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Harry Potter and the Butterfly Effect
By Brennus

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Rape, Spouse/Adult/Child Abuse, Violence/Physical Abuse
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 733
Summary: Minor events can have repercussions far beyond their size and importance. When one of these minor events occurs to a ten year-old Harry Potter he finds his world turned upside-down and it starts him down a very different path than the one he expected to follow.
Hitcount: Story Total: 199220; Chapter Total: 9206
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest chapter.

There are a couple of things I’d like to say about this one. Some of you may (potentially) be a bit concerned with Harry’s actions at the start of this chapter. Remember, this version of Harry spent a year learning to fight with a highly skilled tutor, and has fought and killed numerous Death Eaters. For him this is showing restraint!

Both of my (American) Betas expressed surprise that I suggested that Hogwarts conducted graduation ceremonies. While it is true that most British schools don't go in for such things, a lot of sixth forms and colleges do, particularly if they are private schools. As Hogwarts is about as private as you can get, I felt justified in letting them have such a ceremony.

Thanks to Tom and Arnel for once again correcting my (numerous) errors and to everyone who has left me a review. I can’t believe how many people have taken the time to tell me what they think. I’m full of warm, fuzzy feelings!




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Chapter 25 — Sanctuary in My Arms



Friday, 14 November 1997

Looking around the Great Hall, Ginny nervously glanced at the teachers' table. All the professors were happily digging in to their breakfasts without any apparent indication that anything was wrong. Eager to give the appearance of normality, she scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs and continued eating.

Since the confrontation at the Shrieking Shack, the Slytherins had been nearly uncontrollable. Word had it that most of the group that she and Harry had defeated in the fight had spent several days apiece in the hospital wing. How they explained their injuries, and why neither of them had been questioned regarding the matter, she could not explain.

They had told Hermione and Luna of the incident immediately on their return to the castle. Hermione had, naturally, gone into meltdown and begged them to tell the Headmaster. Luna, on the other hand, seemed very interested in the level of injuries suffered by the Slytherins, particularly by Malfoy, Parkinson and Nott. Ginny worried what they might have done to her friend that she was unaware of. In the last year Luna had suffered quite a personality change, and Ginny was concerned what had caused it.

The last week had been terrible. Professor Snape had been an ogre, handing out detentions and deducting House points like never before. The Slytherins themselves had been on the warpath, openly attacking pupils from other Houses and generally causing trouble. There had been threats of expulsions and even criminal charges, but that is all they were — threats. By mid-week Harry had decided to take matters into his own hands. The results of his actions were about to be revealed.

Despite her protests and near hysteria, when Harry explained what he was going to do, Hermione had helped. Using her status as Head Girl, she had cleared a path from a corridor just outside the Slytherin Common Room to the Great Hall so there were no witnesses. Luna and Ginny had helped Harry ensure their victim was alone and then aided with transportation. Finally, they had agreed a cover story between them. Pretty soon they would see if it was required.

“Any minute now,” a voice whispered in her ear. Ginny glanced around at Harry and smiled. Soon, it would be show time.

It happened gradually. At first, a few heads looked up from their breakfasts and looked round in confusion. As time went on more people started to look around them, including several teachers. Soon everyone was turning to their neighbour and asking the same question: what’s that noise? Eventually, the teachers decided they had to investigate.

“Can everybody please be quite for a moment,” Dumbledore called, getting to his feet. Silence descended in the Great Hall. Then the mysterious noise came again and this time everyone could hear it.

“Help… me… please… help… me,” sobbed a quiet voice. Instantly, the hall was filled with noise as everybody started asking everyone else questions.

“SILENCE!” cried Dumbledore. He then turned in circles as he attempted to locate the source of the pitiful voice. He left the teachers' table and walked slowly down the centre of the hall. About halfway down the hall he stopped and looked up. He quickly drew his wand and pointed it upwards.

“Finite Incantatem!” the Headmaster called out. The Disillusionment spell that had been cast vanished instantly and the whole hall gasped in shock.

Suspended from the ceiling by a rope tied around his feet was Draco Malfoy. He was completely naked and had obviously been beaten with an inch of his life. Bruises and cuts covered his body and one of his arms hung at an awkward angle suggesting it had been broken. His fine blond head of hair had been shaved off and only rough stubble remained. As a final touch someone had written ‘sadist’ in bright red letters across his back. The whole hall started in shocked silence.

