"Happy Halloween, Teddy."
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
"Demelza, you've got to be there as an outlet for her to pass to!" Ginny barked as she circled back around.
Harry looked down at the scene below him and grinned, thinking it was brilliant when Ginny showed off her authority as captain. The starting Gryffindor Chasers were currently scrimmaging against the 'reserves.' as Ginny called them. Really, she'd just recruited the three best Chasers who hadn't made the team, and Dean, Ryan Phillips, and Charlotte Scott had all been happy to help out. She'd also gotten Aidan Hall to be the reserve team Keeper.
He'd been impressed with the idea. It always seemed odd that Chasers never really practised against anyone particularly skilled. In the past, they'd either done two-on-one drills or had the Beaters and Seeker play Chaser for the opposing team, but this was a much better solution. To be honest, it was just surprising that none of his previous captains, including himself, had ever thought of the idea before.
In the scrimmage, they had been practising a new offensive formation that involved Ginny moving ahead of the Quaffle-carrier as a decoy. The problem was that Ryan stayed with Ginny while Dean and Charlotte moved for Natalie, who had the Quaffle. And Demelza had had a lapse in concentration, seemingly forgetting that she was responsible for ensuring that Natalie had someone to pass to if she was surrounded.
"Sorry… forgot that I wasn't the decoy," Demelza apologised.
Ginny nodded. "It's fine, just don't let it happen again. We've got less than two weeks until our first match, and we need to be sharp against Ravenclaw. They always have a plan for everything, which is why we're coming up with all these new ideas."
"What if we tried out something like an inverted Hawkshead Formation?" Demelza suggested, apparently wanting to make up for her mistake.
Ginny tossed the Quaffle up in the air and caught it a few times, considering the idea. "The two in the front act as protection for the one behind… I like it. Let's try it out."
The formation was very effective. It didn't matter which Chasers were leading the charge– they all acted effectively as human Bludgers, forcing oncoming defenders out of the way and, most of the time, they were scoring with ease.
"Heads up!" Harry heard a shout and whipped his head around. In an instant, he rolled over as a Bludger passed just over where his head had been.
"Sorry 'bout that, Harry!" Ritchie shouted as he flew past, chasing the Bludger that he and Jimmy had been practising with. Harry just rolled his eyes before deciding that he should probably get some training in himself and actually look for the Snitch.
He was probably a little lazy in his search, being more than a little distracted by his girlfriend asserting herself on the pitch on more than one occasion. He did catch it about fifteen minutes after he started looking, which wasn't bad, but he knew he could do better in a real match. Practice didn't last much longer after that, and everyone was well worn out after another hard training session.
"We're gonna flatten Ravenclaw," he promised Ginny as they walked back to the castle.
"I hope so. We still have some more formations I want to try out, but Ravenclaw has an answer for everything. I think we've got enough plans in place. But if we don't–"
Harry cut her off from her spiralling by pulling her close to him and kissing the top of her head. "You're doing great, and we're definitely gonna win."
"You're not just saying that?" she asked, maybe a little dubiously.
He shook his head. "Nope. It's just a fact."
Now she smiled brightly at him. "In that case, is there anything else you'd like me to take the lead on tonight?"
He raised his eyebrows as he quickly looked between her dazzling smile and sparkling eyes, feeling his mouth become a little dry. "I'm sure I can think of something."
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
Harry really had tried everything to get out of it, but Professor Slughorn had been relentless in his pursuit of them for one of his suppers. Their mistake was not having something scheduled every night of the week. Quidditch practice and going home on weekends had provided them with ample excuses, but Slughorn finally figured out a time that they couldn't come up with a way out of, which is why they were changing into dress robes for a Wednesday night dinner rather than joining everyone else in the Great Hall.
It was a bit of a pain, but Ginny had to admit that she thought Harry looked incredibly attractive in his dark dress robes. He did ruin that slightly when he opened his mouth and complained though.
"I still don't see why we have to dress up so nicely for this."
"Because–" Ginny said while brushing a hand through his hair as if it would help "– everyone else is sucking up to him, so they'll all be dressed nicely. I'm not gonna stick out for being underdressed."
"You look good in whatever you wear though."
She smiled slightly, thinking he'd redeemed himself a little. "That's very sweet, but it's not about looking good. It's about putting in the effort. Really, this is your fault for not coming up with an excuse."
Harry exhaled loudly– this wasn't the first time they'd had this discussion. "We'd just spent two hours hunched over a cauldron working on Polyjuice Potion. I was exhausted and wasn't exactly in the best state to be making up a story to get us out of this dinner. You could've come up with one just as easily as me."
Ginny shook her head. "If you recall, he asked you. I was just an afterthought."
"That's ridiculous. You were in the old Slug Club too. He wanted both of us."
"Well, that's what he's getting," Ginny assured him.
The Auror escort to King's Cross had been a bit much, but at least they'd all gotten onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters safely. Ginny had been waiting on everyone else to get on the Express, but Ron and Hermione left to go to the Prefect's Cabin, and then Harry pulled her dad aside for some unknown reason. Probably one more thing she wouldn't find out about.
Feeling slightly resentful, she boarded the Express, immediately running into several people she knew. Granted, she knew practically everyone at Hogwarts, so that wasn't much of a surprise. It did make her feel better though, laughing with her roommates that she hadn't seen all summer. Mia was the only one she'd really missed, but still, it was good to feel wanted again.
That wasn't fair to Harry, Ron, and Hermione though. For the most part, they'd treated her like part of the group over the summer, and it had easily been the best summer of her life, even with the looming threat of Voldemort. But now that they were back at school, Ginny expected that things would go back to normal, and she'd be left out of their activities. That was okay though because she had plenty of friends and a boyfriend she was very much looking forward to seeing.
Her train of thought was interrupted by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned and saw Harry standing there, probably oblivious to all the people staring at him from the compartments.
"Fancy trying to find a compartment?" he asked, sounding more than a little hopeful, even though Ginny was sure it was her imagination. A small part of her swelled with excitement at this request, but the older, more mature Ginny suppressed that feeling. She was friends with Harry, and that wasn't going to change. But she did promise that she'd find a compartment with Dean, and she was excited about that.
"I can't, Harry, I said I'd meet Dean. See you later!" Ginny responded, quickly turning and trying to pretend that he hadn't looked hurt by that. He'd be fine. She'd been left out of plenty of things by the three of them throughout the past several years, and she was totally fine. As she hurried along the corridor, worried she might turn back and accept his offer, she realised that she probably could've invited Harry. The only problem was that she wasn't certain that she'd be as good a girlfriend for Dean as she should be if Harry was there.
But then she saw Dean, and her thoughts about Harry were pushed to the back of her mind. Or, if they weren't when she saw him, they certainly were when he gave her a quick kiss.
"There's my girl. I missed you," he said, putting an arm around her waist and guiding her into the compartment, where Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati were already sitting. It hadn't ever occurred to Ginny before that the non-trio members of their year in Gryffindor were friends, although it was a little sad to note that Neville wasn't part of this group either.
