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Losing Each Other | ||||||
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Category: Post-HBP, Buried Gems Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Nymphadora Tonks, Other, Ron Weasley Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 169 Summary: This story follows Harry and Ginny from their parting after Dumbledore's funeral. Much of it is told from Ginny's POV. The first chapter, "Ginny's Mermaid," was originally posted as a one-shot. I have revised it slightly as part of this longer story, but it is essentially the same as it was when I first posted it. Hitcount: Story Total: 106068; Chapter Total: 6090 |
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Madame Hooch announced that tryouts for the Hogwarts Quidditch team would be held next Saturday. There would be a single rule: at least one player from each House would be selected for the team. Everyone assumed that this was for Slytherin’s benefit, since all of their players from last year had either graduated or openly gone over to Lord Voldemort and were no longer at Hogwarts. No one talked about anything else, in the Great Hall, in the common rooms, and in the corridors. Ginny had mixed feelings. She was looking forward to it, but she also was worried about Harry. It was true that he was not having problems flying; he and Ron went down to the Quidditch pitch every evening to practice, and Ron assured her that Harry was fine. But whispers about his troubles in class were floating around. Still, he was the only Seeker left from last year, so he wouldn’t have any competition; maybe Madame Hooch would not even ask him to fly. Saturday morning was cool and overcast. The dementors mist was light at first, but thickened as the time for the tryouts approached. Ginny walked down to the stadium with Luna and Neville, who were coming to watch and cheer. Judging from the number of students streaming down the lawn, most of the school would be there. On their way they were overtaken by Dean Thomas, Ritchie Coote, and Jimmy Peakes, three of the other Gryffindors who had announced that they would try out. “Hey, Ginny,” Dean called as they came up behind. “Lousy weather, isn’t it?” “Hello, Dean.” Ginny nodded to him, but stayed with Luna and Neville. As they neared the stadium she hurried on ahead and came out on the pitch by herself. She found herself in clear air under a gray dome. A weather charm had banished the dementors mist from the expanse above the stadium. The clear space was about a hundred feet high and overlapped the ends of the pitch. The hazy sun was almost visible. Ginny looked around and saw that a section of the stands had been roped off, and about two dozen students were already there with their brooms. Harry was sitting in the front row with Ron, who was nervously tapping his broomstick on the ground; he looked pale. Ginny waved at Harry as she passed and sat down next to Ron. “How are you feeling?” she asked her brother. “Great, really great,” he muttered without looking at her. “I couldn’t eat breakfast.” “Well, I’m sure by the time we’re done here, a delicious lunch will be ready.” Ginny patted his knee and he glared at her. Harry laughed; he looked very relaxed. At ten o’clock Madame Hooch walked onto the pitch and strode to the section where the hopefuls were sitting. The crowd around the stadium grew quiet. “This is how it will work,” she announced in her no—nonsense voice. “Seekers first, then Beaters, then Chasers against Keepers. In each group we’ll start with the oldest and work down to the youngest.” She paused and peered at them. “The objective is to field the strongest team, of course, but you all know the rule that each House must have at least one player on the team. This means that a strong player may lose out to someone not quite so strong. But that’s the rule. If anyone has a problem with it, you can leave now.” She looked them over again. No one moved. “Right.” She took out her whistle. “Seekers first. Two at a time.” Harry stood up and started following Madame Hooch to the center of the pitch where the box with the Quidditch balls had been placed. Then Ginny heard a murmur behind her, and someone began stepping down the rows of benches. Harry stopped and looked back, and Ginny turned, as did everyone else. She saw, to her complete surprise, carefully climbing down onto the pitch, the first—year girl