Chapter 2 - The Legend of the Three Brothers

AN: Okay son this should be the last chapter where I actually have to quote the books, as the name implies I think you all know what will be quoted so this chapter will likely be a longer one. I'm trying to aim for a decent length per chapter but, well I have to put a whole damned story in this one so if you don't want to reread the tale of the three brothers keep an eye out for where I mark the end of quotes, there will be comments thrown in about the story at various points and it won't just be a singular wall of text so don't just scroll past till you see the end of the story itself.

As you can see Harry's trust in Dumbledore is breaking apart and this chapter reveals some of what has been hidden from him. There won't be another POV in this chapter or likely anywhere else in this story save for Hinny.

If you hadn't guessed from what Bill said the Potter family are rather important in the Wizarding World in this fic. I know it's a pretty common trope but once again I'm spinning it slightly from the norm so I hope it will be enjoyable.

If you're worried about Molly being "in on it" as it were based on Bill, she isn't, it's where the minor Mollybashing comes into this fic. I try to avoid spoiling things like this ahead of time but I do want to make it clear this isn't an anti-Weasley fic. Also there's no "Ginny isn't a Weasley", "Molly is a controlling manipulator", "Molly is mentally unstable", Weasley line-theft or anything like that going on here. While I personally don't mind those tropes and they are used in a number of fics I enjoy they just don't fit the story I want to tell, nor honestly my writing style.

Oh if I haven't mentioned this ever, I don't use Rowling's stupid thing of reusing a calendar, I use the real calendar for the relevant year (1996 currently) so the battle in the DoM took place on a Tuesday not Thursday. More than anything this is because it is far easier to refer to a real calendar. Also I'm using the layout of the castle from Hogwarts Legacy with many more secret passageways, this way I have a floorplan to double check.

Please Read & Review. As always this is JK Rowling and Warner Bro's universe I'm just playing in the sandbox

"We do but first we need to talk Harry, or should I say, Mr Peverell… What the hell was he on about and why did he call you that anyway?" Ginny said, looking at Harry mostly with concern but also curiosity.

"I have no idea Ginny… Wait, you were the one he was talking about?" Harry said, his shock clear as Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "Well atleast I know I can trust you if we can believe him."

"From what he said I think it has something to do with the tale of the three brothers." Ginny said, noticing Harry's confused look she continued. "You know Tales of Beadle the Bard?" As Harry shook his head and looked at her in confusion she realised why he was so confused.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Ginny, who the hell was Beadle the Bard?" Harry said his shoulders slumping as once again he didn't know something that seemed to be common knowledge in the Wizarding World.

"I should have realised, you were raised by muggles." Ginny said as she placed her hand on Harry's arm. "They're Wizarding children's stories, the tale of the three brothers is about three brothers who cheated death." She explained as a battered book appeared on the table in front of them.

Harry picked up the battered book and read the cover, 'Tales of Beadle the Bard' the book looked ancient and well worn as he opened it and saw the contents.

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

The Fountain of Fair Fortune

The Warlock's Hairy Heart

Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump

The Tale of the Three Brothers

As Harry looked down the contents he noticed something inked next to the 'Tale of the Three Brothers', a scratchy triangle with a line down the middle and a circle in the middle, it looked familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"We need to get to breakfast, we can look at this after and maybe check the library and see if we can find how you're related to the Peverells. It should be in your family book." Ginny said as she stood and straightened her robes.

Harry nodded and stood up, as he watched Ginny he couldn't believe how he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was before, but she was Ron's sister he shouldn't be thinking that… should he? Shaking his head he put the book into his bag with the cloak and checked the map, making sure there was nobody in the corridor they left and made their way towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

As the pair sat down at the Gryffindor table they noticed they were the only ones who went to the Ministry in the hall. Harry worried when they couldn't spot Luna at the Ravenclaw table but sighed in relief at the lack of Hermione, after the events in the Hospital Wing.

