I'm not dead!
I mean, I'm still not writing much, but this chapter has been complete for a LONG time, so I finally decided I might as well share it. I don't know when the next update will be given that there is one scene in it that isn't reading quite right just yet, but hopefully it will be less than a year before I update again. Thank you to everyone who has commented and stayed with me despite my spotty updates. I see you and appreciate you so, so much!
Also, you get your first-ever Hermione POV in this chapter! There are many things I really want to explore about Hermione's character in this next arc where Harry's at Grimmauld Place and his friends are at Hogwarts without him. How does one handle the fallout of what's happened to Harry with an interfering Ministry and public curiosity from every student and teacher who's not already in the know at Hogwarts? This story will start to explore this in more depth in the next few chapters of this story before Harry is physically healthy enough to return.
Chapter Nineteen: Interfere
"Knut for your thoughts?"
Sirius looked at Remus over the rim of his mug of coffee and smiled. "Just considering the hippogriff in the room," he said.
Remus frowned. "You've already returned Buckbeak to Hagrid's care —"
"Not that hippogriff," snorted Sirius, setting the mug down on the kitchen table. "I meant the metaphorical one."
Remus's frown deepened. "I'm not certain I follow you," he said slowly. "Unless you mean the way Harry and —?"
"The way Harry and Ginny clearly have developed feelings for each other?" finished Sirius. "Yeah, that one."
Molly dropped the pan she was drying off, and it clattered to the floor. "Excuse me?" she said, turning to face the two men with wide eyes.
Remus sighed and said, "Ginny already has a boyfriend."
"You've clearly not seen the way Harry and Ginny watch each other," said Sirius dismissively.
"I've seen it, Sirius," said Remus evenly. "My point still stands that Ginny is already seeing Michael Corner from Ravenclaw. Very nice and polite young man, I assure you, Molly," he added to her flabbergasted expression.
"This Corner bloke of Ginny's can't hold a candle to the way she looks at Harry these days," insisted Sirius. "And the way Harry looks at her… it's the exact same lovesick expression James always wore when he was pining after Lily."
Molly gaped at him. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her so speechless before.
"Harry's not in the position to consider a relationship," said Remus softly. "And Ginny hasn't said a word about breaking things off with Michael."
"Five galleons says she dumps Corner within the first week of school," said Sirius firmly. "She almost never says a word about him, but she can go on and on about Harry without any prompting. They've got to stop dancing round each other like this."
"Harry is not in the position emotionally to pursue a relationship," replied Remus. "I think you ought to leave it alone and let them figure things out in their own time. Harry needs to heal physically and emotionally, and Ginny is still committed to Michael."
Sirius sighed and let the subject drop as Molly regained her senses and pestered Remus for more information about Michael ("she never called him more than a friend!"), but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He left shortly after to go check in on Harry, but when he reached the top floor and spotted Ginny carefully shutting Harry's bedroom door, he couldn't not say something. A smidgeon of interference never hurt anyone, right?
"I see what's going on."
Sirius watched as Ginny started guiltily before glaring at him. "What are you on about?" she demanded, readjusting the tray in her hands.
Grinning, Sirius crossed his arms and casually leant against the stair railing. "You fancy my godson."
Ginny gaped at him, and he could see the trademark Weasley blush suffusing her cheeks in the dim lighting of the stairwell. "That's — I don't — you —" she spluttered incoherently. "No, I don't," she finally said, incredibly red in the face now. "I'm seeing someone already, and he's really nice and pays attention to me —"
"Like you pay attention to Harry?" Sirius cut her off, grin widening. "There's more going on here than helping out a friend, Gin-Gin."
"Don't call me that." There was the spitfire Sirius had come to know. His grin felt like it was splitting his face now. "And there's just what you see," added Ginny stubbornly. "Harry's my friend, that's all he's ever wanted."
"The only person I've ever known who could go so far as to describe a girl's blush as being 'like the setting sun' was a teenaged James when he was waxing poetic about Lily," said Sirius. "It was sickening then, and it's just as sickening now, hearing his son at it."