who had been Sorted to Slytherin. Ginny had never noticed her in the corridors or the library, and had not concerned herself with the Slytherin table at mealtimes. Now she looked at her closely for the first time. She was small, barely five—feet tall. She had light brown hair, and was very fair. Her cheeks were slightly pink, but it was hard to tell if that was her complexion or if she was blushing. Ginny thought she was pretty. She was nervous, and did not look at anyone as she walked out onto the pitch. Ginny nudged Ron. “What’s her name?” she asked in a low voice. Ron shrugged. “No idea. She has a Firebolt, though.” The girl looked up at Harry as she walked past him and smiled quickly. He nodded and said something to her, then followed to Madame Hooch who was watching the girl curiously. Someone up in the stands started hooting. “Met your match, did you Potter?” he yelled. Others around him laughed, and Ginny saw that a small group of Slytherins had come to watch. Madame Hooch was speaking to Harry and the girl. Ginny watched Harry closely. He was quite a bit taller, and looked down at her with a blank expression. His eyes lingered over her broomstick, which appeared to be quite a bit older than his own Firebolt. Ginny nudged Ron again. “It’s older than Harry’s, isn’t it?” “Yeah, it’s a pretty outdated model. His should be a lot faster.” Harry and the girl mounted their broomsticks and Madame Hooch released the Golden Snitch. All eyes followed it until it was lost in the mist high above. Hooch blew her whistle and Harry and the girl kicked off. People in the stands started yelling and cheering. The Slytherins were on their feet, whistling and calling out taunts to Harry. Several minutes went by. The two Seekers circled the stadium, but the Snitch was nowhere to be seen. The girl tried to stay close to Harry, but he was clearly the better flyer on the faster broom, and he managed to keep his distance from her. Suddenly there were cries from all over the stadium, and Ginny saw Harry streaking toward the earth. For an instant she thought he had lost control again, and before she could stop herself she was on her feet screaming. Ron grabbed her arm and yanked her back down. Her scream was lost in the cheers and yells of the crowd. When she looked up again she spotted the Snitch below Harry, who was hurtling toward it and the ground. Then another figure flashed out of the sky. Harry had seen the Snitch first, but the Slytherin girl was actually closer to it. She was cutting under him, trying to head him off. “My God,” Ron muttered, “she’s brilliant.” The Slytherins in the stands were screaming and jumping up and down. For a moment Ginny had a vision of Harry standing open—mouthed and bewildered in the middle of the pitch watching the girl hand the Golden Snitch to Madame Hooch. Then she realized what Harry was doing. “No!” she cried to Ron, “He’s brilliant! Watch this!” As the girl closed in on the Snitch, Harry’s Firebolt gave a lurch, and he shot past her. The next instant he had the Snitch in his hand. Ron was on his feet, whooping and clapping. “Yes! Brilliant!” He punched Ginny’s arm. “He saw that she would spot it as soon as he started his dive, so he took some speed off, and she took the bait. She misjudged his drop. If she had flown full out, she would have beat him to it. Ah, that was genius!” He was dancing around in his excitement. Some of the other flyers around them were also talking about the maneuver. Not too bad, Ginny thought to herself, for someone who couldn’t stay in the air a few weeks ago. Harry and the girl walked back to the stands. Harry was talking, and she was looking up at him with an expression that made Ginny giggle. Ron looked at her. “What?” he said. “Harry’s got a fan club. I’ll have to watch out for her.” Ron clapped Harry on the back as he sat down. Ginny moved aside to let the girl climb up. “You’re good,” Ginny said, and the girl blushed a brilliant red and tripped on the bench. Ginny caught her before she fell. “Why don’t you try out for Chaser?” she said. “You’re as good a flyer as anyone here.” “Not as good as him.” She looked at Harry from under her eyebrows and blushed again. “No one is, so don’t worry about it,” Ginny laughed. “Seriously, stay here and try out for Chaser.” “I’ll see, maybe.” The girl ducked her head and climbed to an empty seat. Several students sitting nearby smiled at her. Madame Hooch came back to