"Good to see you, Ginny," Seamus said with a smile, moving over so there was room for both her and Dean.
"You too. How were your summers?" Ginny asked. She was expecting brief answers, but it seemed like this group was very talkative, not that she minded. Parvati described, in great detail, the summer that she'd spent at home. Apparently her parents hadn't allowed her or Padma to leave the house because of all the turmoil in the outside world. That didn't leave Parvati with a shortage of stories to tell though.
Seamus spent the summer travelling through Ireland, where his family was from. He hadn't ever explored beyond Kerry before though, so he'd gotten to see all sorts of things for the first time. After a particularly interesting story about a ghost that made a habit of hiding in the Blarney Stone, Dean took over, talking about his summer in London, where he'd spent the majority of it working in his mother's pottery studio. He did spend a rather long time discussing a football match he'd watched just before term started. Apparently his team won a brilliant comeback victory, even though Ginny couldn't really understand what was so exciting about a score of 2-1 when Quidditch teams scored hundreds of points every match. She did think the way Dean got worked up about it was exciting though.
Lavender surprisingly didn't have much to say about her summer. She seemed much more interested in hearing from Ginny, asking almost immediately, "Is it true that you and your brother were at the Ministry with Harry in June?"
Ginny hesitated, not really wanting to talk about that horrible night, but then the cracked door to their compartment was pushed open all the way, and Zacharias Smith was standing there.
"Creep much?" Ginny asked the obnoxious Hufflepuff.
Zacharias shrugged, apparently unfazed by the insult. "Answer the question."
"I don't want to talk about it, least of all to you."
Dean stood up. "I think you need to leave."
"I will as soon as she explains what happened at the Ministry. We all heard the official story, but nobody who was there talked about it."
Ginny clenched her fists. "I don't have anything to say to you."
"I don't know who I'm kidding. I doubt Potter would've trusted you to help him."
Ginny did her best to even her breathing, refusing to be goaded into talking about it. "Get out of here, Smith," Dean instructed in a low voice, putting an arm out to protect her.
Zacharias smirked, arrogant smugness radiating off him. "It is funny though. For all his pandering about defensive magic, Potter didn't do anything to help that man they say was his godfather, did he?"
Ginny saw red. She didn't even realise her wand was in her hand until she heard a voice that must have been hers shouting, "Vespertilio!"
Zacharias stumbled backwards, and she pushed past Dean to shove him further down the corridor for good measure as nasty, green bats slapped his face. She turned back around, still flushed with anger, and her eyes widened immediately, seeing a rather large man who had to be a professor staring at her. Then the man started to shake. For a moment, Ginny thought he might have been sick, but then she heard his deep, rumbling laughter.
"O-ho, that was some spellwork, I say! And what is your name?"
She had to clear her throat. "G– Ginny Weasley. Sorry about that, Professor."
"Well, Miss Weasley, I'm Professor Slughorn, and I daresay that boy deserved that for whatever he did. And it was mighty impressive, my dear. Mighty impressive, indeed. I say… would you care for lunch? It would be my honour to have you join me and a handful of other students in my compartment for a bite."
Ginny was so grateful that she wasn't getting detention or losing house points that she immediately accepted, following Slughorn past her compartment. She shrugged in a confused manner at everyone inside but didn't have time to explain. The man moved faster than she expected, and she wasn't about to be left behind and risk him changing his mind.
Harry looked back at her reluctantly outside the door to Slughorn's office. She did her best to smile thinly and nodded at him, so he sighed and opened the door. They were apparently the last to arrive, considering there were only two open seats left, between Owen and Astoria.
"Harry, m'boy! Good to see you, good to see you! And Miss Weasley, always a pleasure! Please join us. You're lucky we were waiting to begin serving the pie!"
Ginny gave what she hoped was a convincing smile as she took a seat while Harry sat next to her. She glanced around the table and saw that Slughorn hadn't changed his recruiting habits. In addition to the two of them and the Head Boy and Head Girl, there was also Liam Turner, a second year Ravenclaw named Margaret, and an apparently surly fifth year Slytherin named Anton Shafiq. Liam's father was on the Wizengamot, while Margaret's great aunt had been an esteemed Herbologist. Anton's family was one of the old pureblood wizarding families, and Slughorn spent a rather long time extolling the virtues of several previous generations of Shafiqs, particularly their proficiency with potion making, which had apparently passed on to Anton, a supposed prodigy in the field.
Honestly, the dinner was shaping up to be exactly what Ginny had been expecting. Almost from the moment they sat down, she and Harry had been fighting boredom. Slughorn took his time getting to the two of them, talking more individually to everyone else about their personal and, more importantly, familial accomplishments.
"I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this," Astoria whispered to her.
Ginny glanced over and saw the girl was smiling. "Just wait until he starts in on Harry."
As if on cue, Slughorn turned to Harry, who immediately began drinking his butterbeer for an almost comically long amount of time. Instead of waiting on Harry, Slughorn looked at Ginny.
"And Miss Weasley, how is the Gryffindor Quidditch team looking this year?"
Ginny grinned, a little surprised by the question. "Couldn't be happier with the team, Professor. I'm sorry to say I don't think Slytherin has a chance this season."
Anton shot a lingering look over at her and Harry, apparently peeved by the answer, even though Astoria chuckled next to her.
"A bold claim, to be sure! I look forward to seeing how they perform under your leadership. You know, I'm good friends with Gwenog Jones. I'm sure she'd love to meet another woman in her field."
Ginny thought that was a little ironic considering Gwenog played on a team of all women, but she wasn't about to voice that to Slughorn. Harry grinned at her, probably remembering the poster of Gwenog that had stayed up in her bedroom even as they'd put up new pictures commemorating the start of their life together.
"That would be brilliant, Professor," she practically gushed, remembering how jealous she'd been when Hermione had told her that Gwenog had been at one of the only Slug Club meetings she'd skipped two years ago.
Slughorn laughed deeply. "I'll be sure to invite her to our Christmas party then." Ginny was so excited that she didn't even feel annoyed at the prospect of having to come to another Slug Club event.
"And Harry, tell me, how have you been doing?"
"Some days are good. Some days are bad. I've cried a lot more in the past year than I ever did before."
Ginny looked at him, completely surprised by his blunt response, but he didn't act like he'd said anything out of the ordinary. Everyone around the table was silent, and Slughorn did an admittedly poor job of defusing the awkwardness.
"Well… I suppose you might know Liam's father from your hearing with the Wizengamot in July?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I wasn't trying to remember people's names. I just didn't want to get put in Azkaban or have people think I'm a freak."
Slughorn seemingly didn't know what to say to that, and Ginny was equally surprised when Astoria asked, "Why would people think you're a freak? You're as normal as the rest of us."
He looked at her like that didn't make any sense. "People have thought I was a freak my whole life. I thought it would be better when I found out I was a wizard, but… I still think people think I'm a freak because of everything that's said in the papers about me. Because I survived what nobody else has. That's pretty freaky."
Ginny was staring at him, unable to comprehend why he was talking like this. "Harry, are you feeling alright?"
"Not really. My head's a little fuzzy."
