Search:

SIYE Time:14:51 on 29th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


The Thorny Rose 2: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow
By Brennus

- Text Size +

Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:None
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 213
Summary: Sequel to (amazingly) The Thorny Rose. The Triwizard Tournament is over and Harry and Ginny are together. What has Ginny got planned for her new boyfriend next?
Hitcount: Story Total: 70452; Chapter Total: 6482
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter. I have to say, I’m delighted how well it was received, particularly the changes I made to Sirius. You’ll all be pleased to know that this story it fairly Sirius-heavy, so there will be plenty more of the loveable rogue to come.

Right, chapter 2! I’m genuinely intrigued how Ginny’s plan to rid Harry of his Horcrux will be received. It will push the story in a direction a lot of people won’t have been expecting, but hopefully I’ve given an old idea some new twists. Be aware, though, a lot has to happen before Ginny’s plan is put into action. Oh, and I apologise for having a bit of fun with some of the ideas other writers have had for ridding Harry of his Horcrux, but I am very evil, after all.

Finally, some of you may feel that Sirius’s comments about that Dutch witch were a bit misogynistic. I will say that I thought they were in character and, besides, those words might come back to bite him.

Massive thanks to Arnel for her superb beta work and discussions about Harry’s satanic wardrobe.




ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


Chapter 2 — Confession is Good For the Soul



“I’m–I’m a Horcrux?” Harry stammered in horror. “I have a piece of Voldemort’s soul inside me?”

“I’m afraid so, Harry,” Ginny replied in a quiet voice. “Think about it, you clearly have a connection with that monster that couldn’t have come about any other way. For months you’ve been able to see what’s been happening to Voldemort. All those dreams you’ve been having about old men being killed and giving Pettigrew orders. That’s a direct result of your connected souls.”

“Those were real? You said they were just strange dreams!” he protested.

“I could hardly tell you the truth, could I?” Ginny pointed out. “I knew as soon as you started having those dreams that Voldemort must be gaining power and was close to regaining a body, but how the hell could I explain how I knew that?”

Harry leapt to his feet and began to pace frantically. He began to run his fingers through his already messy black hair, which Ginny recognised as one of his visible signs of stress. She watched him fret mournfully.

“So… if Voldemort can’t be killed while these Horcruxes exist and I have one in me… can we get it out without killing me, Ginny?” he asked plaintively.

“If it had been a proper Horcrux, then no, but yours was never intended to be one,” she explained. “When Voldemort’s body was destroyed a piece of his soul must have splintered off as a result of him killing your mum. While the larger part fled, the smaller, detached part urgently needed a new host or it would have just faded out of existence, and I’m afraid you were the only available candidate. But to create an actual Horcrux a ritual needs to be performed and the host vessel needs to be prepared. Neither of those things happened, so Voldemort’s soul fragment is just latched onto your soul rather than being properly integrated.”

“So, we can get it out?” he asked hopefully.

“Well, yes, but not easily,” she said apologetically. “The method of removing it is rather… radical.”

“What do you mean, radical?” he asked suspiciously. “Don’t tell me we have to pour basilisk venom onto my scar or something?”

“Nah, the venom wouldn’t distinguish between the soul fragment and your flesh,” she explained. “I don’t think burning a hole right through your head would do you a lot of good.”

“Okay then, what about a Dementor?” he suggested. “They suck people’s souls out of them; could we get one of them to kiss my scar?”

Ginny shook her head. “Harry, Dementors drain positive feelings out of people. They love to eradicate every positive emotion a person has. Now tell me, if a Dementor is about to kiss you, and it suddenly finds it has two souls to choose from– Voldemort’s black one and your noble, compassionate one–which do you think it would pick?”

“So, how do we get it out then?” Harry demanded frantically.

“We replace it,” she said simply. “Voldemort’s soul fragment isn’t attached firmly, so if a piece of someone else’s soul was introduced under the right conditions it would almost certainly be able to expel the unwanted piece.”

“What?” Harry yelped. “Someone else’s soul? How the bloody hell do I attach a piece of someone else’s soul to myself?”

“Through a Soul-Bonding ritual,” she informed him, deliberately not looking him in the eyes.

“A Soul-Bonding ritual? What the pissing-hell is a Soul-Bonding ritual?” he yelled, clearly becoming more and more agitated.

“It’s rarely used these days, but it’s meant to be the ultimate expression of true love,” she explained, her fingers fidgeting as she did so. “Marriages can always be annulled and partners can end up cheating on each other. This ritual was designed so those things can never happen. Once a couple are Soul-Bonded, they are together for life. Even if one of them dies, the other is likely to follow them shortly afterwards.”

