Despite me saying at the start of this story that it wouldn’t be an AU tale, I am venturing a bit off the garden path with this chapter, particularly the end part. Aside from the fact that I’d reached seven chapters without killing a single character (which must be a record for me) I wanted to show that despite all the extra knowledge she has gained, Ginny can’t expect her plans to always go smoothly. And before anyone asks, more details about exactly what happed in the Astronomy Tower will emerge later in the story.
Huge thanks to my poor, overworked beta Arnel. I swear it’s my apparently non-working ‘replace’ function in word that’s responsible for capitalising ‘common room’ all the time, honest!
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The Thorny Rose | ||||||
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Category: Pre-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Romance Warnings: Mild Language Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 185 Summary: Harry has been entered into the Triwizard Tournament against his will, and his friends don’t believe him when he insists he didn’t enter his name. Will Ginny Weasley sit by and watch him suffer alone, or will she risk exposing the dark secret she has been hiding. GoF re-write from Ginny’s POV. Smart & slightly manipulative Ginny! Extreme Ron-bashing! Hitcount: Story Total: 69187; Chapter Total: 7164 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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“He did WHAT?” Ginny raged. “He tried to attack me while I was in bed,” Harry told her angrily. They had just met as usual in the common room so they could go to breakfast together. Harry’s expression had been enough to inform Ginny that something had happened in the boy’s dorm the previous night and she’d immediately demanded an explanation. “I cast that Proximity Alarm Spell just as you suggested last night,” Harry started to explain. “About two o’clock it went off and I found Ron and Neville parting the curtains round my bed with their wands at the ready. Thank Merlin you convinced me to get contacts; I would have been helpless if I’d had to have groped around for my glasses. Anyway, I grabbed my wand, which I kept under my pillow, and just as I did, so Ron conjured ropes to tie me to the bed. Luckily, my arms were still free so I was able to Stun Ron. I then dispelled his charm just as Neville responded by leaping on my bed and trying to punch me. Let’s face it; he was probably more likely to succeed in doing that then casting a spell! I managed to Petrify him before he got a punch in.” “I’m going to kill Ron,” Ginny snarled. “What happened then?” “Well, by this time Seamus and Dean had woken up. I explained to them what had happened and they weren’t exactly surprised. Ron and Neville had apparently been whispering about something earlier, but had shut-up immediately when they had entered the dorm. They then helped me Levitate Ron and Neville onto their beds and tied them down. I then woke Ron up and demanded to know what he was playing at. Basically, all he did was swear at me and threaten to kick my head in.” “What did you do then?” Ginny asked fearfully. “Nothing much,” he shrugged. “Dean and Seamus were as disgusted by him as I was, so we agreed to Silence him and leave him tied to his bed. When we woke up this morning, we released him and Neville. Neither of them said a word; they just stomped off into the bathroom. I haven’t seen either of them since.” “We’ll have to tell the twins about this,” she decided. “We can’t have you wondering if you’re going to be attacked every night. I think I’ll write to Mum, as well.” Harry just nodded sadly. Ginny didn’t need to guess what he was thinking. With the disagreement between him and Ron starting to spill over into violence, there was no way Harry could come to the Burrow in the summer. Her heart ached and she began to wonder if intervening in Harry’s life had been a good idea, after all. “Come on, Ginny,” he said after a while. “Let’s go down to breakfast. Things will look better after a good meal.” They made their way down to the Great Hall and took their usual places opposite Ginny’s friends Demelza and Vicky. Both girls were looking at them inquiringly and there seemed to be a lot of muttering going on along the Gryffindor table. Further up, Ginny could see Hermione looking at them with a worried expression on her face. There was no sign of either Ron or Neville. They had just started eating when someone slapped Harry lightly on the back. Both he and Ginny turned to see Dean and Seamus standing there with determined expressions on their faces. “Well, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about those two gits tonight,” Seamus started, not needing to explain who the gits actually where. “We went and reported the whole thing to Professor McGonagall.” “What?” Harry exclaimed. “You didn’t need to do that. Ron’s my problem.” “Yes, we did, Harry” Dean disagreed. “We have to sleep in that dorm, too. Ron’s been a complete pain in the arse lately, and he’s started to drag Neville along with him now. He seems to think he can solve all his problems with his fists, and we’re not going to stand for it. He may have attacked you last night, but how long before Seamus or I do something to piss him off? And let’s face it; Ron is pissed-off at pretty much everything at the moment. Nah, he needs to have some sense knocked into him before he becomes convinced he has the right to take a swing at anyone he disagrees with.” “Besides, what he and Neville did last night was just cowardly,” Seamus added. “He knew he wouldn’t stand a chance confronting you face to face, so he attacks you in your sleep. He doesn’t deserve