Soul Searching/End Game
SS Chapter 19, Birthday Discoveries
By Chem Prof
Chapter 19, Birthday Discoveries
“Happy Birthday, Harry.”
Harry quickly shook Viktor’s hand and Ron did likewise while Hermione gave him a short hug, but it was obvious that Viktor was not happy.
“You got here just in time,” Harry informed him. “We were in real trouble there for a bit.”
“Our response time was completely unacceptable,” Viktor snapped. “We failed to plan for the possibility of simultaneous attacks. We wasted precious time arguing about where we should go.”
“What else happened?” Harry was suddenly aware that others had joined the conversation, including Remus, Tonks, and Moody. He realized for the first time that Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones were missing.
“Azkaban was attacked,” Moody growled as Viktor nodded. “We got the floo call and Shacklebolt and Jones left just before the attack here. Tonks talked them into letting her stay here just in case.”
“Scrimgeour decided to send the Aurors to Azkaban and let us come here,” Viktor continued. “We need to continue to build up our manpower so we can handle situations like this.”
Harry agreed, but added, “Well at least when you got here you took them out quickly. That was some pretty fast shooting.”
“Yes, we have been working on that. Apparating in and getting off the first spell is critical.” At that moment one of Viktor’s men approached.
“Sir, we’ve finished the body count. There were ten killed and eight captured. All of the captured are wounded, but we are treating them. They should survive, although it will be a while before some of them can walk again.”
“Very good, Troy,” responded Viktor. Harry did not notice Ron whose eyes went wide as he slowly mouthed, ‘Troy?’ “We were just discussing what went wrong with this raid. Would you care to share your thoughts?”
Troy stiffened noticeably. It seemed that he thought that the raid had gone rather well and did not wish to talk about his unit’s shortcomings with strangers. He looked at the three students and sneered. “I hardly think we would want to discuss this with schoolchildren.”
Later Harry would never understand what made him say what he said next, but apparently the tension of being in a deadly battle had got to him because he muttered, “This schoolboy can kick your arse.”
A smirk spread across the other wizard’s face as he drew out his wand. “Is that so? Perhaps a little practice sparring would disabuse you of that delusion.”
Viktor seemed to struggle to keep a straight face. “I wouldn’t recommend that Troy.”
Troy didn’t take his eyes off Harry as he casually responded, “And why would that be?”
“Actually, I can think of at least three reasons.”
“Oh?”
“First, he probably can kick your arse.” The other wizard merely snorted.
“Second, he’s the one who pays your salary.” This one got Troy’s attention and he snapped his head around to stare at Viktor.
“Third, this is Harry Potter.”
Troy’s head pivoted back to Harry, and a dismayed look appeared on his face. “Harry Potter?”
Harry tried to avoid smirking at the flustered wizard as he held out his hand. The older wizard, however, turned away with a grim expression and walked stiffly up to Viktor.
“Sir, I wish to tender my resignation.”
Before Viktor could respond, Harry interrupted. “Mr. Krum.”
Viktor turned to Harry, understanding the need for the formal address. “Yes Mr. Potter?”
“Is this man a capable fighter?”
“He’s one of my best, sir.” By now, both Harry and Viktor were struggling to keep up the level of formality and Harry’s friends were clearly puzzled by this behavior. Moody, however, was nodding approvingly.
“Then it would be most unfortunate to lose his services due to a simple misunderstanding,” Harry offered. “It is of course your decision to make.”
Viktor turned back to Troy, who was looking both amazed and relieved. “In that case, I must decline your resignation.” But before anyone could move he continued, “However, there is still the matter of the challenge you issued.” Both Troy and Harry began to object, but he silenced Troy with a gesture and gave Harry a ‘trust me’ look. “I would suggest instead, a two on two competition.”
Knowing that he had to explain to Harry, Viktor moved aside with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny hung just behind Harry’s shoulder while Moody, Remus, and Tonks hovered a little further back. “I’m sorry to put you on the spot like this, but so far my team is a bunch of talented individualists. We need to learn to work together and this may be a good opportunity to demonstrate that.”
Harry hesitated. He admired how quickly Viktor had picked up on this opportunity, but was not sure they could pull it off. “And you are confident that we can do this?”
Before Viktor could respond, Ron blurted out, “Harry, do you know who that is? That’s Patrick Troy, the star chaser on the Irish world cup team! We can’t fight him!” Ginny gasped and several of them turned back to stare at Troy while Harry glanced briefly at him before returning his attention to Viktor.