Harry stared at her open mouthed. She continued to avoid his gaze and carried on with her explanation.

“The ritual literally involves sharing a piece of your soul with your partner. If you performed this ritual with m… I mean, someone, they would exchange part of their soul with you and that would be enough to force Voldemort’s unstable piece out. Just as creating a Horcrux is an act of pure hate, this ritual is one of pure love. Even if you weren’t introducing a well-anchored soul segment into yours, the overwhelming feeling of love would be more than any part of Voldemort could stand.”

“Okay, I can see how it would deal with the Horcrux in me, but what are the drawbacks? Why is this ritual not performed anymore?” he asked warily.

“As I said, it’s quite radical an option,” she replied. “Apart from the whole ‘if one person dies and the other does, too’ thing, the two people become inseparably linked. They’ll never take another lover or partner. There’s a recorded case where one woman tried to cheat on her Soul-Bonded mate and she became physically sick as soon as she kissed this other bloke. Likewise, if the couple are separated for too long they are likely to become ill; more than a few weeks apart is likely to trigger it. So, basically if you go through with this ritual, you’re stuck with that person for life. That’s a huge commitment and not many people want to do that these days. Besides, if the couple aren’t truly in love when they undertake the ritual it can have some nasty side-effects.”

“So I can’t just pull some random girl off the street and ask her to do the ritual with me then?” Harry joked grimly. “This all sounds ridiculous to me. I mean, once these couples are bonded, can they hear each other’s thoughts and communicate telepathically or something?”

“Don’t be stupid, Harry,” Ginny scolded him. “That only happens in fairy-tales.”

“Oh, silly me,” Harry spat. “If one person snuffs it, the other does too, but no mind-reading! I really should have figured that one out for myself, shouldn’t I?”

“Look, I’m trying to explain all this to you, if you’d just give me a second,” Ginny yelled back. “It’s not my fault you don’t know any of this stuff.”

“I didn’t bloody say it was!” Harry bellowed. “What are we even discussing this rubbish for, anyway? You said it yourself: nobody does this stupid ritual anymore. What girl in her right mind would bond herself to someone who has a Dark Lord trying to kill him?”

“I would, you bloody idiot!” she screamed.

Harry stopped short. He gaped at Ginny in surprise.

“Ginny, I…” he began awkwardly.

“I don’t mean right now,” she muttered, devastated that she had revealed so much to Harry. “If nothing else, we both need to be of age to undertake such a ritual. Can you imagine my mother agreeing to it otherwise?”

“But, Ginny,” Harry said, sitting himself back down on the couch next to her. “You’re only thirteen-years-old! How can you know that you want to bond with me for life? I know you’ve had a crush on me for ages, but we’ve only been officially dating for a week or so. I bet you get fed-up with me eventually…”

“Harry, you really are a moron, do you know that?” she asked in an amused voice.

“It’s a valid question,” he shot back sounding a little hurt.

“Let me explain this,” she sighed. “Magic isn’t just about the power you can put into a spell, or how difficult it is to cast. It’s part of us, and our magic is reflected in the kind of person we are. It’s no great surprise that mean-spirited or evil people are the best at casting Dark curses. This means that magic can act just like an aura, particularly for really powerful witches and wizards, who have a tendency to radiate their magical power, anyway. Dumbledore does it all the time, for example. When two magically talented people meet, their auras will encounter one another and react. If they are likeminded and compatible, the auras will mesh together and they will feel a sense of friendship, or even possibly attraction, to each other. If the auras aren’t compatible, like yours and Draco Malfoy’s for instance, it can cause aggravation and hatred in extreme examples. Not everyone is good at sensing these auras, Harry, but I am. Ever since I first met you at Kings Cross station, I’ve felt that our magical auras are a perfect match. I’d always hoped that you might feel it, too, but you are a boy and therefore as thick as a plank.”

“Thanks,” Harry said sourly. “So, why have you never mentioned this before? Hell, why has no one ever mentioned it before?”

“Like I said, not many people are good at reading magical auras and it’s not a commonly used practice. Besides, what good would have explaining done if you couldn’t feel it yourself?” she pointed out.

“But I think I can feel it,” Harry objected. “There are times when I can literally feel that you’re close by, even when I can’t see you. Or when we kiss, it’s like we’re becoming one person or something. Oh, damn it! I can’t explain how it feels!”

“I’d be amazed if you could,” Ginny giggled. “You’re hardly Mr Eloquence, are you?”

Harry snorted. “Nah, I guess not. I can grunt expressively on occasion, but that’s about it. So, where does this leave us? Are we destined to be together, no matter what?”