the tryout section. “No more Seekers? Beaters next, then. Two on two. Are there any seventh and sixth years trying out for Beater?” The tryouts continued. Two Beaters from Hufflepuff were chosen. A dozen students flew for the three Chaser spots, and Ginny, the Ravenclaw boy who Ron had recalled at the Burrow, and the little girl from Slytherin won the jobs. Ron’s nervousness had vanished with Harry’s capture of the Golden Snitch, and he stopped eight of ten shots; only Ginny and the little girl scored on him. He easily beat out a tall, lanky fifth-year from Slytherin who left the pitch complaining loudly about favoritism for Harry Potter and his friends. The team met in the dressing room after the tryouts, and Madame Hooch showed them their new Quidditch robes: black with red, yellow, blue, and green arm chevrons and the Hogwarts coat of arms on the back. “We will be flying against professional players,” she told them. “They are faster than all of you. They obviously have more experience. They will score a lot of goals, there is no way we can stop that.” She looked at Ron. “You will have to keep your cool, Mr. Weasley, no matter how frustrated you are. Mr. Thumpel and Miss Romani,” she turned to the Beaters from Hufflepuff, “we will be practicing blocking maneuvers as well as other defensive tactics. The Chasers will play back to help you out. We have to keep the score as close as possible. The key will be teamwork. Individual heroics will be next to useless against professionals like these. As for the Seeker, Mr. Potter, your stunt this morning was inspiring, but I assure you it won’t work against someone like the Cannons’ Forrester Salinger. He’s seen it and used it longer than you have been flying. Come to think of it,” she appraised him with a raised eyebrow, “did you get it from him?” Harry grinned sheepishly. “I thought so. We’ll have to come up with something more original if you want to have any chance at the Snitch.” Ginny caught Harry’s eye and put her hand on the golden lion clasp in her hair. Harry grinned and nodded. The lecture went on for several more minutes, and then the team left the dressing room and walked back to the castle together. Ginny found herself with the girl from Slytherin. “I’m Ginny Weasley,” she introduced herself as they left the stadium. The girl smiled at her. “I’m Elspeth Pendragon. You’re Harry Potter’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” Ginny laughed and ignored the question. “Where are you from? How did you learn to fly like that. You almost beat him out.” Elspeth blushed. “My daddy taught me. He played Quidditch when he was here. But that was a long time ago. We live in Cornwall, near Penzance.” Ginny had never known a wizarding family from Cornwall, even though it was not all that far from the Burrow; she had never heard of Penzance, except for a vague memory of a song her father had once listened to on a Muggle device that played music. “So your father played Quidditch for Slytherin?” Ginny asked. Elspeth frowned. “Um, no. He played for Hufflepuff. So did my mum.” “They were in Hufflepuff?” Ginny was a little surprised. Students were usually Sorted into the same House that their parents were in. To her knowledge it was unheard of for someone from a non—Slytherin family to end up in that House. “Yes,” the girl answered; she was still scowling. “Everyone in my family was.” She glanced at Ginny. “Was your family in Gryffindor?” “Always,” Ginny said promptly. “As far back as anyone can remember.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. They were almost at the castle when Ginny spoke again. “What do your parents think about it? I mean, about your being in Slytherin instead of Hufflepuff?” “My dad doesn’t like it. My mum’s dead.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” Ginny was embarrassed; she shouldn’t have pried. “That’s all right.” Elspeth smiled again. “She died right after I was born, so I never knew her. My dad’s coming tomorrow because it’s the anniversary of when she was – I mean when she died. We always visit the grave every year.” Ginny stopped dead in her tracks. She stared at the girl. “Your mum’s grave?” she repeated. “Yes. I’m sorry. I d—didn’t mean to say anything,” Elspeth stammered. Ginny put her hand on Elspeth’s shoulder. “No, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I have to go. We’ll talk later,” she called over her shoulder as she took the steps two at a time into the castle. Harry and Ron were at the end of the corridor, heading for the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. “Harry!” she yelled. “Wait! I have to talk to you!’ Harry and Ron stopped and turned as Ginny raced toward them. They both looked surprised, and Harry even more so as Ginny grabbed his shoulder, almost knocking him over. “It’s the grave!” she sputtered breathlessly. “That’s it! Riddle talked about his mum’s grave!” Harry didn’t try to take her hand from his shoulder. Instead, he put his own hand on her mouth. Ginny was so startled that she dropped her broomstick. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She turned red and picked it up. “I’m sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s just that I suddenly remembered something about –” He covered her mouth again. “Not here,” he said quietly. He turned to Ron. “I think Hermione went to the library. Go find her and bring her to the common room. Tell her it’s about a Horcrux.” Ron gaped at him for a moment, then glanced at Ginny. “Go!” Harry said. “We’ll be up there.” Ron turned and walked quickly down the hall. “Come on,” Harry said to Ginny. For a moment she thought he would take her hand, but he gestured to the stairs instead, and they went up in silence. They didn’t talk as they waited in the chairs in front of the fireplace, but Ginny could hardly contain herself. She was about to give Harry valuable information about Voldemort himself, something that probably no one else in the world knew. He had to let her into his confidence after this. Harry looked at her strangely, and Ginny realized that she was staring at him, and that she probably had a fairly stupid grin on her face.“S—sorry. Weren’t the tryouts great?” “Uh, huh.” Harry just looked at her. Ginny turned her head and stared at a portrait hanging next to the fireplace; the wizard in it rolled his eyes and made a zipping motion across his mouth with his hand. In five minutes Ron was back with Hermione, who looked keenly at Ginny as they sat down. Harry pulled his chair around so that it faced the others and the common room; several people were scattered around the room studying or talking. “Okay, Ginny,” he said in a low voice, “what about his mum’s grave?” “What’s a Horcrux?” she asked. Harry sat back. “It’s something that Voldemort uses,” he said after a moment. “That’s what you’re looking for, isn’t it?” She followed Harry’s glance at Ron and Hermione. “I told her we were looking for something,” Hermione stated defensively. “I didn’t say what it was. Apparently someone else did.” “I did,” Harry said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have.” “Please don’t start that, Harry,” Ginny said. “I’ll tell you what I know, but don’t treat me like a first—year.” Her voice softened. “I had to remind you once that I am the only person you know who can tell you what it’s like to be possessed by Voldemort. Now I know something else about him. Why can’t you take a chance on me?” Harry looked uncomfortably at Hermione and Ron. Hermione looked at Ron. “We agree,” said Ron. “Come on, mate, you already spilled it. What else does she have to do to get you to trust her?” “It’s not a question of trust.” Harry squirmed in his chair. “The more there are who know, the sooner he’ll find out we’re looking for them.” “So you don’t trust me!” Ginny exclaimed angrily. “That’s great, Harry. Everyone in this school thinks I’m your girlfriend, but I’ll tell them that I can’t be because you don’t trust me.” Now Harry looked upset. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean that. Of course I trust you.” He tried to smile, but Ginny had seen that look before when his own stubbornness was making him miserable. “Okay,” she said. “I know you do. Let me tell you what I just figured out downstairs.” They all leaned closer, and Ginny again thought that Harry was about to take her hand. This time he covered the gesture by hitching up his Quidditch robes. Ginny began. “I was talking with the little Slytherin girl. Her name is Elspeth Pendragon. Her mum’s dead. Every year she and her dad visit her grave. He’s coming tomorrow to take her there. When she told me about visiting her mum’s grave, all of a sudden I remembered something that Riddle said to me in the diary. In fact, he said it a lot.” “What do you mean, a lot?” Hermione asked. “He never stopped talking about it. Now that I recall, he