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Lessons from Neverland | ||||
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Category: Peter Pan Challenge (2007-4) Characters:All Genres: Drama Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 12 Summary: Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione all fall asleep in the Room of Requirement. Ginny awakes to find herself carried away by a Harry Potter that seems more like a storybook character that Hermione is reading about: Peter Pan. Hitcount: Story Total: 3671 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: I've never actually responded to a Challenge before. I like the story I wrote, although I felt very limited by the 10k word limit. Not as action oriented as I expected it to be, I think it caught the spirit of how I interpreted the Peter Pan story to be, capturing the larger underlying theme... to never grow up and accept the responsibilities of adulthood. |
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CLASH. CLINK. CLASH. CLASH. Neville laughed. “Take that! And that! And that!” Ginny rolled her eyes as she watched her normally shy and non-aggressive friend continue to fend off Argus Filch who kept trying to pin the boy down, the glint from the flickering blades almost hypnotic in their rhythm. It would have been funny, Neville with a sword, but no matter how strange the situation, it was happening. But as to what exactly was happening, she still had no clue… this crazy alternate reality or something. “Ginny! Look out!” The cry brought her out of her momentary internal musing as she instinctively lifted the sword that was firmly held in her own hand, parrying an underhanded strike that the Sinistra look-alike had thrown at her. For a moment, she held her own against the older woman, but eventually she started to suffer under the Sinistra’s superior skill with a blade. Dodging away from a fairly vicious downward swing from the older woman, Ginny dove to the ground. She had to ignore how the rough wood on the ship’s deck dug into her bare knees and elbows. She turned to look back at the woman, modesty forgotten as her shirt rose a little higher than she was comfortable with… plus the fact that she was without pants or a skirt, exposing her knickers for the world to see. Ginny lifted her sword just in time as Sinistra’s came hard into contact, the ringing of the blades meeting jarring her arm to the point of it almost going numb. This was turning into a serious problem. Apparently, her plight had not gone too far unnoticed, as there was a sudden surge of allies and “sort of” friends all around her; even her non-brother, Ron, was making a grand show of defending her. “Get back, Ginny.” Seamus cried over his shoulder. “Find Harry! We can hold off them off until you find him.” She shook her head. “I’m not leaving you… you could get hurt.” From her left, Dean called out to her. Glancing his way, she watched as this strangely funny and arrogant version of her ex-boyfriend put his knife against the throat of Filius Flitwick. He looked pretty impressive there, his eyes alight with joy; not to mention the rugged patchwork of clothing he and the others were wearing… all much better for a swordfight than the little she herself was currently clad in “Go. We got these stinkin’ grown-ups.” Ginny hesitated. “Don’t kill them.” Laughter met her suggestion. “Of course…” A very outspoken and laughing Padma called out at her. Parvati continued. “…This isn’t Pirates of the Caribbean, after all!” Taking only a moment to consider the twins’ words (not understanding what the Caribbean Islands had to do with the situation), Ginny nodded and turned to run back in the opposite direction as the fight, to the lower deck of the giant ship. Maybe Dumbledore was keeping Harry captive somewhere below. Maybe in the time it took to find this Harry, not necessarily her Harry, but a Harry nonetheless, she could figure out exactly what she and everyone else was supposed to do and get out of this crazy place! …oooOOOooo… Where to begin? Imagine a world where everything you think you know is thrown out the window. Sure, there are similarities. The faces and the names are all the same, but how they all interacted and were related among and between one another had all changed. People she knew, faces went with who they were supposed to be. Headmaster Dumbledore was still Albus Dumbledore, but now he was a captain… and Hogwarts was a ship, not a school. The staff of the school Ginny knew to be real now all acted like pirates. McGonagall, Flitwck. All of them. Pirate Snape was still a git, but now instead of tormenting students as a harsh potions master, he acted as the personal toady to the Captain. Worse, however, was that there seemed to be some type of war going on between the professors… uhm… pirates versus Dumbeldore’s Army… well, the Defense Association…err, the Lost Boys (thought why they were called Lost Boys when there were clearly girls, too). Students fought professors, adults against children. And “children”, sadly, was the correct term. No one seemed to be the right age. All of her friends and classmates seemed to be around ten to eleven years old. Everyone was changed, everyone but her. It was just all so confusing. If it hadn’t been for Hermione and Luna… but those two were another problem all together. Ignoring the sounds of the continued skirmish taking place right now above her head on the deck of the Hogwarts pirate ship, Ginny looked inside every door that she passed. So far, there was no sign of Harry. Harry. Harry Potter. Sighing, Ginny silently cursed how much she was so totally in love with the prat, everything always seemed to surround him in some way. This was all his fault, no matter how much to the contrary she had been told. She wasn’t really sure how. Not just yet, but she’d find out how. And then there’d be hell to pay. This had all started innocently enough. Ginny had been relaxing in the Room of Requirement with her brother, Hermione and Harry after a fairly quick DA meeting. Harry had decided to cut the lesson short, seeing as how there were so many complaining about needing to revise some more regarding the upcoming OWLS or NEWTS that were only a couple of weeks away. Ginny remembered Harry’s downcast eyes once it was just the four of them left in the Room. She had thought it was over schoolwork, but as she drew him into a hug… something he looked like he needed, Harry had explained that his private lessons with the Headmaster were not going well. In fact, they were so bad that he was thinking of stopping them altogether. Telling Dumbledore that he wouldn’t be attending any longer. Ginny had wanted to talk more about it, but then Hermione had started discussing the upcoming tests and asked to look over the boys’ notes and homework. Ron had tried to redirect Hermione’s question by asking what she still had to do. Unfortunately, Hermione had completed everything, which led to her being scandalized when both Ron and Harry had sheepishly admitted they still had some studying to do. That caused Hermione to declare that she was not letting either out of her sight until they were done. Ginny had just rolled her eyes, watching as her boyfriend… SQUEEE!!! Harry Potter was her boyfriend!