“Nothing’s ever set in stone,” she said, “but we are a very good choice for each other. Look, don’t worry about it for now. We’re both very young and, as you say, we’ve only just got together. Let’s just let things take their course naturally.”

“And what about this piece of Voldemort’s soul I have in me?” he asked pointedly.

“It’s not an immediate worry,” she assured him. “Without a body, Voldemort is weak at present. Remember, it took him years to get to the stage where he could even try to regain his human form after you defeated him the first time. The protections your mother cast on you will help enormously, too. You really need to crack on with your Occlumency training, though. It will help you to protect your mind from intrusion and block off any attempts Voldemort makes at influencing you.”

“Okay, we’ll make this one of the things we talk to Sirius about. Perhaps he can arrange for someone to train us properly?” Harry suggested, sounding a bit more positive.

“It would be a good idea. I’m not particularly adept at it, so a skilled teacher would be wonderful,” she agreed. “As for what we tell Sirius, I say we tell him about the Horcruxes in general, but not about the one in you. Of course, I think we’ll have to tell him about my inherited memories, otherwise I’d have no way of explaining how I knew all these things.”

“I agree,” he said decisively, “and there’s no need to mention what happened on the Astronomy Tower, either.”

“Absolutely,” Ginny agreed resolutely. “We never tell anyone about that, ever!”

“Agreed. Well, I understand now why you were so keen on us discussing all this somewhere private. It’s been a shock to the system and no mistake,” Harry exclaimed.

“I know. We’re good, though, aren’t we? You understand why I didn’t tell you all this immediately?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, Ginny, I do,” Harry assured her with a smile. “Trust me, we’re more than good.”

“Great!” she said brightly. “So, do we need to go and speak to Sirius immediately, or is there something else you’d like to do first while we’re all alone here?”

“Well, I do think we need to test that magical aura thing,” Harry confirmed, sliding across the sofa and slipping his arms around her. “Just as an experiment, of course.”

“Of course, we definitely need to experiment more,” she agreed just before their lips met.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

So metime later, the two of them headed downstairs in search of Sirius. They found him in the room which was being decorated, watching contentedly as half-a-dozen elves scurried around putting the finishing touches to their work.

“Ah, there you two are,” Sirius said happily when he caught sight of them approaching. “I wondered if I was going to have to come up and throw a bucket of cold water over you. So, what do you think of the room? Not a bad job, if I do say so myself.”

Harry and Ginny examined the room, which this morning had been drab and depressing. The dark walls had been painted a creamy-white colour and all the furniture replaced with newer items which looked colourful and attractive. Being south facing, light streamed in through the large sash windows which were now free of the heavy, restrictive curtains that had previously hung there. All in all, the room was bright and welcoming.

“Very nice,” Harry said appreciatively, “but how much of the decorating did you actually have anything to do with?”

“I supervised!” Sirius protested.

“Then why is Dobby telling all the other elves what to do and not you?” Harry asked pointedly.

“I’m supervising the supervisor,” Sirius retorted.

“It looks wonderful,” Ginny chipped in. “I’m sure you worked very hard.”

“Thank you,” Sirius replied before shooting Harry a dirty look. “It’s nice to know my efforts are appreciated by someone. After all, it’s not like you helped much, Harry. Of course, I realise that you had more important things to do…”

“Before you start, we haven’t been snogging,” Harry began. Sirius just looked at him with an amused expression. “Okay, we have been snogging, but not for long. We’ve mainly been talking and we have some important things to tell you.”

“Oh, Merlin! You’re not pregnant, are you, Ginny?” Sirius asked in a panic.

“Sirius!” Ginny cried in shock. “I’m not even fourteen years old yet! How could you think such a thing?”

“That’s not so young,” Sirius disagreed. “It wasn’t so many years ago that you would have been of marriageable age. In fact, in many places in the world today fifteen is an acceptable age for marriage with parental agreement. Some pure-blood families still work to those rules, you know. I was introduced to a girl whom my father informed I would be marrying when I was just fourteen, myself.”

“Really?” Harry gasped. “What happened to her?”

“No idea,” Sirius shrugged. “But put it this way, she was one of the reasons I ran away from home a few years later. We were both getting far too close to betrothal age and I wasn’t taking any risks. I can’t even remember her name now. Galatea something… she was from some Dark-aligned Dutch family. She was a big girl. Very… big. Frankly, I doubted I would have survived our wedding night, not without multiple injuries, anyway.”

“I’m sure you would have made a lovely couple,” Ginny snorted. “But we really do have some serious things to talk to you about.”

Sirius looked at them both appraisingly. “Very well. Let’s head to the kitchen; we shouldn’t be disturbed there. I get the feeling I’m going to need a strong cup of tea, anyway.”