Ginny blinked at him, and Sirius had to work hard to contain the eye roll that longed to escape. "The both of you are so obvious I could vomit," he told her. "I see it, Moony sees it, I can tell you that Hermione at the very least suspects something… you're not fooling me, Ginny. Not one bit. And if you'd use your eyes properly, you'd see Harry feels exactly the same way."
After a long moment in which Ginny's mouth hung open rather comically, she finally clicked it shut, only to open it again a moment later. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Is that not my name?" he challenged.
"Right, I'm walking away now," Ginny groaned. "You and puns don't mix, Sirius." She turned to head down the stairs.
"I do mean it, though," Sirius called after her. "Really watch him, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about."
Ginny hesitated on the stairs, half-turning back before continuing downwards. Sirius watched her go, then headed for Harry's room. Time to (metaphorically) slap some sense into his godson.
Harry was curled up on the bed, his new Charms textbook in hand as Hedwig slept on her perch by the window. "Already getting started on the school year, eh?" Sirius said.
He watched as Harry flushed slightly. "Can only read Flying with the Cannons so many times," he said.
"So you need more books to read for leisure," said Sirius with a knowing nod. "I can take care of that."
Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"
Sirius grinned. "Free man, remember? I can go strolling down Diagon Alley whilst nervous witches and wizards avoid my eye and rush their business so they don't have to be near me."
Harry snorted. "The aura of danger's not faded, then?"
"Either that or they want to bombard me with endless questions about what happened and what Azkaban is like," admitted Sirius with a grimace. "Still not sure which I prefer, to be honest."
Harry chuckled. "Prefer being ignored, myself," he admitted, lowering the book in his hands.
A personal pronoun again! Sirius felt a flash of pleasure at this. He settled at the foot of the bed and carefully eyed Harry. "It's going to be a lot quieter here once they all leave tomorrow," he ventured after some time.
Harry nodded somberly and looked down at his book before closing it and setting it aside. "It's strange," he said, "not going back with them."
"Won't be forever, I promise," said Sirius. "You'll be traipsing the halls with your friends and getting into trouble with Snape again before you know it."
Harry grinned, though it seemed forced.
"So," said Sirius, "who are you expecting to miss the most?"
Harry frowned. "What d'you mean?" he said. "M'going to miss all of them."
"Equally?" asked Sirius with raised eyebrows. "My money's on you missing the redhead with the longest hair more than the others, personally."
"Ginny?" said Harry in surprise. "Why — she's — just because she's more real than the others —" Harry's cheeks were quite pink as he spluttered.
"Is she now?" Sirius grinned. "The way I see it, 'real' is starting to include some feelings that go beyond friendship."
Harry's whole face went scarlet at these words. "She's already seeing someone," he muttered, staring down at his textbook. "She's just a friend."
"She blushed and spluttered just as much as you're doing," laughed Sirius. "Why are you both so oblivious? Clearly you want to be with her!"
Harry peeked up at Sirius. "She — she did?"
Sirius nodded. To his surprise, Harry's expression suddenly closed off and he looked away. "It — it doesn't matter," he said quietly. "She's seeing someone, and —" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he insisted, and then he was off his bed and striding for the door, muttering about needing to use the loo. Sirius watched him go, incredibly confused and, for the first time in weeks, very worried about his godson.
Ginny was going to murder Sirius.
"Mum, I'm fourteen, of course I'm seeing someone!"
Molly sniffed over the sink. "You could have had the decency to at least tell me about this," she said.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "So you could interrogate me like I'm a child?"
"You are a child, Ginny!" Molly retorted, setting aside the plate she'd been drying off and turning to face Ginny fully. "And you were still thirteen when you started seeing this young man."
"Which is only four years younger than you were when you and dad eloped," Ginny shot back. Remus let out a cough that sounded more like a chuckle from the far end of the kitchen table. "And besides, I'm having fun, not settling down. Michael's really nice, that's all!"