… seeing how Harry had been so easily cowed under Granger’s glare. He had pulled his books out right then and sat on the couch that the Room provided and began to study. Not one to miss an opportunity, Ginny had immediately grabbed her own bag from next to the door and made herself comfortable next to him and started work as well. Ron, naturally, had complained, but even he finally got into the act when he was left to himself. All Hermione had to really work on (if you could count it at all) was a quick review of a book she was writing a report about for extra credit in Muggle Studies: something by an author named Bear or something… That was the last that Ginny remembered anything being normal. …oooOOOooo… “Please come here and sit down.” Ginny sighed from her bed. She had been sleeping so well, the slight creek of the walls of the Burrow a comforting sound that always somehow made her feel safe. The pleasant slumber had been so rudely interrupted as someone was making an awful racket, enough noise to wake the ghoul up in the upper reaches of her home. For a moment, she had been frightened; there was someone in her room. It had taken all of her Gryffindor courage to not hide under the sheets and start screaming her lungs out, but instead come out and face what was going on. After all, it could simply have been her brothers setting up some elaborate design to prank her with in the morning. Steeling herself… not to mention wishing she had her wand, Ginny had lit the lamp next to her bed to see what was going on. To say that she was surprised to see Harry in her room would be one of the most obvious of understatements… but that seeing Harry was here, Ginny was suddenly very confused. More confusing, though, was how her boyfriend was dressed. Forest green in color, he was covered in various patches of leather… tight along his legs. Ginny blushed at the way the outfit showed off his legs so nicely. ‘Wait!’ her mind started screaming. What was her boyfriend doing here? In her room? Some deliciously adolescent thoughts came to mind, but then she shook her head. What was going on? Why was he here? But more to the point, why was SHE here? What had happened to the rest of the school year? She had OWLS to prepare for! After she had asked him to sit down, she tried to think of what had happened last. They had been studying… but that was it. Had someone tampered with her mind? What was the date? And, now that I think about it, why hasn’t my Mum come to check and see what all the noise was yet? She knew she was becoming flushed, no answers coming to mind, but the sound of sniffling brought her up quickly. “Harry?” She asked tenderly. “Are you okay?” The-Boy-Who-Lived looked up at her, his gorgeous green eyes wide in surprise. “Wh-who are you?” She was definitely confused. “Harry? It’s me. Ginny.” At his confused look, she huffed. “You know, your girlfriend.” “Girlfriend?” He absently wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt, his hand wiping at his tear stained cheeks. “Why would I want a girlfriend? You’re very pretty, of course, but I don’t need a girlfriend.” Okay. There is definitely something wrong here. Taking a deep breath, Ginny tried to remain calm. “What are you doing here, Harry?” “How do you know my name?” He ignored her question for one of his own. Deciding to placate him, she bit back a retort and tried to follow his thought before continuing on with hers. “Everyone knows you, Harry. You’re famous. Remember?” He clearly didn’t, not if the expression on his face was any clue, but he covered it fairly well. He smiled that smile that always made her feel like her knees were going to give out. “Well. Of course. I’m Harry Potter, after all.” She nodded, trying not to laugh as he struck a silly pose. Instead, she repeated her earlier question. “What are you doing here, Harry?” At her question, his face fell. “I lost my shadow. I saw it come in here, but I can’t get it to stay with me.” That had to be just about the most original line she’d ever heard for a guy to slip into a girl’s room. Maybe he was just pulling her leg. She smiled. “Do you want me to kiss it and make it feel better?” “What?!” The idea clearly shocked him. “How would a kiss get me my shadow back?” “Harry!” He was still looking at her like she was crazy, but he remained quiet. “Harry.” She tried again. “What?” His voice was hesitant. Something was clearly very wrong. Sitting up, not worried about only wearing an old shirt to bed, she patted the space in front of her. He watched her warily before finally, slowly moving over so he could sit in the indicated spot. Once within reach, Ginny carefully took his hand in hers. “You’re not making sense, Harry. What is going on? Why are you here?” “I told you… I saw my shadow dart in here. I came after it. I caught it, but I can’t get him to stay.” Ginny blew absently at her hair that had fallen in her face. “Harry. You can’t lose your shadow…” Shaking his head, Harry lifted his arm in front of the lamp at her bedside. “Then can you tell me where it is?” Not immediately understanding, she shook her head and looked over to where he was gesturing. She was clueless to what he was talking about until she looked at the wall. Her brow furrowed, she carefully moved her hand out to meet his. On the wall, she watched as the shadow of her hand and arm appeared on the wall. Harry’s was nowhere to be seen. With wide eyes, she turned brown eyes to his green ones. “See?” He smiled. “I told you.” Ginny fainted. …oooOOOooo… From there, the world had just gotten crazier. Everything seemed fine at first as Ginny slowly woke, feeling arms around her, and smiled. There was a slight crick in her neck, obviously from falling asleep next to her boyfriend. She covered her mouth as she yawned, ignoring the pleasant sounding masculine chuckle that signified it was indeed Harry she was next to. She must be back at Hogwarts. It was all just a dream. Opening her eyes, she found herself immediately caught in his emerald gaze. “Sleep