As they ate breakfast it was interesting to note that Dumbledore had yet to show his presence to the student body, which made Harry wonder if perhaps he wouldn't be returning as headmaster. The Great Hall was full of excited chatter with many of the students speculating on where Umbridge was making Harry and Ginny laugh, some of the stories were rather interesting though in a rarity for Hogwarts the truth was actually better.

As Harry ate a light breakfast he looked at Ginny. "Let's get to the library as quick as we can and then get some sleep. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted. I'm not going to another class with Trelawney and it looks like McGonnagal hasn't recovered yet" Harry said as Ginny nodded.

"I'm sure missing History won't kill me. Not like Binns would notice anyway." Ginny said as they rose and headed out of the Great Hall and across the grounds towards the library. The June heat was bearing down on them as Harry silently wished there was an easier way to look for what they needed.

In the Library Harry and Ginny made their way up one of the staircases and quickly found the books on Wizarding families just after the books on the history of Hogwarts itself.

"They should both be here… Padget, Parkin, Parpidum, Parkinson, Patel, Patil, Peakes, Peasegood, Perrot, Pettigrew… huh no Peverell that's interesting, Pickering, Pinch-Smedley, Pippin, Plummly, Plunkett, Podmore, Poke. Ah here we are Potter" Ginny muttered as she ran her finger along the spines of the books, when she finally reached the Potter book she pulled the thick leather bound volume from the shelf and carried it to a nearby table.

The cover of the book was embossed with a shield quartered to show four designs, three pots on the top left, a stag on the top right, two ravens sitting on a heart on the bottom right and finally a horn on the bottom left. A stag emerged from atop the helmet above the shield and the words 'The last enemy to be destroyed is death' under the shield.

When they opened the book what greeted them was something that shocked them both.

The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

Marquess of Basingwerk, Baron of Stinchcombe

Lord: James Fleamont Potter (Deceased)

Lady: Lily Julia Potter née Evans (Deceased) Heir: Harry James Potter (Unclaimed)

Harry's mouth hung open as he looked at Ginny. "I had no idea, did you?" Harry said as Ginny shook her head.

As they turned the page from the cover page they searched for any reference to the Peverell family. The closest thing they found was that the family kept the title of a man called Linfred of Stinchcombe and gained the title Marquess of Basingwerk when his grandson married a woman called Iolanthe but it didn't mention her surname.

"This has to be the Peverell link, I don't know why but something tells me that title is important." Ginny said as Harry pulled out the copy of the Tales of Beadle the Bard.

"I guess we should see how this story links to everything." Harry said with a grimace as he opened the book and flipped through to The Tale of The Three Brothers.

"There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. Intime, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure. And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travellers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been clever enough to evade him." ✝

"You know reading this I can't help but think I can't trust a word Azrael said already." Harry said with a frown as Ginny laughed softly at his reaction, the sound like music to his ears.

"Given how angry he sounded I'd say he may be less cunning than this makes him out to be. It's just a kid's story Harry." Ginny said before they continued to read.

"So the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother. "✝

"Wands of Elder never prosper." Ginny mumbled under her breath as they read the gift given to the first brother.

"What?" Harry asked looking at her feeling like he had been confused since he woke up yesterday morning.

"It's an old saying about wand woods, it's why no wandmaker uses Elder." Ginny explained quickly as Harry nodded wondering if this story was the reason for that belief.

"Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead." ✝

"No spell can reawaken the dead." Harry said, shaking his head and Ginny looked at him quizzically. "Something Dumbledore said to me last year."

"And then Death asked the third and youngest brother what he would like. The youngest brother was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers, and he did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death, most unwillingly, handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility."✝

Harry paled slightly as he read the gift to the third brother, he couldn't help but wonder if that was the same cloak sat in his bag.

"So, the elder wand, the resurrection stone, and Death's cloak of invisibility. That's what Death gave the three brothers in the story… Wait, didn't Azrael say you had one?" Ginny said looking at Harry when she realised he probably had one.

