Chapter 21 - "Revelio"
Harry blinked.
It was possible - likely, even, he considered - that he should have had something of a... stronger initial reaction. The very concept, however, momentarily floored him, and so later on, he would feel that his response had really been quite justified. He and Ginny were bound together? What did that mean? And for the rest of their lives? That was just...
"Harry?" Ginny asked, her voice betraying her concern. He returned his gaze back towards her, and took in her features, all the little things that he so loved. The slight downward turn of one eyebrow, the way her hair was hanging down in a ponytail but still resting on one shoulder, the little part of her bottom lip that she was chewing on. The way her Quidditch robes hung, emphasizing certain... features. (If he was honest with himself, some of his reasons for supporting Ginny in her desire to play professional Quidditch were somewhat selfish. He really did love the way she looked in them.)
Distracting observations aside, Harry was rather startled to realize that Ginny was nervous - very much so. She had actuallyly been scared to tell him of this? Was he interpreting that right? What did that mean?
"Harry, say something."
"Umn... wow," he repeated, not feeling particularly erudite at just that very moment.
Ginny blinked, and then her eyes narrowed in a way that Harry did not like. "Wow? That's all you have to say? Wow? Really?" she said sarcastically. Ah, Harry thought, there's my Ginny..."Harry, I just told you that -"
"I know, Gin," Harry said cutting her off, and grinning widely as he raised a hand to indicate she should stop. "I'm just a little... surprised."
"Obviously," she retorted, her voice practically overflowing in it's own sarcasm. He rather thought a deaf man would have been able to pick up on it. "Care to, oh, I don't know, expand on that? Just a bit, perhaps?"
"Well," Harry continued. "I mean, I'm not used to good weird things happening to me. Rather the opposite, actually," he finished thoughtfully. "And this... well, this is pretty bloody brilliant."
His observation stopped Ginny in her tracks. Now that he was aware of it, it was even easier to perceive her emotions, though they were a bit difficult to sort out. He had the uncomfortable thought that it was someone like the connection he'd once had with Voldemort. there had always been a .. sense of Riddle in the back of his mind. But now... well, it was somewhat like having been aware that something was on the other side of a curtain, and then suddenly pulling that curtain aside and being blinded by the light. Harry had always thought of himself as rather straightforward and uncomplicated when it came to feelings. Most blokes were that way, he reckoned. Still, this... connection seemed much more pleasant that the one to Riddle had ever been. There was now a place in his mind that was... just Ginny.
Cool, Harry thought, and then grinned again.
Ginny, though - the feelings that he cought off of her was a complicated swirl that took a bit more effort to sort through. Riddle had been straightforward... but then, he had pretty much just been angry all that time. Ginny, she was... happy - that he was happy? And annoyed. And an undercurrent that he recognized from his own emotion - an always-present feeling of love, that seem to reflect back on his own, similar
emotions (and set a particular beast to roaring at the same time.). Was that for him, then? "Blimey," he muttered, slipping both of his hands around hers, and guiding her closer to himself... "How can you feel that many things at once? That doesn't drive you mad?"
"I'm used to it," she said wryly. "You're really okay with this, aren't you?" There was wonder in her tone, and her feelings, too. He seemed much more aware of their physical proximity, too. As though he were aware of every last inch of his own body - and even more aware of hers. Just the simple touch of his skin on Ginny's seemed, amplified somehow.
"Course I am," Harry smiled, and pulled her tight. Quite suddenly, there was nothing Harry wanted more than to be with her. "No one else I'd rather be bound to. I love you, Gin."
"I love you too, Harry," she whispered back. The young lovers remained that way for a few minutes, each cautiously exploring the way the other felt, getting used to the feel of each other's minds.
"I mean, think if it had been Ron this happened with," Harry said after a moment, trying to take his mind off of the way Ginny's skin felt... To say he was being driven to distraction by her presence wasn't enough. He was starting to feel as though he would go quite mad of they didn't act on his - their? - feelings. "Talk about awkward."
"Prat," she said, but smiled, and omitted her customary swat and simply held him. Harry could feel the tenseness in her arms, and knew that she was holding herself back as well. "If you start feeling about my brother the way you feel about me, we're going to have problems."
"No argument there," Harry readily agreed, and then remembered something he'd wanted to ask. "Why were you scared, luv? Were you scared of being... connected to me?" He was nervous even bringing the matter up - what if that really was it? What would that mean for them? And how could he even have the thought, they way he - they way they both felt, right now?