“Draco!” screamed Pansy Parkinson from the Slytherin table and the trance was broken. The other teachers hurried forward to help lower Malfoy to the ground and Madam Pomfrey instantly started work on him. There was shouting and yelling between the tables and several Slytherins had pulled out their wands. The whole hall was in virtual chaos.

“QUIET!” came a shout, but this time it came from Professor Snape. The hook-nosed man looked livid, and he stalked towards the Gryffindor table with murder in his eyes. Ginny would have felt intimidated, but she knew the man was not heading for her. Instead, he was bearing down on Harry.

“You disgusting little wretch!” Snape yelled. “You won’t just be expelled for this, Potter. I’ll have you thrown in Azkaban.”

“What are you talking about, Professor?” Harry asked calmly.

“You think you can get away with this! You’re finished, you brat. Thought you could just get away with anything, did you? This time you’ve gone too far!” Snape yelled.

Harry stood angrily.

“What are you going on about, Professor?” Harry said loudly. “What exactly am I supposed to have done?”

“This!” Snape yelled pointing to Draco, who was still lying on the floor being treated by Madam Pomfrey.

“Oh,” said Harry, sounding relieved. “I didn’t have anything to do with that!”

“You lying little bastard,” Snape screamed. “I know it was you!”

“Where’s your proof?” Harry shouted.

For a second Ginny thought Snape was going to attack Harry. Instead, Snape stared intently at him with such murderous intent that if looks could kill, they would be measuring Harry up for his coffin about now.

“I do hope you’re not attempting to use Legilimency on me, sir,” Harry said loudly. “I’m sure that you’re aware that it’s illegal to use it on those of school age.”

“Severus!” Dumbledore yelled.

“Headmaster!” Snape yelled back. “I demand that Potter be expelled and his wand snapped immediately!”

“Where’s your proof that I had anything to do with Malfoy’s little accident?” Harry retorted.

“Accident?” Snape spat. “Is that what you think happened?”

“No, I’ll tell you what I think happened,” Harry said. He walked round the table and stood where everyone could see him. “What I think happened is that his own actions came back to bite him. Draco Malfoy has been responsible for violence and intimidation in this school for years. I’m speculating here, but maybe a group of third or fourth years got tired of him insulting and attacking them. They looked around and realised that together they outnumber the Slytherins three to one. I reckon that they all got together and ambushed him in a corridor somewhere. After all, there are a lot of dark corridors in this school, aren’t there? What you see here is a result of frightened and hurt students getting justice the only way they can, because, let’s face it, the staff of Hogwarts have been no use, have they?”

Harry paused to allow his words to sink in for a second.

“Of course, now that everyone’s seen that this can be done, I wouldn’t be surprised if this sort of thing happens all the time,” he continued. “Some Slytherin starts trying to act the way they’ve always done, and those not-so-frightened third and fourth years decide to take care of him or her. The only way I can see that stopping is if the staff of Hogwarts actually get their act together and stop the bullying and intimidation once and for all.”

“Harry,” Dumbledore addressed him with annoyance written all over his face. “I don’t know who told you these things, but you are gravely mistaken. There is no culture of bullying at Hogwarts…”

The Headmaster got no further as howls of protest from every side drowned him out. Virtually every member of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were on their feet shouting at him. Accusation and protests flew at Dumbledore from all directions, and he stood with his mouth open, stunned by the ferocity of the complaints. He turned back to Harry in surprise.

“You don’t even know what’s going on in your own school, do you?” Harry said to him calmly. “Word to the wise; those portrait paintings that you rely on so much for information don’t cover nearly as much of the school as you think. They can be easily confused by some basic spells, too.”

Dumbledore looked at him in horror.

“While we’re at it, can I make another suggestion? You may wish to get Madam Pomfrey to start a program of medical examination for some of the girls here. Check for anything unusual, like a combination of forced intercourse and memory charms. I think you’ll be surprised how often those things will be found together.”

“Albus?” Professor McGonagall had come up to stand behind the Headmaster and had heard what Harry said.

“Minerva,” he spluttered, “I’m sure that this…”

“We will be checking this, Albus,” McGonagall said loudly. Most of the shouting had stopped and the school was listening intently to the conversation. “Compulsory medical exams! And if anyone wants to report any incidents of abuse made against them, they may come forward in the strictest confidence. If any of these accusations I’ve heard today turn out to be true, there will be hell to pay!” Noticeably she had turned to glare at the Slytherins when she said this.

“And what about Malfoy?” Snape snarled. “Is Potter… I mean, whoever did this, going to get away with it?”