"And that I've seen one regularly, I think I know which one I have but let's read the whole thing first." Harry said causing Ginny to frown slightly before nodding and biting her lower lip.

"Then Death stood aside and allowed the three brothers to continue on their way and they did so, talking with wonder of the adventure they had had, and admiring Death's gifts. In due course the brothers separated, each for his own destination. The first brother travelled on for a week or more, and reaching a distant village, he sought out a fellow wizard with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally, with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted loudly of the powerful wand he had snatched from Death himself, and of how it made him invincible. That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay, wine-sodden, upon his bed. The thief took the wand and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat. And so Death took the first brother for his own. "✝

"So the first brother was vain and someone killed him for his wand without duelling him. I think it's supposed to teach us about arrogance." Ginny said as she saw Harry look up from the book.

"Makes sense, I guess like muggle stories these have morals and messages in them as well. Though I wonder how much of this is true." Harry said.

"Exactly, honestly most people think this story is completely made up but I know Luna's dad has looked for them before." Ginny said and saw Harry look slightly confused. "He called them something… I can't remember what it was but people search for them. Apparently if you get them all you become 'master of death' which based on what happened in the Ministry I think is a load of shite."

"No but if they are real and we find them all, I think we need to make sure we don't tell anyone about that wand." Harry said gravely before they continued to read.

"Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here he took out the stone that had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him. Yet she was silent and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad with hopeless longing, killed himself so as truly to join her. And so Death took the second brother for his own." ✝

"Again arrogance in what he asked for is what caused his death." Harry said knowingly, it almost seemed to make sense, if you were arrogant then you wouldn't anger Death, like how he said Voldemort had cheated him, whatever that meant.

"Exactly, and the stone sounds too fantastical to be real." Ginny said as Harry swallowed and nodded.

"I don't think it brings them back, not really but maybe it's like what happened in the graveyard." Harry said, noticing Ginny's confused look. "Our wands connected and I saw some of his victims, Cedric was there as well as my parents and they spoke to me." When Harry finished he could see the tears in her eyes. As she was unable to say anything they finished the story.

"But though Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

✝ - Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling - Tale of the Three Brothers Pg 87-93

As they finished Harry couldn't help but reach into his bag, as he felt his father's cloak he felt the clasp and pulled it out. Looking down at the clasp he saw the same symbol that had been drawn next to the story. "Ginny…" He said as he held the clasp where she could see it.

"Merlin… Harry that explains why he was helpful as well. Death and the Third Brother departed as equals." Ginny said almost in awe as she touched the clasp.

"The cloak was my dad's I guess it was passed down all this time." Harry said as he put the cloak back into his bag.

"It makes sense, most invisibility cloaks only last a few years and are silver, your's is almost black and covered in runes I've never seen." Ginny said, biting her lip for a second before looking Harry in the eye. "Harry, how did you get it?"

"Christmas in my first year, it was given to me by… Dumbledore." Harry said, frowning as he remembered who had given him the cloak.

"I think we need to look at it properly when we get a chance." Ginny said as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Come on let's get back to the tower, we should be able to get a few hours of sleep." Harry said as he stood and returned his family book to the shelves.

Having caught a few hours of sleep Harry was disappointed to find that he had only missed her at breakfast and that Hermione was in class, within moments of him stepping into the Greenhouse she began berating him for missing Transfiguration, as he turned her out. With everything going on at the moment he really didn't want to listen to her have a go at him for missing a lesson when the teacher was in St Mungo's. Part way through the class he had to grab something and on the way carefully snipped a few leaves from mandrakes while nobody was looking.

As soon as class was over Harry darted from the Greenhouse and ducked into a corner to put on his cloak. As he made his way out to the grounds he wondered what Professor Grubbly-Plank would be covering over the end of term now exams were over. Removing his cloak when Harry was near Neville he was relieved Hermione was further in front of them.

"You doing alright Neville?" Harry asked as he looked at the boy who seemed mostly alright after the events of last night.