"Then why didn't you even mention him before?"
"Percy didn't tell you about owling Penelope, did he?" said Ginny. "Or how about all the girls Bill dated at Hogwarts? I don't recall you badgering either of them about their dating lives, so why should I have to?"
"Because I don't want to lose you!"
Ginny reared back. "What does that even mean?" she demanded, and then it clicked and she took a step away from her mother. "You're talking about the diary," she said, unable to keep the sullen tone from her voice.
Molly winced.
"That was different," said Ginny, forcing herself to keep her eyes on her mother. "That was a memory of Voldemort manipulating a child, Mum. I'm not that little girl, not anymore. He made sure of that."
Taking a step back, Ginny smiled sadly at the stricken expression on her mother's face. "Michael is nice and pays attention to me. There's really nothing more to it. I deserve to experience a healthy relationship, Mum. And he's… he's nice."
Mother and daughter stared at each other for a long moment before Molly sighed and nodded. "I only want you to be safe," she said softly.
"I am safe," said Ginny. "I promise."
Molly smiled tremulously for a moment before it sharpened into a grin. "So about Sirius claiming you and Harry have mutual feelings for each other…"
"Mum!"
Yeah, Ginny was definitely going to kill Sirius.
Hermione stared dubiously at the packet of Nosebleed Nougats Fred and George were showing her. "Where did you get the money for all of this?" she finally interrupted their explanation of their joke shop plans and desire to run further tests at school. "You told us that Ludo Bagman never paid up from the World Cup last year."
"I did," said Harry from behind his Charms textbook, and Hermione experienced a small thrill at his use of another personal pronoun. "Well, he did it, but it wasn't his idea."
"The Triwizard Cup winnings," explained Ginny. "Voldemort knew Harry wanted the twins to have it, so he gave it to them. Harry told them to keep it after they found out the truth."
Hermione saw Ron's jaw drop as she processed this new information. "Does your mum know?" she finally asked.
The twins shook their heads. "She'll never approve unless we can show her how successful our ideas are," said Fred.
"She'd likely argue with us about the money given the circumstances," added George. "One could argue it was given under duress."
"Don't want it back," said Harry shortly.
"Are you sure?" asked Hermione.
"Give it a rest, Hermione," said Ron, seemingly recovered from the shock. "Who better to have all that gold than a couple of future joke shop owners? And they're right, Mum won't take them seriously unless they end up being successful. You know what she's like!"
"Exactly," said Harry, lowering his book at last. "W-we could all do with a few laughs." He smiled hopefully at Hermione, and she realized at once what he wasn't saying.
"I won't interfere and tell Mrs. Weasley anything," she promised, and Harry's smile brightened considerably. "I do hope you both know what you're doing, though."
"Of course we do!" grinned Fred.
"Our wildest dreams are going to become reality with Harry as our investor," said George brightly. And he and Fred were off, telling them all about some of the ideas they had been testing. Ron and Ginny were entranced, piping up every now and again to ask a question or make a suggestion, and Hermione found herself sitting back to listen, a growing sense of awe overtaking her.
She scooted closer to Harry on the bed as he watched the four siblings interact with a faint smile. "I never thought they were capable of taking their studies seriously," she murmured to him. "Only five O.W.L.s each as I recall. Mrs. Weasley was so disappointed, but they're actually quite clever, aren't they?"
Harry's smile widened. "It has to benefit their plans, or it isn't worth it," he said before looking directly at her. "Thank you," he added softly.
Hermione nodded with a smile of her own, knowing what he meant. "You're welcome," she replied before returning to the conversation to ask about the interaction between two ingredients the twins were planning to use that were known to cause explosions when mixed without a proper base. Harry didn't participate, but Hermione spotted the sad fondness in his expression and knew he would miss them just as much as they would miss him upon returning to Hogwarts tomorrow morning.