“Yes, I am confident that you will prevail,” replied Viktor. “For two reasons. First, I believe I know Harry Potter. Second, I know Hermione Granger. Neither of you ever permit yourselves to fail.”
“Hermione?” said Ginny, taken aback. “Why not Ron?” Ron initially looked surprised, but then nodded, disappointed but accepting. Ginny, though, was clearly unhappy.
Remus, realizing the awkward situation, quickly stepped in. “Harry and Hermione have been training at fighting together all summer. They’re clearly the best we’ve got.” Ginny calmed down, but was obviously not pleased with the revelation and its implications.
Word of the duel spread quickly, and although several of the grownups objected, Viktor stood his ground. The support of Moody also helped settle things down. Harry and Hermione were briefly treated by Pomfrey, but not without a lecture about how ridiculous these duels were. Troy chose a partner, terms were explained, and soon they were ready to begin. The goal was to disarm, with no curses that would cause serious injury permitted.
Initially Harry and Hermione held back, feeling out their opposition. They quickly discovered that Hermione was able to block everything the other two could throw at them. Harry probed their defenses with a variety of hexes of different strengths, and they both steadily grew more confident. A plan gradually developed in Harry’s mind. Viktor wanted this to be a learning experience for his troops, so they would show them something outside the ordinary.
He launched a rapid volley of hexes that temporarily threw their opponents off balance and quickly murmered to Hermione, “Give me a boulder, we’ll bury one. Like your birds.”
“Conjurus. Wingardium Leviosa.” Given a brief respite from shielding, with two flicks and a swish of her wand Hermione quickly conjured a large granite boulder and levitated it.
“Reducto.” The boulder blew apart, but before the pieces could fall Hermione’s wand flashed again. “Oppugno.” The pile of stones suddenly flew at Troy’s partner, knocking him down and partially covering him.
“Expeliarmus. Accio wand.” Harry had the wand and ducked a return curse from Troy just before Hermione got her shield back up.
Troy suddenly realized that he was in big trouble, but gamely continued on, trying more exotic hexes, but still unable to penetrate that girl’s blasted shields. These kids were better than he thought possible.
Harry upped the tempo, launching a blistering array of curses that had Troy entirely on the defensive, and Hermione caught her breath and considered a knockout blow. She was pretty sure Harry would soon be able to break through the other’s defenses but rather liked his idea of making a statement.
“Give me a hole” she told Harry.
“Reducto.” A large amount of earth was blasted away at Troy’s feet and the other wizard was instantly wary of another attack like the one had buried his partner. Unfortunately he was unaware of the silent tripping jinx Hermione had sent his way even before the dirt settled and before he knew it he had stumbled into the hole.
“Aguamenti.” Hermione suddenly filled the hole with water and Troy found himself splashing his arms to keep himself afloat.
“Expeliarmus.” The wand sailed up and Harry snatched it out of the air, ending the duel just as he would a quidditch match.
The watching crowd of Harry’s friends erupted into cheers, and even Viktor’s strike team applauded. A quick hug from Hermione and a shared look of satisfaction were immediately followed by a mob of hugs, handshakes, and backslaps as their friends rushed to congratulate the pair. As soon as he could, Harry shook them off and tentatively approached Troy, who had finally pulled himself out of the hole and dried himself. Harry really didn’t want another enemy, but that worry was quickly dashed as Troy broke into a big grin. “That was brilliant. You two are really something. I’ve never seen anyone work so smoothly together.”
“I have,” Harry grinned back. “Quidditch World Cup three years ago. Best set of chasers in the world.” Troy regarded him quizzically, then laughed heartily. He decided that he could really get to like this kid. And that he was very glad that he was on his side.
He held out his hand. “Patrick Troy, at your service.”
“Harry Potter,” Harry replied unnecessarily, shaking the other’s hand. And this is Hermione Granger, one of my two best friends. And here is the other, Ron Weasley.” Troy greeted them both and then Harry introduced Ginny and the rest of his friends.
“Two lessons here,” Viktor interrupted. “Teamwork is as important in fighting as it is in sports. And we must learn to occasionally ‘think outside the box’ as my muggleborn friends put it.” He winked at Hermione and she blushed. She had not let go of Harry’s arm and was happily accepting everyone’s congratulations. She was glad to see Harry coming out of his shell and taking the credit that was so rightfully his. And, she realized, she herself had come a long way from the shy bookworm who had trouble making friends.
-ooOoo-
When things had settled down somewhat Viktor approached Harry and his friends with Moody, Troy, and two others. “We have a few more problems, one immediate and a couple long term. The immediate one is what to do with the prisoners.”