"D'you think…" Owen started before trailing off, glancing at Slughorn, who still seemed puzzled. "Harry, what do you think about Ginny?"
Ginny shot a confused look at Owen before looking at Harry, who was smiling, a little vacantly, at her. "I think Ginny's perfect, and I love her. I think she's the funniest person I know, and the nicest person I know, and the prettiest person I know. I think I'm really lucky that she wants to be with me even if I don't understand why. I think I'm going to marry her one day, and I think we'll be happy."
Ginny smiled up at him, not having the slightest idea why he was saying all these things in front of a bunch of people they didn't know all that well, but she didn't particularly care. Although she started caring a bit more when Harry continued, "I think Ginny's a brilliant kisser, and the way she–"
Ginny put a hand over his mouth, blushing profusely now. "I think he's ingested Veritaserum somehow," Owen said, trying his best to hide his smile at Harry's declaration of Ginny's kissing prowess.
"And you asked him what he thought of me?" Ginny hissed, more embarrassed than she was before.
Owen chuckled and shrugged. "Would you have preferred me ask something about defeating You-Know-Who?"
Ginny sighed and shook her head, thinking that she had a bunch of ideas for better questions to ask that were far less revealing. "But how did he drink some?" she asked out loud before answering her own question when her gaze fell on Harry's empty glass of butterbeer.
Slughorn must've seen the conclusion she'd arrived at. "Miss Weasley, I assure you that I didn't tamper with any of the drinks I've served."
Ginny nodded and performed a quick survey of everyone else. Liam's mouth was open while Margaret's eyes were wide and Anton's were narrowed, all apparently surprised by the turn of events. Astoria and Owen, now that he wasn't laughing, were acting more concerned.
"I think I'd better take him away from everyone until it wears off. Are you ready to leave, Harry?" Ginny asked
"I've been ready to leave since we got here," Harry responded truthfully. Owen snorted, and Astoria covered her smile with her hand as Ginny pulled Harry out of his seat and led him out the door as quickly as possible.
"Do I need to take you to the Hospital Wing?"
"No. I hate going there. I'll be fine as soon as this wears off."
Ginny nodded and took his hand. "Where do you want to go?"
"Our tree," he answered plainly, making Ginny smile.
"Sounds good to me," she agreed, and they walked out onto the grounds together. They were completely alone– it seemed like everyone was either eating dinner or otherwise too afraid to brave the chilly evening air. Ginny was a little cold, admittedly, but less so when Harry pulled her tightly to him.
"You're gonna be fine," she assured him. "This stuff can't last too long."
Harry thought for a moment. "I saw it used on Barty Crouch before. It lasted for a while."
Ginny frowned. "Hmm. Well at least you're not gonna say anything you might regret in front of anyone else. And I'm not gonna judge you for anything you say when you're like this."
"It's not like I'm worried about telling you anything. I don't keep secrets from you," he replied. With a cheeky smile, he added, "I don't even have an idea for your Christmas present yet, so I'm completely safe."
"You're running out of time," she teased. "Not that I can judge, I guess. I don't have your gift either. You've got a lot of pressure on you though. You've gotta do better than you did for my birthday."
"I don't know if I can do that," he answered honestly, as usual.
She leaned against him. "I'm only playing. Any gift from you will be perfect."
"I'm glad you think so… unless that backfires on me," he replied.
"Oh come on, do you really think there's anything you could do or give me that I wouldn't think was amazing?"
"I mean, I guess–"
Ginny quickly cut him off. "Oh damn, never mind. Sorry, Harry. I wasn't actually trying to ask you that. That's not fair to you."
He shrugged. "Like I said, you don't need to worry about that. Although it's sweet that you'd say that."
She kissed his cheek. "I know. Still, I don't want to ask you anything while you're under the influence of Veritaserum. I don't think I'd like it, even though I trust you with everything too."
He was quiet for a minute before saying, "Well anyways, there probably are some things I could do that you might not like… but it's probably a pretty small list of things, considering how much you love me. And I wouldn't ever dream of doing anything like that because I love you more than anything. And that is definitely the truth."
She'd known that for a long time. He'd never been private about his feelings. But somehow, hearing him saying it like that, willingly, while he had no choice but to tell the truth almost knocked the breath out of her. It was so adorable and sweet and perfect. And, like he had no choice but to tell the truth, she had no choice but to respond with a very heated kiss.
When they separated, Harry smiled, brushing a thumb along her cheek. "Merlin, you're beautiful."
She grinned, feeling her heart warming at that. "I love you."
"I love you too," he replied immediately. Then he tilted his head thoughtfully and surprised her. "Do you want to go with me to Godric's Hollow on Halloween?"
"You want me to go to Godric's Hollow with you on Halloween?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I've– I've only been there once. And I told you that when I went back, I wanted you with me. It may be too much, being there on that day, but… I want to try if– if you'll go with me."
She looked sadly at him for a moment before taking his hand. "I'll definitely go with you."
He nodded. "Good. I didn't want to go by myself."
"Well, you don't ever have to be by yourself again. Remember our deal?"
"Together forever," he replied with another smile.
"Exactly. Um… speaking of– and this isn't a question, so you don't have to say anything if you don't want to– you mentioned wanting to get married in there."
"Yeah. We've mentioned it before," he said with a curious look, as if he was wondering if she'd forgotten, which she most certainly had not.
"I know that. But you said it in front of a bunch of people we don't know that well."
He shrugged. "I don't think it matters who knows about it. It's how I feel. I want to marry you and have a family with you. A couple kids. And a dog. I always wanted a dog."
"Wow, you sure do have plans for us, don't you?"
He nodded proudly. "Big plans. We're gonna be happy. I promise."
She squeezed his hand. "I love you. And I can't wait for those plans. I am wondering if you'd be talking this openly about it all if you weren't still hopped up on Veritaserum, but I like knowing that's what you think anyways."
Harry grinned mischievously. "Oh, the Veritaserum already wore off."
She opened her mouth and stared at him in disbelief while he laughed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me," she finally said.
He was still grinning. "I was having fun."
She shook her head, chuckling a little now. "So when did it wear off?"
"Ah– I think before I asked you about Godric's Hollow."
"You mean right after I kissed you?" Ginny suggested proudly.
He chuckled. "I mean, technically, yes. Like I said earlier, you're a brilliant kisser. Waking me up from panic attacks and saving me from Veritaserum are just some of the wondrous side effects."
She snorted before remembering the answers he'd given after he could answer the questions freely. "So Godric's Hollow…"
He shrugged. "Yeah. I'd been thinking about it for a while. Just hadn't gotten around to bringing it up yet."
"And… everything else?"
"Like I said, that's not a secret. I know we've got a lot to talk about and figure out still, but I'm in this for life. And I don't even need Veritaserum to admit that."
She kissed him again. "I'm right there with you. And I really can't wait for all our plans for the future. I'll love you forever, and I don't need Veritaserum to admit that either."
He kissed the top of her head and she snuggled up against him, forgetting how cold it was when his body warmed hers and his words warmed her heart. "I'll love you forever too, Gin."
