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Chapter 13, Reflections       

Wednesday, July 16

It was a cloudy morning as four people silently walked down the lane away from the Burrow, each lost in their own thoughts.  Two people watched from the house, one from the kitchen and one from an upstairs bedroom, also silently, also pondering.

Molly Weasley’s thoughts swirled back and forth among the children.  Her son Ron had changed so much this summer, most especially in the past week.  Ever since the beginning of the summer he had become more responsible, getting a job with the twins, making decisions, even studying for goodness sake!  She was somewhat uncomfortable about some of those decisions, but proud that he was becoming a mature young man.  His self-confidence, always his weakness in the past, had blossomed.  While she was happy to see this, she couldn’t help worrying about what had caused it.  Had the death of Albus Dumbledore affected him so much? 

She was aware that he had occasionally gone to meet Harry for training with Remus and Tonks, and Neville’s frequent visits were obviously part of some sort of training also.  And now they seemed to be pulling Ginny into whatever was going on.  She was not happy about that at all, and her efforts to find out what was happening had come up empty.  Ron was of age now, and she had to allow him to start making his own decisions, however much she disagreed with them, but Ginny was not and she wanted to hold on to her only daughter as long as she could.

But Ron.  Something had happened on the day that Harry and Hermione had arrived at the Burrow.  Perhaps the capture of that awful rat Pettigrew, but she didn’t think that was it.  Whatever it was, Ron’s awkwardness and insecurities had seemed to disappear.  He was even able to interact with that Viktor Krum and seemed to treat him as a friend.  She knew that just a month ago he would have been reduced to a stuttering mess in the presence of the international quidditch star.  But yesterday, the way he had told her, not asked her mind you but told her, that he was going with Harry and Hermione had stunned her into silence, a most unusual state for Molly Weasley.

Harry and Hermione.  Somehow everything about Ron always seemed to come down to those two. 

Hermione Granger was a girl that Molly had never been able to understand.   Maybe it was just because she was a muggleborn.  But muggleborn or not, what kind of girl spent all of her time with two boys and never seemed to have any friends who were girls?  Sure, she was friends with Ginny, but Molly was sure that was only because of Harry and Ron.  The two girls had met on the train to Hogwarts during Ginny’s first year, drawn together by their mutual concern about the missing boys who hadn’t made it to the train.  No, concern was too mild of a word for that episode.  They had both been frantic.

But still, Hermione was a puzzle to Molly.  For a while she had been certain that the girl was after Harry as more than a friend, and the events of the triwizard tournament had seemed to bear that out.  Molly’s protective mother instincts, which Harry triggered constantly, had kicked in with a vengeance when she read that Hermione had broken Harry’s heart by taking up with Viktor Krum.  Sure, the quidditch star was quite a catch, but how could she do that to Harry? 

Harry’s reassurances that she had never been his girlfriend, and that he was comfortable with Hermione’s relationship with Krum had not completely convinced her.  And the following summer had seemed to confirm her suspicions.  Hermione had spent a good part of the summer at Grimmauld Place and had driven her to distraction by her constant questions about Harry, suggestions about Harry, worrying about Harry, and overall obsession with Harry Potter.  Clearly her feelings about Harry went far beyond normal friendship.

But something had happened that following school year.  From her children she had heard that Harry had fallen for a pretty girl named Cho Chang.  And apparently Hermione had fallen for Ron.  Last summer it had been obvious to Molly, but not to her clueless son, that Hermione was now interested in starting something with him.  Sure, she was still concerned with Harry’s welfare, they all were after the tragedy in which poor Harry had lost his godfather, but the little signs that a girl is interested in a guy, and the subtle signals that she sends toward him, all pointed to Hermione pursuing Ron. 

Apparently that had not worked out for the girl.  At the Christmas holiday it was clear that it had been another girl, Lavender Brown, who had captured Ron’s attention.  From what Ginny had told her it had been quite a public display of affection that had announced the new couple to Gryffindor tower, and Hermione had not taken rejection well.  Fortunately they all still seemed to be friends now.

Now.  What on earth was happening now?  Hermione seemed to be back with Harry!  The way she was dressed when they arrived at the Burrow Friday made it clear that she was throwing herself at the boy.  It was disgusting how much that clothing revealed.  And did she hear that they were living together?  What could her parents be thinking?  Well, she certainly seemed to have gotten over Ron!  She had to admit that there had been no obvious hugging, kissing, or other overt signs of affection between the two since they had arrived, but it was clear that she only had eyes for him.  And what about poor Ginny?