Before Harry could respond Moody broke in. “You’re not going to like this. The raid on Azkaban went much worse for our side than this one. They broke out all the Death Eaters that we captured at the Department of Mysteries two years ago.” The others all realized the implication. There just didn’t seem to be any point in turning this lot over to the Ministry if they were only going to break out again.
“Malfoy and Dolohov?” Harry asked glumly. Moody nodded. “Pettigrew?”
“No, he was still being held at the Ministry.”
“What about Greyback?”
Moody looked at him strangely. “He was executed last week. They’ve been after him for years. The Ministry has no tolerance for werewolves when they attack innocent people. Execution is automatic.”
Harry frowned as it dawned on him that Greyback was considered less than human by the wizarding world and would be treated as such. He recalled the death sentence handed out to Buckbeak for merely injuring Malfoy four years earlier. While Greyback certainly deserved it, the attitude still bothered him.
Shaking it off, Harry turned his thoughts to the problem at hand. Something was nagging at him that he had just thought of recently … Then he had it!
“Could you guys use a castle dungeon?” The others gaped at him unable to believe what they were hearing. That would be perfect. But where could they find such a thing?
Harry explained to them about his inherited castle, much to their delight. They immediately brought Bill over to discuss the details. He informed him that it was already unplottable and had muggle repelling charms, and had been deserted for at least one hundred years, so that it was unlikely that anyone on either side would know of it. They all thought it best that it remain that way, as they had little confidence in the Ministry’s ability to keep it secret.
They quickly devised a plan to transfer the prisoners. Bill would apparate Harry there, and Dobby would follow. Once Dobby knew where it was he would come back for the others while Bill helped Harry take possession. Dobby even thought that he could ‘borrow’ a few Hogwart’s house elves to maintain the castle. McGonagall readily gave him permission and they were ready to go.
Just as they were about to leave, Viktor asked, “By the way, what’s the name of this castle?”
“Dernhelm,” Harry answered. Immediately there was a snort from Hermione. He looked at her questioningly, as she covered her mouth and tried not to laugh.
“You have a castle named Dernhelm?” she said, her eyes dancing. Suddenly, he realized where he had read that name.
“You don’t think?”
“I think so. If no muggles know about it, he must have been a wizard. That would explain how he was able to describe magic so accurately.”
“Anytime the two of you want to let us into your little world, feel free.” This time it was Viktor who was teasing them. The effect was the same as it had been from Ron earlier in the day and once again the two were embarrassed.
“Oh, sorry. That name is in a series of books that Harry is reading. We think the author must have been a wizard. His stories have some interesting parallels to what we’re going through right now.” Hermione relaxed as she went into her familiar explanation mode.
Viktor regarded his two friends and smiled. “Some day you’ll have to let me read these books. But right now we have some prisoners that need accommodations.”
The whole process took the better part of two hours and it was suppertime by the time the strike team returned, minus the ones who had been left on guard. Of course Molly insisted that they all stay for supper, and Harry’s birthday cake.
-ooOoo-
Harry stood on the porch, taking in the scene in front of him. A warm, contented feeling of acceptance that he had rarely felt before this summer filled him as his eyes wandered among the groups gathering at the long table. Ron, Fred, George, and Charlie were talking animatedly with Troy and some of the other strike team members. Viktor was frowning as he pointed something out to Moody, Tonks and Remus. The Hogwarts staff had made their goodbyes and left after the battle, wishing Harry a happy birthday once again before leaving. Angelina and Alicia were laughing with Fleur about something and Hermione and Ginny … he smiled as he saw them sitting down in the middle of the table with a space between them that was clearly intended for him.
As he gazed at the two most important girls – no, women, he corrected himself – in his life he couldn’t help comparing them. They were both dressed similarly, in tee shirts and jeans, but otherwise didn’t look much alike. Hermione’s clothes were nice and relatively new, and fit her perfectly, showing off her figure to its best advantage. Ginny’s were old and somewhat worn. Her tee shirt was too small, clinging tightly to her frame and leaving an inch or two gap at her waist. Which may actually have been intentional, Harry realized with a smile, and he wasn’t complaining a bit. Her jeans were a little too large, and were rolled up at the bottom.
Of the two, however, Ginny was the one who first caught everyone’s eye. Petite, extremely pretty, with flaming red hair and perfect skin and a vivacious personality, it was easy to see why the guys at Hogwarts were enamored with her. Hermione, on the other hand, was easy to overlook. She was of fairly average size and her only striking feature, her bushy hair, wasn’t something that turned guys’ heads. Closer up though, she was attractive in a comfortable way that would make someone wonder, once he got to know her, how he had overlooked her before.