Ginny knew, of course, that it would useless to lie. Still, Harry felt her consider it for a moment, before she resolved to answer truthfully. He also felt her embarrassment that she'd even considered it, and decided that this was certainly something that was going to take some getting used to. "No, Harry, I wasn't scared of being connected to you. Rather the opposite, actually," she said, intentionally echoing his earlier statement.
"You were scared of how I'd react."
"Well, yes," she admitted frankly.
Harry ran a hand through his hair. Truth to be told, Ginny was probably right to worry, given Harry's track record on that sort of thing. He said as much, and smiled at the look of surprise and its following smile on her face.
"You never cease to amaze me, Potter," she finally confided. "I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner, but I was nervous about it, and I wanted to be able to explain it properly - "
"- so you asked Hermione to look it up?" he asked.
"Right, she - " Ginny stopped mid-sentence, and then looked at Harry oddly. "How did you know that?"
"She told me, up in the stands. Said she had something important to tell the both of us. She'll be terribly upset that you stole her thunder, you know." Harry's hands were on Ginny's upper arms, now, and that feeling of electricity had not faded. If anything it was now as though Harry's hands were being run through flames, and not being burned. "I love you," he said sincerely.
"And I you," she said back. Ginny felt the same as he did, he could tell - that constant undercurrent of love
had manifested itself in desire, and as he kissed her, Harry knew that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. And despite all the reasons he'd been telling himself that the Gryffindor locker room was a bad place for it, somehow, Harry really couldn't bring himself to give a damn about any of them. All he could think of was Ginny - and that they were both far too clothed. "And Harry?"
"Hmmmn?" he said, as he began to trail kisses down her neck.
"I don't want to think about Hermione right now."
"Me neither," Harry replied, and brought his lips to hers in a rough kiss. As he did so, he dropped all of his mental walls, and the connection between them flared into a glorious strength that made both gasp - and want more. Perhaps it was the emotion of the moment, or the newness of their bond, but there was no nothing other than the sudden need for each other.
A few well-placed charms later and they gave - very willingly - into that need.
It was only afterwards that Harry stopped and looked around. "You know," he said idly, "I never thought we'd do this in the locker room."
"You mean you never wanted to?" Ginny asked, raising a disbelieving eyebrow.
"I didn't say that," Harry corrected. "I'm sure every bloke fantasizes about it. I'm just lucky enough to be in love with a future professional Quidditch star."
Ginny let out a sharp laugh. "I suppose so. That was a bit... sudden, though."
"Er, yeah," Harry agreed. "It was like I couldn't think of anything else, really."
"Me too," Ginny admitted. "I think talking to Hermione about this might be a good idea after all."
Harry just nodded, and Ginny sighed as she pulled her hair back into it's ponytail. "Well, let's go tell Romilda she's on the team, then, and see what Hermione's got to say. I expect someone going to come barging in here soon if we don't."
"You're the boss, Captain," Harry said, placing a teasing emphasis on the title.
"Don't you forget it, Potter," she said warningly.
"Never," Harry laughed, giving her a cheeky grin as they both quickly finished dressed. At least the Quidditch practice would explain why they looked disheveled. Or be convincing enough. They hoped.
Harry and Ginny walked out, his right arm lazily cast over her shoulders while her right hand played absently with his. Truthfully, both had nearly forgotten that they'd gone inside to determine the last members of the team. If he'd noticed, he'd have seen a look pass between Neville - who had become Ginny's closest confidant last year - and Hermione, who had always been able to read between the lines.
Still, Harry scanned the crowd for Hermione's signature bushy hair - or Ron's easily-spotted red - and found them in short order, if a bit too late to notice the look. Everyone who'd come for the tryouts was still here, and Harry noted Ginny start blushing - and felt himself doing the same. No acknowledgement would be better than acting embarrassed, he decided. They set off towards Ron,Hermione, Cordy and Neville, ignoring the waiting - and expectant - crowd.
"Weasley!" Romilda finally yelled, a look of indignation clear on her features.
Ginny stopped, and faced the younger girl with an expression that made her annoyance perfectly clear.
"What?"
The dark-haired witch was undeterred. "Aren't you going to tell us who made the team?"