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
Things with Defence continued running smoother and smoother, at least as far as Harry could tell. It seemed like everyone was growing into their roles very well, which made his job easier than he'd expected it to be. As usual, he assigned a spell each for the older and younger groups to work on, and he was walking around the Great Hall to check in with each of the leads.
The older students were learning the Reductor Curse and practising with lobbing chairs at each other in a way that reminded Harry of the fight he'd had with Grimhall. There was no doubt that the curse was effective, and it was important for the students to know how to do it, but Harry was definitely interested in the idea of using transfiguration in a duel like Grimhall had. He'd never duelled someone who could do that before, and he'd almost lost because of it. He made a mental note to speak to McGonagall about it at some point before checking the other side of the room.
The younger students were learning the Body-Bind Curse, which Harry had explained as being just as useful as a Disarming Charm or a stunner, and he watched Emily land one on a Slytherin boy as he approached Ginny and Astoria, who were talking while observing their groups.
"How are things going over here?"
"Really good. I was just telling Astoria about the time Hermione used this on Neville in your first year," Ginny answered with a grin.
"How'd you know about that?"
Ginny smirked. "Ron's crush was pretty obvious when he came home talking about that as much as you single-handedly protecting the Philosopher's Stone."
"I didn't–" Harry started but stopped, seeing Ginny's look of admonishment at his modesty. "Remind me to give Ron hell for that, then."
"Gladly."
"I've seen my fair share of these in Slytherin over the years, too. I find that it's usually younger students, but you certainly showed that adults can use it to great effect with Professor Grimhall," Astoria said to him with a subdued smile.
Harry shrugged. "It's a good spell. Incapacitate your enemy without any real damage."
"An admirable sentiment."
"His signature spell is the Disarming Charm, after all," Ginny chimed in.
"And for good reason. Even Slytherins know how powerful that spell is coming from him," Astoria responded, smiling a little more now.
"Speaking of… I wanted to ask about the Slytherin boy that was at Slughorn's dinner the other night," Ginny said.
"Anton Shafiq? What about him?" Astoria asked curiously.
Harry knew where this was going. Ginny had voiced her suspicions to him that night, and he'd admitted that it was curious, even if he couldn't think of a reason why Anton would have given him Veritaserum.
"Well… I noticed that he was looking at Harry really oddly for most of the night, and then after the Veritaserum incident… does that seem like something he'd do?"
Astoria frowned, and, for a moment, Harry thought she might turn cold at the accusation. "I'm not sure, to be honest. Anton's always been rather quiet. But why would he spike Harry's drink with Veritaserum?"
"Why would anybody?" Harry responded. "It makes no sense."
"No, I suppose it doesn't. I would ask if you know of anyone who would want to harm you, but I imagine that list is fairly lengthy."
"Yeah, I'd say so," Harry answered grimly.
"There's always the possibility that it was an accident. Professor Slughorn does deal with various potions regularly. Some could've just fallen into the butterbeer."
"Maybe," Ginny said, sounding unconvinced. "But… would you mind keeping an eye on Anton, just in case?"
Astoria hesitated again for a moment before nodding. "I can do that for the two of you. I– I don't know how relevant it is, but… you should probably know that he definitely looked up to Draco, when he was here."
Harry didn't try to hide the look of disdain on his face, and Astoria nodded like she agreed with him. "I know Draco isn't a good person. And I know it's an understatement to say you two weren't friends. But for the younger students in Slytherin… well, he was a bit like our version of Harry Potter."
Harry wasn't exactly fond of the comparison, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't understand it. Particularly considering how isolated Slytherins were when he and Draco were in school together.
"Are we doing a better job of making the houses more cooperative? I know McGonagall talked about wanting that at the start of term, and it feels like this whole thing might be helping, but I don't know how Slytherin feels about it," Harry asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"I mean… it's not going to change overnight. Or in two months. But I do think that things have improved. This Defence class helps. So does the Dark Lord being defeated," Astoria answered candidly. At least steps were being made, although he wasn't sure what more he could do beyond what he was already doing.
"Thanks for letting us know about that. Hopefully it was nothing and we won't have to worry about anyone spiking any more of Harry's drinks," Ginny commented.
"Honestly, I'd prefer if they just attacked me instead of doing that. I don't want to have to be constantly checking what I'm drinking."
"Oh, the struggles of being a hero," Ginny lamented mockingly, even though Harry knew she was more shaken the night everything had happened than she was now, seeing that it had ultimately been harmless. Astoria laughed loudly at that though. It was weird hearing a Slytherin laugh with him instead of at him, but it definitely beat the way things used to be.
Ron and Hermione shared Ginny's suspicions about the origin of the Veritaserum in his drink. Late that night, the four of them were in Ginny's room, continuing to catch up on everything that had happened in the past two months, and Harry and Ginny told them about the night with the Slug Club.
"It's gotta be that Slytherin kid. It's so obvious," Ron argued.
"Or is it too obvious?" Harry asked, a little surprised that he was the one who was least convinced.
"It does seem like a sort of childish prank. What even is the point of spiking a drink with Veritaserum if there's no interrogation you're planning on doing?" Hermione asked.
"That's just it. It seemed like everyone was surprised. Nobody asked me any questions other than Ginny once we figured out what had happened."
"And to be fair, he's only a fifth year. How would he have gotten hold of Veritaserum anyways?" Ginny asked.
"I'm sure Slughorn wouldn't have noticed him nicking it if he was preoccupied with all his special guests at the dinner," Ron responded cynically. "Or… that prick that was the Defence professor… Grimhall? What if he had something to do with it?"
That actually made more sense, even if the implications were disturbing to imagine. "How though?" Harry asked. "Unless he knows the secret passages, I don't see how he could've gotten in."
"He could know about them," Ron replied. "Or one, at least. The Marauders couldn't have been the first people to discover all of them."
"Would he really hate Harry so much that he'd try doing something like that?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Ginny answered at the same time that Harry said, "Maybe." Seeing her face, he shrugged. "I don't know for sure. He's been gone for a while now, and he should be happy anyways, getting to go back to that farm he was obsessed with."
"I don't know why, but he hated you, Harry. I wouldn't put anything past him," Ginny argued, the darkness in her voice immediately setting him on edge. He didn't want to imagine Grimhall sneaking back into the castle to exact some sort of revenge.
"Regardless, we're still at the issue of what the point of it was if there was no interrogation. Maybe it was Anton Shafiq, maybe it was Grimhall, maybe it was a mistake altogether. Really, the important thing is for you to be more careful. Even though the worst of the danger is behind us, there are still people out there who would love to hurt both of you, and you might've just gotten lucky this time," Hermione instructed.
"Yes, Mum," Harry mumbled sarcastically, but Hermione either didn't hear or chose to ignore it. "So how's the new job going, Ron?" he asked, much more interested in his friend's budding career than discussing the potential dangers he was facing.
Ron immediately broke into a huge grin. "This has been the best week of my life. It's like this is what I was meant to do. My boss is the manager of the club, Christopher Jones. He seemed a little concerned about the idea of me coming to work without much experience, but I think I'm starting to make a good impression on him. There's still a week before our next match, and we may start using some of my ideas in training soon."