“If I was… whoever did this,” interrupted Harry, “I would have made sure that my face wasn’t seen.”

Snape glared at Harry for a second before turning and walking rapidly out the hall.

“Harry, I wonder if I might have a word with you?” Dumbledore said wearily.

“Certainly, Headmaster. We were going to meet at three o’clock anyway, weren’t we? We can talk then.”

Without another word Harry turned and collected his school bag from under the table. Ginny and Hermione instantly stood and joined him as he walked out of the hall. On the way Luna joined them from the Ravenclaw table, and they soon disappeared from sight.

Dumbledore surveyed the chaos around him and growled to himself. Once again Harry had asserted his independence in dramatic fashion. The Headmaster shook his head and let his anger slip away. In the long run, it didn’t matter how independent Harry thought he was. The results would be exactly the same in the end.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHHPHPHP

With a sense of foreboding, Harry made his way up to the Headmaster’s office. In his head, he repeatedly replayed how he imagined the forthcoming conversation would go. He wasn’t looking forward to it.

Reaching the top of the spiral staircase, he knocked once and entered without waiting for an answer. He found Dumbledore sitting behind his large wooden desk with a serene smile on his face. Harry resisted the urge to wipe that annoying expression off the man’s face by punching him in the teeth. Instead, he flopped into a chair and waited for the lecture to begin.

“Hello, Harry,” Dumbledore greeted him. “I trust you have been having a pleasant day?”

“Not too bad,” Harry replied in a neutral voice. “I had Charms this morning, and I have to say Professor Flitwick is an excellent teacher.”

“Glad to hear it, Harry,” the Headmaster responded. “I know you had significant doubts that you could learn anything worthwhile during your time here at Hogwarts. I’m pleased to see that this has not proved to be the case.”

Just get on with it, you old goat, Harry thought.

“I must admit, I find myself somewhat distracted by the events of the morning,” Dumbledore continued. “I was highly distressed by what befell Mr Malfoy. You seemed keen to formulate a theory as to who the perpetrator was, I noticed.”

“From what I’ve seen of this place, you shouldn’t be distressed as to what happened to Mr Malfoy at all,” Harry retorted. “Unless, of course, it’s due to the fact that the little bastard was allowed to get away with so much that his fellow pupils had no choice other than to take matters into their own hands.”

“Harry, there is no justification for pupils instigating such acts of violence. Despite what some people may think, Mr Malfoy is entitled to protection within the walls of this school as much as any other pupil,” Dumbledore said with some heat.

“Protection?” Harry repeated in disbelief. “It was him that the other pupils needed protection from! Didn’t you hear the outcry from the other Houses this morning? The Slytherins have been engaged in a campaign of rape and torture throughout Hogwarts right under your nose!”

“Please do not exaggerate this matter…” Dumbledore objected, but Harry cut him off.

“I’m not exaggerating! Half the girls in this school live in absolute terror that they’re going to get pulled into some deserted classroom by the Slytherin boys. If anybody stands up to them they end up with broken legs! How can you ignore what is happening?” Harry shouted.

“I have discussed this matter with Professor Snape and he assures me…” Dumbledore tried to begin.

“Snape is a major part of the problem!” Harry snarled. “If you don’t believe me, why don’t you talk to your own staff? Before I came here I visited a couple of people. The first was Madam Pomfrey. Now, she was reluctant to talk to me at first, but when I said I was speaking to you regarding this matter she became very forthcoming. Have you looked at any of her admittance reports over the last few years? Every month she submits to you a report on pupils who have been brought to her for treatment and she has detailed it all. The list of casualties looks more appropriate for the Battle of Stalingrad rather than a bloody school!”

“Harry, this is a magical school. Accidents happen, unfortunately!” Dumbledore pointed out.

“Then explain why the vast majority of the ‘accidents’ occurred outside of classes? And while you’re at it, explain why only six per cent of the pupils admitted were from Slytherin?” Harry challenged.

Dumbledore said nothing but looked alarmed at the hard facts.

“After I visited Poppy, I called in to speak to Professor McGonagall. After her offer this morning that pupils could report any incidents of abuse confidentially to her, I was interested to see if she had anyone take her up on it.”

“And?” Dumbledore asked despite himself.

“She’s had over sixty written parchments alleging assaults. In fact, in the short time I was in her office two more letters were shoved under her door. And guess what? Not one of those letters came from any pupil in Slytherin house as far as Professor can tell.”

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair.