"You did, Romilda," Ginny answered briskly, rather masterfully (Harry thought) schooling her features to hide how she truly felt about that prospect. "You're starting chaser. Dean, you're reserves. Everyone, we're done for today. First team practice is tomorrow afternoon. Dismissed."
And without another word, without waiting for any responses, Ginny reclaimed Harry's hand and set off towards their friends. Now that their immediate... needs had passed, both of them wanted answers.
Cordy, Luna and Neville had been with Hermione and Ron when they caught up to them, and after a brief discussion, the six decided to head to the Common Room. Harry wondered why Luna was avoiding Dean again, but then, from what he'd heard Dean and Seamus talking about, that relationship wasn't going so well.
The group of friends picked a quiet corner - the one that had become 'their' corner, these past few weeks. The exact composition of their group often changed, but this was where the four of them most often were.
"Butterbeers?" Ron asked.
"Firewhiskey," Ginny responded immediately, and Harry nodded.
Ron raised an eyebrow, but simple shrugged, and enlisted Neville's aid in retreiving them from behind the counter. Harry smirked once again, wondering what McGonagall would do if she knew that there was firewhiskey so easily available within Hogwarts. But so far, she'd given no indication of knowing that the inter-house Common Room even existed, and Harry had hardly been inclined to be forthcoming with the information. Plus, he'd placed charms that forced anyone underage to simply spit alcoholic drinks right back out, so it wasn't much of a concern.
"Muffliato," Harry muttered, drawing more raised eyebrows. He rarely used that spell anymore, so his friends were quite surprised to see him doing so now. Harry took the firewhiskey that Ron poured, and downed it quickly.
Cordy broke the silence. "Nev, mate, d'you get the feeling we're missing some crucial bit of information here?"
"Yeah, I do," Neville answered earnestly, and looked back and forth at his black-haired roommate and his red-headed girlfriend. "Harry? Ginny?" He asked, having pieced together that it was something between, or about, the two of them. Many questions were contained in those simple two words.
"It's nothing major, Neville," Harry started, and then paused. "Well, no, that's not right. It's major. Very major. It's just not... dangerous. Right?" he asked, looking down at Ginny, who had curled up against his side.
"No, I don't believe so," she admitted. Harry could tell, however, that she didn't quite know either. Strangely, her lack of knowledge actually made him feel better. They would figure this thing out... whatever it was... together. That seemed good. Seemed right. Even now, he felt closer to Ginny than he ever had before. They'd commented on being each other's "missing halves" - like most couples do - before. Now, though, that seemed to actually be true.
Well, they’d figure it out with Hermione's help, of course. That also seemed as it should be.
Ron raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm completely clueless here, too. What are we talking about?"
Ginny chewed her bottom lip a moment before she answered. "Harry and I can feel each other's emotions," she admitted, and Harry curled his hand tighter. Ron and Neville looked appropriately astonished, and Cordy looked just a bit befuddled.
Luna was nonplussed. "Of course you can," she shrugged. "I'm surprised, Harry, that it's taken you this long to realize it."
Harry blinked at that, once again not sure how to take one of Luna's statements. He turned, though, as he felt Ron's eyes boring into him.f. "Wow," his best mate muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I knew you loved her, mate, but..."
Hermione turned sharply to look at Ron. "You know what this is?" Harry wondered if she'd intented to put so much disbeleif in her voice, or if was quite accidental. He thought the latter, and smiled because of it.
Ginny snorted, while Ron only looked indignant for a moment. Harry felt no need to express his own surprise. "No more than I do. Our parents have it, so we're acquainted with the concept, but...”
"I, of course," Harry interjected, "remain the one with the least amount of clue whatsoever."
"Nothing new there, then," Ron teased.
Cordy was just watching the byplay between the four, before finally looking to Neville. "Well, I've never heard of it, Harry, so it's new to me, too."
Neville shrugged. "I've heard of it before, but I don't really know anything about it. Hermione, isn't it supposed to be really rare?"
"Yes, well," Hermione continued, composing herself. "Harry, like Ginny told you, this is a type of bond seen generally during wizarding marriages. They're often invoked, but rarely, they form naturally, built out of a witch and wizard's promise to each other. A natural bond is generally much stronger than an invoked one. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are really quite a good example - I don't know if their bond is natural or invoked, though,"
"Natural," Ginny answered. "I asked Mum about it once, but that's all she would say."