"That's brilliant! Are you working with the players too?" Harry asked.
"Sort of. Mister Jones said he wanted me to focus on organising statistics from our previous games and develop some ideas for training exercises, but I did meet all the players on the first day. And Mister Trumble told Mister Jones that he wanted me to be involved in all aspects of coaching the team. He's just letting me get accustomed to everything first."
"I'm really happy for you, Ron. This seems perfect," Ginny voiced exactly what Harry was thinking.
"We're all proud of you," Hermione added, making Ron blush profusely.
"Thanks," Ron mumbled through a shy smile. He wasn't used to being the centre of attention, Harry supposed, but he definitely deserved it. If anyone was going to turn around Chudley's fortunes, it would be Ron.
Ginny had an interesting suggestion while they were feeding Teddy the next morning. "He needs a costume, you know? Even if he won't remember it, we could get some adorable pictures."
"What does he need a costume for?" Harry asked, a little perplexed.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "It's Halloween. Even kids in our world dress up on Halloween."
"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Harry admitted.
"I get it. You've got your mind on other things," she said, knowing he'd been anticipating their visit to Godric's Hollow.
Harry shrugged. "Halloween just wasn't ever a big deal to me, I guess."
"Oh."
Harry wondered if the look she was giving him out of the corner of her eye while she tended to Teddy meant that she understood what he wasn't saying. He'd certainly never been allowed to enjoy Halloween, so why would he remember that children dressed up for it? It didn't matter to him anymore, really. But he was glad that Ginny mentioned it because there was no way his godson was going to be deprived of something fun like that.
"So what were you thinking we'd dress him up as?" Harry asked, and Ginny smiled at him.
"I think you're gonna love it."
She was right. As usual. A couple hours later, everyone was gushing over Teddy, who was dressed in a golden onesie and wearing a golden knit cap with wings sticking off of it.
Andi was wiping her eyes– they'd invited her back over today for Teddy's first Halloween. "This is absolutely perfect."
"He makes a pretty good Snitch," Ron agreed, showing more affection than usual to Teddy considering he usually seemed scared of the baby.
"It was all Ginny's idea," Harry informed them, smiling at her as she held Teddy up for everyone to see.
"You two need a picture with him," Hermione suggested, and Harry was quick to agree, sitting next to them on the sofa and smiling up at Hermione, who was holding the camera Harry had bought after Ginny gave him their photo album for his birthday.
Hermione took a couple photos before Harry turned to look down at Teddy again, who was grinning happily without a care in the world. "Happy Halloween, Teddy," Harry said, making the baby giggle.
He glanced up to see Ginny smiling at both of them. "I love you two," she whispered, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
"I love you," he answered. "Should we take him out? Don't kids usually do that on Halloween?"
Molly smiled at him. "Not when they're this young. At this age, the costumes are more for us than for them, but in a few years, he'll love going trick or treating with you two."
"Oh… yeah, that makes sense. Wait, so you all used to trick or treat?"
"We did once things became safer and the kids were younger. It was especially popular with the twins," Arthur responded, a little sadly.
Harry nodded, realising now why he hadn't seen George this weekend. He was probably holed up in his bedroom. It was like he'd told Slughorn– some days were good, but some were still bad.
"Ron dressed up as a Gryffindor lion one year," Ginny giggled.
"Better than when you dressed up as a broomstick," Ron countered. Harry raised an eyebrow at Ginny and she reddened slightly.
"I thought it was a fun idea. I'd gone as a Holyhead Harpy for a couple years in a row and wanted something a little different," Ginny offered.
"Yeah, nobody had ever seen anything like it before," Ron teased. "Although I suppose it was better than the year you dressed up as Harry's wife."
It was a good thing Ginny had handed Teddy to Harry a couple moments earlier because she slung a throw pillow at Ron's head while everyone else laughed.
"He's not serious?" Harry asked, but Ginny's embarrassed reaction gave him the answer.
"I was six! And I was just wearing a white dress! I could've just been a bride!" Ginny argued indignantly, reddening in outrage.
"Of course you could have. Except you told every single person we saw that you were going to marry Harry Potter," Molly said with a happy smile, looking at her daughter and the boy she'd planned to marry from a very young age.
"I think that's a great story," Harry tried to assure her, putting an affectionate arm around her shoulders, pleased to see she was holding her head high in spite of the jokes.
"One year, my parents dressed me up as a tooth," Hermione commented, drawing everyone's attention away from Ginny as they laughed at that ridiculous idea of a costume.
"Not a bad guess to be honest," he whispered in her ear while everyone else was joking about Hermione's past costumes. Ginny turned red once again, but her small smile proved it was a good thing this time.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
"Alright, Ginny. It's time for bed. What story would you like for me to read to you tonight?" her dad asked.
"Don't want any of the old ones," Ginny responded defiantly.
"But you love Babbitty Rabbitty."
"Don't want an old one," Ginny protested, crossing her arms and sticking her bottom lip out.
Her dad looked down at her for a minute as if he would try to get her to change his mind, but he finally shook his head and chuckled. "You're worse than your brothers. Let me think."
He rubbed his chin for a moment before looking at her with a small smile. "I think I've got one for you. Get in bed, and I'll tell it to you."
Ginny eagerly jumped onto her bed and threw her covers over her, watching her father with wide eyes as he began his tale.
"Once upon a time, there was a wizard named You-Know-Who. He was a terrible wizard who wanted to hurt people and take over the world. Many people fought against him, but he continued to become more powerful. You-Know-Who hated happiness and love and light. For a long time, it looked like he might make the world dark forever. If he succeeded, no children would ever have fun again.
"On a dark Halloween night, You-Know-Who's favourite day of the year, he decided to attack a family called the Potters. The Potters were brave and strong and some of You-Know-Who's toughest enemies, but even they were no match for him. But Lily and James Potter had a son– a baby named Harry.
"You-Know-Who hated babies most of all. So instead of leaving the baby in peace, for Harry had done nothing to hurt him, You-Know-Who attacked baby Harry."
Ginny gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. It was horrible to imagine a baby being killed like that. Who could hate babies? They were so cute and chubby!
Her father smiled at her. "But somehow, You-Know-Who couldn't hurt Harry. Instead, he was defeated– never to be seen again. And young Harry Potter became known as The Boy Who Lived, the one who defeated You-Know-Who when nobody thought it possible. Harry Potter saved everyone."
Ginny's mouth was shaped like an 'o' at her father's incredible story. "Daddy… if You-Know-Who was so strong, how did Harry beat him?"
He shook his head. "I wish I knew. Nobody knows. All that anybody knows is that he has a scar on his forehead shaped like a bolt of lightning. It doesn't make any sense, but whatever happened, I'm just grateful for it."
"So then… You-Know-Who… he was real?"
Her father stared off into space for a brief moment before nodding and looking at her again. "Yes, he was real. Very real. But so is Harry. And because of that, we're all safe. I promise."
"But… if Harry's all alone now… he's just a baby. Who will take care of him?"