She went to bed with an eagerness to return to Hogwarts, one which was dampened by a heavy heart. She didn't sleep very well, and suspected that Ginny was tossing and turning just as much from worry. They both knew Harry was going to be safe in Grimmauld Place, that Sirius and Remus would take good care of him, but the upcoming separation showed just how different things were now that You-Know-Who had returned.
The morning brought the usual Weasley mayhem as they prepared to leave, Harry rushing down the stairs so quickly he almost fell in his haste to check on Ginny when she was knocked down by Fred and George's trunks as they zoomed down the stairs without any warning. She was still rather dazed as Hermione and Sirius reached the main floor. Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley were both screaming at the top of their voices, causing Crookshanks to leap from Hermione's arms and streak away with an irritated hiss.
"—COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS —"
"—FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS —"
Harry was shaking and wheezing from running down the stairs, but barely seemed to notice as he sat Ginny up for Sirius to tend to. Hermione looked up and spotted the guilty looks on Fred and George's faces as their mother continued to scream at them. Sirius waved Hermione closer.
"Go get the Liquid Lungs for Harry," he told her. "You know where it is?"
Hermione nodded and flew up the stairs, almost colliding with Ron on the second floor. "What's happened?" he asked her, his trainers in his hands.
"Twins hit Ginny with their trunks, knocked her down two flights of stairs," said Hermione as she continued up to Harry's room, Ron following closely.
"So why are you going to Harry's room?"
"He ran down after her, and now he's wheezing terribly," was Hermione's reply as she opened Harry's bedroom door and headed for the vellum case where his potions were kept for his continued recovery. She snatched up a small vial of the Liquid Lungs and hurried back down the stairs with Ron at her heels, still holding his trainers in his hands.
Ginny was leaning against Harry's side when Hermione returned, looking only slightly dazed now, but otherwise well after Sirius's care. Mrs. Weasley had ceased her screaming and was checking her daughter over now, leaving Sirius to receive the potion vial from Hermione so he could coax Harry into taking it.
"Go on," Ginny encouraged him. "I'm okay, I promise."
Harry smiled and gave in, face flushing with renewed energy as the small vial forced his lungs to open up properly again.
Hermione had to contain herself from doing or saying anything as she watched this interaction. She had suspected something had changed in the way Harry viewed Ginny, but that it was more than the trust he had given her following his rescue. It had been difficult to gauge what he felt for certain as he was far more closed off than he'd been prior to his imprisonment.
Now though…
Hermione was now positive that Harry had developed romantic feelings for Ginny. She knew Ginny had long held feelings for him, but should she say anything?
No, she immediately decided. It wasn't her place to push her friend to say how he felt. She would see how he was doing when he was able to return to Hogwarts and figure out what, if anything, she ought to do then. Until then, she would focus on her studies and make sure her notes were as thorough as possible to make sure Harry knew what their teachers were having them do, no matter that Remus was an excellent teacher.
One way or another, she thought Harry and Ginny would figure out their relationship. She would simply be there to provide support if needed. There was no way he was ready to pursue a relationship after all he'd been through at this point, but maybe by the time he returned to Hogwarts, he might be.
"You promise you'll write?" she asked Harry as she hugged him farewell a few minutes later, Crookshanks safely yowling in his wicker cage with the rest of the trunks.
"Promise," grinned Harry as she released him. "Bet you'll have more to write about. Want to know about the new Defense professor, yeah?"
"We'll tell you about her," said Ron firmly before hugging Harry himself. Hermione thought he might be clinging more tightly than usual and had to blink away tears. This wasn't fair, to be leaving Harry behind like this. "I'll make sure the Gryffindor team knows you still want to play Seeker."
The way Ginny hugged Harry tugged deeply at Hermione's heart. She hoped the two could figure out their feelings for each other and act on it. Harry deserved happiness, and she was certain that happiness could be achieved with Ginny.
"Don't let anything they say at school get under your skin," said Harry with a serious expression. "Especially M-malfoy."