well?” “Mmmmhmmmm…” Okay, so she wasn’t the greatest conversationalist when she first woke up. Unbidden, a smile came to her face as she realized that he was smiling, his face so close to hers. For a moment, there was a tension between them where she thought Harry was going to kiss her. Her eyes closed in preparation. It never came. Ginny opened her eyes, wondering what was wrong, only to watch as he continued to stare at her, his face now unreadable. She pulled back, hurt, and it was then that she took in her surroundings. She was definitely not at school anymore. Not even the Burrow. Looking around in confusion, all she could see was rough walls and various knickknacks and other debris, haphazardly placed around the enclosed room. Maybe a cave. “Where are we?” “My place.” She looked back at him again. “Your place?” At his nod, she scowled. “This doesn’t look like Privet Drive…” “Where?” “Where are we, Harry? Exactly.” He shrugged. “Neverland.” “Huh?” Ginny shook her head. “And how did we get here?” “Hedwig. She dusted you and then we flew.” “Eww.” She frowned. “That sounds gross.” He laughed again. “I don’t think she was really happy about flying you here. With me, that is. Seemed right jealous.” “She’s an owl, Harry. Not your girlfriend. That’s me.” He gave her that strange look again, like she was missing the obvious. Maybe she was. Panic was slowly setting in. She pulled out of his embrace, ready for a struggle, but was surprised when he immediately let her go. Her hands immediately went to her pocket for a wand… which was not there. Not to mention the lack of pants. Her face blushed as red as her hair as she realized that she was still wearing only the oversized Chudley Cannons shirt that had belonged to Ron and a pair of cotton panties. No wand. No clothes. At least it was only Harry here. In fact, this was remarkably close to many of her fantasies… of course, nothing was going exactly as she had pictured in those romantic settings. But he was still dressed so strangely… green patches that made up a tunic of sorts. It almost looked like it was stylized to appear as leaves. Ivy, maybe. No… not her fantasy. Then a truly scary doubt wormed its way into her mind. This could be a trick! This Harry could be a Death Eater! Or maybe it was the real Harry Potter, but he’d had his mind wiped by Death Eaters! This could be the end! But why would he be dressed in such a way? She had only a moment to worry about hyperventilating, the danger of this unknown situation starting to really get to her, when Harry suddenly drew his gaze away from her and looked over to where a door was along the far wall. Slowly moving to a better defensible position, she waited as the sounds of numerous persons drew closer and closer. Darting her eyes back and forth between Harry and the door, she could only wait to see what new form of insanity she was soon going to be subjected to. The word insanity could have been nothing closer to the truth. When the door finally opened, Ginny was amazed to see most of the DA entering into the room, all laughing and talking in a cacophony of noise and movement. Strangely, all of her friends and other classmates were clothed in weird costumes. But at the front were Luna and Hermione, and for a brief moment, Ginny felt relieved to see two of her closest girlfriends. The feeling was short-lived, though, as Ginny had no way of knowing if they were her friends or another form of imposters. She worried at her lower lip, terrified that all of her friends were going to be strange. The only hope was that Hermione and Luna were dressed as she was… meaning hardly dressed at all. Her bushy-haired friend was in a dressing gown, even lucky enough to wearing the slippers that she was often caught wearing in the Gryffindor common room during a lazy weekend morning. The Ravenclaw, on the other hand, was covered in a set of matching pajamas, her feet covered in the most horrible striped green and orange socks that Ginny had ever laid eyes on. Were they going to remember her? Her fears were vanquished, however, when Hermione’s gaze locked with hers and the sudden warmth of recognition flickered. “Ginny! Is it really you?” At her words, Luna turned her gaze to rest on her, as well. Tears came unbidden as Ginny stood and immediately rushed into the bushy-haired girl’s arms, hugging onto her for dear life. “Hermione! What’s going on? Where are we? What’s wrong with Harry?” Ginny felt the older girl rubbing her back in comfort. “Shhhhh. Luna and I will explain everything.” “Does that mean you know what’s going on?” Hermione pulled back to answer, but her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened as she took in Ginny’s appearance. “Where are your clothes, Gin?” The redhead blushed. She hated that both Luna and Hermione, while also in bedtime clothing, were at least not as embarrassingly revealing. “I woke up here in Harry’s arms in what I normally sleep in. Nothing else. Not even my wand.” “At least you got to wake up with Harry.” Luna added from behind where they were standing. “I had to have a bunch of glowing owls try to choke me to death with dust and then drag me here by my hair… not the experience I thought it might be.” Ginny tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what the Ravenclaw had said, when a yell pulled her attention away. “Harry!” A voice to Ginny’s left suddenly called out. “You saved me!” Rolling her eyes at the sound of the oh-so familiar and unwelcome voice, Ginny turned past Hermione’s now apologetic expression and watched as Cho Chang leapt out from behind where Terry Boot and Lavender Brown stood and launched herself at Harry. For his part, Harry seemed happy to see her, but not overly enthusiastic about her near tackle. “Harry saved her?” Ron choked, his ears red. “Harry wasn’t even bloody there!” “I’m glad you’re okay, Cho.” “It was so horrible!” The Asian girl pouted. “They tied me up. Dumbledore wanted to lure you into a trap!” Harry smirked. “I’m too smart for that old man.” Cho seemed to not even listen to him. Sticking her arms out at him, she whined. “I have rope marks on my skin. It looks horrible.” He nodded sympathetically. Ginny could only grind her teeth, as Harry carefully examined each wrist. The fact that Cho seemed to be wearing even less than Ginny was… some type of leather loincloth with brightly covered feathers and strange beadwork all over it. “Not one for being tied up? Sorry.” Harry sarcastically answered her former girlfriend. “I’ll let you tie me up.” Luna’s soft voice carried over the room. When everyone fell quiet and just looked at the strange blonde, she shrugged as if