"Harry's not a baby anymore, Ginny. He's probably five or six now– about a year older than you. I don't think anyone knows where he is, but I'm positive that he's safe and taken care of too. And I'd bet that it won't be long before he rejoins our world."
"Wow. Do you think I'll get to meet him?" Ginny asked, immediately excited at the prospect of meeting a real life hero.
Her dad chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Maybe one day. But if you want that day to come, you need to get to sleep so your mother doesn't wring both our necks!"
Ginny giggled and hugged her dad. "I can't wait to meet him," she practically sighed as she fell back in bed.
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to meet you too. Good night, Ginny," her dad said, smiling at her one last time before closing her bedroom door. Ginny closed her eyes soon after and fell asleep dreaming of a boy her age who could defeat dark wizards, ride dragons, and slay deadly beasts… like a hero.
When Ginny had first heard the story of Harry Potter, she'd focused much more on the fact that a young boy had defeated a powerful dark wizard. She'd paid much less mind to the fact that he was now an orphan, especially after her father had told her that he was still safe. When she finally grew out of the stage of being awestruck at the mere mention of Harry and got to know him, she grew to understand how much that loss had affected him throughout his whole life.
It was apparent, even though he didn't talk about his life before coming to Hogwarts often, that he'd never felt love at home. Random memories stuck out at Ginny as evidence for that– truthfully, there were too many to count. Harry was the only kid he knew who had no parents, both before Hogwarts and at Hogwarts. She knew that Harry had been lonely before he came to Hogwarts, and there had been times when his fame or circumstances outside his control had made him feel lonely there as well.
Despite that, Harry was not as troubled as someone of his upbringing might have had the right to be. He certainly had a penchant for breaking the rules, but he was also one of the kindest people that she knew. That was evident in his interactions with their family and friends. It was incredibly evident in how gentle and loving he was with her. More than anything though, she saw it most in how he acted with people younger than him. Even though he was a celebrity, he treated children like they were just as important as he was. Even though he was an only child, he treated Emily like a little sister. Even though he'd never known the love of a parent, he lavished love on Teddy.
When Harry had told her about visiting Godric's Hollow at Christmas, his story broke her heart. It had been the day after the battle. He'd told her about finding his parents' graves and their house before dealing with the traumatic attack at Bathilda Bagshot's house. He'd cried as he shared that he saw, in a horrific vision, Tom Riddle's memory of the night Harry lost his parents.
Ginny couldn't fathom the strength it took to want to go back to the place that held so much pain and heartache for him. Especially on the anniversary of that horrible night. But she wasn't ever going to hesitate in being there for him, particularly for something as important as this. She'd be as strong as possible for him.
Their family was understanding, if a little surprised, when they explained why they needed them to watch Teddy for a couple hours. Hermione wrapped Harry in a quick hug before they left, no doubt remembering their previous visit to Godric's Hollow. Everyone else just watched them sadly as they walked out the door and past the wards. Since Ginny didn't know where Godric's Hollow actually was, Harry side-alonged her, and she felt her feet landing solidly on the pavement almost as quickly as they'd left the grassy lawn outside the Burrow.
Darkness was already falling as Ginny took in her first sight of Godric's Hollow. There were cosy cottages lining the street they were on, and streetlights led to the centre of the village. It felt almost like something out of a fairy tale. There were even families trick or treating to complete the picturesque image of a quaint little town.
Harry spoke softly. "He saw trick or treaters too… that night."
Ginny squeezed his hand. "I'm here. Whether you want to stay or go, I'm with you."
He nodded, staring towards the twinkling centre of the village. Without saying a word, he started walking in that direction, and Ginny followed, not wanting to disturb whatever he was dealing with in his mind. Her job was to be there for him if he needed her, not force herself on him in this difficult time.
The centre of the village was beautiful. Small shops, a pub, and a church surrounded an obelisk in the middle of the square. There were more people here, mostly dressed in costumes. Harry paid no mind to any of them. She thought he might take her to the church since she saw a graveyard adjacent to it, but he continued on down another street lined with cottages. He didn't stop walking when the cottages slowly faded and turned to grassy fields, but she followed, trusting that he knew where he was going.
Sure enough, he did, and she saw where he was taking her. There was a wild hedge surrounding the property, not tended to for seventeen years. The house seemed to mirror the wild complexion of the hedge– covered with tendrils of ivy that added to the mystique of the building. More than anything though, the charred and destroyed remains of the second floor of the house made a chill run down Ginny's spine. Immediately, she knew that it had been Harry's nursery, where he'd survived the Killing Curse for the first time.
"They were playing with me in the living room. Dad was making smoke rings come out of his wand."
Ginny looked up at Harry, who was staring at one of the darkened windows on the first floor, presumably where the living room was.
"I try not to, but sometimes I wonder how different things would've been if…" Harry trailed off, and Ginny nodded, thinking that everything would've been different. If Riddle hadn't been evil and killed people. If Pettigrew hadn't betrayed the Potters. If Harry still had his parents.
"Everyone's told me how great they were. I know they cared about me. The last thing both of them did was stand up to him to try to protect me. And he killed them without a second thought… the same way he tried to kill me. I saw that– him trying to kill me. Saw it through his eyes. He pointed his wand at my head, and I wasn't crying. He thought I might've thought he was my dad playing a joke on me. But when I saw him under his cloak… I cried. And then he tried to kill me."
Harry didn't sound sad. His voice was just dull, more than anything. Like he was reciting facts that were disconnected from him and his identity. Ginny rubbed circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.
"I know he's hurting now. I saw what he would become when I was… with Dumbledore. Sometimes, I wish I could've made him feel more pain for everything he did. I just don't get it. He was an orphan. He knew how much it hurt. I can't imagine ever wanting to make another child feel like that. Like nobody loves you. Like you're alone. Like you don't matter."
Now Ginny slid an arm around Harry's waist. She didn't really know what to say to that. Of course he couldn't understand it. He was good. Riddle was evil. She just wanted to be as close to him as she could. He was hurting.
"I like to think a lot of things wouldn't have changed if they'd survived. I think I still would've been friends with Ron and Hermione. I know I still would've fallen for you. But things would've been so much easier. Things wouldn't have hurt so much. I just– I don't want anyone to feel like that. Because it sucks. A lot. It's why I want to take care of Teddy so badly. So he doesn't ever have to feel alone."
"You're a great man, Harry," Ginny said softly, and Harry tore his eyes away from the house for the first time since they'd arrived to look at her. "You're a great godfather, and one day, you're going to be a brilliant dad. You're just so good. And nobody will ever feel alone when you're around. You care too much to ever let that happen. It's one of the things I love most about you."
He reached up to wipe his eyes, moved to tears, either by the house or her words or both. Then he put his arm around her and drew her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that for a couple minutes. There were no passersby, this removed from the village centre, but Ginny wouldn't have cared anyways. This was more important.