But inside, where it really counted, the two were more alike than not. They were both bright, fiercely loyal, thoughtful and caring individuals and passionate for what they believed in. And both of them cared deeply for him, even if it was in somewhat different ways. As he continued to study them, Hermione looked up. As always, she seemed to know when he was thinking of her and turned to look his way with a smile. Catching his eye, she quickly whispered to Ginny and the redhead turned to him as well, a dazzling smile lighting up her face. They both waved him over and he left his spot on the porch and moved to the table.
As if on cue, everyone found their seats and shortly Molly was levitating a birthday cake into position. Everyone joined in singing and Harry suddenly found a hand in each of his own and he gave each one a thankful squeeze in return. As the song ended he received a kiss on each cheek, accompanied by a pair of giggles. Harry thought that this was probably the best day of his life.
With Viktor sitting across from him the conversation eventually turned to the raid. Viktor’s other two concerns were containment and coordination. Moody had pointed out that they could have put up an anti-apparation ward to prevent the Death Eaters from escaping if they didn’t have portkeys. They had concluded that their team needed to specialize, with someone going in first as an advance scout and another immediately casting the antiapparation ward, while still others focused on shielding or attack.
“Hey, specialized roles just like in quidditch.” Ron entered the conversation enthusiastically and Hermione and Harry shared a quick grin. For once their friend’s quidditch obsession was actually relevant to the discussion. “I mean, a good seeker would almost never make a good beater. Put people in positions they’re good at.” Despite smiles from most of the others, they had to acknowledge that the point was accurate. Taking that together with what they had seen from Harry and Hermione during the duel, the strike team agreed that a strategy change was in order.
“That still leaves me with the communication problem,” pointed out Viktor. “We could send in a scout in an invisibility cloak, but he would have no way to communicate with us short of apparating back. The whole process slows down our response time.
“Muggles have lots of ways of instant communication,” pointed out Hermione. Haven’t you talked to those consultants we set you up with?”
“They’ve mentioned stuff, but I didn’t really understand them. It seems like we’re speaking a different language.” Hermione raised her eyebrows at the language comment by the Bulgarian wizard, and giggled at the glare he sent back at her.
“Perhaps a demonstration would be in order,” suggested Harry. Hermione nodded and they both pulled out their cell phones. Hermione called Remus and Harry called George. They had decided to give the twins the remaining cell phone the week before. After fumbling around a bit while rest of the crowd was amused at the music coming out of their pockets, Remus and George were soon talking to Hermione and Harry. While everyone was fascinated by the sounds coming out of the phones, Troy gave them a puzzled look.
“What’s the point? Why not just shout down to the end of the table?”
“Because, with these distance doesn’t matter,” Hermione explained patiently. “Just like a floo, but more portable. I could be talking to you in London or in Hogsmeade or across the world and it would sound the same.”
“Hermione’s parents are in Canada right now,” added Harry. “Hey,” he said, turning to Hermione with an eager look, “we were planning on calling them later anyway, why not do it now?”
Hermione’s face brightened and she broke into a huge smile. “Oh Harry, that’s a wonderful idea.” Turning back to her cell phone she said a quick goodbye to Remus, who grinned and just waved from down the table, then pushed a few buttons and sat back, still smiling.
“Hi Mum, it’s me, Hermione. No, nothing’s wrong. We’re at Harry’s birthday party right now and we’re showing off our cell phones … Sure, I’ll put him on.” She motioned to Harry and handed him the phone.
“Hi, Emma.” Harry was suddenly aware of a large number of people gaping at him. Most of them didn’t realize he was so familiar with Hermione’s parents, and none of them could quite grasp that he was really talking to someone in Canada. “Thanks, I’m having a great time. It’s the best birthday I’ve ever had.” He missed the satisfied look that passed between Remus and Molly when they heard that statement, as well as the high five exchanged by Ginny and Hermione behind his back. After exchanging a few more pleasantries he handed the phone back to Hermione. Viktor was waiting for him.
“OK, I’m convinced. We’ll try to work more with the muggles and see what they can put together for us.”
“We’ll try to stop by a day or two next week to help translate.” Harry grinned as he said this and Viktor grimaced. As they finished Troy and Ron walked up.
“All that talk about teamwork earlier got us to thinking,” Ron began. “Troy was noticing our quidditch pitch and suggested a game. How about it?”