without a care at the implied meaning behind her words. “What? I think it would be great to play pirates and Indians. I could be the hostage this time.” “She’s Chinese, not Indian.” Padma huffed. “Whatever.” Ginny pulled her gaze reluctantly from where Luna was moving over to talk with Harry and Cho, and turned to stare at Hermione. The sixth year Gryffindor motioned for her to follow her over to a secluded corner so that they could chat privately. “I’m not sure how to explain this, Gin…” The redhead shook her head. “Just give me what you’ve got so far…” Hermione took a deep breath. “Well, I think we are still somehow inside the Room of Requirement.” When Ginny didn’t immediately interrupt, she nodded and continued. “I don’t know how, maybe we all fell asleep or something… maybe. I can’t remember anyone ever saying that they’d fallen asleep in there or not, but we seem to be caught up in some type of… well, we’re in the story I was reading for Muggle Studies.” Ginny’s face paled. “Inside a book? L-l-like T-tom’s diary?” Hermione was shaking her head, her hands reaching out to comfort her. “No! No. More like… you wouldn’t understand. A holodeck simulation, or something.” “A holo-what?” “Ignore that. What I mean is that none of this is actually real. At least, I don’t think it’s real. We just have to finish the story and then wake up. I think, anyway.” Ginny sighed. “Do you know the story?” Hermione nodded. “It’s a Muggle classic. I’ve read it dozens of times. Even watched the movies and plays. I even liked that one with Robin Williams.” Ginny frowned. “Who?” “Nevermind.” Hermione shook her head. “It’s the story that’s important.” “What’s it about?” The bookworm took another deep breath. “Its about a boy that refuses to grow up. He flies in the window of a girl’s house, chasing his shadow. He brings her and her two brothers back to Neverland and they go on a bunch of adventures, culminating in a big fight with the bad guy, Captain Hook.” Ginny nodded. “So we just need to get Harry to fight this Hook guy and then we all go home?” “I think so.” Hermione replied. “But I’m worried about how things are different here than in the story. Things have already changed so much… and I can’t help but worry that if I am right…” “You usually are.” Ginny offered. “If I am right,” Hermione ignored the interruption. “And we are, in fact, in the Room of Requirement, then we may have more issues to deal with than just finishing the story.” “Like what?” “Well, if the Room was just dealing with me and my knowledge of the book, then there shouldn’t be so many changes. Not to mention that I always pictured myself in the role of Wendy.” “Who’s Wendy?” Hermione looked at Ginny for a moment. “In this case, you are. As for the book, she’s sort of the love interest for Peter Pan, or as we’re dealing with now, Harry.” “Do Wendy and Peter live happily ever after?” Hermione hesitated. “Uhm… not really. She grows up and leaves him behind. There’s a later story where she sort of adopts him and becomes his mother.” “Bugger that.” Ginny scowled. “How do we get out of here?” “I’m not so sure it will be that simple.” Hermione grinned. “Besides, I think that where you and Harry are concerned, the plot of the book will make little difference.” “Hopefully.” Ginny blushed. “Back to the problem, though. Unfortunately, I worry that the Room is dealing with all four of us. You, me, Harry and Ron. In my case, it’s taking the setting of the story.” Ginny frowned. “But I’ve never read the book. How am I affecting what is going on?” “As I said, you’re the love interest, wanting to fly away with Harry. You’re going to have to deal with your feelings for Harry in all of this.” “Okay. And Ron?” The older girl now matched Ginny’s frown. “He’s in the role of Slightly Soiled, one of the primary Lost Boys. A strong character, but one that ultimately almost gets Peter, or Harry in this case, killed.” Unable to stop it, Ginny turned to see Ron over to the side, loudly talking with the others in the group surrounding him. This was nearly too much to take. Taking a moment to compose herself, Ginny asked the question she most wanted an answer for and feared the most. “What about Harry’s part in all of this?” “That’s the one I’m most afraid of.” She sighed. “Some of the underlying themes in Peter Pan’s story are the worry that most children have about growing up, having to take on adult responsibilities. In this case, I think Harry is scared of the direction of his life and will be the hardest to convince to come out of it… he wants to be normal. Barring that, he’ll hold on tightly to the dream of not needing to deal with the expectations that Professor Dumbledore is heaping upon him.” Ginny was silent as she tried to process everything that her friend was telling her. Thinking about everything she was seeing and hearing, she finally came up with a line of thought that really worried her. “What’s Cho’s part in all this?” Hermione waved her hand dismissively. “Small role. Indian princess. Used to lure Peter into a trap. Since that parts over, she should fade out.” “Good.” Ginny paused as she looked around. “Why did Cho say Dumbledore had set a trap for Harry? Shouldn’t that have been You-Know-Who?” Hermione grimaced. “That’s the part that has me stumped. I can only guess that while Voldemort is the evil that Harry has to face in the real world, Harry feels as if the Headmaster is trying to control his future, forcing him to grow up.” “And Peter Pan, Harry, doesn’t want to grow up.” Ginny finished. “I don’t think so.” “So who are you here?” Hermione shrugged. “I’m John. Wendy’s brother.” As Ginny snickered, Hermione mock glared. “Laugh all you want, but he was the smart one.” “Sure.” Ginny conceded sarcastically. “Whatever you say.” “The other person you need to worry about is Luna.” Hermione said into the quiet that followed. “Luna?” Ginny paused in her thoughts. “Why Luna? What part is she playing?” “She’s Michael, I think, Wendy’s youngest brother… but that’s not really important. She has me worried because there were only the four of us in the Room. We are the ones that should be responsible for getting out of this crazy dream thing.” “So?” Hermione rolled her eyes. “Well, if it was just the four of us, why is she here and knows it’s a dream?” Ginny thought about the question. “That doesn’t make sense…” “See!” She cried triumphantly. “No. I mean you.” Ginny argued. “Harry and Ron seem lost in this story. Not us, though. So what’s to say that someone else couldn’t be involved?” Hermione chewed at her lower lip. “Good point. I didn’t think of that. It could be the roles we’re all in. Wendy, John and