clutched in her hands.
Harry sighed heavily. "It's best not to ask, Neville mate."
Neville nodded while looking warily between the group.
"There are a lot of Nargles on this train today," Luna commented as she began to breeze past them. On her way towards the toilets and through the group, she firmly yet discretely stroked her hand across Ginny's stomach.
"He's going to be beautiful," she whispered to her friend before she skipped off, leaving a shell shocked pair of siblings, a concerned Hermione and a completely baffled Neville.
"Oh yeah. Luna knows." Harry casually said as he fought down his chuckles. "Did I forget to tell you?" Ginny breathed deeply to calm her racing heart.
"I'm going to need a lie down."
LMMRLMMRLMMR
A.N 2:
I hate it when people call me babe so I had Michael call Ginny it :/ The word just bugs me for some reason… maybe it's because my ex boyfriend used to call me that all of the time before I broke up with him and discovered that I was gay while he turned into a stalker… hmmmm…. Anyway, Michael may be OOC but because we don't actually know much about him, I figured it would be fine. Plus, he got jealous and arse-y over a Quidditch match, so I imagine he wouldn't take it to well if Ginny appeared to immediately shack up with Harry when she was supposed to be going out with him.
I should be able to start updating quicker than I have been… I am sorry it takes me so long. I promise though that I am going to finish this story. I have the ending all planned out, but so far the things I have already planned keep on changing because of my wonderful reviewers hehe. People say something or ask a question and things play out much differently than I expected…..
Now, I have a small request:
If you see a story that is eerily similar or a carbon copy of this fan fiction, will you please let me know? In the past few weeks I have seen countless of fics that have been plagiarised and people don't seem to be either noticing it or doing something about it. The authors that I contacted to tell them what was happening said that nobody had told them and people had both the original fic and the copied one on their favourites list…. Don't plagiarise people, it's highly offensive and annoying- even if you aren't the one being copied.
Random little Harry Potter fact I learned: Did you know that Cho Chang married a muggle man in cannon? I always assumed that she ended up with Michael or someone….
Listening To: Lego House by Ed Sheeran (lol at Rupert Grint in the music video! Can never watch it without giggling to myself.)