“I thought we could challenge them,” added Troy. “What do ya think, captain? Or are you too rusty from sitting the last season out?” Viktor directed a mock glare at his subordinate, but eagerly agreed.
“We could put a whole Gryffindor team together,” Ron said excitedly. “We’ve got Fred and George for beaters, Ginny, Angelina, and Alicia for chasers, and you and me.”
Harry turned to Hermione and waved to get her attention, mouthing ‘quidditch’ and pointing to the pitch. Hermione nodded and returned to her conversation. “Sorry, Mum. Harry and Ron are going off to play quidditch … Well, it’s sort of like football, except they throw the ball instead of kicking it. And it’s played on brooms. And then there’s … never mind, you just have to see it.”
Fortunately for the Gryffindors, the rest of Viktor’s strike team were not international quidditch stars, but they all had played in school. Troy was nearly unstoppable, but was not used to playing with the other two chasers. Angelina and Alicia, of course, worked well together and Ginny was able to integrate her game with theirs relatively quickly. After all, Harry had used the same playbook last year that the Gryffindor team had used for years. Fred and George had played together so long that they could nearly read each other’s minds, and their bludger play was all that kept Troy in check. Ron was an adequate keeper but no match for Troy. All in all, it ended up being a high scoring game.
The real show, though, was Harry and Viktor. Diving and feinting at incredible speeds, they were simply having a blast flying against each other. From a high altitude, Viktor abruptly took off on a power dive for the turf, with Harry right behind. Only few feet from the ground he suddenly pulled out, but Harry was right with him, remembering the Wronski feint from the World Cup. “Not this time, Krum!” he shouted at the other seeker and they both laughed. Without warning Harry broke off the laughter and did an inverted one eighty and headed back the other way at top speed, heading for the Gryffindor goal. Krum recovered and streaked in pursuit. Just as he was about to crash into the other keeper, Harry veered to the right. Viktor, right behind him veered to the left, just missing the startled keeper who could only duck. Meanwhile, Ginny fired the quaffle into the center hoop, realizing that Harry had set the whole thing up to distract the opposing keeper.
Harry and Viktor kept it up for more than an hour, each catching the snitch several times, then releasing it without showing the other players just so the game could keep going. Finally as it was getting dark they pulled up by mutual agreement and slowly spiraled down to the ground. The rest of the players, seeing the two of them, also landed and there was immediately a mob of grinning, chattering quidditch players.
“That was the most fun I’ve ever had playing quidditch!” exclaimed Harry breathlessly. Viktor agreed, smiling broadly. Meanwhile, Troy was congratulating the Gryffindor chasers and cheerfully threatening Fred and George for nearly beheading him multiple times with well placed bludgers. Finally he made it over to Ron.
“That was some pretty good keeping,” he told the embarrassed redhead. When Ron protested that he had only managed to stop a half dozen of the Irish star’s shots, he threw back his head and laughed. “There isn’t a keeper in Britain who can stop me. Really, you’re not too bad. You might consider trying out for one of the lower division clubs and see what happens. It usually takes years to develop as a keeper.” Ron was thrilled to hear this and basically walked around in a daze for the rest of the night.
As it was getting to be time to leave, Ginny pulled Harry aside and the two of them walked off alone. By no coincidence, the other girls managed to distract the remaining guests and no one noticed them leave.
“Harry, why don’t you stay here for the rest of the summer? I …we’d love to have you.”
Harry had been expecting this suggestion and had planned his response. “Ginny, how does your mum treat you during the summer?”
Ginny had not expected this argument. “What do you mean? My mum’s always been really nice to you.”
Harry persisted. “Does she treat you like an adult who can make your own decisions?”
“Are you kidding? She still acts like I’m an eleven year old kid who just went off to school.”
“That’s why I can’t stay here. She still looks at me like that lost eleven year old boy she met in the train station. Ginny,” Harry said calmly, taking her hand, “Hermione and I have been training and studying all day long every day. Ron, too, as much as he can join us. You know what we’re facing. I decided on the train ride home that I couldn’t relax at all this summer. This is the first day off we’ve had since … since the wedding I guess. And neither of them were exactly days off.” He gave a grim laugh, recalling the dementor and Death Eater attacks.
“But I can fight, too. I can train with you.”
“Ginny, you know your mum wouldn’t let you do that.”
“I know,” moaned Ginny in defeat. “But I miss you and want you around more often.”
Harry sighed and made a decision. He had never liked it when people kept things from him and decided to be honest, painful though that might me. “Ginny, that’s not the only reason. I want to tell you the truth, even though you aren’t going to want to hear it.”