Molly sighed to herself.  Ginny she understood all too well.  Her Ginny had had a thing for Harry Potter since the day she first saw him, even before she first saw him actually.  So much so that the normally talkative, vivacious girl had been rendered speechless when Harry visited, even fleeing from the room he was in.  It had taken years for her to be able to act normally around him, so taken with him was she. 

Of course, it hadn’t helped that Harry was every bit the knight in shining armor that Ginny had fantasized about growing up, going down into that awful chamber to rescue her.  Molly shuddered at that memory.  She had thought that they would never see Ginny again, and then Harry had burst into the room leading a sobbing Ginny back to them.  She had wanted to hold onto Ginny and never let her go again.

But after that episode, Harry had gone back to ignoring Ginny.  She couldn’t really blame him, as he seemed to constantly be in danger for his life.  She had never heard of anyone who had as many bad things happen to him. 

But Ginny hadn’t given up.  Molly had approved of Ginny’s strategy of going out with other boys.  That was the way to do it, get him jealous of her.  It hadn’t seemed to work, though, at least at first.  Even though Harry had spent more than a month at the Burrow last summer, he still didn’t seem to notice Ginny.  But Ginny’s patience had finally paid off. 

Molly wondered if she had finally resorted to a love potion.  She wouldn’t have blamed her; she had been ready to slip one to Arthur if he hadn’t finally noticed her.  She had much the same trouble with Arthur when they were in school as Ginny had with Harry.  She had had a crush on him for years before he noticed her.  He had been as oblivious as Harry.  OK, maybe not that oblivious.  She had finally taken matters into her own hands and cornered him in an empty corridor one night.

She wondered what had finally worked for Ginny.  She had spent quite a bit of time looking at Fred and George’s love potions during that trip to Diagon Alley last summer.  Oh well, whatever it takes to get a guy.  She would certainly never tell.  Love potions only gave a guy that initial push, if there was nothing there after they wore off nothing came of them. 

Come to think of it, they’d mentioned that someone had given Ron a love potion last year.  Had it been Hermione?  Since the twins had left Hogwarts she had not been hearing as much about what went on there.  Her two children had never told her the details, but he’d broken up with Lavender shortly after that.  Whatever, it hadn’t worked for Hermione, since Ron clearly wasn’t interested in her now. 

But Ginny had finally caught Harry.  Molly had been so excited when she got that owl.  It was all she could do to keep herself from planning the wedding.  Ginny had been in heaven.  She had written about how she had raced across the common room and leapt into his arms, and then he had actually kissed her!  Then he had taken her for a long walk around the lake, and they had been together the rest of the year.  Molly sighed to herself again.  Harry was such a nice boy.  He would be perfect for Ginny.  He did tend to get into danger a lot, but they could fix that.

Who was she trying to kid?  There was no way to keep Harry out of danger.  And after only a few weeks he had broken up with Ginny, apparently for her own good, to keep her safe.  At least that was what they had told her.  Molly still had her suspicions that Hermione had something to do with it.  Ginny has said that she was OK with it, but Molly could tell she wasn’t really.  And that shouting episode this morning had certainly shown something. 

There was no way Molly was going to let Ginny go off with those three to Godric’s Hollow, no matter how safe Remus said it would be.  Ginny had been in a bad temper, but when Harry had agreed with Molly the shouting had turned to tears and she had fled to her room. 

The look the two had exchanged seemed to indicate that there was definitely still something between them.  And there had been something going on the day Harry and Hermione had arrived at the Burrow.  Harry and Ginny had been hugging quite closely when Molly looked out the window, but then seemed to stay at arms length the rest of the weekend.  She saw the looks they exchanged when they thought no one was watching though.  Molly was so confused.  Which one was it Harry, Ginny or Hermione?

Harry.  Somehow everything always came down to Harry Potter.  Molly had wanted to take him into a crushing hug every time she saw him, ever since the first time at Platform 9 3/4.  But she had to admit that the lost little boy at the train station was no more. 

Harry had changed, even more so than Ron.  The way he had taken charge of the situation with Pettigrew, and with the security for the wedding, and at the attack by the dementors, and so on and so on.  The nearly seventeen year old boy was becoming a leader. 