They headed downstairs and took the narrow passageway that led to the basement kitchen. Once suitably fortified with tea and biscuits, they arranged themselves around the large, wooden table that dominated the room.

“A lot of what we’re about to tell you is going to come as a shock,” Harry began, “and it could put Ginny and myself in danger if it got out. For that reason, we need you to make an Unbreakable Vow that you’ll tell no one else about what we’ve got to say.”

“What?” Sirius yelped. “An Unbreakable Vow? That’s pretty heavy stuff, Harry. You just don’t enter into something like that willy-nilly.”

Harry stared intently at Sirius for a moment. “Do you trust me?” he asked after a while.

“Of course I… bugger. That’s going to invalidate any argument I’ve got, isn’t it?” Sirius said mournfully. “Okay, Harry, if you think whatever you’ve got to tell me is so important, I’ll make the Vow with you. But who will we use as the bonder?”

“I’ll do it,” Ginny declared.

“Are you sure you can manage?” Sirius asked in concern. “It’s not a particularly easy thing to do, you know.”

“I can do it easily,” she replied with confidence. “I fact, my abilities are part of what we wanted to talk to you about.”

Clearly intrigued, Sirius stood and joined hands with Harry. As promised, Ginny performed the bonding without difficulties and soon Sirius was magically incapable of disclosing their secrets.

“Okay, now that’s out of the way can you tell me what all this is about?” Sirius demanded.

Harry looked meaningfully at Ginny and she nodded, understanding that he wanted her to take the lead on this.

“How much has Harry told you about what happened during his second year when he rescued me from the Chamber of Secrets?” she began.

“Quite a lot, actually,” Sirius confirmed. “In fact, he’s spent a lot of time this week giving me a pretty detailed account of everything that’s happened to him at Hogwarts since he started. I suppose that was in preparation for this conversation, was it?”

“It was,” Harry confirmed. “I thought it would save time if you knew all the background of what has been going on.”

“Anyway, I’m sure Harry has left out a few little details of our adventure in the chamber,” Ginny continued. “As you know, Voldemort left Harry with a few little gifts to remember him by. That scar for one, his Parselmouth ability for another. Well, Harry wasn’t the only one that has been left a little memento of that bastard. I have, too.”

“Explain,” Sirius demanded, his eyes narrowing.

“As you know, I was possessed by Voldemort acting through an old diary of his. He was sucking out my life-force to enable him to return. When my dashing hero here destroyed the diary, all the life-force that Voldemort had stolen came rushing back into me. But that’s not all. Because we were connected so closely when he was destroyed, all of his memories up to the point that he made the diary ended up in me, as well. I can remember everything that Voldemort did up to the age of sixteen.”

Sirius looked at her in shock. “These memories, they’re not sentient in any way, are they? Have they even tried to possess you at all, like before?”

“No, they’re just there. I can access them as and when I want,” she confirmed.

“But this is amazing!” Sirius exclaimed. “This could give us a tremendous advantage over You-Know-Who!”

“Hold on, Sirius,” Harry interrupted. “Remember, you can’t tell anyone about this. Especially not Dumbledore.”

“Why not Dumbledore?” the older man demanded. “The bloke is definitely not in my good-books at the moment, but he’s still an incredibly wise and powerful wizard. This information could be just what he needs to finally defeat You-Know-Who for good.”

“We don’t really trust Dumbledore anymore,” Harry explained. “I told you about how he hadn’t thought through controlling Snape’s behaviour, didn’t I? That’s just the tip of the iceberg, I’ll afraid. For instance, could he really not prevent anyone entering my name into the Goblet of Fire last year? And when it did happen, he made virtually no attempt to get me out of the competition.”

“And what about Harry’s second year?” Ginny queried. “How come this ‘wise and powerful wizard’ didn’t twig that it was a basilisk running around the school when a second year girl could? He never did manage to work out where the Chamber of Secrets was, but again a second year boy did. Okay, Harry is a Parselmouth and used that ability to open the chamber, but he found its location by talking to Moaning Myrtle and Dumbledore could easily have enlisted the Hogwarts ghosts to help him if he so wanted. And if he’s omnipotent like some people seem to think, how come he didn’t notice one of his own pupils was being possessed by a Dark artefact right under his nose?”