"Yeah thanks Harry, how aren't you exhausted? I can barely stand." Neville said as Harry laughed and shook his head.

"Slept through morning classes. I'm not continuing Divination and McGonnigal's in St Mungo's so I doubt I missed anything." Harry said plainly, as much as he wanted to trust Neville, he didn't want to risk anyone overhearing what he had actually been doing before then.

"That was smart, wish I'd thought of it." Neville lamented as they saw the Professor approaching the class.

"Gather around class, today I am going to show you a NEWT level creature we have been lucky enough to be allowed on campus. You will not be approaching him as I doubt the owner would wish to risk your harm." said Professor Grubbly-Plank as she led the class off the path to a large enclosure on the shore of the lake. Inside the enclosure was a huge beast, two golden horns curved back from it's head with a number of large spikes running down it's neck. A large scaled tail was wrapped around it's scaled feet, while the bulk of the body was a greyish pink. When it turned to face Harry could see a huge tusks rising up from it's Jaw and a number of tentacles dropping down from under it's nose almost like a beard.

"Who can tell me the name of this creature?" said Professor Grubbly-Plank as she stood far from the enclosure trying to stop the students getting any closer. Seeing the confused look on every student's face she couldn't help but sigh. "This is a Graphorn, a XXXX class creature that is incredibly difficult to tame or care for. Unlike Unicorns there are almost no examples of domesticated Graphorns in the world with this being one of the only two that I am aware of."

"Hardly looks dangerous, it looks too old to do anything!" said Malfoy as he scoffed and began to walk towards the enclosure.

"Do not think of approaching this creature Mr Malfoy, this creature is more proud than a Hippogriff which I know you have difficulties with. Five points from Slytherin and get back with the group." barked Professor Grubbly-Plank as she scowled at Malfoy until he complied. "Now then, can anyone tell me anything about Graphorns? Yes Miss Granger."

"Graphorns are known to be tamed by Trolls, their powdered horns are used in many potions and their hide is tougher than dragon scales and repels most spells." said Hermione as she dropped her hand.

"Correct, an almost perfect summary of Newt Schemander's words, however while a great book there are better resources for the Graphorn, but take five points for Gryffindor. Yes Mr Potter" said Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"You said they are more proud than Hippogriffs, then surely we should approach them the same way we would a Hippogriff, bowing and backing away if they don't do so." Harry said nervously.

"Yes Mr Potter that would be exactly right, it takes a great Wizard to earn a Graphorn's respect and an even greater one to subjugate one. Five points to Gryffindor. In addition to what Mr Potter and Miss Granger have said, Graphorns are known to glow orange when angered and channel fire. Reports say that water spells can be used to calm a Graphorn in these circumstances, though I have thankfully never seen it myself." said Professor Grubbly-Plank as she began the lesson in earnest. While Harry doubted he would continue Care of Magical Creatures in his NEWTs he couldn't deny how interesting the creature was, it seemed positively ancient and Harry was unsurprised to find they lived for around three hundred years if cared for properly, this one was apparently over two hundred.

Harry spent the walk back to the castle ignoring Hermione as much as he possibly could and when he reached the Great Hall he intentionally sat next to Ginny where she was surrounded by her friends so Hermione would leave him alone.

"Everything alright?" asked Ginny, looking at Harry in worry as his frustration was clear.

"Yeah Hermione just won't leave me alone." he said, sharing a look with Ginny.

"Well from what I hear you were both missing from morning lessons." said a girl with blonde hair sat across from Ginny as a couple of the other girls giggled and looked at Harry and Ginny accusingly.

"It was a late night Dem, get your head out of the gutter you lot.. Harry I know you know Colin, Dennis and Demelza." said Ginny glaring at the blonde who rolled her eyes. "Next to her is Niamh and the cackling bitch is Ella." she said, gesturing to the short blonde girl next to Demelza and a fairly tall brunette next to Colin."