Harry reached out and grabbed the iron gate that they'd been looking through. For a moment, Ginny thought he was going to open it, but suddenly, a sign rose up through the nettles and thorns. It explained that the house remained standing as a monument to the Potters, but around the neat lettering of the sign, there were innumerable scribbles of graffiti. It almost seemed like the sign had been designed intentionally larger than necessary to accommodate all these notes, which offered condolences and encouragement to Harry.
Ginny smiled reading the newest ones. Long live Harry Potter. We stand with Harry Potter. Hero. Saviour.
Harry was smiling at them too. "It meant a lot… seeing these last Christmas. It reminded me how many people we were fighting for. It was always bigger than all of us."
Ginny nodded and squeezed his hand, grateful that he'd had some form of encouragement throughout those difficult months. Harry was looking back at the house again when she decided to ask something she'd been wondering about. "Do you want to go in?"
Harry's gaze lingered on the house briefly before he looked back down at her. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Not– not today. I probably should eventually, but… I just can't right now."
She nodded again. "I'll be here whenever you want to," she promised.
He smiled a little. "I know. There is one more place I want to take you before we leave though. It might be a little odd but… well, I want you to meet my parents."
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
Harry hadn't really known what to expect from coming back to Godric's Hollow. He'd figured he would be emotional. He hadn't really had the capacity for too much emotion when he'd been here before, but he was a little surprised at how numb he felt. A lot of it had to do with reliving Riddle's memory of the night. He was just grateful that he hadn't fallen into another panic attack, although he suspected that had a lot to do with having Ginny by his side.
She'd been incredible. He knew she wasn't accustomed to sitting back and letting things run their course. She preferred taking action, and he loved that about her. But she recognised, maybe before he even did, the importance of letting him work through his feelings. So she just listened while he talked, fantasising about a world where he still had his parents. He also appreciated her offer to go inside with him, but he was feeling emotionally drained already, and he knew the day wasn't quite over. There was another big reason that he'd wanted her to come with him to Godric's Hollow that he needed to share with her.
Ginny smiled and nodded immediately, like he knew she would. They didn't talk on their way back to the village, and Harry imagined that she was dealing with some emotions as well, probably mostly on his behalf.
They approached the obelisk of a war memorial first. Having seen the transformation once before, Harry instead watched Ginny's reaction as it changed into a statue of Harry as a baby with his parents. Her eyes widened before she glanced up at him.
"You were a cute baby," she said, and he snorted, feeling a little lighter at that comment.
Ginny may have been able to sense his discomfort with the statue because she didn't express any desire to linger and continue looking over it. Instead, they continued walking towards the kissing gate at the entrance to the graveyard. Harry eased it open and led Ginny into the graveyard, knowing what path to take to reach his parents. There would be time later to show her other graves– Ignotus Peverell and the Dumbledores. But he couldn't wait any longer for this.
He saw the white marble before he could make out the words on it, even though he knew them by heart. Almost unconsciously, he squeezed Ginny's hand before letting go, taking the last steps by himself before sinking to his knees. His grief still weighed on him greatly, almost leaving a metallic taste in his mouth. It felt more difficult to breathe, like his chest was compressing and his throat was constricting, seeing the lives of his parents diminished to a date of birth and their shared date of death.
Somehow, at the same time, Harry felt a different sensation than he'd experienced here before, reading the epitaph at the bottom of their tombstone. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Harry hadn't understood these words before. Hermione had told him it meant something about life after death. The idea had seemed ridiculous at the time. His parents were very much dead, just a few short feet from him. But his perspective on a lot of things had changed. He'd seen them with the Resurrection Stone. And even though it wasn't really them, they'd been there.
He was more reassured when considering his conversation with Dumbledore in the place that looked like King's Cross. If that wasn't proof of life after death, he wasn't sure what was. He didn't know much about whatever it was, and frankly, he was still much too interested in the life he was living now to think too deeply on it, but he was confident that his parents were happy and peaceful in this new life.
And that was the feeling he was experiencing. Peace. It still hurt, thinking about how he'd lost his family so unfairly, but he knew they were at peace. And he had a real family again. It didn't make him miss his first family any less, but it did give him a sense of calm and reassurance. Life went on, and eventually, hopefully several decades or more from now, he'd be reunited with his parents. But until then, he carried on their memory in the life he lived with his new family, starting with the woman who was patiently waiting for him like she had last year.
He turned and gestured for Ginny to come over, and she knelt on the ground next to him. He took her hand again before putting his other hand on the cool marble tombstone.
"I don't know if you guys ever met Arthur and Molly Weasley. You knew Molly's brothers from the Order, I guess. Anyways… they've taken care of me. I think you'd be happy knowing that they're the closest thing I have to parents now. Their whole family is my family now, too. I became best friends with their youngest son, Ron, in our first year at Hogwarts. He's dating our other best friend, Hermione. She was here with me last Christmas. And their other sons– Bill, Charlie, George… even Percy. They're all like brothers to me.
"But there's somebody who's more important than any of them to me that I really want you to meet. Her name is Ginny, and she's Ron's younger sister. We started dating at the end of my sixth year, even though she fancied me for a long time before that and I fancied her for like a year before we got together, but… we had to break up because of everything. You guys know what happened at the end. You were there with me. It was hard, but we won.
"After it was all over, Ginny and I got back together, and I've fallen more in love with her every day. She's the best person I know, and I'm not just saying that because she's right here." He heard Ginny exhale a tiny laugh but he continued talking while looking at the tombstone. "I wish you could meet her because I know you'd love her. She just makes me so happy, and I know I'm going to marry her one day. And then she'll be your daughter in law. I just– she's really special, and I needed you to know."
Harry felt his throat constricting again as he finished talking, feeling a slightly bitter taste in his mouth. He did feel at peace, but he couldn't deny that it stung, knowing that his parents would never know Ginny. It stung almost as much as knowing they'd never really know him either.
He turned back to Ginny now, a little surprised to find her openly crying, something she really hadn't been doing for the past few months. He put his arm around her and she leaned on him. He realised a moment later that he was crying too.
"It's nice to meet you," Ginny said in a stronger voice than he was expecting, reaching out to touch the tombstone next to his hand. "I wish we could really talk. I'd love to get to know you. I'm sure you'd want to know that your son is with somebody that's good enough for him. I wish I could say that I was, but I don't think anybody is. I do try to be though. Every day. And I love him with everything I have. I promise that won't ever change."
Harry wiped his eyes before kissing her hair. "We'll come back and visit more often. I'm sorry I haven't come back sooner. It's just… with everything that happened… I needed time. But we'll be back."
He squeezed Ginny's hand, and she rose into a crouch, leaning forward and whispering to the gravestone for a second before standing. Harry pressed his forehead against the marble.
"I miss you both. So much. But I'm okay. I'll be okay. I love you," he whispered quietly before kissing the stone and rising, wiping the hot tears out of his eyes as they fell rapidly now.
Ginny wrapped an arm around him, and they walked together out of the graveyard and the centre of the village. Once they'd made it onto one of the more deserted streets with less trick or treaters, Ginny pulled him into a tight hug. His cries eventually subsided, even though his eyes and throat felt raw from the visceral expression of mourning.