And he was up to something with Hermione and Ron, she was sure of it.  From the time he had disappeared at the train station it was clear that something was going on.  Who was watching out for him, now that Dumbledore was gone?  Sure, Remus and Tonks were supposed to be his official guardians now, and they had assured the remnants of the Order that things were OK, but really, neither of them had ever had children.  How could they give him the mother’s love he needed?

She shuddered at these thoughts.  Harry was just too young to be doing these things.  But then, he had been doing these things for six years.  The difference was, now he was making the decisions instead of letting things happen to him.  She desperately hoped that it would turn out all right.

-ooOoo-

Remus Lupin’s thoughts were much more focused than Molly’s, focused solely on the task at hand.  He was not looking forward to this visit to Godric’s Hollow but he knew it was something he had to do for Harry.  It brought back horrible memories of distrust and betrayal that tended to overwhelm the more pleasant memories of a happier time, when his friends Lily and James had just been married and were expecting their first child, when that child had been born and the times he and Sirius had spent with baby Harry in the small but comfortable cottage.  Even after they had gone into hiding and the Fidelius charm had been cast, visits to his friends had been happy ones.

Right up until that awful night, when his world had ended.  He had given in to despair and wandered around from place to place, barely existing, until Dumbledore had rescued him twelve years later, and Harry Potter had come back into his life.  Now he had dedicated himself to doing whatever he could for the boy who was his last remaining link to his former life, even if that meant taking him to see a place which Remus never wanted to be reminded of again. 

He had not had a portkey made, since the location was still a closely guarded secret, so he had planned to double apparate the three of them, one at a time.  He looked at his companions and noticed that they were as deeply lost in thought as he had been.

-ooOoo-

Ron Weasley had a couple more things on his mind than Remus did.  He actually wasn’t too concerned with this trip to Harry’s old house.  He was just going along to be with Harry.  No, he was thinking about two other events this morning.

The visit to Amos Diggory on Sunday had been eye-opening for Ron, both for what had happened and what had not.  First of all, Harry had decided that it should be himself, Ron, and Krum to make the visit, leaving Hermione behind.  Ron had braced himself for a battle about that, and was astounded when Hermione merely accepted the decision. 

Since when did Hermione not want to come along on everything Harry did?  Since when did Harry make decisions that Hermione did not immediately challenge?  Sure, he had then explained his thinking, and it made sense, but still, what was going on?  Clearly the relationship between Harry and Hermione had changed in the last month.  She actually trusted him to make the right decision.  And he trusted that she would accept it.  And she accepted it, knowing that he would explain it to her satisfaction.  And since when did Harry explain what he was thinking without being asked?  Suddenly, Ron had realized that the two of them had moved on to another level of trust and communication, and he felt left behind.

The surprises continued when they arrived at the Diggory residence.  It was clear that Ron had been along to make introductions, since he had known the Diggorys all his life.  Then he faded into the background and observed closely.  As he thought about it now, he realized that he had changed too, that he now had the patience and maturity to sit back and observe a situation without immediately reacting.  That had always been important in his chess matches, but now he was able to apply it to his life.

Krum had initially taken control of the meeting, knowing that Harry was not comfortable with strangers and drawing on his much greater experience dealing with people from his years in the public eye.  But it was clear from the beginning that he was deferring to Harry, and gradually Harry took charge.  Eventually, Diggory was deferring to Harry as well.  Again, this was a new Harry Potter for Ron.  And throughout, Krum had treated Ron as an equal.  The whole experience was enlightening, and Ron began to see that the battle against Voldemort had a new leader.

When Ron finally heard Harry and Krum explain the plan, he was stunned.  As a pureblood wizard, never knowing anything other than wizard life, hearing what Harry had to say about the Improper Use of Magic Office was astounding.  He wondered if it had been Harry or Hermione who had come up with this plan.  He was sure that it had never occurred to anyone at the Ministry to use that office to hunt Death Eaters.  They were much too set in their ways to think of something like that.  It was the Improper Use of Magic Office’s job to keep underage wizards (underage muggleborn wizards, Ron now realized) under control and it was the Aurors’ job to hunt down wrongdoers and that was just the way it was.

The way they got Amos Diggory on their side was also eye-opening.  Having first Krum, then Harry talk about how much they admired Cedric, about his bravery and courage and loyalty, and about his deep sense of honor raised the poor man’s spirits tremendously.  And then when they told him that they needed his help he sat right up.  He now had something to live for, a way to strike back at Voldemort for the pain he had caused him, and the task they asked of him required the exact skills that he possessed.