"You know, he's only taught us at the DA almost all year."said Demelza, "So not denying you were with him then Ginny?"

"Bloody hell Dem we were asleep, I'm sure you'll find out why in the prophet." Ginny practically snarled before going back to her dinner, for his part Harry just tried his best to keep out of whatever was going on, he'd have to ask Ginny about it later. As the meal progressed Harry and Ginny gradually fell into a conversation about Quidditch with Demelza, eventually the topic of next year's team came up and who would be Captain.

"Well it won't be me, Umbridge banned me for life." said Harry as he shook his head, he would give anything to fly after everything that had happened but his Firebolt was still chained up in Umbridge's office.

"You really think anything the toad did is going to stick Harry?" Ginny said as she nudged him. "We all know you're going to be captain, the only game you've lost was because of dementors."

"She's right there are professional seekers who can't pull off your mental dives!" Demelza said as Harry just shook his head looking between the pair.

"Yeah like they'll make a nutter, the captain of the Gryffindor team. Besides, Katie has been on the team longer." Harry said, causing the nearby chaser trio to look over at them when they heard Katie's name.

"Same amount actually Potter." Angelina said as the girls entered the conversation.

"Yeah besides I don't bloody want that!" Katie said defensively as she bristled at the idea. "Honestly me captain… god no Harry not with my NEWTs, you can bloody have it."

"With the toad gone we might actually win the cup again, we had a perfect team before she messed with you and the twins." said Alicia as she nodded at what Katie had said.

"Honestly you three… wait a minute Katie was on the team before me I met you at my first practice." Harry said, looking at Katie in confusion as the trio of chasers laughed at him.

"Harry, that was my first practice as well. Oliver never held tryouts and only recruited people that were recommended to him. I'm just lucky these two saw me flying." Katie said with a laugh as she saw Harry's shocked expression.

"Merlin, I swear if I am captain I'm holding full bloody tryouts." Harry grumbled as he stabbed his fork into a potato.

"That's actually a pretty good idea, wish I had thought of it before then we wouldn't have been stuck with Kirk and Sloper for beaters." bemoaned Angelina as she clearly regretted what had happened this year. "Ginny you better give your brothers a hex from me when you see them!"

As the group of them laughed and finished their dinner they didn't even notice the glares coming down the table from Hermione, for once Harry got to enjoy his dinner without any disturbances or bickering and wondered, not for the first time, why he put up with it.

When dinner ended the conversation continued up to the common room with the chasers, Demelza and Ginny giving Harry tips on how to run a team, while all were chasers they definitely seemed to know more than he did about training for the game. Angelina offered to give Harry a list of the books she'd read to try and sort something out though admitted she didn't know if they'd really helped in the end. Eventually the group split for the night and all went to their beds, exams might be over but school wasn't finished quite yet except for the seventh years.

On her way up to the stairs Ginny could hear a loud voice coming from the fifth year girls dorm, hoping nothing was going on she made her way up the stairs surprised to find it was Hermione's voice.

"Honestly who does he think he is, blowing me off for that fangirl and her catty friends? When he's back Dumbledore will put a stop to all this, then he'll be back the way he should be." Hermione's voice trailed down the stairs as Ginny got curious. Taking out one of the twins' extendable ears she placed it next to the door and moved down the stairs hoping Crookshanks wouldn't turn up before she heard who Hermione was talking about.

"He'd be nowhere without me, but he wouldn't even listen to me about Black, not now and not in third year I mean honestly how is he going to be prepared if he can't accept someone telling him he's dead. Well it doesn't matter I'll make sure he gets his potions at breakfast and then the Dursleys will break him down again over the summer and get rid of that confidence he seems to be getting."

The penny dropped for Ginny during Hermione's tirade, she was talking about Harry! Though she couldn't help but wonder what she meant about confidence, Harry had to practically be forced by the lot of them he would be captain next year. Though what she said about the Dursleys worried her, sure she'd heard about the bars on his windows before her first year but that was just a story… wasn't it? As the older girl continued her tirade Ginny started to feel physically sick, one thing was clear Hermione had never seen Harry as a friend but rather someone to be used.