was pretty obsessed. He said it over and over. He wanted to find his mum’s grave. He said he wanted to find it so that she wouldn’t be alone any more.” “Alone,” Harry repeated. “Did he mean that after he found it she wouldn’t be alone?” “I don’t know. I don’t’ remember him talking about what he would do after he found it.” She shook her head. “There’s so much I can’t remember. I’ve tried, but it’s like walking into a dark room, but your eyes never get used to it. Sometimes I’m not even sure I’m there myself.” They were all silent. Finally Ron asked, “Do you think he hid one there? And if he did, where is it, anyway? From what Dumbledore said, I’d say that no one knows where she was buried.” Harry didn’t answer; he looked uncertainly at Ginny. Hermione saw his look. “Harry, you’ve got to tell her,” she insisted. “There’s more information inside her head, she just has to figure out how to remember it. Ginny can help you more than Ron and I put together. Stop this nonsense about protecting her!” Harry sat back in his chair and looked into the fire. Hermione scowled but said nothing. Finally Harry faced Ginny. He reached out and took her hand. Ginny’s heart skipped a beat. “Ginny.” He was almost whispering. “I won’t change my mind about your coming with us, but I’m asking you to help me, on my terms. Can you do that?” Hermione hissed, but Harry ignored her. Ginny’s heart stopped pounding. “What do you want from me, Harry?” She looked down. “I’ve been killing myself with this ever since you got back from the Chamber of Secrets. Do you have any idea how painful this has been? Do you think I give a damn about saving the wizarding world? I’m doing it for you.” She put her face in her hand; Harry was still holding the other. She tried to pull it away, but he held it tight. “Ginny, that’s not what I meant.” “Let go!” she yelled, and the common room went quiet as people turned to look. She yanked her hand away and stood up. “Now watch me walk away!” she shouted. She shoved her chair back and it toppled over with a crash. The room was dead silent as she stormed away to the girls’ staircase. She heard Hermione calling Harry something that she had never heard her friend say before. Ginny stomped up the stairs and stopped at the door to her room. She took several deep breaths. Someone came up behind her, and she knew without looking that it was Hermione. She opened the door and went inside and dropped into a chair. Hermione followed and closed the door. “I can’t believe he did that,” Hermione fumed. “What a git. Dump him, Ginny. Dean Thomas would be a lot less trouble.” Ginny stared blankly into space for a moment. Then, to Hermione’s surprise, she smiled. “Hermione, would you dump Ron if he did something stupid only because he thought he was saving the world? Of course Harry was an effing moron, like you said. I’m royally ticked at him. But I’m not heartbroken.” She laughed. “And I’ve been looking for an excuse to walk away from him. He’s already done it to me three times, you know, so I figured it was a little payback. It actually felt quite good.” “So... so you’re okay with it?” Hermione was incredulous. “No, I’m not okay with it.” Ginny scowled. “It hurts. But I don’t want him to fall off a broom again.” She eyed Hermione. “What was his reaction after I walked away?” “He looked like he had just swallowed a Skrewt. Ron was mad at him, too,” she added. “Good.” Ginny smiled. “So how long is it safe for me to keep him sleeping on the sofa?” Hermione roared with laughter. “Oh, Ginny, that’s perfect! Does Harry Potter need you! Oh dear.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “Well, keep him there at least for a while. But how do you know it’s safe?” She burst out laughing again. “Because three weeks ago when I got here he told me he couldn’t eat when I was near him. My enchanting personality and bewitching looks must be too distracting.” She laughed at Hermione, who wasn’t sure if Ginny was joking. “Seriously,” Ginny went on, “he did tell me that he couldn’t trust himself in a tight spot if I was around, but I didn’t call him on it. But after what he said today...” She thought for a moment. “I couldn’t go off with you lot, anyway. I’m underage. We would all get in trouble.” “That’s true. So you can accept his so—called terms without giving anything up.” That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ginny agreed. She pondered again. “Do you think