Ginny’s eyes teared up and she brought her fist to her mouth, trying not to cry. He was going to break up with her, for real this time. But what she heard next was not exactly what she expected.
“Ginny.” Harry said it so softly she had to lean forward to hear him. The way he said it sent shivers down her arms. “I’m starting to fall for you in a big way. But I can’t – not right now. If I spent time here I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything except when I would be able to sneak away with you for another snogging session. That kiss you gave me earlier really knocked my socks off. I know it sounds terrible, but you would be a major distraction. I need to concentrate on getting ready to face Voldemort and I just can’t take time to have a girlfriend and everything that goes with that. I’m so sorry. I really have enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with you.” He finally paused, waiting for a reaction. So far she hadn’t burst into tears, or slapped him or hexed him. She hadn’t done anything, actually.
Ginny’s emotions had been going on a wild rollercoaster ride all through this confession. She had resisted the urge to throw her arms around him and snog him senseless at least twice, and had clenched her fists and bit back a bitter retort as well. She forced herself to answer calmly, seriously. He deserved it. Not for the first time she found herself despairing at unfair how it all was, that he – and she – should have to give up so much.
“I … I understand, I guess. I don’t like it much, but I guess I can accept it. But what about …?”
Harry knew what was coming next and shook his head gently. “No Gin. Even though we might be coming back to school this fall – and that’s looking like a lot more of a possibility after today – I still don’t think we can. If we were officially together I would want to spend a lot more time with you than I can spare. And even if we could keep it under control it’s still too dangerous. Ron and Hermione are going to be targets because everyone knows they’ve been my friends forever. That’s one of the reasons why we’re training so hard. I… I’m really sorry. I don’t know what else I can say.” He pulled her into a hug and this time she let herself go and the tears finally came.
Finally she pulled back and wiped her eyes, the look of the fierce competitor returning. “OK. But I’m still not giving up on you. And I can train, too, when we go back. I can be just as good as Hermione and Ron. I’ll be able to help you fight.”
Harry didn’t disagree, knowing what a difficult concession it had been for her. “Of course you can train too. I’m counting on it. We’ll probably start up the DA again and I’ll want you to be one of the leaders. You and Neville and maybe Luna.”
Ginny smiled finally, thrilled at his confidence. She vowed that she would not let him down. She launched into another fierce hug. “Thanks, Harry,” she whispered.
“I have something for you.” The conversation had reminded Harry of the set of throwing knives and their wrist holsters that he had picked out for her. A few seconds was all it took to summon Dobby and send the eager house elf to bring the weapons. Ginny’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the knives, and she anxiously picked them up and examined them testing their feel and heft. She glowed as she heard him describe why he had thought of her and her throwing ability. She quickly determined to practice with them every day and prove that his faith in her was not misplaced.
Before they went back Harry hit her with another stunning revelation. He explained to her why she could actually practice spells at home, even though she was underage, but pleaded with her to be responsible about it. She should practice combat spells with Ron, but be careful not to do anything that would get either of them injured. And at all costs she must keep anyone else from knowing what they were doing. Her eyes shining with excitement, she eagerly agreed.
-ooOoo-
By the time they returned, everyone had noticed that they were gone and they received a lot of knowing smirks from the others. Only Molly and Hermione, though, spotted Ginny’s red eyes and guessed that things had not gone as well as they seemed. Before anyone could say anything, Harry had gone up to say goodbye to Molly.
To her astonishment, he gave her a hug. “Thanks so much Mrs. Weasley. This was a great day. Thanks for making me feel at home and for everything you do for us.”
Molly, caught off balance, could only respond with her usual hug and replied, “Oh, Harry dear, it was the least we could do. You know we consider you one of the family and you’re welcome here any time. Why don’t you stay longer?”
But Harry had already gone on to say goodbye to the others and Hermione stepped in for a goodbye hug of her own. This time Molly’s hug was considerably less enthusiastic but before she could say anything else Harry and Hermione were waving and on their way down the lane toward the apparation barrier. Hermione, however, did not miss the glare that Molly sent her way at the idea of the two of them returning to the house they shared.
-ooOoo-
A little later, in a flat above Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, a pair of red-headed twins reflected on the days events.
“Well, brother mine, it appears as though our baby sister is smitten with Mr. Potter.”
“When was she ever not?”
“True, but now it looks like it’s for real.”
“What a relief. Now we don’t have to worry about having to hurt any of those other blokes who’ve been hanging all over her.”