to be in Gryffindor; he should be a Slytherin with an attitude like that!” “So what will happen now?” Harry asked. “Don’t know,” Dean told him. “McGonagall just said she’d take care of it.” “Okay,” Harry acknowledged. “Well, thanks, guys.” “No worries, Harry,” Seamus said, before he and Dean left to find a seat at the table. Harry glanced nervously at Ginny. “Look, I never wanted it to go this far,” he began. “If I go and talk with McGonagall…” “Don’t you dare,” Ginny interrupted angrily. “I know he’s my brother, but he still deserves everything he gets. You will NOT try and make it easy for him, clear?” “Ginny, I…” he began again. “Mr Potter,” a stern voice interrupted. “Will you please accompany me. There are some questions I need to ask you.” They both turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there. Her face was as hard as stone and her posture rigid. She had never looked more intimidating. With a fearful look on his face, Harry started to stand. Ginny reached out and grabbed him arm just before he started to move. “Tell her the truth, Harry,” she told him intently. “You’ll do no one any favours by watering down what happened, least of all Ron.” “Wise words, Miss Weasley,” the Professor said. “Though I trust you were not going to attempt to cover up the events of last night, Mr Potter?” “No, of course not,” Harry stammered. “Which does not explain why you have not sought me out already, Mr Potter,” McGonagall said coldly. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man. Follow me.” And with that, the daunting witch turned and rapidly started walking away. Harry hurried after her, glancing back at Ginny once before he vanished out of the hall. No sooner had he gone than Hermione slipped into his vacant seat. “What was that all about?” she demanded. “Why is neither Ron nor Neville at breakfast this morning? Something happened last night, didn’t it? There are all sorts of rumours going round…” “Ron and Neville tried to attack Harry when he was asleep last night,” Ginny informed her. “They tried to tie him to his bed so he couldn’t fight back. They just hadn’t counted on Harry setting up an Alarm Charm around his bed.” “They didn’t! Oh, please tell me you’re joking, Ginny,” Hermione begged. “I’m sorry, Hermione,” Ginny said, shaking her head. “I’m afraid my brother has really messed up this time.” There were tears in Hermione’s eyes and Ginny could see her shoulders shaking slightly. She looked like she was struggling to keep her composure. Ginny slipped her arm around the older girl’s shoulders and hugged her. “I just wanted things to go back to the way they were,” Hermione moaned quietly. “I just wanted my friends back.” As she tried to give the gently sobbing girl what comfort she could, Ginny felt an acid pool of guilt form in her stomach. All she had done was try to help Harry, and now her actions had resulted in everyone ending up miserable. She silently laughed at her own arrogance when she had casually decided Harry would be better off without his two closest friends. At the moment, it was looking like Harry would have been better off without her. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP It was lunch time before she saw Harry again. He trudged into the common room with a cloud of misery hanging over his head. Hermione was beside him with the same distressed expression she always seemed to be wearing these days. “What happened?” Ginny demanded to know once the pair had taken seats. “Harry was just telling me all about it. Ron and Neville have been put on probation and were given two weeks detention,” Hermione explained. “Oh, well, that’s not so bad,” Ginny acknowledged, not sure if she was happy or angry at the apparent lenient sentence they had received. “Yes, it would have been a lot worse if Harry hadn’t begged McGonagall not to expel them,” Hermione replied in an approving tone. Ginny glared accusingly at Harry who raised his hands in defence. “I told McGonagall the truth,” he told her. “But I just couldn’t stick the knife in. Ron was my best mate; I couldn’t let him get kicked out because of this stupid argument between us.” “Well, I hope Ron appreciated it,” Ginny huffed. The ominous silence suggested that her brother hadn’t shown much gratitude. “What happened?” Ginny pressed them. Hermione looked angry while Harry just glared at the floor. “The probation and detentions weren’t the only thing Professor McGonagall did,” Hermione started to explain. “She said she didn’t want a repeat of last night’s events so she moved Ron and Neville out of their dorm. They have to sleep with the third years’ now and are forbidden to enter the fourth years’ room.” Despite herself Ginny couldn’t help but giggle. “Ron has to sleep in the third year’s dorm? Oh, he’ll absolutely hate that!” “You’re not helping, Ginny,” Hermione scolded her. “He did hate it and he nearly got himself thrown out of school when he started yelling at Harry that it was all his fault!” “That was smart; right in front of McGonagall,” Ginny noted. “What happened then?” “McGonagall doubled the length of Ron’s detention and she went to the Floo and contacted your mum,” Harry interrupted before Hermione could speak again. “After hearing what had happened, she insisted in coming through to McGonagall’s office. If I thought that the Professor had given Ron a tongue lashing, I really hadn’t seen anything yet. He was nearly in tears by the time your mum had finished with him!” Ginny groaned. She’d only been on the receiving end of her mother’s full wrath a few times before, but it was a sufficiently horrific experience that she actually started to feel slightly sorry for her brother. Still, if anything was going to get the message through to her thick-headed