The other thing on Ron’s mind was his conversation with Hermione last night.  Hermione had evidently been ‘encouraging’ (Ron would have said ‘nagging’) Harry to talk to Ginny, and he had turned the tables on her in suggesting that she also needed to talk to Ron.  Ron had been dreading this conversation, trying desperately to think of a way to tell one of his best friends that he just wasn’t interested in her in a romantic way.

It had been easier than he had expected.  Hermione did most of the talking, and while they were both embarrassed and couldn’t look each other in the eye while she was confessing her attraction to him, the worst part soon passed.  Both agreed that they wanted to stay friends and that they still cared for each other very much.  Although the thought crossed his mind, Ron showed uncommon wisdom by not mentioning that if she wore her hair in the long wavy blonde look all the time he might reconsider.

Today, as they were walking down the lane, he glanced over at her several times.  He remembered the conversation the other day with Harry about whether he thought Hermione was pretty.  Now that he looked more closely, he conceded to himself that she wasn’t bad looking at all.  He didn’t know why he’d never thought in those terms, but he hadn’t. 

Obviously Harry had, though.  He found himself wondering why Harry had never shown any romantic interest in Hermione.  He certainly got on better with her than Ron did.  Come to think of it, he never would have become friends with Hermione in the first place if it weren’t for Harry.  It suddenly occurred to him how funny it would have been if Harry had subconsciously refrained from thinking about Hermione that way because he thought Ron was interested in her, while at the same time Ron had refrained from thinking about her that way because he thought Harry was interested in her.  He chuckled at the thought, but quickly looked away when Hermione glanced back at him.  Besides, he reminded himself, Harry was supposed to be with Ginny, not Hermione.

He had been floored when Hermione had revealed to him that she had been interested in him all the way back during fourth year. Bloody hell, he was only fourteen at the time.  He had only just started thinking about girls that way then.  First it was that Lavender had developed in very interesting ways over the summer, and then when the Beauxbatons students had arrived he saw Fleur.  He hadn’t been able to think about anyone else when they had announced the ball. 

And that had been so embarrassing, asking her to the ball and getting turned down.  But Hermione was right, he had been jealous of her being with Krum.  He had been awful to her that night.  Did that mean that he had those kinds of feelings for her and hadn’t ever realized it?  Hermione had looked really hot the other day, with the blonde hair and that tight top.  He had never realized she had such a nice figure.  Should he reconsider?  It was sort of like noticing suddenly that your sister was a real babe. 

Actually, he realized, his thoughts drifting, his sister was a real babe.  He forgot about Hermione for the moment while he thought about Ginny.  He had been so glad when she broke up with Dean.  He knew how Dean talked about what he did with other girls in the dorm, and the thought of him with his hands all over Ginny had driven Ron to distraction.  If he had ever caught them doing more than kissing … 

But that was over now and Ginny was with Harry.  Sort of.  And Harry would treat her right.  He shook his head and forced himself to think about the Chudley Cannons.  He didn’t need any mental images of his best friend making out with his sister.

-ooOoo-

Harry Potter’s thoughts paralleled Ron’s, but with one more.  Unlike Ron, he was anxious about this trip to Godric’s Hollow.  Something was calling him there that he couldn’t explain.  What exactly he expected to find other than a destroyed cottage he couldn’t rightly say – it was just a feeling he had.

He was also thinking about the meeting at the Ministry on Monday.  Just as Viktor had predicted, Minister Scrimgeour was more than willing to see them, probably hoping for some good publicity.  This time Viktor and Harry shared the explanations, with Hermione in her role as Fleur’s cousin providing critical counterpoint. 

Hermione must have spent some time studying Fleur’s mannerisms, because she played the haughty Frenchwoman role to perfection.  Her positive reaction to the plan as though it were brilliant idea that she had not heard before, and her scoffing attitude that anyone would be a brainless idiot not to go along with it were devastatingly effective.

Scrimgeour’s initial protestation that the current work of the Office was necessary was swept away by Viktor and ‘Janelle’s’ incredulous reactions.  “Minister,” Viktor had said coldly, “are you seriously trying to tell us that underage children present more of a threat to wizarding society than Death Eaters?”  Janelle’s scornful retort, along with a few choice French exclamations, sealed the fate of that objection.