“You don’t think we’ll have to worry about Harry, do you?”
“Are you kidding? Besides, what makes you think we could lay a hand on Harry?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you see the way he took out those two guys? They were hit wizards. They took down those Death Eaters in no time at all. And he just toyed with them.”
“He had help, you know. It was amazing how well those two work together.” There was a long pause. “You did see who he went home with at the end of the day?”
There was another long pause. “I’m afraid our little sis is going to have her heart broken.”
“So we are going to have to hurt him?”
“Even if we could, would you really want to have to deal with retaliation from a witch who knows more hexes than any ten wizards put together?”
“Heck, no. She scares me.”
“They’re scary together.”
“That’s a good thing if we’re going to get rid of a certain dark lord, but maybe not so good for little Ginevra.”
“I think we stay out of this one.”
-ooOoo-
“Wow, what a day!” Harry had just retrieved two butterbeers from the fridge and joined Hermione on the sofa in their customary positions, facing each other, one curled up at each end.
“So many incredible things to happen in a single day,” she agreed. “Visiting your vault, finding the horcrux, fighting off those Death Eaters …”
“Breakfast in bed.”
“Harry, I’m serious!”
“So am I, that was one of the best parts of the day.”
“Harry …” Hermione started, then dropped her head and blushed, remembering the circumstances in the bedroom that morning.
“I mean it. I really enjoyed that. It was a really thoughtful thing for you to do.”
“You’re welcome, Harry,” Hermione said softly, her eyes glistening slightly. He was just so sweet sometimes.
“Playing quidditch was a blast, too.”
For a moment Hermione just stared at him, then burst into laughter. That was just so … so Harry-like. She realized that to him the best parts of the day were not the events of major significance, but the ordinary, fun things that anyone else might take for granted. She thought about what an upside down life he had, where the simple things were treasured and dramatic occurrences were commonplace.
“You were incredible when those Death Eaters attacked.” Hermione’s thoughts were pulled back by his return to her original comment. “I barely had time to react and you were already conjuring up those stone walls.”
“Don’t give me that. You had already started shouting for everyone to get down, going into Potter protective mode.” She watched as he looked at her and mouthed the alliteration, then began to chuckle. “We did all right today, didn’t we?” she went on, referring to the teamwork they had displayed.
He knew exactly what she meant. “Yeah, we were pretty good together.” He paused. “We’ve always been good together haven’t we?” They were silent, thinking of dragons and time turners and hippogriffs, puzzling out clues and mysteries, fighting Death Eaters and dementors.
“Hey, did McGonagall tell you about Mrs. Figg?” Harry asked, changing the subject before the silence could become too uncomfortable.
“Yes, she said she was going to replace Filch. I guessed that he would be out. He supported Umbridge, you know, and you remember how much McGonagall hated Umbridge.” She looked curiously at Harry. “How exactly do you know Mrs. Figg again?”
“She was my babysitter while I was growing up. I didn’t know it at the time, but she was a squib and actually working for the Order, keeping an eye on me. Now that I’m not living on Privet Drive any more, I guess there’s no reason for her to stay there.” Harry began to chuckle. “If you thought Mrs. Norris was bad, wait until you see how many cats she has. She always had one outside the Dursleys sort of on lookout. That’s how she found out about the Dementor attack on me and Dudley so quickly. It’s going to be even harder for students to get away with anything in the castle now.”
They lapsed into a companionable silence, sipping their butterbeers and enjoying each other’s company. Finally, Hermione broke the quiet once more.
“So, what happened with you and Ginny?”
Harry regarded her briefly, as though trying to decide what and how much to tell her. “I told her the truth.”
“And that was?”
“Pretty much what you already know. That I was starting to fall for her but I couldn’t afford to right now. That we were spending all our time studying and training and how that would be impossible if we were at the Burrow.” Hermione was struck by the calm, passionless way he said this even though it must be tearing him up inside. She resisted the urge to lean over and hug him, reluctantly reasoning that it wouldn’t exactly be appropriate given the subject under discussion. “And I also told her that we still wouldn’t be able to be officially together even if we go back to Hogwarts in the fall.”
“That’s going to be tricky,” she pointed out, ‘in more ways than one’ she added to herself.
“Well, we’ll have to deal with that when and if it happens. We still have another horcrux to find.”
She agreed and thoughts of how they were going to go after the last one began to percolate in her mind.
“I also gave her the throwing knives,” Harry finished. “She wants to practice and get as good as she can at fighting so she can help us any way she can.”