"It's not surprising," Hermione nodded. "Bonded couples tend to treat it as a very private matter. This bond - the natural version - forms when a couple - well, when a couple is completely honest with each other, and I mean totally and - "
"And completely," Harry finished for her, thinking back to the day before Ginny's birthday, after the attack in Diagon Alley. And the day of her birthday itself. They'd certainly been honest with each other then. Brutally so, really.
"It's generally formed when a certain level of, ah," her eyes darted to Ron quickly, "intimacy is reached between a witch and a wizard."
"I do know about that, Hermione," Ron said frankly.
"I thought I felt something that day," Ginny confessed, and Harry reddened as he realized that their sex life was coming up as a topic in front of their friends. Ginny seemed undeterred, however. "But I thought it was just...”
"Oi!" Ron interjected, even as Harry cleared his throat, Neville looked away, and Cordy started laughing
uncontrollably. Luna remained itnerested in whatever she was writing on the muggle notebook that she carried around. "I said I know about it, not that I need to hear about it!"
"Er, right," Ginny muttered, and very shortly, her complexion became a match for Harry's.
Harry, meanwhile, was trying to get Hermione back on-point. "Right, so we've got this... connection..."
"It's called a soul-bond," the bushy-haired witch interjected. "Though some just call it a heart-bond. There are quite a few names for it, really."
"Right, this... soul-bond. Okay, it's because Ginny and I love each other. We know that."
"Everyone with eyes knows that," Cordy interjected.
"Shut it, you," Harry continued. "But - what's it mean?"
The bushy-haired witch shrugged. "Whatever you want it to, Harry. Look, I've got some books the two of you can read, but... the short version?"
"I'd prefer it."
She took a breath. "It means you'll be able to feel each other's emotions for the rest of your lives. Some couples have even been able to speak mind-to-mind, but that's more rumor than fact. Those who've soul-bonded tend to treat it as a very private subject, Harry. It means you'll always know how Ginny feels about you, and vice-versa. Only you can decide of that's a good thing or not. And there's some side-effects-"
Harry cleared his throat again, and darted his eyes towards Ron.
Hermione caught the intention, and continued without even breaking her stride. "- but I'll go over those in private with Ginny later."
Ginny tensed slightly next to Harry once more, and he laid a reassuring arm around her before he'd even realized it. He felt her nervousness rising up once more, and cupped her chin with his palm. Like so, he gently guided her face up until her eyes met his, and the rest of the world simply ceased to be.
"I still think it's brilliant," he whispered.
"I know," she whispered back, "And that still amazes me."
Harry just smiled. He knew what she meant - and had the feeling that, from now on, he always would.
After Harry and Ginny learned of their bond, the weeks passed quickly. The nuances of the connection, of being able to feel each other so thoroughly, took a great deal of getting used to. On occasion, Harry would find it difficult separating which emotions belonged to him and which belonged to Ginny. She seemed to have much less difficulty with it, something that Harry found irritating to no end. It made three particular days of the month very... interesting, indeed. That was when they discovered one of the side effects that Hermione mentioned - when they were feeling the exact same thing, be it anger, desire, or any of a number of emotions, there was a sort of 'feedback effect' produced where their emotions spurred the same feelings in the other to new heights.
Still, time had passed so quickly that before Harry realized it; it was the day before Halloween. It was Friday, and a Hogsmeade weekend - many of the students would be going to town the following day, before attending the Halloween Ball that was scheduled for that evening. He and Ginny had even made plans for a quiet afternoon to themselves, after a lunch at the Hog's Head with a large group of their friends.
But any excitement that may have been building about those happy events was completely absent from Professor Weasley's seventh-year NEWT Transfiguration Class. They all had exactly one thing on their minds.
For the last month, Slughorn's NEWT Potions class - Harry and his friends included - had been brewing the Animagus revelation potion, the first step towards becoming Animagi themselves. The potion would put them into a trance, where they would be able to identify the animal that most reflected their personality and self-image. (Not for the first time, Harry wondered how none of his father's friends had picked up on the significgance of Peter Pettigrew having been a rat.) As of today, however, the potions were ready. Today, they would find their forms. Whether they would ever be able to manage the transformations was a completely different matter, of course.