Fortunately, Scrimgeour’s Auror background did enable him to see the advantages to being able to identify criminal activity.  He was unhappy with the lack of control he would have over the process, but Harry would not relent on this point. They would not be using any current Ministry personnel, since he didn’t trust them.  He coldly informed the Minister about how he had been the subject of an attack by dementors sent by the Minister’s own assistant, and reminded him that a prominent Death Eater like Malfoy had been a confidante of the previous Minister. 

The stunned reaction of Scrimgeour to the revelation about Umbridge, reinforced by outraged exclamations from Viktor and Janelle and threats by them to go immediately to the press with that information, had given them the upper hand for the remainder of the negotiations.  They had finally offered him a ‘compromise’, which he grasped onto quickly, that one of the current Department heads could oversee the project.  Since he had been certain they would demand Arthur Weasley, he immediately accepted the suggestion of Amos Diggory for the oversight position.

The final objection, to the cost of hiring outside help, was squashed when Harry pulled out a Gringott’s bank draft.  “Since,” he had said generously, “I don’t want to pull any resources away from your already overburdened Auror corps,” Scrimgeour had visibly relaxed at that assurance, “I am making one million galleons from my own funds available for this project.”  Turning to Viktor he had added, “Please see my personal banker at Gringotts for anything you need.”

They had finished up by making concessions that would allow Scrimgeour to feel good about the deal.  Any Death Eaters caught by the project would be credited as the result of the Ministry’s ‘tough new initiative’.  The enhanced Patronus charm would be credited as ‘quick thinking by Ministry Aurors attending the Weasley wedding that prevented harm to hundreds of citizens’, and the information on how to cast it would be quickly disseminated by the Ministry to the wizarding public. 

Viktor Krum would make public appearances supporting the Ministry and declaring that he had come to Britain to join in the fight against Voldemort.  Everyone would assume that he would be given a figurehead position and used primarily for public relations efforts.  Harry’s role was to be kept completely confidential, and his name was never to be mentioned in regards to any of this.

For his part, Scrimgeour had agreed to publicly prosecute Umbridge for the dementor attacks, since the charge against Harry two years before for casting his Patronus charm, as well as his defense that it had been in response to a dementor attack was a matter of public record.  He also agreed to privately press the charges of torture with a blood quill and make personal apologies to the other students Umbridge had used it on.

In the end, the three had gotten exactly what they wanted, and given up exactly what they had been prepared to.  Krum would recruit wizards with top notch fighting skills, using contacts across Britain and Europe, and would spare no expense to outfit and train them.  Diggory would quietly replace Mafalda Hopkirk and the others in that office would be reassigned.  They would now be in a position to strike back at Voldemort.

Finally, Harry was thinking about his talk with Ginny last night.  As part of his deal with Hermione, she and Ron had gone off to one bedroom for their talk while he and Ginny took the other.  Hermione was right, he had decided, Ginny did deserve to know the truth.  He also recalled that she had been studying Occlumency with Neville, which made him feel a little safer about it.  He had taken her hand and led her into the room where he hugged her briefly before pulling away a little and somberly telling her that there were things she needed to know.  She had sat very quietly while he talked, her brown eyes growing wider as he confirmed her worst fears.

Without going into too much detail as to time and place, merely establishing that it was after the battle at the Department of Mysteries, he told her about the prophecy.  As he explained the implications, and how it affected what had happened during the past year, her eyes had filled with tears and he had stopped, reaching over to take her into his arms.  Her tears had dampened his chest as he held her close, wishing desperately that things could be otherwise.

“Is that everything?” she had asked after regaining her composure, sensing that he was still holding something back.

“No, but it’s enough for now,” he had replied, and after a long look she had accepted the statement, along with the implied assurance that more would be forthcoming in time.

Then he had sat down and pulled her onto his lap, holding her silently until Ron and Hermione had returned.  She had remained there as they explained their plans for the summer, revealing that there had been a task that Harry had begun with Dumbledore and that they were now continuing.  After understanding that not even the Order, or McGonagall and the other professors knew even as much as she did now, Ginny had relaxed and seemed satisfied.  But that didn’t mean that she still didn’t want to come along this morning.

Harry couldn’t blame her.  This trip seemed to have nothing to do with the search for Horcruxes, it was just a visit to his original home.  Of course she would want to learn more about his life.  But he still had that uneasy feeling about it all, and when Molly had put her foot down, he agreed with a mixture of reluctance and relief.  He had tried to catch Ginny’s eye, silently pleading for her to understand but wasn’t sure he had succeeded.  She had burst into tears and run from the room.