“Both Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey are prepared to put in writing their belief that a systemic climate of abuse has existed within Hogwarts for some time, and both of them are willing to defend their views in front of the Board of Governors,” Harry informed him.

“Harry, if this information was made public, it would be a disaster for the school!” Dumbledore protested.

“I don’t give a toss about Hogwarts’ reputation!” Harry yelled. “I’m more worried about school kids getting beaten, tortured and sexually abused. You must have had some idea this was going on. How could you allow it?”

“I had no idea the problem was this large,” Dumbledore admitted. “I’ve always allowed Professor Snape a certain latitude in dealing with disciplinary matters within his own House. Obviously, I’ve allowed things to get out of hand.”

“But why?” Harry asked in disbelief. “Why one rule for Slytherin and another for the rest of the school?”

“Harry, you must understand that most pupils within Slytherin have a tremendous amount of outside pressure placed upon them. Nearly half the pupils within the house come from families with direct links to Death Eaters. Punishing these pupils or expelling them would be to drive them directly into Voldemort’s hands. They must be shown there is another way. A more caring, compassionate way,” Dumbledore explained.

Harry stared at him in shock. “Are you insane? How in the hell does allowing these thugs to do whatever they want teach them the difference between right and wrong? And what about the rest of the pupils? The innocent ones, who never did anything wrong? Do they just have to put up with the abuse so the poor, misguided Slytherins can learn compassion?”

“Alas, it is always the innocents that suffer first in any conflict,” Dumbledore said sadly.

Harry nearly exploded.

“You two-faced bastard!” he screamed. “You’d let three-quarters of the school live in misery in the hope a few Slytherins didn’t turn out to be Death Eaters?”

“As I said, I had no idea how out of hand things had got. And I still maintain much of this has been exaggerated!” the Headmaster insisted.

“Right!” Harry declared. “You’re obviously not going to accept this until you see it with your own eyes. Fetch your Pensieve!”

“What? Why?” Dumbledore exclaimed.

“Because I’m going to show you how bad things have got!” he replied.

Reluctantly, Dumbledore fetched his Pensieve and placed it on the desk. Harry pulled out his wand and withdrew certain selective memories for the old man to view. He started gently, with Hermione and Ginny’s description of the school when he was being shown around on the first day. He then went to his memory of Ginny being attacked by Zabini and Nott. He then included a variety of comments he had overheard from numerous pupils, detailing the abuse they had suffered. It was the sort of things he heard everyday just walking around the school. Finally, he recalled the fight between him and Malfoy’s gang, particularly the chilling threats Draco had made to himself and Ginny. He waited for the old man to absorb the memories.

Eventually, Dumbledore stood and regarded him with a sombre expression.

“Why didn’t you inform me of this attack, Harry? he asked.

“What would you have done about it if I had?” Harry countered.

“I assure you, Mr Malfoy would have been disciplined appropriately!” Dumbledore responded.

“How? Would he have been expelled? Would the Aurors have been summoned?” Harry asked contemptuously.

“He would have been punished appropriately!” Dumbledore insisted.

“In other words, a few detentions and maybe some lost House points. A gentle slap on the wrist. Pathetic!” Harry spat.

“Mr Malfoy is in a unique and dangerous position,” Dumbledore insisted. “If he is not seen to be following orders from his father, his life may well be at risk.”

“Better his than mine or Ginny’s,” Harry retorted.

“I think this goes back to my point about providing equal protection for all my pupils,” Dumbledore said, clearly feeling he had made a point.

“Enough! We’re getting nowhere here,” Harry said decisively. “Let me explain what needs to happen here. Two of your senior staff are ready to publicly state that Hogwarts is riddled with a culture of bullying and abuse, and I’ll give press interviews supporting them. I don’t need to tell you what the implications of that will be.”

“Go on,” Dumbledore told him angrily.

“In addition, I will not permit the likes of Malfoy to continue his reign of terror. This time he got beaten and hung from the ceiling. Next time he’s going to end up as dinner for the Acromantulas out in the forest,” Harry warned.

“So you are allowed to commit acts of violence, but they are not? That is little short of playing God, Harry,” Dumbledore shouted, as angry as Harry had ever seen him.

“The difference is that I would be doing it to prevent others being harmed. I’m talking about innocent children here, Dumbledore! I’m reacting to Malfoy’s crimes, not instigating them. I don’t think that makes me God, but it does make me an instrument of justice! And trust me; unless things change, I will be handing out justice!”

Dumbledore glared at him. “What do you want?”