Ginny, unsurprisingly, was finding it difficult to even sit still in her seat. Harry smiled at this, and smiled even more at the simple, childish glee (there was no other word for it) that he felt coming off of her in waves. Since they had learned of the bond, and how to manage it, the couple had become increasingly aware of each other - to the point where there was a constant awareness in Harry's mind (and vice-versa)... a presence that he had no need to label as 'Ginny'. She was simply there, in his heart, and in his soul, and he now no longer remembered what it had been like before her. And that, Harry had decided, was precisely as it should be.
Even if it meant he felt a little like bouncing in his chair himself.
"All right, settle down, settle down," Bill - Harry still couldn't think of him as Professor Weasley - said, mostly to Ginny, from the front of the class. As always, he was leaning against the front of his desk. Harry still didn't think he'd ever even seen the young Professor sit at that desk. "Everyone got their potion, then?"
There was a general murmur of assent, and Bill grinned. "Well then... cheers."
Harry reached forward to grab the purple, foul-smelling brew in front of him, and realized only as he had set it to his lips that Ginny had already downed hers. "Bottoms up," he muttered to himself, and swallowed the whole thing as quickly as possible in order to get past the horrific taste. One of his hands reached out to slow Ginny's slumping form from hitting her head on the desk... even as he himself faded out, dimly aware that the table's wooden surface was approaching fast.
Harry blinked.
He was in a wooded area, now. It was autumn in this imaginary place as well - the leaves on the trees had turned several brilliant shades of red-orange, and were beginning to fall. Quite a change from the slightly stuff Transfiguration classroom, Harry decided, amazed at how real this dream felt. The wind blew softly through the trees, and the wooded area reminded him very much of the Forbidden Forest. It was twilight, the sun's rays only barely filtering through the treetops. The sights, sounds and smells of the forest seemed more vivid than ever. Colors seemed richer, sounds seemed sharper, and he was even more aware of the feel of the grass under his pair feet - it was though he could discern every blade, feel every pebble.
"Hello?" he called out, and then snorted at his own stupidity. It was hardly as though anyone was going to answer, as this was all in his own mind. This was also about the time that he realized that his feet weren't
the only things that were bare about his mental self. Privacy was probably a good thing, given that.
"Harry?" a very familiar voice called out from behind him and Harry let out a startled cry.
He whirled around, very conscious of his body - or this representation of it - even in this surreal dream world. "Ginny?" he called, as his mind caught up to the voice he'd heard.
Sure enough, there she was. She was equally (gloriously, Harry thought,) nude, and didn't seem the least bit shy about it. "Calm down, Harry, it's not like I haven't seen it before." Harry chuckled, and decided that he might as well abandon all modesty as well. He took her hand in his own. It was warm to the touch, and felt even more real, more solid than anything else here.
"This 'bond' is full of surprises, isn't it?" Harry asked.
"Guess so," Ginny grinned. "We should find our animals though."
"But I'm enjoying the view," Harry mock-whined.
"As am I, Harry, but the potion does only last so long."
"True," he admitted, and then turned as he heard a rustling from the nearby forest's edge. "I think they've found us, actually" Harry reported.
From the edge of the trees, two dark-furred animals came. They walked stealthily, cautiously, but they seemed to recognize Harry and Ginny. As well they should, Harry thought oddly - they're us.
The wolf to the right had black fur, which puffed up oddly between its shoulder blades, and bright green eyes that Harry recognized from the mirror every morning.
"Hello, boy," Harry said quietly, and kneeled to let the wolf sniff him. Beside him, Ginny did the same, and Harry started taking in the details of the other wolf. Of course, that wolf had striking red fur, spotted brown in some areas, and its brown eyes seemed to contain the same mischievousness that Ginny's did.
"Our forms match," Ginny said, her voice full of wonder. "What do you suppose that means, Harry?"
He grinned, taking in every detail of his wolf, and of Ginny's. "Nothing we didn't already know."
Thankfully, Transfiguration had been the day's last class, and after dinner, Harry and his friends gathered in the Common Room again to discuss their forms (or potential forms, at any rate. There was no way to tell which students would be successful and which wouldn't.) Bill had confided in Harry one afternoon, however, that McGonagall's revision's and the unorthodox approached taken by the Marauders combined left him hopeful for a much higher success rate in training Animagi than had previously been had.
Privately, Harry expected that there were many more Animagi out there than anyone beleived, and just very few who chose to register.