“I’ll bet she does,” Hermione agreed, thinking about her fiercely competitive and tenacious friend.
“That reminds me, what was the deal with my ring?”
Hermione was caught off balance and stumbled for an answer. “Your ring?” she offered lamely.
“You know, the funny reaction you had when I put my ring on.” She hesitated, not wanting to tell him what it had felt like, but not wanting to lie to him either.
“Uh, well,” she struggled for the best wording to use, “your ring and my necklace seem to be connected.”
“Connected?”
“Here, let me show you.” She pulled the necklace out from where it was concealed and let it rest on the outside of her tee shirt. Maybe the feeling wouldn’t be so intense if it wasn’t right next to her skin. “Now put your ring on and watch what happens.” Once again the gemstone glowed and was matched by a glow from the stone in the center of her cross. She shuddered as the feeling swept across her chest again, diminished but still clear.
“Wow. And you could feel that?” he asked, noting her reaction. His hand had tingled briefly and he wondered if the feeling was the same.
“It’s … hard to describe,” she decided. “Look let’s switch and you can feel it yourself.” She was uncertain if she wanted him to know the feeling it was causing but concluded that he needed to. They traded and after he looped the necklace around his neck and under his shirt she put the ring on her finger.
“Whoa. That was something. It felt like something running across my …” he looked at her chest. “Oh. Oooohhh” he managed as realization dawned. She nodded, blushing furiously. Harry immediately became uncomfortable. “Look, you don’t have to … I won’t wear it … I’ll get a different ring.”
“No,” she shot back quickly. “Look, it’s clear that these must be very powerful. It only lasts a bit. I’ll get used to it.”
“You’re sure?” She nodded. “OK.” Suddenly Harry got an evil grin on his face. “Hey, if you like I can help you practice getting used to it,” he snickered and held out his hands, wiggling his fingers.
She gaped at him, unable to believe that the shy Harry that she used to know would suggest such a thing. ‘Might be fun,’ the annoying mischievous voice in her head suggested. ‘No way. Don’t even think about it!’ the rational side of her mind shouted back. During this internal argument her mouth opened and closed several times, unable to respond. Finally she gathered herself together and rose to her feet, still blushing, and affected a prim and proper voice. “That won’t be necessary.” She tried to make a dignified exit from the room, but the effect was ruined by the fact that he was curled up on the sofa laughing.
‘Yes! I finally got her.’ His mind congratulated itself as he dragged himself to his feet and headed for bed, still chuckling. The slamming door to her room bothered him not at all.
-ooOoo-
Harry had finally dozed off when he heard his bedroom door open.
“Harry?”
He sat up and looked at Hermione as she walked through the door. She was wearing the same brief pajamas that she had on that morning. Moonlight was streaming through his window, bathing her in a soft glow.
“I wanted to give you one more birthday present.” He stared at her as she moved closer. She slowly started to remove her camisole top.
“Hermione! What are you doing!” She ignored him and finished removing the top. He found himself unable to speak further as he continued to stare at her. Without saying another word she moved closer to his bed.
Suddenly the door opened again. To his astonishment, Ginny walked through the door this time. He noticed that she was wearing the tight tee shirt that she had on that afternoon. It showed off every curve and it was quite obvious that she wasn’t wearing a bra. “Harry,” she said, ignoring Hermione’s presence in the room. I want to give you one more birthday present.”
“Ginny! What are you doing here? How did you even get here?” But she didn’t answer as she also walked closer, and she too began to remove her shirt. Harry again was unable to say any more as he took in the sight before him. He tore his eyes away from Ginny and turned back to Hermione. She was still there, and had sat down next to him on the bed. Against his better judgment he dropped his gaze to her breasts, then jumped as he felt Ginny sit down on his other side. He turned away from Hermione and back to her, and once again he couldn’t keep his eyes away from what was on display right in front of him.
Desperately trying to get his mouth to work again, Harry was aware of a single thought pounding at his brain. ‘Ron is going to kill me!’
With a start Harry shot up in his bed, breathing hard, his heart pounding. It was dark. He was alone in the room. He realized what had happened and sank back down into his bed with a groan. Why was he dreaming a dream like that? Ginny, sure, he could see dreaming about her, but Hermione? You don’t dream things like that about your best friend!
Harry closed his eyes and tried to get back to sleep, desperately hoping that he wouldn’t have that dream again.
But at the same time, a small part of him was wishing it would come back.
-xox-XOX-XOX-xox-
This chapter and the next several are longer than normal. There’s just a lot of stuff happening right now.