sibling, it would be a Molly Weasley dressing-down. “So, did it finally sink into Ron’s rock-hard skull to leave you alone?” she asked him. “I think so,” Harry confirmed. “But I expect he’s going to avoid me like the dragon pox from now on. He practically sprinted from McGonagall’s office without a backward glance.” “I can’t believe this has happened,” Hermione moaned. “I really thought we would be friends for life; that we’d stand by each other through thick and thin. But there’s no chance of that happening now.” “Just because we’ve fallen out doesn’t mean that you can’t be friends with him still,” Harry told her. “I won’t be upset if you still want to hang around with him.” “I’m afraid that’s not possible, Harry,” Hermione said sadly. “It was like I thought; by still being your friend Ron now thinks I’m a traitor and wants nothing to do with me. He made that VERY clear.” “I’m sorry, Hermione,” he said. “I know you really liked him. I feel terrible that this whole stupid thing has come between you two.” “It’s alright. Better I find out what he’s truly like now then later,” she replied quietly. They sat in silence for a while before Hermione started to sniffle. Before she could stop herself, she broke down completely and started crying her eyes out. Harry moved over and tentatively put his arm round her shoulders. Hermione buried her face into his shirt and sobbed uncontrolledly. Ginny watched the pair with tears in her own eyes. She was convinced she had caused this situation, and now she had to sit and watch the results. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP Before they knew it, the next Hogsmeade visit was upon them. While Ginny might have wished for a relaxing, fun weekend to take her mind off everything, she and Harry had an important task to take care of that day. Sirius had insisted in seeing Harry in person and a meeting had been arranged for twelve. They were to rendezvous with Sirius at a quite location outside the village where he would lead to a more secluded spot away from prying eyes. Harry had asked Hermione to accompany them as well, but she had begged off, claiming she had too much homework to do. Of course, all three of them knew that was a blatant lie as Hermione would have any assignments completed and double checked on the night it was received, but no one made a fuss about it. It was clear Hermione sometimes felt like a third wheel around Harry and Ginny these days, and had no desire to trail around after them like a hanger-on. Ginny suspected Harry was unhappy his friend felt like that, but she noted that he didn’t try too hard to persuade her otherwise. Hermione’s abandonment of him earlier in the term obviously still lingered in Harry’s mind. So it was that just the two of them set off for the village that morning. They arrived at Hogsmeade without any problems and made a big show of looking around various shops before slinking off when no one was around. They headed towards the Shrieking Shack and in a field nearby they encountered a large, black dog that turned and trotted off slowly at the sight of them. Following the dog at a discreet distance, they walked uphill for a good half an hour before they found themselves standing before a small cave entrance that was well hidden from casual eyes. Harry and Ginny carefully entered the cave and stood blinking as their eyes adjusted to the dim light. When her vision cleared, Ginny could see that the dog had apparently vanished and in his place was a grubby, dark-haired man wearing raggedy grey robes. On catching sight of the man, Harry leapt forward and greeted him. “Sirius!” Harry cried. “I’ve really missed you. But you really shouldn’t have come here; it’s just too dangerous.” “I’ve got to fulfil my role as godfather,” Sirius disagreed. “Besides, I’m perfectly safe as long as I stay as Padfoot. Err, did you bring some food like I asked?” “Oh, yeah!” Harry said, sliding a rucksack he’d been carrying off his shoulders. “I’ve really come prepared. I figured that being on the run you could use a few things.” When Harry had confided to Ginny a few weeks before that he’d received a letter from Sirius requesting this meeting, she’d questioned him extensively about his godfather and what he’d been doing since he escaped from Azkaban. Harry had speculated that Sirius was probably relying on his Animagi skills quite a lot, and had decided to do something to help make his life a bit more comfortable. After a quick visit to the Headmaster, who had discreetly provided some help, Harry had assembled a large bag of useful items to aid Sirius. “What’s all this?” Black asked as he opened the rucksack in surprise. “I just asked for a bit of food.” “Yeah, but I figured you might need a few more things,” Harry said. “There’s an Undetectable Extension Charm on the rucksack, so I’ve been able to get quite a lot of stuff in it. Inside, you’ll find a tent with a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom; Dumbledore bought it for me in Diagon Alley. There should be about a month’s worth of food, mainly in Muggle tins, to keep you going. I had to guess at your size, but there several changes of clothing, both Muggle and wizard, in there, too. I also got the Headmaster to convert a load of Galleons into Muggle money so you should be able to stock up in shops as you go; just remember to cast a glamour charm on yourself when you do because your description was spread about the Muggle press quite a bit. If you do start to run low on money let me know and I’ll arrange for more to be sent to you. That’s the benefit of most Muggle money being made of paper; it’s easy to send by owl.” “And here I was thinking I was here to look after you, not the other way