Ron's form, as it turned out, was that of a red Labrador, a fact which was no more surprising than Hermione's form of a barn owl. Both animals suited his friends well, for the most part. Harry and Ginny tried to keep to themselves how amusing they found Hermione's form, but had failed to do so when Neville, Ron and Cordy had started giggling at the bushy-haired witch. There was just something inherently amusing about someone who was afraid of heights being a bird in their Animagus form. Cordy had identified her form as that of a lynx, and Neville had shocked everyone with the revelation that his form was a bear.
"Always knew you had it in you, mate," Harry grinned, and then looked to the blonde witch sitting next to Neville. "What about you, Luna?"
"A crane, actually," she answered. "Not the most graceful of birds, perhaps, but they're quite fascinating, and the natural predator of the crumple-horned snorkack. Perhaps Rolf and I shall be able to find one, once I'm able to transform."
Ron frowned. "You and Rolf? I thought you and your father usually went looking for things like that?"
Luna shrugged. "Daddy never has much liked field studies, but they do quite appeal to me."
Harry grinned, and shared a quick look with Ginny. Poor Dean, he thought, bloke just can't catch a break. "Good luck."
"Thank you, Harry. And what of you and Ginny? You two have been quite secretive about your form."
Cordy looked puzzled, but was somewhat tentative when she asked the blonde witch, "Uh, Luna, don't you mean 'forms'?"
"No," she said simply, and Harry grinned as Luna's large eyes darted to meet Hermione's, who nodded as well. Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend, who shrugged.
"I'll explain after you tell us," Hermione answered, drawing frowns from Ron and Cordy both.
"Out with it then, mate," Cordy said.
"Yeah, Harry," Ron agreed. "We've all said."
"We're wolves," Ginny answered, and no one missed the look on Hermione's face. It would have been hard to, given that she'd jumped to a standing position and was doing a strange sort of victory dance. This, naturally, had drawn several stares from around the rest of
"I knew your forms would match!" she said triumphantly, and Luna nodded as well. "Well, we knew," Hermione admitted. It had been strange this year, to see how much Hermione and Luna really had in common once they got past the younger girl's oddities.
The teasing among the group continued after that, culminating in a mock wrestling match between Harry and Ron, which ended up knocking Harry's bookbag over, spilling its contents quite thoroughly. This wouldn't have been unusual; except for one of the books that came spilling out had Harry's face on it, sitting above a rather prominent title. Cover-Harry was covering his eyes and looking more than a little embarrassed, as was the real Harry.
Ginny was the first to pick it up.
"Oh, bollocks," Harry muttered, as she read the title aloud.
"Harry Potter: The Authorized Biography- by Xenophilius Lovegood and... Harry Potter?", Ginny read, in a frighteningly distant tone. Her face then turned to his, and her eyes were flashing in a way that made Harry more than a bit nervous. "Harry, what the hell is this?"
He winced, especially as Luna answered for him. "Oh, Harry wanted to surprise everyone. But really, it was your idea, Ginny."
"Her idea?" Ron asked. "I don't remember that."
"Me either," Ginny said darkly. "In fact, I think I'd remember saying something like that. I'm rather certain of it."
"Well, kind of," Harry explained. "Gin, do you remember saying that we should get the drop on Rita's book? Beat her to the punch?"
"Well, yes," she answered, "But I meant you should stop it from getting published."
"Well, I tried that," he answered truthfully, and he had. "But as it turns out, the wizarding world has very expensive solicitors; it also has a rather depressing lack of publishing laws, especially concerning slander and libel. "
"So you wrote your own?" Ron asked, still skeptical. Harry couldn't blame his friend - it was hardly as though he was known as being forthcoming with, well, anything.
"Uh, basically."
"But," Cordy interrupted. "Doesn't Skeeter's book come out on Halloween? That's in tomorrow."
"This one," Harry answered, tapping on the cover, "came out today."
"So you're just beating her to it?" Ron grinned, and Harry grinned back.
"Basically," Harry nodded. "My solicitor didn't think anyone would buy her version if there was one with my own name on it out there."
"Brilliant!" Ron proclaimed, and Ginny settled back into Harry, as she started to thumb through the book. She was shaking her head, but Harry could tell now that she'd simply been more surprised than anything.
"Harry," she said in surprise. "You put... you put everything in here."