“And in my first year, he brings a rare and valuable magical item into the castle when he knows Voldemort is trying to steal it,” Harry said, taking over again. “Hogwarts might be thought of as one of the safest places in Britain, although I think that description is a joke, but you don’t bring something like that into a place where its presence will put hundreds of children at risk. You just don’t! It’s a school, not a high-security bank vault. He then protects this item by sticking a load of tests in front of it that a group of first year kids could figure out. Oh, I’ll give you that thing with the mirror was clever, but even that could have been gotten around. The Mirror of Erised would only give the stone to someone who wanted it, but not to use it, right? What if Voldemort had ordered Quirrell to kidnap some kid and told them they would be killed unless they remove the stone? That would work, wouldn’t it?”

“And you said it yourself, Sirius,” Ginny continued, “Dumbledore did sod all to get you out of Azkaban. It’s not that we think he’s evil or anything, we just think he’s not as half as clever as he thinks he is.”

Sirius raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I get the picture. We don’t involve Dumbledore. Not that I could anyway after giving that Vow. But, seriously, if You-Know-Who is going to return, and from what Harry’s told me that seems a certainty, what are we going to do about it.”

“That’s where all these memories come in useful,” Ginny said, taping her forehead with her finger. “You see, I know how Voldemort keeps coming back. I know why he can’t apparently be killed.”

“How?” Sirius demanded.

“Ever heard of a Horcrux?” she asked.

“Can’t say that I have,” he replied.

“Well, get comfortable, because I’ve a hell of a story to tell you about,” she smiled grimly.

For the next half-an-hour, Ginny, with occasional prompting from Harry, told Sirius everything she knew about Horcruxes. She explained how an ambitious and ruthless young wizard named Tom Riddle had become obsessed by the idea of immortality, and how he had carefully researched the subject before settling on the idea of multiple Horcruxes to obtain his dream. She told Sirius about Tom’s ‘research trips’ and his careful questioning of Professor Slughorn about their creation. Finally, she explained how Tom had created his first one, the diary, and the significance of Harry’s destruction of it.

Throughout all this, Sirius sat impassively, his face a mask. When Ginny had finished, he looked up gravely at the pair of them.

“This is bad,” he said simply. “If what you’re telling me is correct, we have no means of defeating You-Know… oh, bugger it, Voldemort, until we destroy all these Horcruxes. But we don’t know precisely how many he made or what they are, correct?”

“I like to think we have more than an educated guess at the numbers, but, yes, I think that sums it up pretty well,” Ginny agreed grimly.

Sirius paused, looking troubled. “Okay, you two have been totally honest with me; I think I need to do the same. Harry, have you ever wondered why Voldemort is so keen to keep coming after you?”

“Yes, I have,” he confirmed, his face suddenly suspicious. “I asked Dumbledore about it, but he brushed me off. I thought initially Voldemort just wanted revenge for what happened at Godric’s Hollow, but I assume there’s more to it than that.”

“Yes, I’m afraid there is,” Sirius said sadly. “You see, Harry, your parents didn’t go into hiding because Voldemort was after them. He was always after you. Before you were born there was a prophecy made that stated you were the one that was destined to defeat Voldemort. He was simply trying to eliminate the competition before you were old enough to hold a wand. Obviously, that backfired on him a bit, but still. I’m sorry, my boy, but I don’t think he’s ever going to rest until he’s dealt with you.”

Ginny stared at Sirius in horror. “What exactly does this prophecy say?” she demanded.

“I haven’t the foggiest,” he said apologetically. “James just told me it existed and that it involved Harry. Shortly after that, they went into hiding and I never saw them again.”

“Doesn’t anyone know what this thing says, then?” Harry asked. He was looking a little wild-eyed.

“Probably the seer who gave the prophecy in the first place, but I have no idea who that was. Judging from Albus’s behaviour over the years, I would assume he does, too,” Sirius speculated.

“We can’t exactly just walk up and ask him now, can we?” Ginny snorted.

“Actually, now I think about it, I’m sure I’ve heard something about the Ministry keeping a record of these kind of things,” Sirius said. “I have no idea where or how we can get access to those records, however. Let me start to do some digging; quietly, of course. I wouldn’t want to tip-off Albus that we’re looking into this.”

“Definitely not,” Ginny agreed. “We’ll have to start to research both this bloody prophecy and potential items that Voldemort might have used to make Horcruxes. I know he was thinking that the items had to be worthy of him, but that’s all I have I’m afraid.”

“If we needed an ace researcher, maybe we should bring Hermione into this,” Harry suggested.

“I’m not so sure, Harry,” Ginny replied doubtfully. “I know you’ve mostly forgiven her for last year, but she still made some bad choices. How can we be sure she won’t run straight to Dumbledore as soon as she hears about this?”