around,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “But thanks for doing this for me, Harry. I won’t lie; all this stuff is very welcome.” Harry beamed. “By the way, Harry, where’s Ron and Hermione? I would have expected them to be with you. And I’ve yet to be introduced to the pretty little witch you have brought,” Sirius commented while simultaneously ransacking the rucksack for food. “Uh, you see, I’ve had a bit of a falling out with Ron. He refused to believe that I didn’t put my name in the Goblet of Fire and has been acting really stupidly about it. Hermione initially kind of sided with him, but more to try and save our friendships than anything else. We’ve made up since, but she was too busy to come today. As for the pretty little witch, this is my very good friend Ginny Weasley. I tell you, Sirius, I wouldn’t have made it through this term without her, she’s been brilliant!” Harry exclaimed. Sirius paused from ripping a loaf of bread apart and looked at Ginny with a raised eyebrow. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Weasley,” he said. “Thank you for being such a good friend to my godson.” “It was nothing,” Ginny replied, blushing at Harry’s warm introduction. “Harry saved my life a couple of years back and I know if our positions were reversed now he wouldn’t think twice about helping me.” Sirius grinned at both of them for a moment, before turning his attention to a whole cellophane-wrapped chicken he had found in the rucksack. He hurriedly unwrapped it and began to eat ravenously. “So,” Sirius said between mouthfuls, “bring me up to speed on everything that’s happened to you since we last spoke.” Harry launched into an account of everything that had happened recently. He went into particular detail about the second task and all the training he and Ginny had been undertaking. Sirius had seemed particularly impressed with Harry’s Transfiguration skills. “Your dad was wonderful at Transfiguration, Harry,” he told him, “and it looks like it’s not just his Quidditch skills you’ve inherited. But still, that’s a pretty advanced spell you mastered; I’m very impressed. I must confess I’ve never heard of this ‘Mind Fortress’ spell you talked about. Where on earth did you find that?” “I found it in some old spell-book,” Ginny piped up. “I can’t remember the name of the book, I’m afraid.” Sirius looked at her intently and for a moment Ginny was convinced that the man knew she was lying. He said nothing, however, and just nodded thoughtfully. He turned to Harry again. “You’ve done wonderfully so far, Harry, but I would rest easier at night if we could just figure out how you got entered into this Tournament. There are a lot of strange things going on at the moment and it’s making me nervous,” Sirius mused. “There’s still no word about what’s happened to Bertha Jorkins, for example. Barty Crouch being off sick for so long, as well. That man hasn’t taken a sick-day in twenty years, yet just when this big, important tournament is underway he throws a sickie. That’s a strange coincidence.” “He’s signed off sick?” Harry asked in puzzlement. “But I’ve seen him around the castle loads of times on the Marauder’s Map. He’s been spending most of his time with Moody in his office.” “With Moody?” Sirius said, his surprise evident. “Yeah, I’m sure of it,” Harry insisted. “I remember being surprised at him being here all the time because I never see him actually around here in the flesh. I assumed he was just staying out the way and running things from behind the scenes.” “Possibly,” Sirius replied, not sounding convinced. “I want you to keep an eye on Barty Crouch and let me or Dumbledore know if you spot anything weird. Barty’s behaviour has been a bit odd lately and I want to know why.” “Do you think he had anything to do with Harry’s name being entered into the Goblet?” Ginny asked. “I don’t know. I don’t see what his motivation would be, but I’m not ruling it out,” Sirius responded. “My money is still on Karkaroff; that man really is a nasty piece of work and I wouldn’t put it past him to try something to ingratiate himself again with the other ex-Death Eaters. Mind you, I wouldn’t put it past Snape to have entered you just to get you into trouble. It’s just the sort of pretty minded stunt he’d pull.” “No, I really don’t think Snape would do this,” Ginny disagreed. “He might hate Harry, but Snape’s never done anything that would endanger him.” “As much as I hate to say it, I think Ginny’s right. He even tried to save my life back in my first year when Quirrell was trying to curse my broom,” Harry pointed out. “I suppose,” Sirius relented. “But I still don’t trust Snape fully. That man is working to his own agenda, mark my words.” “Yeah, well, we’ll keep an eye on him, just like all the others,” Harry sighed. “Was there anything else we needed to talk about?” “Actually, yes,” Sirius said with a big grin on his face. “I’d like to know what exactly is going on between you and this pretty little redhead. Ever since you arrived here, you’ve both been sneaking glances at each other when you think no one’s looking. Are you two an item?” Harry blushed. “Err, well, we kind of talked about dating, but decided that with everything going on it wouldn’t be a good idea right at the moment. We are going to think about it at the end of term, though.” Sirius nodded. “For what my opinions worth, don’t be too worried about everything else. Harry, I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’re ever going to have a normal life, so don’t miss out on all the good stuff just because of all things that happen to you. It’s pretty obvious from watching the pair of you that you both really like each other. So, my advice is get this stupid Tournament done with and then