“Two things,” Harry said. “Firstly, Draco Malfoy has to leave Hogwarts. I don’t care if he’s expelled or its ‘suggested’ to him that he’s in danger because he’s made himself so unpopular, either way he needs to be kicked out. If this doesn’t happen I will ensure he’s either arrested or ends up as spider food.”

“And your other demand?” Dumbledore said coldly.

“Severus Snape is replaced as head of Slytherin House. I know you can’t sack him as he’s too valuable as a spy, but he’s proved incapable of keeping his Slytherins under control and has covered for them once too often. He needs to be replaced with someone who will not permit his charges to act like mini Death Eaters.”

Dumbledore was silent for a long while. “Very well,” he said eventually. “I will do as you request. It seems you have left me with little option anyway.”

“Thank you, Headmaster,” Harry said gratefully. “Can I suggest we skip my scheduled lesson for the day? I doubt either of us is in the right frame of mind.”

“I think you are right, Harry,” Dumbledore agreed. “Hopefully, after this we can agree to work together in future.”

“I hope so,” Harry said and left the office.

As he made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, he pondered the Headmaster's parting words. He seriously doubted whether he and Albus Dumbledore could ever work harmoniously together again. Why was the man so hell bent on protecting the Slytherins? He certainly didn’t seem to show the same level of concern for the other Houses. For a man who was supposed to be the leader of the Light side he seemed strangely unwilling to confront the pure-bloods, or put them at risk in any way. That was a courtesy he had not extended to the Order members.

What tiny amount of trust Harry had left for the Headmaster had just been removed completely. Just what was the old man up to?


Friday, 28 November 1997

Ginny pushed the book she had been looking at away in frustration. She really was getting sick of the library.

Once again, she found herself rooting through endless books in the hope of finding something relating to Tom Riddle. She was becoming annoyed at her lack of progress and frustrated at Harry’s continued refusal to give her some clue as to what she was supposed to be looking for.

Her anger at Harry was tempered by the recent changes at the school that he had brought about virtually single-handed. Draco Malfoy was gone, with most rumours agreeing that his father had not allowed him to return after he was released from hospital. Additionally, due to his ‘excessive workload’ Severus Snape had been replaced as head of Slytherin House by Horace Slughorn, and the effects had been instantaneous. The bullying and abuse had stopped virtually overnight, and an uneasy peace had settled over the school.

This hadn’t stopped Hermione, Luna and herself from continuing their training with Harry, of course. The three girls had felt helpless in the past and were determined that would never happen again. Besides, the training was fun, despite the hard work.

She leaned back in her chair and stretched. Merlin, she was sick of this. It did occur to her just to give up her search, but she knew she could never live with that. She had to know exactly what had happened to her. The trouble was, she was running out of places to look.

All her research had turned up so far was that Tom Riddle had been a pupil at Hogwarts between 1938 and 1945 and that he had been Head Boy in his final year. After that he apparently vanished off the face of the earth. Or maybe he’d fallen down a very deep hole?

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. What if something had happened to him? She’d concentrated her search assuming Riddle had gone on to do other things. What happened if he was killed or injured somehow just after leaving school? If something had happened to him surely it would have been reported in the press. With renewed enthusiasm, Ginny leapt up and consulted Madam Pince, the librarian. She was delighted to find that old copies of the Daily Prophet were kept in date order. She was directed to a large folder containing all the newspapers from the year Riddle graduated and she sat down to read.

In the end she came across the article surprisingly quickly. It had been printed just a few days after Riddle’s graduation and described a ‘minor altercation’ at the Hogwarts graduation ceremony that year. Controversy had occurred when the Head Boy for the year, one Tom M Riddle, had used his graduation speech as an opportunity to attack Muggle-borns and demand their exclusion from Hogwarts. The correspondent had approached Riddle afterwards and demanded him to justify his opinions. The reporter had clearly not been impressed with the young man and had openly mocked his demands that in future he be known by another name — Lord Voldemort.

As soon as she read those words, Ginny felt her world collapse. Riddle was Voldemort. She had been possessed, not by some minor dark wizard as her parents had told her, but by Lord Voldemort himself. The most evil wizard of modern times had seen her every thought and desire. She had been touched by the ultimate evil and now she was dirty, tainted. No wonder Harry had not wanted to her to know about this. Tears began to fall and she felt herself tremble.

And then he was there. She felt him slip his arm around her and hold her tight. She flung her arms around him and clung to him for dear life. Just as he had done in the Chamber, he had arrived out of nowhere to save her.