Michael were all from the real world, while everyone else in the story were a part of Neverland… but that may be reaching a bit.” “Wow.” “What?” “It only took being pulled into some dreamlike alternate reality for you to admit you didn’t have a clue about something. I wish I had my planner you got me for Christmas. I could write it down.” Hermione’s only reply was to stick her tongue out at the younger girl. Ginny smiled and returned the gesture. Once they had both finished giggling, no matter how strange the situation they both found themselves in, Ginny decided to continue her questions. “So… do we need to try and push a resolution between Harry and Dumbledore sooner or later?” “I think sooner. As much fun as this could be, I’m not comfortable with the magic that the Room of Requirement is utilizing to make this happen.” “And that’s just if you’re right.” Hermione tried to hide the forlorn look that seemed to fill her eyes. “Yeah…” …oooOOOooo… In hindsight, it was probably not their greatest of ideas, trying to talk to a Harry Potter that didn’t understand that this world was not his. After finally prying that tart, Cho, away from him long enough to sit him down and discuss the threat that Dumbledore was, to everything, Harry had laughed and gotten up to start talking about what a grand adventure they’d have, a final battle between good and evil that everyone could join in on. There had seemed to be a glint of the Harry that Ginny loved as he spoke, the green of his eyes captivating them, but then he spoke and she realized that they had made a huge tactical error. “I can beat the old one-handed goat once and for all.” He laughed, his grin almost maniacal. “And then evil will triumph over good forever.” “Wait!” Ginny had shrieked. “Evil? I thought we were the good guys.” Harry looked at her like she was crazy again. Maybe really, really she was. “Us? The good guys? Where’s the fun in that?” At his announcement, everyone around starting cheering. Even Luna. Hermione and Ginny could only look at one another, worrying about how this change in the story might affect the overall outcome and potential of success for getting back to the real world. “B-but…” Ginny tried again. “You’re supposed to be the good guy, Harry.” Moving very close to her, Harry ran his fingers along her cheek. She forgot about the problem and just waited for his kiss. It never came. “When Dumbledore claims to be the Leader of the Light and all that’s good, anyone opposed to him has no choice but to be evil.” He explained as he stepped away from Ginny, ignoring her sigh of frustration. “If those are my only choices, I choose evil.” “What about Voldemort?” Hermione interjected. She watched as everyone but Harry shivered at the name. Harry just laughed again. “What? That scaly old beast? He’s just looking to take Dumbledore down. Heh… maybe I’ll help him out. Get more than just Dumbledore’s hand this time.” And that had ended the conversation, at least in Harry’s eyes. While everything was thrown into confusion, the Lost Boys all laughing and making plans, the boy-she-loved moved over to a corner of the room and pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from behind a table. He then held his arm out. Like a choreographed scene she already knew, Hedwig flew to his arm, a streak of white, glittering dust spilling from his wings. She watched as Harry affectionately rubbed under the beak of the bird before he brought his hand back over his head, the strange powder covering him momentarily. Ginny had to take a step back as the owl turned her wide, unblinking eyes towards her… the venom in the gaze of Harry’s longtime familiar. If she considered for a moment, Ginny might have fully realized the jealousy that seemed to burn in the snowy white owl’s bright gaze. Seemingly satisfied at making her claim on Harry, Hedwig then launched off from his shoulder to fly back to wherever she had been perched before her master’s call. It was then with an absolutely flabbergasted look that Ginny watched as Harry seemed to suddenly rise into the air, flying without the aid of any carpet or broom. She was speechless; watching as he carelessly began swooping and twirling around the room, defying gravity, the whole time swinging the Sword around. And then, before she could catch her breath, he was zooming out a window high in the ceiling above, his laughter calling out to echo off of the walls, his parting words leading to everyone cheering again. “I’ll be back later. If I’m not, guess you’ll have to join in the game.” Hermione started screaming, as realization that he had left them behind seemed to sink in. “Don’t you dare fly away from me, Harry James Potter! We’re not finished yet. Get back down here!” Bu it was too late. Harry had taken off without a care, not a plan or anything else. He was off to fight and beat Captain Dumbledore. What had they done? …oooOOOooo… “We don’t have our wands.” Ginny nearly cried after Harry had failed to return by the next morning. Things were getting tense, especially as Cho kept sending over baleful looks every time Ginny happened to glance her way. Hermione nodded. “I know. But there really wasn’t any magic in the Peter Pan stories, so I guess we’ll have to come up with something else. Swords, maybe.” “Do you know how to use a sword?” The older Gryffindor ducked her head. “Not at all.” Luna sat cross-legged to the side of Ginny, silently humming. So far, she had contributed very little to the problem so far, choosing rather to keep pulling at the various leaves and petals from the foliage all around them. Ginny shrugged. “What happens next in the story?” “Well, I guess we need to start coming up with some type of rescue operation.” “This reminds me too much of last year. The Department of Mysteries.” Before Hermione could respond, Luna laughed. “That was fun, the six of us on an adventure. Not as grand as this one, less pretty flowers to play with, but fun all the same. Why are there no flowers at the Ministry?” Probably without even realizing she was doing it, Ginny watched as Hermione flinched and ran her hand along where the faint scar was from that horrible curse she’d been struck down with. Ginny smiled in sympathy and tried to redirect the conversation. “Maybe we should round up the troops here and see about finding out where Dumbledore is.” “That’s easy.” Seamus called from over where he was eating a strange purple fruit, apparently unconcerned that Harry had not yet returned. “He’ll be at Hogwarts, same as he always is. Probably yelling orders at Mister Snape and the others.” “Hogwarts?” Ginny asked. Hermione leaned closer. “That’s the name of