"Pretty much," Harry nodded. "The only thing I left out was exactly how Tom had made himself immortal."
Hermione was shocked now. "But.. you've always been so private before."
"Still am," He shrugged, getting uncomfortable with the conversation. "But honestly, I was getting really tired of getting asked some of those questions. And maybe they'll leave me alone - or understand why I've never liked the attention - now."
No one seemed to have a response for that, and Harry returned his attention to the small redhead that was curled up next to him. "Sorry I didn't tell you," he whispered quietly. "I wanted to surprise you at the bookstore in Hogsmeade tomorrow."
"It's okay," Ginny nodded. "I get why you did it, Harry. It would have been pretty funny."
"Lockhart never would have let you live it down, though," Ron sniggered, and Harry moaned.
"Merlin, don't remind me.”Bit early in your career, don't you think?" he quoted in disgust, drawing curious looks from Ginny and Cordy both, prompting the conversation in a discussion of Harry's interactions with Lockhart, which Ginny had never seen, and Lockhart himself, who Cordy had never met. As Seamus, Dean, Lavender and some of the others joined them, the fire ale and the stories continued. Ginny, Harry noted, was surprised to learn that there were some funny stories from her first year - and that despite what had happened to her, she even had a few amusing ones of her own (chief of those being finding Percy and Penelope in flagrante delicto, as she phrased it.)
It was, in general, a very pleasant evening.
That night, Harry's dreams were anything but. His head bathed in the orb's blue glow, as it often was, left his dreams full, and more real than they had any right to be. The dreams were odd, however, and strangely disjointed.
--
He and Ginny enjoyed a nice, private picnic lunch at the cave. It was the cave where Sirus, and later Hagrid, had hidden out at various times.
"Feels weird, some times, knowing Sirius lived here as a dog - just to be closer to me," he confided.
"He loved you, Harry. I don't think it was that big a sacrifice for him."
Harry gave a wry smile. "I'd have done the same."
--
"Lucius, Lucius, Lucius," came Lestrange's mocking voice. "You really have been such a disappointment."
Lucius Malfoy looked back, still haughty, even in his rags. Or trying to be, at least. "Leave me be, Lestrange. I have no interest in associating with any of you."
"Quite allright, my dear Lucius," Rodolphus answered. "It won't take long for me to get what I want from you."
"And what is -" the blonde wizard was cut off as Lestrange pointed his wand, and spoke only two words.
"Siphon Totus"
A sickly yellow beam slammed Lucius Malfoy into the brick wall behind him.
--
"W e should meet the others," Ginny finally said.
"We are," Harry nodded, and pointed down the street. "At the Hog's Head, here in just a bit."
"Made the plans already, then?"
--
"It's Lestrange!" Ron yelled from the window. They had barricaded themselves in, when the first curses started flying outside. Aberforth was getting the younger students back into the castle through the portrait of his sister. Harry and Ron were buying him time, unofficially being helped by Hermione, Ginny, Neville,
Cordy and several other former members of the D.A.
"Who else?" Harry asked.
"Carrows, Crabbe and Goyle - mate, there's at least two dozen of them out there!" Ron cursed again. "Harry, sodding Umbridge is with them!"
"Always knew that old bint was Dark," Ginny muttered.
"King doesn't have enough Aurors to keep the department up, and Azkaban under guard," Harry muttered.
"They seem to be following Lestrange," Hermione noted. "And Greyback," she shuddered.
Harry felt the need to shudder, himself, though he didn't show it.
"They're coming in!" Ginny cried.
Harry whirled on the remaining students. "Everyone into the back rooms, now! Get back to the castle!" He had both of his wands out then, and turned to face the door just as Rodolphus Lestrange led his group of former Death Eaters inside the pub, and the battle began in earnest.
"Surrender, Lestrange!" Harry called out. "By Authority of the Ministry of Magic, you and your associates are under arrest!"
"Not likely, boy," the dark wizard coldly replied.
--
It didn't take Harry long to determine that something had changed since he'd faced Lestrange back in August. The long-haired, goateed Death Eater was far stronger than he'd been in their last confrontation.
"Diffindo! " Harry muttered, making a slashing motion with the Elder wand.
"Reducto!" Lestrange responded, sending the curse at the ceiling, even as some of his followers targeted the floor.
And Harry watched as two main beams - and the roof - fell right on Cordy...
And Ginny.