don’t let anything else stand in your way.” “It’s not really that simple, Sirius,” Harry said mournfully. “But right now all I’m worried about is getting through this Tournament alive.” Sirius nodded and looked at Harry sympathetically. “No, I don’t suppose things are ever simple for you, are they? But I will promise you one thing, Harry. If I do ever manage to get my name cleared I’ll take over guardianship of you just like your parents wanted, and you can come and live with me. I’ve done a bloody shoddy job of being a godfather so far, and I intend to make up for it.” Without a word, Harry stood and threw his arms around his godfather. Sirius fiercely returned the hug and Ginny could see the man had tears in his eyes. As she watched them, Ginny silently made a promise. She would do everything in her power to ensure that Sirius Black was cleared and that Harry could, for the first time in his life, have a decent, loving home to go to. Somehow, she would find a way. HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP “Blo ody hell, Harry! That was brilliant!” Ginny exclaimed. She stared at the shattered remains of what had once been one of the desks they had been using to cast spells at. Harry had just cast a Blasting Curse at the desk with impressive results. “Wow,” Harry gasped, looking a little shocked at his own actions. “I never thought I’d be able to do that!” “I keep telling you, Harry, you’re a powerful wizard,” she assured him. Harry turned and smiled at her shyly. Despite everything going on, Harry’s training had continued relentlessly on. If she was honest, Ginny would have to admit she loved their time together. When they were training, it was the only time she and Harry were really alone together. It may have been her imagination, but she felt that when it was just the two of them, Harry seemed more open and affectionate with her. But that hadn’t stopped her relentlessly driving both of them on as hard as she could. With just three months until the final task, it seemed like every second was precious. She had to admit though, she was incredibly proud of the progress Harry had made up to this point. Magically, he was coming on in leaps and bounds. He seemed to have gained a lot of confidence in his spell casting, possibly as a result of not having Hermione correct and belittle him constantly. He had easily doubled his repertoire of spells and was casting them with power and precision. He was picking up new ones faster, too. Physically, he was stronger and faster. By bullying Harry into eating properly, and adding a course of nutritional supplements into his diet, he no longer looked like a he’d blow away in a strong breeze. Indeed, the regular exercise he was getting had given him a wiry strength and he looked exactly what he should have previously been: a fit, strong, young man. The downside to this, at least from Ginny’s perspective, was the amount of interest he was attracting from the young witches around the castle. Harry was now past the age where he could be considered cute, and was now verging on becoming handsome. Without his glasses obscuring them, his startling green eyes were enough to make the many a young girls’ knees tremble and his messy, jet-black hair made them long to run their fingers through it. His rapidly maturing body was getting many admiring glances, too. Ginny had even seen Cho Chang eyeing Harry appreciatively the other day. Cow. But all this mattered not a jot to Harry. The girls who were fluttering their eyelashes at him today were the same ones who had shunned him and accused him of cheating back in October. Once you lost Harry Potter’s trust, it was a hard thing to get back. Ginny could reassure herself that the only girls Harry was friendly with were Hermione, Luna and herself, though he was still a bit distant with Hermione at times. “It’s starting to get late, do you want to call it a night?” Harry asked, rousing her from her musings. “Um, yeah. We’ve worked pretty hard today, I think we deserve to skive-off a few minutes early,” she responded. “Wow, you’re so generous, Gin,” Harry said sarcastically. “I just won’t know what to do with all this free time!” “You could do some more press-ups, if you like,” she replied sweetly. “Sweet Merlin, woman!” he wailed dramatically. “I already did seventy-five today, what more do you want of me?” “A hundred would be good,” she replied, tapping her chin with her finger as if she was considering making him do more. Harry raised his hands in surrender. “Seriously, Gin, I am knackered. The only reason I would have for laying face-down on the floor is if I’ve fallen asleep, not that I’m getting ready to do more exercise.” “Lazy!” she teased him, but only gently. Harry was working hard and they both knew it. They made their way to the door of the classroom and Harry paused to look at the Marauders’ Map. They were probably a bit paranoid about security, but with whoever had placed Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire still at large, you could never be too careful. As he scanned the map, a frown came onto Harry’s face. “What’s the matter?” Ginny asked. “Theodore Nott is in the corridor outside,” Harry explained. “He’s not doing anything. He’s just standing there.” “What the hell does that slimy bastard want?” Ginny growled. Nott was one of dedicated supporters of the Dark Lord and a nasty piece of work, to boot. “Don’t know,” Harry replied. “What do we do? Do we wait until he leaves or do we just ignore him?” “I doubt it’s a coincidence that he happens to be hanging around outside this particular classroom, Harry,” she pointed out. “I don’t like the idea of him spying on us. I say we confront him.” Harry pulled out his wand. “Fair enough. Actually, I