his ship here. In the book, Hook had the Jolly Roger. Dumbledore has the Hogwarts.” “That is so… so…” Ginny couldn’t come up with a word. “Appropriate?” Luna grinned, her eyes sparkling. When neither Ginny nor Hermione answered, Luna frowned. “Wrong, then?” Hermione nodded. “That’s it. Wrong.” “So… what are we going to do?” Ginny asked, hating how her voice broke. “We’re going to need a plan?” Ron, the Patil twins and Susan Bones took that moment to join the conversation, leaving behind the strange game they had all been playing. It was Susan that spoke first. “Are we really going to join the fun? Not wait for Harry, but just jump in?” “That sounds so cool.” Padma added. “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Ron began chanting. Hermione tried to get Ginny’s brother to quiet down, but the damage was done. Soon, the entire DA… Lost Boys… began picking up the chant. The room filled with the cries of fight, building to a heavy crescendo. Ginny could only look around in wonder at the almost gleeful looks of her friends and the others, all excited to moving into what Ginny thought might actually be a fairly dangerous situation. Everything kept building, all rationality vanishing, until Hermione finally held her hands up. The sudden quiet, almost deafening after the chant, seemed almost more powerful. Ginny waited for her friend to say something, but Hermione held back. After a moment, Ginny realized that everyone was looking at her. Now what? Taking a breath, Ginny tried not to let the fact that she was standing in a crowd of her friends dressed only in her knickers and her brother’s shirt. Closing her eyes, she silently cursed the name of her love, Harry Potter. “It’s up to us to go see if Harry needs to be rescued.” It was a simple statement, but the room exploded, as everyone began scrambling. She, Hermione and Luna were left only to watch as their classmates started donning various pieces of armor… though it looked more like they were just using whatever they had scrounged together. Dean stepped up, a wide grin on his face, as he formally saluted her: a kitchen pot on his head like a helmet. And lets not even go into what Hannah Abbot was using as a breastplate! The storm of chaos seemed to taper off eventually, everyone standing in formation in front of Ginny, ready for further orders. Ginny nodded to everyone, her mind racing to wonder if this was how Harry sometimes felt when teaching Dumbledore’s Army. How could he stand the pressure? “We need weapons.” At Ginny’s words, that Vane girl that had chased after Harry so diligently presented three swords for them to use. Hermione and Luna each chose first, taking the slightly curved blade and a rapier. That left Ginny with a short sword that felt surprisingly heavy in her hand. Sighing, she realized that everyone was looking expectantly towards her. At Hermione’s nod, Ginny pressed her lips tightly together. A sense of showmanship seemed to fill her suddenly, the need for a spectacular declaration of their intent to win. She lifted the sword over her head, Happy that she didn’t drop it or cut her own head off with the sharp edge of the blade. “We fight!” The resounding cheer that followed was almost enough for her to forget that this whole situation was completely and utterly mad. …oooOOOooo… Ginny shook her head in frustration after finishing with all of the doors along this hallway. Apparently, finding either Harry or Dumbledore was going to be harder than she had originally thought. The only options really available to her were to either go back up on deck and rejoin the fight or move down to the lower level. The overall plan had worked… sort of. Leading a bunch of teenagers (all acting as if suffering from an extreme case of too much sugar in their diet), they had stormed the boat under the cover of darkness. The few sentries that had been patrolling had been easily taken care of. Hermione and Ginny both had been pleased that Delores Umbridge, dressed in the worst fitting pirate outfit either had ever seen… complete with a pink bandana and eye patch, had been the first to be taken down. The second had been Charity Burbage from Muggle Studies. Ginny had taken particular satisfaction in watching that woman get taken down. After all, it had been her book assignment to Hermione that had led to this situation, hadn’t it? From there, everyone began to move to secure their position. And, of course, that’s when everything had blown up in their faces. The whole thing had been a trap, McGonagall and Babbling both suddenly ringing a bell that alerted the rest of the ship that they were under attack. The flood of profe… uhm, pirates that had appeared then had been almost staggering. The clash of blades and the cries of battle had soon taken over. Ginny felt slightly bad about leaving Hermione and Luna behind, her brother, too, in some small way, but it was imperative that they make sure that Harry was okay. And anyway, the two girls had been in the capable hands of the Lost Boys… right? “What are you doing here?” Ginny spun to see that she had walked past an open doorway, lost in her thoughts. Snape stood there, his dark eyes wide at he appearance. “Snape!” She growled, the sword in her hand rising before her. The potion master stood there, frozen. She wondered as to why he wasn’t attacking her, when she noted that he was unarmed. Worse for him, however, was the fact that both hands were full of various coins and jewelry. She knew her eyes were wide, not at the apparent wealth of what he held, but rather that he looked to have been stuffing his pockets… pockets attached to the blackest pirate costume she had ever seen. “Thief!” She accused. Surprisingly, the git didn’t even deny it. “I can pay you if you’ll let me go. We can split all of this.” He nodded towards the chest at his feet. “Take what you want. Just let me go.” “Abandoning Dumbledore, are you?” “And so what if I am?” His voice was full of scorn. “Have to look out for myself, don’t I? To each their own and all that sort. Right?” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Where’s Harry?” “Potter?” He shrugged. “I assumed he was up above fighting.” “Where’s your captain then?” “Standing behind you.” A very familiar voice called from over her shoulder. Ginny whirled around, her sword before her, but the gesture was less than useless. The clank of her blade was matched by the elegant sword that Dumbledore held in his left hand. With a quick move of his wrist, Ginny found herself unarmed, the point of his blade pushed dangerously close to her neck. Looking past the shining blade, Ginny felt her eyes widen at the man before her. It was Dumbledore. Definitely the Headmaster. Twinkling blue eyes and a long white beard. But at that, nothing else really seemed the same. He was dressed as a pirate, a garish lime green vest and coat… both cinched by a heavy leather-tooled belt that buckled to the side. Heavy buttons that resembled a bird in flight glittered everywhere that the fabric met. His shirt, silk maybe, seemed to flow… what little she could see as his beard rocked to and fro. On his head was a hat that would have made Grandma Longbottom swoon in envy. His gloved hand held the gold hilt of his sword. Involuntarily, her eyes were drawn to the burnt remains of his right hand. It, too, just like in her reality, was blackened and decayed. If not that he was her enemy in this place, she would have sympathized that he had to suffer the pain of that in both places. “I don’t recognize you, my dear? Which of Potter’s are you?” She stood straight. “Ginny Weasley, at your service.” “Miss Weasley?” He smiled grimly. “A pleasure then, Miss Weasley. I might inquire as to why you are here, but I fear that, as you are here uninvited, I must assume that it is for nefarious reasons. Can you come up with a more plausible reason?” “Not really.” He nodded. “To the brig with you, I must insist, then.” She started to respond, to ask what a brig was, but the doppelganger Headmaster moved his gaze over her shoulder to where she knew Snape was standing. “Mister Snape. What are you doing?” “Protecting your valuables, Captain Dumbledore, sir.” She could hear the nervousness in the man’s voice. “As you can see, clearly they are not safe here with Potter and his brats all about.” Dumbledore smiled. “Good man. Keep at it.” Ginny rolled her eyes. Snape was trusted beyond reproach here, too. Without a chance to really think of a plan, she was soon escorted further into the ship and led to a heavy door that had thick metal hinges along the edges. She didn’t feel much better to see the small barred window in the upper half of the door. ‘Ah! Jail.’ She thought glumly. ‘So much for rescuing Harry.’ After being unceremoniously pushed forward into the dark room, she turned to see the old man look at her with a penetrating glare. She began to move back towards the door, the idea of being left alone in this dark room alone not the most happy of events that she was looking to experience… but he slammed the door closed before she could draw to near. There was only a small section of light slipping into the room from the barred opening. “Great. Some rescue. Now what?” Ginny sighed to herself. She was too far into the bowels of the giant ship to even hear the fighting taking place somewhere above her head. Left with little else to do, Ginny looked for a fairly clean spot along the slime covered floor and sat down. Time passed. Ginny wasn’t sure how long, but it was enough for her to become severely bored. Sighing, she was left to wait, the oppressive silence slowly getting to her. “Having fun in there?” Ginny looked up at the door’s tiny window. “Harry!” “What are you doing in there?” She tried to ignore the grin she could hear in his voice. “All the fun is happening up top.” “Can you get me out of here?” “Let me check…” Ginny stood, wiping her hands across her bum, wiping away at anything that might have gotten on her. She was terrified that Harry might not open the door. She had never been a big fan of the dark… and knowing that she was locked in had not made it any easier to take. Deciding to try and take her mind from what was currently going on, she called out to her boyfriend. “Harry? Where were you earlier?” “Watching.” “What?” H arry laughed from somewhere beyond the door. “Watching. I was waiting for the old man to come out on deck… he was being difficult about it. I was prepared to wait a while, but then all of you showed up and started the fight early. Took a bit to work out, but I finally made my way into your mess when he come out to play with us.” She felt horrible. “I’m sorry, Harry… we… I-I was so worried.” “Its all good. We got things under control.” He laughed. “I’ve got a plan.” Ginny chose to ignore the heavy feeling she got at those words. “How’s it coming with the door?” “Hold on…” There was a loud clunking noise, the sound of metal against metal. Ginny held her breath, ignoring the panic that she felt bubbling inside as he constantly muttered obscenities at the very stubborn door that apparently was harder to unlock. “Harry?” “I’m trying, Ginny.” He called from the other side. “Picking locks isn’t high on my skill list.” She tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. “Please…” Something clicked. Ginny held her breath, as the old hinges started to squeak. Her heart pounded tightly in her chest as relief filled her when the door finally swung open. Without any thought to what she was doing, she had jumped into Harry’s arms, ignoring the self-satisfied smirk that graced his lovely face. She was free! Harry started to say something, but Ginny didn’t care. Without a thought, her lips were pressed onto his, kissing him… her rescuer. It was chaste, a first kiss, something that definitely more than anything else proved that this was not her Harry. Not the Harry she had spent several evenings hidden in a broom closet snogging the life out of. With some reluctance, she pulled back, her eyes looking into his. She enjoyed the dumbstruck look that filled his face. “We need to get out of here, Harry.” He took a deep breath. “After I take out Captain Dumbledore.” “Please. Let’s just go.” But Harry was adamant. Resigned to the fact that Harry would not be swayed, Ginny finally gave in and nodded her head. Harry smiled, his hand grabbing hers, and pulled her along after him. They both moved quickly along the hallway, not pausing to check their progress as they both moved up to the middle of the ship and then, finally, up to the top deck. Ginny shook her head in confusion as she tried to understand what she was seeing. To her, it at first looked like that the Lost Boys had won. The professors… the pirates, that is, were all disarmed and standing along the port side of the ship. She wanted to laugh at many of the disgruntled faces that they all wore. But what confused her the most was how her group, Hermione and Luna most especially, were so casually standing on the ship’s other end. She moved away from Harry, the loss of physical contact affecting her more than she immediately knew, and approached her friends. “Guys?” Her voice hesitant. “What’s going on?” Luna opened her mouth to respond, but a voice called her attention away from the blonde Ravenclaw. “Miss Weasley.” Captain