Finally, he began breathing more steadily and stopped trembling against her, even though he was pretty sure she'd been crying too. Pulling back slightly, the puffy redness of her eyes confirmed that.
He kissed her forehead and she looked up at him with big, brown eyes that were full of sadness and love, intermingling in a disorienting mix. "What'd you say to them?" he asked, remembering now that he was calmer.
She opened her mouth to say something before closing it again to recompose herself. "I thanked your mum… for sacrificing herself so that you could still be alive. So that we could be together."
"Oh." Harry pressed his lips together, willing himself to not get more emotional now. His resolve didn't last long as another couple of tears rolled down his cheeks, and Ginny reached up to wipe them away.
"I love you. Thank you for introducing me to your parents. It– it means everything," Ginny said, smiling slightly at him with the love in her eyes pushing away the sadness.
"I love you," he responded, as earnestly as he could. There wasn't a truer thing he could ever say.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
A/N: I remember when I came up with the name of this chapter, I thought it was brilliant because 'hallowed' referred to Halloween, 'truth' obviously referred to the Veritaserum, and a hallowed truth is a highly sacred truth, like Harry and Ginny saying they love each other, obviously. Imagine my surprise when I googled the phrase a couple days ago and found out that it was something I'd totally invented in my mind as a term that just doesn't really seem to exist. But I stand by the chapter title being a good one, even though it's much less clever than I thought it was earlier.
I'll happily admit that I do enjoy chasing nostalgia on Harry and Ginny's behalf throughout this book, and the Slug Club isn't the last time they'll be involved with a reminder of their past. I do think that, since they're students, it would be sort of unavoidable for them to not eventually be pestered into going to a Slug Club meeting or two, if for no other reason than that they're nice people. And despite everything that's happened, I think it only makes sense that Slughorn is still obsessed with collecting students, just like he always has been. We see that on full display in Ginny's memory of being invited to the Slug Club, which was so fun to write. As always, everything that happens up until the moment she parts from Harry in that memory is fully based on the book, like Harry's private conversation with her dad being him expressing his concern about Malfoy for the first time. We don't ever actually find out in HBP what Zacharias Smith said other than being nosy about the Department of Mysteries leading to Ginny hexing him. As hotheaded as she can be, I've never really liked the explanation that she just got annoyed with him, especially when she was with Dean and everyone else. To me, it made far more sense that Zacharias crossed a line, like mentioning Sirius, and that's what led to him being hexed. Don't know if you all would agree with that making more sense, but I like my explanation at least. Also in that memory, just for the sake of showing how much research I do into things that don't matter, West Ham, Dean's favourite football team, did beat come back from being down a goal to beat Southampton 2-1 on 24 August, 1996, just a week before the term would've started at Hogwarts. Yes, I'm aware my need to research ridiculously tiny details is insane, thank you for noticing!
On the actual Slug Club dinner, I… have very little to actually say right now, for reasons I think are pretty obvious. Since it's touched on in the chapter, I'll just add for clarification that the Shafiq family is on the list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, according to Pottermore, but Anton is, as far as I know, the first Shafiq we've ever met. So, um… yeah, that's about all I've got to say at the moment on that.
I loved coming up with costume ideas, both for Teddy and for Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Teddy being a Snitch just seemed so adorable to me, and, having already written next Halloween too, I promise he sticks to the theme of adorable costumes in the future! Hermione being a tooth made me laugh, and Ginny dressing up as Harry's wife just seemed way too perfect as well. And, because why not, I'll admit that I know someone who dressed up as a broom from The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia when they were very young, and Ginny dressing as a broom one year is 1000% a tribute to that amazing costume.
Ginny learning about Harry from a bedtime story from Arthur seemed so fitting to me when I came up with it. I'm sure Molly wouldn't have been happy with Ginny hearing the story so young, but I thought Arthur definitely would've told it to her like this, especially when she demanded a new story. For reference, this is one of the earliest memories I've written, from when Ginny's around five years old. Maybe she should've been a little older, but it's not like the wizarding world is known for letting kids grow up normally!
And, of course, I wanted to give Harry a chance to visit his parents without the weight of the world hanging on him. It wasn't easy to write, but I hope I did justice to the emotional turmoil both he and Ginny were feeling. Nothing else really to say about that, but it was definitely hugely important for him to go back to Godric's Hollow.
And that brings us to the end of Hallowed Truth! Thank you all as always for just reading this chapter as well as for all the encouragement and discussions in the comments! I'm being very sincere and speaking my own hallowed truth when I say that knowing how much you all are enjoying my work continues to inspire and motivate me to write even better stories for Harry and Ginny, both in Book 3 and beyond. So, without further ado, I know there were some surprises in this chapter, but I think the next chapter will be a bit easier to predict…
Coming Friday: The Captain- Ginny was ready to play.
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William: That's crazy! Very happy to shout out Goondiwindi- I love the name!
Dust: Thank you so much! Moving is *almost* done, and I'm exhausted and annoyed that I've had no free time to write this week haha, but things should be much better moving forward!
Guest: One of the incredibly frustrating things I've learned in writing is, no matter how well I think I know HP, there's too much to never forget anything. I think my writing shows that I do quite extensive research into everything before I write it, and for some reason, I totally took for granted my idea that nobody had ever met Hermione's parents before even though that's obviously not true. Usually, I don't like to edit things in previous chapters after they've been posted because I like to free that space up in my mind and not continue thinking about how to improve chapters, but that mistake is egregious enough that I have fixed it, so thank you very much for pointing that out to me!
There was a similar comment on SoR about Harry having trouble casting a Patronus before that I'm assuming is from the same person, but if not, it's just addressed to the collective 'guest'. I'll admit that, once again, I totally forgot that Harry had trouble casting a Patronus before, when he had the locket on. I do feel less badly about that mistake though because I do think that in the past six-eight months, it's possible Harry wouldn't have thought of it as he was talking to Ginny, and, for me, him struggling to cast a Patronus there always stood out more than the other example. But you're absolutely right, Harry did have issues with it before, and I completely forgot about that when I was writing, and, once again, I appreciate mistakes like that being pointed out because I do want to correct anything that I feel make things not compliant with canon.
qUg060: I'm glad you agree with me about Snape's password, and I totally forgot to mention that making it a candy to honour Dumbledore did come into play in my decision too, so thanks for noticing that too!
Finnspa23: Haha I appreciate the *wink wink nudge nudge*! II think you're one of the first people to suggest that as a direction for Harry after Hogwarts. I definitely think it'd be a lot of fun to explore, giving him a more extended break from more real world/heroic responsibilities, but I also do think there's a part of him that would struggle to do anything that wasn't more 'important' than Quidditch. All that is to say that I've gotta keep the direction of the series a secret haha, but I do think that's a very fun and creative idea, and we'll get to see our first real Quidditch action next week!
Josh: Wow, thank you so, so much for joining us over here! I'm kind of blown away at how quickly you've torn through the series so far, but that has to mean you've been loving it haha! I love hearing that new readers have enjoyed my writing, so thank you for that, and I hope you're enjoying being up to date now, even if the wait is a bit longer!