Harry was thinking that?” “No, not at all. He was thinking about being in a tight spot with you. He also wants to protect you, so give him credit for that. But if he thought about it at all, he would see the underage problem pretty quickly. Maybe he already has, but he doesn’t want to bring it up. You’d be pretty angry if he did, wouldn’t you?” “Yeah, I would.” “Ginny, don’t be too hard on him.” Ginny sighed. “I don’t think I can be. I blew up without thinking, but two seconds later I wanted to tell him I was sorry.” “I know what you mean. Ron and I went through this kind of thing for years, and every time it happened I wanted to punch him and kiss him at the same time.” She chuckled. Ginny smiled, then she straightened up. “So, Hermione, what’s a Horcrux?” “Oh.” Hermione sobered quickly. “Ginny, it’s the worst Dark Magic imaginable, and you must promise not to tell anyone.” Hermione told her everything she knew about Horcruxes, and when she was finished Ginny shook her head. “That’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “To take someone’s life so you can be immortal is as evil as it can get. Harry has to destroy him.” They sat in silence, and then Ginny spoke again. “So that’s why you were in the Chamber of Secrets, and that’s what you were doing last summer when you all left the Burrow. You were trying to find a Horcrux.” “And destroy it. Harry helped Dumbledore find one, so he knows what that’s like. But we don’t have a clue how to destroy one. It can’t be easy. It almost killed Dumbledore. Do you remember how his arm looked last year? That was from destroying a Horcrux.” Ginny grimaced. “Maybe someone like Professor McGonagall or Mad—Eye Moody would know. I’ll bet Snape does.” “I’ll bet he does, too,” Hermione agreed. “But don’t tell anyone about it, Ginny, not even someone in the Order. We all agreed that Harry would be the one to decide who knows and who doesn’t.” Ginny nodded, and was about to get up when Hermione stopped her. “Wait a second, there’s something interesting I found out today.” Ginny sat back down and looked at her expectantly; whenever Hermione said she had something interesting to say, it was worth listening to. “I went to the library right after the tryouts,” Hermione began. “I was fascinated by that girl, Elspeth Pendragon. I was sitting in the stands near those Slytherin prats and heard them talk about her. They don’t like her. They were calling her a blood traitor, and complaining that she had been Sorted into Slytherin. So I looked her family up, and it’s amazing. They may be the oldest wizarding family in Britain. They go back so far that nobody knows where they came from. There’s even a tradition in their family that they were here when Merlin came.” “Ah!” exclaimed Ginny. “That explains why she was so unhappy about being in Slytherin. Her parents met here, and they were both Hufflepuffs. Her family’s been in Hufflepuff forever.” Hermione nodded. “Yes, I read that, too. So the really interesting question is, why did the Hat put her in Slytherin? It’s not supposed to care how many it Sorts into one House or another. It’s just supposed to put you into the House that’s right for you.” Hermione thought for a moment. “I wonder,” she mused. “From what you say, she’s not at all like any other Slytherin I ever knew. Do you think that the Hat could have another purpose?” Ginny stood up. “It is really interesting, but I really want to talk to Harry.” “Right.” Hermione didn’t seem to be listening. She got up also. “I need to go back to the library. I’ll see you later.” Ginny followed her downstairs, and saw Ron sitting by himself at the fireplace. He looked up as Ginny walked over, and glanced at Hermione as she hurried out the portrait hole. “Where’s she going?” he asked. “Back to the library. Something about a plot being hatched by the Sorting Hat.” Ginny looked around the common room. “Do you know where Harry is?” “Huh? What plot?” “Nothing.” Ginny laughed. “She’s trying to find out about Elspeth Pendragon. Where’s Harry?” she asked again. “He said he was going down to the lake, hopefully not to drown himself. I started to tell him he was a right bloody git, but he was being so hard on himself that I couldn’t do it. You should go talk to him. Why Elspeth Pendragon?” “Ask Hermione. I have to find Harry,” Ginny said to a bemused Ron as she hurried to the portrait hole. |
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