Dumbledore bellowed. “So glad that you could attend.” Looking over to where the main mast stood, she shielded her eyes from the light of the coming dawn to see the imposing wizard standing, his sword held tightly in his hand. Not sure of what was going on, she turned to look back at Hermione, rasing her eyebrow in silent inquiry. Hermione rolled her eyes. “Dumbledore…” “That’s Captain Dumbledore, missy.” Hermione gritted her teeth. “Captain Dumbledore challenged Harry to a duel.” “So?” “Harry accepted.” Ginny wanted to scream. “So…?” She repeated. Harry walked up next to her, smiling like he had just won the Quidditch Cup. “Just like you wanted. We’re settling it all here and now.” She turned along with Harry as he faced off against the Headmaster. She wanted to find a way to put off this fight… no matter what Hermione thought. There was no way that this fight was going to end well. “Harry…” Captain Dumbledore spoke kindly. “You know that there really is no reason for this. We’re meant to be on the same side. Join me. Be a part of the light. Help me in the battle with Voldemort. It is your destiny, after all.” “Why?” Harry asked, his tone near mocking. “Why is it my destiny?” Dumbledore looked sad, a look that Ginny had seen on his face a lot recently. “You know why, my boy. It was ordained in the stars just before you were born. You are meant for greater things than just leading around and playing all day. You have things to do. Important things. Please…” He entreated. “Join me. Voldemort can only be defeated if you join with me.” Ginny ignored how the Lost Boys all around them started jeering, cries of “liar” and “old goat” intermixed with all of the booing. Ginny looked over to stare at Luna and Hermione, both looking quite sad at what they were hearing… but whether at Dumbledore’s words or everyone else’s reaction, she couldn’t be sure. “What do you think, Ginny?” Looking up, she realized that Harry was talking to her. Her gaze moved back and forth between Harry and Dumbledore, examining the looks, comparing how Harry looked genuinely confused, while the Headmaster looked imploringly at her. Ginny sighed. “I don’t know, Harry. What do you want me to say?” “What should I do?” Glancing over at Hermione, she noticed how the older girl was staring at her intently, her eyes seeming to explain that how she answered the question could be the difference between escaping all of this. With a heavy heart, Ginny took a breath and smiled at Harry. “You are a good man, Harry Potter. I supprt you. I always have, you know.” She gestured to everyone around them, both the students and the professors. We all are with you.” She swallowed the lump that seemed to fill her throat. “But you have to stop Voldemort. He’s the real threat.” Harry’s eyes seemed to dim, a light fading away. She wasn’t really sure what it meant for a moment, until the realization of what she was seeing seemed to hit home. He was growing up! The light was the childhood that he was trying to recapture, what the Dursley’s had denied him his entire life. “You think so?” Ginny nodded, her heart breaking. “I know you don’t want it. I’d take it away from you if I could. But I promise that I’ll be with you until the end, Harry. I love you. I’m in love with you.” It thrilled her that at her declaration, the light came back. Maybe it wasn’t as strong as before, but it was definitely there. It was something for her to start building with. Harry nodded. He turned to face Dumbledore, the Sword of Gryffindor slipping from his grasp and landing on the wooden floor. With his head held high, Harry faced directly at the ancient wizard. “Teach me.” As if a switch was thrown, Ginny watched as the colors all around her seemed to run together, the world dissolving… like water colors washing away. Ginny could feel the change, that whatever was going on was ending. Smiling at the idea of returning to reality, her reality, her hand instinctively reached out towards Harry. The last she heard before the world faded to black was Luna’s voice. “But… but… I never want to leave this place.” …oooOOOooo… It had been several days since she had woken from the dream in the Room of Requirement. Immediately upon waking, she had wanted desperately to tell everyone about it… especially Hermione, all in the hopes that it might have been more than just her imagination running wild. Her desire was squashed however when her brother, best friend and boyfriend all explained to her that they had all fallen asleep beyond curfew and now had to sneak back to the tower without getting caught. That left no time to make her inquiries. As time passed, Ginny found herself becoming more and more reluctant in trying to discern whether or not anyone else had experienced what she had, the experiences she had gained in that short fairy tale seeming to have affected her deeper than she had originally thought. Time continued to move on, time spent juggling studying and classes and quality time with Harry… her Harry. But things were not perfect, the short conversation that they’d had about him and the Headmaster before she’d dreamed about the world of Peter Pan seemed to weight heavily upon her, and also appeared to being a heavy burden to Harry. It culminated one night in the common room, the four of them all relaxing on a weekend… well, Hermione was studying (her for of relaxing) and trying desperately to ignore Ron who was talking about Quidditch. Harry was pensive in front of the fire, lost in his thoughts, when Ginny had decided enough was enough. “Harry?” His green gaze moved from the flames to meet her. “Yeah?” “You need to keep working with Dumbledore.” At his confused look, Ginny covered his hands with her own, willing him to listen to her. “I know its difficult. Hard, what you have to do. But you’re the one, Harry. You need to learn everything that he can teach you.” “But Ginny…” “Please, Harry.” She forced herself to smile. “Please.” For the longest time, Ginny feared she had pushed him to far, asked more than he was willing to give. Just as she was about to apologize, Harry leaned in and kissed her. It wasn’t a fiery passion-filled kiss, but the emotion and trust she felt warmed her more than any flame ever might. “I love you.” Ginny smiled. He loved her! As Harry and Ginny hugged, neither of them noticed Hermione’s bright smile as she tapped her quill across the cover of the Peter Pan book sitting next to her, nor had they any idea that the parchment bookmark hidden within its pages contained a dream spell that she had spent several weeks learning to master. THE END |
| Reviews 12 |
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