was hoping you were going to say that!” “Let’s get him,” Ginny agreed and pulled open the door of the classroom with a jerk. The pair of them hurried outside and turned to confront the Slytherin boy. Unfortunately, the corridor appeared completely empty. Harry immediately pulled out the map again and hurriedly looked at it. It still clearly displayed Nott as standing about fifteen feet away, but there was no sign of the boy. Ginny drew a quick breath and grabbed Harry’s arm. She pulled him down the corridor in the opposite direction from where the map said Nott was standing. “Keep walking and don’t look back,” she whispered to Harry. “Why? What’s going on?” Harry whispered back. “Put it this way, I don’t think you’re the only person here with an Invisibility Cloak. Have a look at the map and see if Nott is following us, but try not to make it obvious,” she hissed at him. Harry very carefully glanced at the map, keeping it close to his body so no one standing behind him could see what he was doing. “Yeah, he’s following us,” Harry confirmed. “I want to know what this is about,” Ginny whispered. “Let’s head for the Astronomy Tower. We can lure him into a dead-end and capture him there. He’ll probably think we’re just heading up there to snog or something.” A second later, Ginny was stunned when Harry slipped his arm around her waist. She looked at him in surprise. “Just selling the story that we’re heading to the tower to snog,” he informed her, before planting a light kiss on top of her head. “Feel free to sell the story as much as you like,” she whispered mischievously. “Giving my bum a squeeze would definitely do it.” It was Harry’s turn to look shocked. He stared at her like he was trying to decide if she was joking or not. In the end, he obviously decided that leaving his hand around her middle was probably the safest option. They continued on in silence, with Harry surreptitiously checking the map every once in a while. Soon, they were at the door to the Astronomy Tower. They opened it and hurried through, purposely not closing it properly behind them. They sprinted up the last set of stairs and looked around for ambush positions. “Harry, I’ll hide behind this storage box while you stay on the other side of the room under your cloak. Hopefully, we’ll hear his footsteps and be able to capture him,” she ordered. “Okay, but be careful,” he replied before disappearing from sight as he pulled the cloak over himself. Ginny crouched down behind a large, wooden box used to store stands for telescopes, and listened intently. She could hear her own heart pounding as she strained to hear the slightest noise. All was quiet, however. She cursed that she couldn’t see the Marauders’ Map to check the progress of the Slytherin, as he seemed to be taking an awful long time. Gently as she could, she peered around the box. Without warning, a hand clamped itself around her mouth and an arm wrapped itself around her, clamping her arms to her side. She struggled, but whoever was holding her was too strong. She kicked out, but only succeeded in kicking the storage box. A cry of pain came from behind her and she suddenly found herself free. She turned and saw Harry and Theodore Nott locked in a bitter struggle. She raised he wand but was afraid she would hit Harry if she cast a hex at them. Instead, she leapt up and kicked Nott in the shin as hard as she could. Nott bellowed in pain and managed to push Harry off him. Harry tumbled backwards and fell on the floor. Nott quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it at him as he struggled to get up. “Protego!” Ginny yelled, putting a shield up between Harry and Nott just in time to deflect the Stunning Spell that Nott had cast. Nott whipped round and sent another Stunner at her, but she just dodged it. With his face contorted in anger, the boy lunged at Ginny with his hand outstretched like claw. “Depulso!” Ginny screamed in a panic, determined not to let the Slytherin boy touch her again. Unfortunately, great minds think alike and Harry, who was still on the floor but had managed to grab his wand, had also cast a Banishing Charm at Nott. Harry had thrown a tremendous amount of power into his charm, and Ginny hadn’t held back either. The combined spells slammed into Nott like a sledgehammer and sent him flying backwards in a blur. Nott’s body smashed against the railing running around the edge of the tower and for a second it looked like he would fall safely to the floor. Unfortunately, his momentum was just enough to tip him over the edge and he slid out of sight. With a horrified gasp, Ginny lunged to the railing with Harry right behind her. They reached the railing and peered over in time to see Nott’s falling body slam into a window ledge that protruded out from the lower part of the tower. Nott’s head connected against the stone and even in the dark Ginny was certain she saw blood. Neither Harry nor Ginny moved until Nott’s tumbling body was out of sight. “We have to get down there,” Harry eventually said, shaking Ginny from her stupor. Not waiting for a response, Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the tower door. Ginny’s mind was numb; she couldn’t take in what had just happened. Had she just killed someone? How could she have done that? She wasn’t Tom Riddle; someone who ruthlessly killed anyone who stood in her way. Nott couldn’t be dead, could he? As soon as they reached the main corridor, Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak over the two of them. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Ginny marvelled that Harry could think so clearly in the circumstances, but that was what he did, wasn’t it? He was the action hero who was always cool under pressure, while she just felt like screaming. Her legs were like jelly and she had an urge to vomit. In a surprisingly short time, they had exited the castle via the main doors and made their way around the outside until they reached the foot of the Astronomy Tower. There was nothing there. “Spread out a bit,” Harry instructed. “He can’t be far away.” It was a dark night and there was very little light in this part of the castle grounds. It was unsurprising, therefore, that Ginny’s foot encountered the body of Theodore Nott before she could see it. Fighting down the urge to scream, she called Harry over. Harry knelt over the body and rapidly examined it. “He’s dead,” Harry whispered in an unemotional voice. “You were right about him having an Invisibility Cloak; I found one stuffed in his pocket.” “Harry, what are we going to do?” Ginny begged, she voice close to hysteria. “They’ll throw us into Azkaban for life!” “Shut up a second, let me think,” Harry snapped. “Okay, no one has any reason to link us with Nott’s death. No one saw anything. All we have to do is hide the body and keep our mouths shut.” “But Harry…” Ginny began before he cut her off. “We haven’t got time to discuss this! Come on, we’ll cover Nott’s body with his Invisibility Cloak and Levitate him out of here. I know the perfect place to dump the body,” Harry insisted. Harry worked rapidly, wrapping the cloak around the boy’s body and Levitating it before him. He then set off at a quick pace, his wand extended before him. Ginny hurried after him, not wanting to be left by herself. They walked for a good ten minutes before Ginny realised they were heading towards the Forbidden Forest. While she realised that was probably the perfect place to hide the body, the thought of entering the dark woods terrified her. She sped up a little and clutched Harry’s arm. In the dark, she could just make out him smiling reassuringly at her. The journey through the forest was a nightmare. Branches clawed at her face and she frequently stumbled. She had no idea where they were heading and was certain that they were hopelessly lost. Harry, however, just kept grimly walking on, apparently confident of his route. After what left like hours of walking, Harry suddenly stopped. “What are we…” Ginny began. “Shush!” Harry ordered and stood peering into the dark. Somewhere to Ginny’s left, she heard something move followed by a strange chittering noise. She gripped Harry’s arm tightly. “Harry, what was that?” Ginny asked, the fear evident in her voice. “Good, we’re in the right place,” Harry replied. He lowered Nott’s body and pulled the cloak off the boy. For a second, he looked undecided before he stuffed the cloak into Nott’s pocket. “The cloak would have been useful, but we just can’t risk being caught with it,” he muttered. He stood and grabbed Ginny’s hand, pulling her behind him. They stumbled along in the dark for sometime before Ginny could take no more. She pulled her hand away and sunk to the ground. Tears began to fall and she sobbed in misery. A few seconds later she felt Harry’s arms around her and he pulled her close. “It’s okay, Gin,” he assured her. “No one will ever find the body. It’s all going to be alright.” “How can you say that?” she asked in a broken voice. “I killed Nott, Harry! I’m a killer! How can I ever live with myself?” “WE killed Nott,” Harry insisted. “And remember; he attacked us. It was self-defence.” “Then why didn’t we go to the Headmaster or McGonagall? They would have listened to us,” she demanded. “I thought you didn’t trust the Headmaster?” Harry pointed out. “Besides, I’m Harry Potter. When have I ever been given a fair hearing?” “But…” she stuttered. “No, Ginny. Even if Dumbledore believes us, others would use this against me. Look at how many people believed that stupid Rita Skeeter story about me being unstable,” Harry pointed out. “Someone like Lucius Malfoy would jump on this. I’d be in Azkaban before my feet touched the ground, and let me tell you, Ginny. I’m NOT going to Azkaban. I’d rather die first.” Ginny looked at him and for the first time in her life saw fear in his eyes. Of course, she knew the effect that the Dementors had on him and that was why he’d worked so hard to perfect the Patronus Charm last year. But what if he couldn’t protect himself? She imagined him, locked in some dark, dank cell; screaming as he relived his worst nightmares again and again and again. It would be hell on earth for him. He was right; death would be better. “Okay,” she agreed nervously, “so we keep this quiet. But are you sure Nott’s body won’t be discovered? After all, Hagrid comes out here sometimes and there’s bound to be a search when it’s realised Nott is missing.” “Nah, I came to this part of the forest for a very specific reason,” Harry told her. “That noise you heard was an Acromantula. There’s a big colony of them back there. Remember Ron and I visited them in your first year after Hagrid was arrested? Trust me, they’ll have picked up Nott’s scent by now and pretty soon there will be nothing left of him.” Ginny shuddered at Harry’s apparent ruthlessness. She’d never imagined he could be this cold-blooded. The expression on her face must have betrayed her thoughts as Harry looked at her sadly. “Look, Ginny. I don’t like this anymore than you, but the fact is that we are at war and in wars people get killed. Nott’s dad was a Death Eater and I bet Theodore would be one, too, if Voldemort was still around. He was up to something and he was quite willing to attack you for some reason. There’s no saying that one of us might not have been thrown off the tower rather than him if we hadn’t fought back. It’s horrible that he had to die, but if there was the slightest risk of him