Retracting the extendable ears Ginny started to wonder what she was going to do, short of making sure Harry was never alone with Hermione she wasn't sure and they weren't in the same year, they hadn't even taken the same electives. As she made her way down the staircase she had an idea, she just had to not get caught.

Slipping out of the Common Room she carefully made her way through the tower to the Grand Staircase, she couldn't help but keep looking around her as she kept her head below the railings so that Filch would have a hard time spotting her. As she reached the second floor she saw a pair of prefects walking towards the stairs, she held her breath thinking she was about to be caught, sighing in relief when she saw them looking into a classroom Ginny took the opportunity to quickly get around the bend in the staircase and continue her way down.

When Ginny made it to the Kitchens she started to look around, she knew one of the elves knew Harry but she had no clue what he looked like. As she wandered around a number of elves approached her, only stopping as she approached a pair of elves in the corner. One elf was tending to another who looked completely drunk, what was odd was the fact that one of them was wearing knitted clothes that looked suspiciously like those Hermione had made.

"Can either of you tell me where to find Dobby?" she asked, kneeling down near the pair.

"I is being Dobby miss, do you need something miss?" said the standing elf in knitwear now identified as Dobby.

"Dobby house elves can ensure people's food isn't tampered with right?" said Ginny, looking at the elf curiously, he certainly was strange but Harry seemed to trust him.

"Yes Miss Weazey, we's be doing that all the time miss." said Dobby happily.

"Dobby can you make sure Harry's food is kept free of potions? Someone is trying to slip him something and I think they're going to try and put it in his meals." said Ginny as she noticed Dobby start to look shifty.

"I can be doing that Miss Weazey but Dobby was told to put a potion in the Great Harry Potter's food to keep him safe by Professor Dumbledore miss." said Dobby as he looked down, Ginny could tell he wanted to help Harry but the elf seemed conflicted.

"Dobby I promise you Harry doesn't need any potions except maybe some nutrient potions. Dumbledore isn't headmaster so you don't have to keep doing what he told you." said Ginny with forced calm, she wanted to know what Dumbledore was slipping Harry but she had no way to test it, unless… "Dobby do you have any of the potion Professor Dumbledore gave you?"

"Yes miss, Dobby can get it for you miss." Dobby said before bouncing off and returning with a mostly empty large vial.

"Thank you Dobby, I'll give this to Harry and see if we can work out what it is. If he needs it I'll make sure he takes it himself." Ginny said as the diminutive elf smiled at her. Problem solved Ginny headed out of the Kitchens and back up to the Gryffindor Common Room,

"You were lucky on the second floor, you know." Harry said as Ginny entered the deserted Common Room, jumping at the sound of his voice.

"Bloody hell Harry! Couldn't have warned me? Besides, what are you doing here? And how did you know that?" Ginny said as she walked down to the couch and sat next to Harry. Harry gestured to the map laying open on the table.

"I was checking to see if Ron and Neville were let out of the Hospital Wing and saw you on the stairs, did you want a snack or something?" Harry said as he looked at Ginny, in the low light of the crackling fire he swallowed hard as he looked at her.

"Damn I should have thought of that before I came back, no I overheard Hermione ranting about you… She said something about a potion so I went to the Kitchens to ask the elves to keep your food clear. I heard you three mention Dobby a few times so I spoke to him, apparently Dumbledore asked him to put this in your food." Ginny said as she pulled out the vial and handed it to Harry.

Harry looked at the potion tipping the vial to one side as the thick green liquid slowly moved. Ginny looked at him curiously as he studied the vial, he was pretty sure he knew what it was and removed the cork and smelled it, sneezing almost instantly he knew exactly what it was.

"Confusing concoction, I must have read the section on this a dozen times in October, sneezewort is called that for a reason." Harry said as he put the cork back in the vial and handed it back to Ginny.