Harry grinned. “Oh, don’t worry about her on that front,” he assured her. “Everyone seems to think that Hermione’s all about rules and regulations, and that she slavishly obeys authority figures. Let me tell you, that girl has broken nearly as many school rules as the twins without the slightest hint of a guilty conscience. Besides, we’ll demand an Unbreakable Vow, just like we did with Sirius.”

“She would be a valuable asset to have on board,” Sirius agreed. “There’s an extensive library here and the books covering Dark Magic were one of the few things of that ilk that we didn’t throw out.”

Ginny thought for a moment. Although she had been reasonably good friends with the older girl for some time, she still wasn’t totally convinced that Hermione wouldn’t object to them operating outside Dumbledore’s control. Besides, she’d hurt Harry with her behaviour last year and Ginny didn’t easily forgive that.

“Why don’t we work on this ourselves first,” Ginny suggested, “but get her involved if we get stuck?”

“That sounds reasonable,” Harry agreed readily. “I would like to involve her at some stage, though. I understand you wanting to keep the number of people involved to a minimum, but I think this would be good for her. She’s still pretty cut-up about Ron and I know she feels left out of things.”

Ginny smiled at Harry’s concern for his friend. Although he’d been pretty angry at Hermione last year, he just didn’t have it in him to hold a grudge that long. Idly, she wondered what would happen if Ron apologised to him now. It seemed unlikely to ever happen, but you never knew.

“So, anything else we need to discuss?” Sirius asked, snapping her out of her musings.

“Yeah,” Ginny remembered. “Training. Harry needs to keep up his training over the summer and I’d like to be involved, too, if we can swing it.”

“Oh, yes. Harry mentioned this,” Sirius acknowledged. “The good news is that I’ve already applied to the Ministry for a waiver for Harry to perform magic this summer while in the house. Buttering up Fudge must have done the trick, because they fell over themselves to grant it. And you will be very pleased to know, Miss Weasley, that as long as you restrict your use of magic to within these four walls, the Ministry will not have a clue if it’s you or Harry casting spells, meaning you can train as well.”

“Fantastic!” she exclaimed. “Now the only worry we have is getting my mum to agree to me spending my time here.”

“You leave that to me,” Sirius said with a wink. “I’ll work the old Black charm on her. She won’t know what’s hit her.”

“Besides, I got the impression your mum wasn’t as bothered about you being here as she makes out,” Harry added. “I think she feels she has to object on principal, sometimes. She sort of admitted she trusts me with you.”

“Just as well she didn’t see what you were doing to me earlier, then,” Ginny smirked.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Sirius said loudly, before breaking into a grin himself. “Anyway, in addition to me helping you, I’ve asked Remus to lend a hand, as well. He seemed chuffed with the idea, and, to be honest, he’s a better teacher than I’ll ever be.”

“That’s great,” Ginny said enthusiastically, “although I still want some one-on-one training sessions with Harry, myself. I’ve still got loads of stuff buried in my memories that I want to teach him.”

“Nothing too Dark, I hope,” Sirius noted. “I don’t want him to become some pariah because he starts using a bunch of forbidden curses.”

“Trust me,” Ginny grinned evilly. “Oh, that reminds me, do you know anyone who can teach us Occlumency? We’ve made a start on it, but without a proper teacher it’s very hard.”

“Occlumency? Bloody hell! Are you sure you two are just teenagers?” Sirius said in amazement. “I don’t know anyone personally, but I might be able to hire someone. I have a few contacts that I was going to re-connect with, so I’ll do a bit of asking round at the same time.”

“Brilliant,” Harry declared. “You know, despite all the problems we have to solve, I actually feel quite positive about things now. I mean, I’m actually going to be doing something useful rather than just rot away in my uncle’s house all summer. I can’t say how much better that makes me feel.”

Both Ginny and Sirius beamed happily at Harry’s enthusiasm, and Ginny had to admit she was feeling pretty good, too. Plans had been made and allies were starting to be gathered. They had many difficulties ahead of them, but they were beginning to work on the solution to them. Oh, and she’d had a fantastic snog with Harry.

All in all, a very satisfactory day.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A few hours later, Ginny stepped from the Floo into the kitchen at the Burrow. Almost immediately, the Floo flared again and Sirius appeared. They had decided that he would speak to Molly about Ginny spending more time at Grimmauld Place straight away.

At the sound of the Floo activating, Mrs Weasley herself stepped into the kitchen.

“Hello, Ginny, did you… oh, Sirius! I wasn’t expecting to see you. There’s nothing wrong, is there?” Molly asked worriedly.

“Not at all, my dear Molly,” Sirius replied, putting on his most appealing smile. “We’ve had a wonderful day. Your daughter really is a most charming young lady; she’s quite captured my heart.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear you’ve been on your best behaviour, Ginny,” Molly said approvingly.