"I promise," said Hermione, Ron and Ginny echoing her. Even Fred and George promised to be on their best behavior (or whatever constituted "best" in their minds, Hermione thought to herself).
Before she knew it, they were off for the train station, Hermione sneaking one last look over her shoulder to see Harry waving in the open doorway, Sirius at his side with an arm around his shoulders. Then their group went around the corner, and they were out of sight.
Take care, Hermione wished fervently before turning her mind to the task before her: returning to Hogwarts.
Ron tried to sit still, but he couldn't help but be aware of the stares he and Hermione were receiving. "They know he's our best friend," whispered Hermione, "and they know he isn't coming back right away. There's bound to be loads of curiosity about it all."
"Doesn't mean they ought to stare like we're an exhibit in one of those illegal traveling shows," Ron grumbled back to her. "I wish the sorting would hurry up and get started so everyone can focus on that instead of staring at us."
Thankfully, Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall with the first year students at that moment, which finally forced most people to look elsewhere and give the tiny students and the Sorting Hat their attention.
Ron drifted through the Sorting Hat's song and the sorting of the new first years. He could vaguely hear Hermione and Ginny whispering to each other, but didn't pay them much mind. It was weird, not having Harry here with him.
No, it was worse than weird. It just wasn't right!
It was as though a limb had been severed from Ron's body, leaving behind only the sensation of what should have been there. Ron should have been seated with Harry between him and Hermione. They should have been cracking jokes about how tiny the first-years were, and Ron would insist that Harry had easily been a head shorter than the tiniest of this lot. Harry would have shoved him and called him a prat, or reminded him about the smudge of dirt on his nose that his mum hadn't been able to rub off before their first-ever train ride to Hogwarts. They should have been talking about last night's revelation that Harry had funded Fred and George's joke shop, even though You-Know-Who had been the one to act on Harry's desire. Hermione should have been pestering Harry about all that money.
Cedric Diggory should have been seated at the Hufflepuff table as Head Boy.
So many should have's, with an ugly reality to face, instead.
His gaze wandered over the staff to the new teacher, Delores Umbridge, a squat witch with a flabby face uglier than Neville Longbottom's toad, Trevor. Ron knew she was the Senior Undersecretary to Fudge; her presence as the new Defense teacher was especially troubling from the little he and his siblings had been able to get from Remus. Was she really here to interfere?
It wasn't until she interrupted Dumbledore's welcome speech and set off on a long-winded and clearly rehearsed speech that it began to set in for him that yes, she truly was. Ginny grasped Hermione's wrist at one point and whispered urgently to her, but Hermione merely shook her head and continued to listen to Umbridge. Ron tried to follow along, but it was easier to fall into a stupor like the vast majority of the students sitting at the four long, wooden tables.
When Umbridge finished and sat down, Dumbledore thanked her for a "most illuminating speech."
"How bad is it?" Ron asked Hermione.
Her brown eyes were bright with rage. "Bad," she replied tightly. "She's basically Fudge's mouthpiece, doing whatever he wants."
"And what does Fudge want?" Ron pressed.
"To take over Hogwarts," said Ginny, expression hard as she looked away from the pink blob at the staff table.
"This is more than just our friendship with Harry, said Hermione grimly. "Every teacher, every subject, every student is going to come under massive scrutiny."
"Interference on a mass scale," said Ron in horror. "This is going to be more than a hostile environment with her here."
"It's going to be downright dangerous," agreed Hermione. "Fudge will use Umbridge to whittle away at everything we know, even Dumbledore's powers as headmaster. Nothing is safe here."
It was a good thing Harry wasn't ready to come back yet, Ron thought bleakly as he and Hermione escorted the first years to the Gryffindor common room while Ginny stayed back with the twins and their friend Lee Jordan to discuss Umbridge's speech. Harry was in no condition to have that level of interference in his continued recovery. Maybe this first month would give them enough understanding of how Umbridge was going to attack the infrastructure of the school to protect him when he was ready to return.
After all, Ron and Hermione were real. It was the least they could do for their healing friend.