harming you, then I would do the same thing a hundred times over,” he told her, his green eyes blazing in determination. Squeezing her eyes tight shut to stop the tears, Ginny nodded. Harry was right. Of course he was right. They were at war with Voldemort’s followers and they would have jumped for joy if either Harry or herself had been killed. It was time for her to stop acting like a little girl and become the woman that Harry needed her to be. “What do we do now?” she asked, her voice steadier than before. “We go back to the castle and pretend this never happened. If anyone asks, we were out here snogging. Everyone thinks that’s what we’ve been up to anyway, so no one should question it.” He stood and offered her his hand. “Come on, Gin. It’s getting late and we need to get back.” Ginny allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they started to head back to Hogwarts. While she was calmer than before, her mind was still racing at a hundred miles an hour. Guilt and fear still raged within her, and she was sure that this would haunt her for the rest of her life. That was irrelevant, though. Through it all, the one thing she kept thinking about was the fear in Harry’s eyes at the thought of going to Azkaban. She would never allow that to happen. But still, while there was no evidence linking them to Nott’s death, both Snape and Dumbledore were skilled Legilimens, and could pull their thoughts out of their minds with ease. The Mind Fortress Spell could only do so much, she realised. No, they would have to start learning Occlumency as soon as possible. With these thoughts dominating her mind, Ginny wasn’t really paying attention to her surroundings. Fortunately, Harry was more alert then she and just as they had reached the Quidditch supply sheds she felt him stiffen and pull her to one side. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered urgently. “We’d better make this look good.” Before she knew what was happening, she felt Harry’s lips on her and his arms around her waist. It took a second to realise that Harry was maintaining their cover story of sneaking off to snog, but she was still stunned. Then, before she knew what she was doing, she found her hands running through his hair and her lips attacking his fiercely. She felt his arms tighten around her and he pressed her hard against the wall of the shed. Their tongues met and began a frenzied dance and their bodies rubbed against each other. She moaned in pleasure as his hands gripped her bum cheeks and squeezed. Removing one hand from Harry’s hair, she began to rub it up and down his chest, feeling the tight muscles that he was developing. “What’s going on here?” demanded a stern voice. Both she and Harry leapt a foot in the air. They had become so wrapped up in each other that they had forgotten about whoever it was that had been approaching. Ginny looked up and saw Professor Moody glaring at them. “Oh, um…Sir! We were, that is… um,” Harry mumbled, apparently genuinely embarrassed. “I can see what you were doing, boy,” Moody snapped. “But that’s no reason to let your guard down. Anyone could have crept up behind you while you and Weasley were mauling each other. If you’re going to do that, find somewhere that no one can see you, not the middle of a bloody field.” “Sorry, sir,” Harry said apologetically. “It’s just all the good spots were taken tonight, so we came out here for a bit of privacy. We should have been more careful, sorry.” “That’s alright, lad. You wouldn’t believe it, but I was young myself once,” Moody grunted. “Yes, sir,” Harry mumbled. “We’ll head back to the castle now, if that’s alright.” “Yes, it’s way after curfew, so be careful,” Moody replied. “Before you go, have you two seen anyone else out here tonight?” Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a second. “No, sir. Was it anyone specific you were looking for?” Harry asked. “No, I just thought I saw someone skulking about,” Moody said, sounding a little distracted. “Well, don’t just stand there. Back to the castle with you.” Neither of them needed any further encouragement. They hurried back to the common room in complete silence, neither of them mentioning the events of the night. Once they passed through the portrait hole, they paused and stopped to look at each other for a moment. Ginny wanted to say something, but words failed her. What she really wanted was for Harry to take him in his arms again and kiss her. She just wanted to forget everything apart from his hands on her body and his lips on hers, but he knew the time wasn’t right. Harry’s brilliant green eyes were unreadable, but she felt that his thoughts were the same as hers. They now shared a terrible secret and that would pull them even closer. Together, they had experienced something that they could tell no other person in the world about; their shared heart of darkness. After a while, Harry stepped for and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, Ginny. We’ll talk in the morning, okay?” “Yes, in the morning,” she replied. “Sleep well.” He turned and made his way up to the boy’s dormitory and she watched him until he vanished from sight. She turned and her way up to her own bed. She prepared for bed and slipped between the cool sheets gratefully. The horror of the night’s events nearly overwhelmed her and she fervently wished Harry was there. Pushing the thoughts of Nott’s falling body from her mind, she concentrated on what it had felt like to have Harry’s hands caressing her body and his lips pressed roughly against her own. Soon, she began to drift off, lost in dreams of his comforting touch. Surprisingly, she slept like a log for the rest of the night. |
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