"Best keep that and give it to Padfoot Harry." Ginny said as she shook her head and refused to take the vial.

"Worst case we can use it to prank someone. What was that about Hermione though?" Harry said putting the vial in his pocket as he turned to face Ginny looking at her curiously.

"I won't lie to you Harry it's bad, she was ranting about how you ditched her for a 'fangirl and her catty friends'" Ginny said with the last bit in air quotes before continuing, "she went on about how you'd be nowhere without her and how you never listened to her about Sirius. Honestly she went on and on but she mentioned making sure you got some potions which made me go to the kitchens to make sure."

Harry became more and more dismayed as Ginny spoke, he was already worried about Hermione when she said the same thing as Dumbledore but this seemed to confirm one of his best friends was definitely up to something with the headmaster.

"So, she wants to keep me on a confusing draft for some reason, and doesn't like me hanging out with you and your friends? Also fangirl? I thought you were friends with Hermione. Why would she call you that?" Harry said in contemplation as he worked through what Ginny said, something told him that Hermione wasn't really his friend and the more he thought about it the more he realised it was likely true. Outside of nagging him about homework she kept a lot to herself, and didn't seem to want to partake in any of the activities he and Ron enjoyed, always making an excuse to got to the library.

"I thought we were as well Harry, I asked her for advice about all kinds of things but every time I followed it it seemed to go wrong. Hell it was practically her idea for me to date that idiot Corner!" Ginny spat as she mentioned the boy who Harry thought she was dating.

"What do you mean? I thought you were dating Corner?" Harry said.

"We broke up months ago, couldn't handle Gryffindor beating Ravenclaw." Ginny said simply, "he got with Cho when he went to comfort her"

"So our exes are together because you beat Cho… I'm not sure if I should say sorry to you or him." Harry said with a smirk which set Ginny off, throwing her head back and laughing.

"Definitely him, I don't know what I saw in him." Ginny said through her laughter as she caught Harry's smile in the corner of her eye. Steeling herself she sat forward and looked at him. "Harry, Hermione said something else as well… how the Dursleys would break you over the summer…"

Harry's reaction was immediate, his smile vanished as his face became an emotionless mask, most people would have been unable to read his face and she was sure that his Occlumency shields would be able to stop Dumbledore and Voldemort combined. His eyes however showed something, subtle as it was Ginny had spent years learning what she could about Harry and had never seen that look in his eyes, he was afraid.

"You know what they're like… They hate me and hate magic, in third year Padfoot offered for me to live with him. Even on the run it would have been better." Harry said, his voice emotionless as he tried to dodge the question begging that Ginny wouldn't push him, sadly for him she did and slowly he started to explain what things were really like there.

Ginny was horrified as Harry explained how his family treated him, she thought the bars on the window were made up yet now she learned it was true and it wasn't even the worst of it. Her horror grew as she learned more about the boy in front of her, things she would never have imagined happening to him seemed commonplace and at this point she wouldn't be surprised if they beat him. When he finally finished she carefully wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, ignoring the flinch he made when she touched him.

"I promise Harry, we'll get you out of there for good if Padfoot isn't already working on it." Ginny said, forcing calm into her voice as tears pricked at her eyes. She felt his arms slowly wrap around her and wished they could stay like this forever. She knew her feelings for Harry weren't going away, Michael had been a disaster but maybe it was time she stopped listening to Hermione and found out if her and Harry would be good together.

As Ginny was immersed in her thoughts she wouldn't have believed that similar ones were going through Harry's head, marvelling at how well she fit against him. He felt his dread start to drain away as the scent of wildflowers filled his nose, right now he felt like she was right even if he had no idea how it would be. Taking a deep breath he pulled away from the hug and looked down at the map, an idea in his mind,

"Hey Gin? How do you feel about sending a message at the leaving feast?" Harry said with a grin that reminded Ginny of how she'd seen Sirius and Lupin grin at each other before the twins got pranked.