“Oh, indeed,” Sirius beamed. “We’ve all had a splendid time. I can quite see why Harry is so besotted with her.”

Molly’s smile became even wider. “I must confess I’d always hoped dear Harry would notice Ginny one day. They really do make the cutest couple.”

“Mum!” Ginny protested. She could start to feel her face redden.

“They do indeed,” Sirius grinned, winking at Ginny. “You should have seen them when they thought I wasn’t looking. Holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. Ah, young love.”

“Didn’t you have something you wanted to discuss with my mother?” Ginny asked Sirius, desperately trying to keep her voice light and friendly, while at the same time implying the threat of impending physical violence.

“Ah, yes,” Sirius said, not bothering to keep the amusement from his own voice. “We have a request to make of you, Molly. Harry and I took young Ginny here on a guided tour of the house. Naturally, we showed her the library which is quite extensive. She was thoroughly impressed and she’s been begging to be allowed to come back so she can complete her summer homework there. Ginny’s quite the promising little academic, I must say.”

“Really?” Molly said dubiously. “I must say her grades have been very good in the last few years, but she’s never struck me as much of a bookworm. Besides, Ginny, you told me you’d finished most of your homework.”

“The first drafts of it, yes. But with all the reference material in the Black’s library, I can do so much better,” Ginny lied. In fact, all her homework was completed entirely to her satisfaction and she had no intention of even looking at it again.

“I’m very pleased you’re taking your education so seriously, I must say,” Molly smiled approvingly. “I never thought you would start to take after Percy.”

“Bill was an excellent student, as well,” Ginny pointed out, rankling at being compared to perfect Percy.

“Yes, now you mention it maybe Bill is a better comparison,” Molly acknowledged with a slight grin. “But I really don’t want you getting under Sirius’s feet. You mustn’t take advantage of his hospitality.”

“Nonsense, Molly,” Sirius insisted. “Ginny is welcome at any time. In fact, I’ll be helping Harry with some extra school projects in the coming weeks so we’ll be spending a lot of time in the library, anyway. Ginny would be most welcome to join us.”

“It would be a good use of her time, I suppose,” Molly pondered. “She and Harry would be supervised throughout the day, wouldn’t they?”

“Of course,” Sirius replied, sounding slightly offended. “Besides, Harry is the heir to the Potter line and as my ward is heir to the Black family, as well. I’ve been instructing him how a young pure-blood wizard should conduct himself, and I expect proper behaviour from him at all times. He’s taken a step up in the world now he’s escaped the Dursley’s and I’ve been teaching him everything that entails, including correct conduct around a young lady. ”

“Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea, Sirius,” Molly replied, clearly impressed. “I must say, Harry did look the perfect young gentleman in his new clothes yesterday. Very distinguished!”

“I would be doing James and Lily a disservice if I didn’t try to educate him properly. Harry has a bright future and I must do everything I can to ensure he’s prepared for it,” Sirius replied in a dignified manner.

Ginny could barely stop herself sniggering by this point. Sirius was laying it on thick and her mother was lapping it up. She briefly wondered if Sirius’s code of conduct was supposed to preclude Harry sticking his hand up her t-shirt like he did yesterday. Not that she’d done anything to stop him, of course, but she doubted that gentlemanly behaviour included copping a feel when then they were alone.

“It sounds like you’re doing a brilliant job with that boy,” Molly gushed. “I must confess, I was a little concerned if you had the experience to look after Harry, but you clearly are a wonderful guardian!”

Sirius smiled so hard Ginny thought his face was going to crack. She was just about to confirm what time she could go over to Grimmauld Place in the morning, when the Floo unexpectedly flared again and Ron stepped out.

Ron stopped and looked around the kitchen with apparent disinterest. He pointedly ignore both Ginny and Sirius and instead gave his muted attention to his mother.

“What time’s dinner, Mum?” he asked in a neutral voice.

“In half-an-hour,” Molly replied. “But don’t you see that we have a guest? Aren’t you going to greet Mr Black?”

“Hello again, Ron,” Sirius said in a friendly voice. “Are you enjoying your holidays?”

“Yeah, they’re okay,” Ron shrugged. “I’m going up to my room, Mum. I’ll be back down in time for dinner.”

And with that, the lanky youth turned and vanished towards the stairs without another word. Molly huffed in frustration.

“I don’t know what’s going on with that boy, I really don’t,” she fumed. “I really must have a good talk with Arthur and see what we can do to help him.”

“I’d leave the prat to sulk if I was you,” Ginny said testily.