-ooOoo-

Hermione Granger was pretty much thinking of everything that was on the minds of all the others.  Her Occlumency lessons had enabled her even more to compartmentalize her thoughts and bring them up for review at an amazing rate.  She really was able to think about ten different things at the same time.

The part of her mind that was permanently reserved for worrying about Harry was both concerned for the visit to Godric’s Hollow and wondering how things were going with Ginny.  She had sensed the uneasiness with which Harry was approaching this trip, but couldn’t figure out what it was that was bothering him.  And while she thought that he had opened up more with Ginny and that that was a good thing, the scene just now had been unsettling.  She looked forward to sitting down and talking with him privately again.

On the other hand, she was pleased with how things had gone at the Ministry.  Along with that, she was very happy and relieved that Viktor and Harry were getting on so well, as it had always been uncomfortable for her, to say the least, when her friends seemed to dislike each other.  Even Ron seemed to have accepted Vikor now.  And she was confident that Viktor would be able to handle the task, and reassured that this was at least one thing that she and Harry could delegate to someone else and not concern themselves with so much.

Her mind briefly flicked to Ron, and she glanced over at him as she heard a chuckle; he seemed to have been looking at her but quickly glanced away.  Oh well, she had finally closed that chapter in her life last night.  It had been embarrassing, but it was the right thing to do.  Who knew that Harry would have good advice on something involving feelings, she smiled to herself.

She had also noticed Mrs. Weasley’s slightly frosty attitude toward her, but wasn’t sure what to do about it.  She pushed that one aside.  There were plenty of more important things to be concerned about right now.  It didn’t matter that much what people thought of her; Harry was the important one.

-ooOoo-

Ginny looked out on the procession from her window upstairs with conflicting emotions churning through her mind as well.  She tried to force herself to calm down and look at things rationally, like Hermione would.  It had been so wonderful being with Harry last night and hearing him open another part of his life to her.  She had been sure that it was just a first step, and that he would be letting her in more and more.  It had come as a shock this morning to find that she wasn’t automatically included in their plans. 

Why didn’t Harry stand up for her and insist that she be allowed to come along?  She could take care of herself just as well as they could!  When she had been arguing with her mother she had been sure that Harry would take her side, and then when he had agreed with Molly it had crushed her.

What had he been trying to convey with that look he had given her after she had burst into tears, right before she fled from the room?  Oh, where was Hermione when she needed her?  She would be able to explain what Harry was thinking, she always could. 

But if Ginny was going to be with Harry she needed to be able to figure this out for herself.  His look had conveyed concern and sympathy … and resignation.  That was it.  He felt bad for her and was worried at how she was taking it.  But maybe he didn’t think it was important enough to battle with Molly about.  After all, it had been hard enough getting her to allow Ron to come.  Deep down, Ginny realized that her mother was super protective of her.  Maybe it was better to let her win this one and try again later.

She continued to watch out the window, hoping that Harry would turn and look up at her so she could somehow communicate to him that she was all right, that she understood.  At least she hoped she did.

-ooOoo-

Remus reached the edge of the anti-apparation barrier and looked around.  No one had spoken during the walk down from the house.  Harry seemed to be hanging back a little, bothered about something.  He quickly decided to take Ron first, then Hermione, then Harry.  When he and Harry were alone he would ask if everything were OK.

“Ron, let’s go.”  He took Ron’s arm and they disappeared with a pop.  A few seconds later he was back.  “Hermione?”  Hermione took a worried look at Harry, then turned back to Remus and nodded.  Pop, they were gone.

Harry looked back at the Burrow one more time, his eyes going up to a second floor window.  He saw Ginny watching; when she saw him looking she put her hand to her mouth and blew him a kiss.  Then she smile and waved.  A grin broke across his face as he waved back.

A pop signaled the arrival of Remus.  “Everything OK, Harry?” he asked with concern.  Harry smiled back at Remus.

“Everything’s fine. Let’s go.”  One more pop and they were gone.

-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-

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Author Notes:

That’s right, a chapter with an elapsed time of about 3 minutes.   I thought they were going to go to Godric’s Hollow this chapter, but they had a lot on their minds.   They’ll get there next chapter.

I have enjoyed several fanfics that used the multiple viewpoint/reflection style that I employed in this chapter.   One in particular, which also devoted an entire chapter to it, is Awakening Power by sib-ff.