“How did you know I’d found it?” she whispered.

“I placed an Alarm Charm on the copy of the Prophet to notify me if it was touched,” Harry explained. “I’m sorry, Ginny. I just couldn’t tell you about this. You had to find out for yourself.”

“I understand,” she said, her voice trembling. “If you’d just told me, I don’t think I would have believed it… or I would have blamed you for it or something! Oh, shit! This is horrible.”

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Just hold me,” she begged. The two of them stayed there, hidden away in the dark corner of the library, until Madam Pince called out, saying the library was closing. Silently, Harry picked up the folder containing the newspapers and returned it to its place. Gripping Ginny’s hand, he led her out and towards the common room. They had reached the portrait hole when Ginny pulled Harry to a stop.

“Harry, I just can’t face anyone at the moment. Can we go up to your room? Just for a bit?” she begged.

“Of course,” Harry told her, his voice full of concern. “For as long as you need.”

They gave the Fat Lady the password and entered the Common Room. Fortunately, very few people were about, and no one noticed the pair dart up the steps to the private rooms normally assigned to the Head Boy and Girl. Harry opened the door to his room and guided her in.

Ginny had never been in his room before. It was small and simple, with the standard four-poster bed in one corner and a desk and chair in another. A more comfortable armchair was situated in front of a small fireplace. It was compact and cosy. Ginny walked over to the bed and sat down on it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Harry asked, sitting next to her.

“No, not really,” she said simply. Then, despite herself she asked, “Why didn’t they tell me?”

“I think they were trying to protect you. Maybe they thought you couldn’t handle knowing who Tom Riddle actually was,” Harry speculated.

“But you thought I could, didn’t you?” she asked. “I mean, I know you didn’t come straight out and tell me, but you gave me a clue and told me the information was in the library.”

“I thought you could handle it. No, I know you can handle it. You’re strong; you’ve already proved that,” he said.

“Strong?” she snorted. “How the hell do you figure that?”

“How many people do you think can stand up to Voldemort for even five minutes?” he asked. “You fought him for nearly a year. Even at the end you were fighting him and you were eleven years old! Most grown witches would have lasted five seconds!”

Ginny looked at him in shock. “But I didn’t stand up to him. He made me Petrify people!”

“But didn’t you say he wanted to kill them, not Petrify them?” he reminded her. “You fought him and stopped them being killed. You defied Lord Voldemort! They should have given you a bloody medal, Ginny.”

“But… they were still nearly killed. My brother Percy hates me because of what happened to his girlfriend!” she wailed.

“And how long do you think Percy would have lasted against Voldemort?” Harry countered. “It wasn’t your fault you were given the bloody diary, and it wasn’t your fault that it took control of you. But you did amazingly well at fighting it and stopping anyone dying. You were a hero, Ginny.”

“Really?” she said, hoping desperately his words were true.

“Damn right,” he said. “You’re my hero.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and hugged her. She clung to him like a lifeline.

“Harry,” she began nervously, “can I stay here tonight? Just to sleep… I just need you to hold me tonight.”

Harry looked at her and saw the vulnerability and need in her eyes.

“Of course you can,” he said without hesitation. “Are you ready to go to bed now?”

“Yes, please,” she said gratefully. “Um, do you have anything I could wear?”

Harry rose and went to a small chest of drawers that sat at the foot of his bed. He selected the largest, baggiest t-shirt he could find and handed it to Ginny. Hopefully it was large enough to serve as a make-shift nightdress. She examined the logo on the front.

“Puddlemere United, Harry? This could be the end of a beautiful friendship,” she joked.

“Sorry,” he insincerely apologised. “I don’t own a Harpies top.”

Shaking her head in mock disgust, she retreated to his small bathroom to change. Using her absence to get changed himself, he stripped down to his boxer shorts and donned a plain blue t-shirt. He pulled down the covers of the bed and waited for Ginny to return.

She only kept him waiting for a minute before she stepped back into the room. The t-shirt only came to her upper thigh and revealed a lot of shapely leg. Although quite baggy, the shirt did little to conceal her chest; and Harry suspected she had removed her bra. As a final touch she had taken her hair out of the pony-tail she normally wore, and it hung down around her shoulders. Harry suddenly felt very nervous. Sharing a bed with Ginny wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

Without saying a word, Ginny climbed into the bed and laid with her back to him. Harry climbed in after her and, after extinguishing the lights, he put his arm around her middle and they spooned together.

Harry quickly got an erection, but fortunately Ginny was too polite to mention it.
















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