“He’s still your brother, Ginevra, and don’t you forget that. Something is clearly upsetting him and as his mother I need to find out what,” Molly said sternly.

“Sometimes teenage boys just go through a phase like that,” Sirius suggested. “I’m sure he’ll grow out of that behaviour.”

“Possibly,” Molly conceded, “but I’ve already had one son virtually desert the family, I’ll not lose another if I can possibly help it.”

Ginny shrugged. Personally, she felt Ron would benefit most from a swift kick in the naggers, but she doubted that was what her mother had in mind. Instead, she decided to revert the conversation back to its original topic.

“So, is it okay to Floo over to Grimmauld Place tomorrow then, Mum?” she asked.

“What? Oh, yes, of course,” Molly replied in a distracted voice. Clearly she was still worrying about Ron.

“Excellent!” Sirius declared. “Well, we’ll expect to see you in the morning at nine o’clock sharp, Ginny. Now, I really must head home. Harry will be waiting to eat and I must say I’m famished as well. Molly; it’s been a delight, as always.”

“Oh, I quite forgot! Hold on a moment, Sirius,” Molly cried before scurrying off towards the pantry. A moment later she returned clutching a small cake tin in her hands.

“You said that coffee and walnut cake was your favourite, so I made you a small one to take home with you. I hope you like it,” Molly explained, handing the tin to a slightly stunned Sirius.

“Molly!” the man exclaimed. “You are a jewel! How can I ever thank you?”

With that, he embraced the small woman before planting a kiss on her cheek. Ginny watched in amusement as her mother flushed bright red with embarrassment and mumble that it really was nothing. Without a doubt, Sirius Black had charmed her mother completely. And that, she thought smugly, meant she’d probably get to spend as much time at Harry’s place as she wanted.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was early on a Friday morning and Ginny was making the now familiar Floo trip from the Burrow to Grimmauld Place. Unlike her previous trips, this time she had a small bag slung over her shoulder containing some basic toiletries and a couple changes of underwear. Her mother had agreed that she could stay the weekend and she was thoroughly looking forward to it.

No sooner had she emerged from the Floo then she found herself wrapped in the arms of her raven-haired boyfriend. She giggled as he enthusiastically planted a trail of kisses down her neck.

“So, did your mum say you could stay?” Harry asked after he’d managed to tear his lips away from her flesh.

“I would have thought the bag would have been a clue, genius,” she teased. “But, yeah, Mum didn’t have a problem with it. I guess with Ron staying over at Neville’s and the twins at Lee Jordan’s place, she couldn’t really object.”

“Brilliant!” Harry exclaimed. “I get you all to myself for the weekend.”

They both jumped as someone cleared his throat loudly behind them. Ginny peered around Harry’s shoulder to see Sirius standing in the doorway wearing an amused expression.

“At least, I would have you all to myself if I didn’t have this annoying old bloke hanging around the house all the time,” Harry said in a deadpan voice before turning his head to look at his godfather. “You know, Sirius, if you want to go out this weekend and socialise a bit Ginny and I will be fine by ourselves.”

“Yeah, maybe you could find a girlfriend of your own, rather than getting your jollies by spying on us,” Ginny quipped.

“Trust me, watching two teenagers paw at each other is not my idea of a good time,” Sirius retorted. “Besides, Molly would skin me alive if I left you two unsupervised and I’m far too fond of her cakes to risk upsetting her.”

“I see,” Ginny smirked. “You’re trifling with my mother’s affections and all you’re really after is her baked goods!”

“Well, I do need a bit of feeding up after being on the run for so long, and Molly is just the woman to do it,” he grinned. “Right, you two, before we start on any training today I thought we’d have an end of week meeting to review what we’ve done and discuss our future plans.”

“Good idea,” agreed Ginny. “I could do with a cuppa before we start, anyway.”

“Then step this way, Miss Weasley, and I would only be too happy satisfy your thirst. Or ask Dobby to, anyway,” Sirius grinned.

They followed him into the kitchen and were soon fortified by tea and a stack of buttered scones, courtesy of Dobby. Ginny glanced around but saw no sign of the other house-elf that was supposed to live there.

“What happened to that other elf you had?” she asked.

“Kreacher? Oh, he took exception to his new masters and the redecoration of the house. He asked for his employment to be terminated and I agreed,” Sirius explained.

“He asked to be freed? I thought elves hated that,” she frowned.

“He didn’t ask to be freed; he asked for his employed to be terminated,” Harry said in a disapproving voice. “He effectively committed suicide.”

“Harry, he really wasn’t happy and he was far too old to seek new employment, not that anyone would want him. Besides, he would have been a security risk to us,” Sirius reasoned. “It’s what he asked for, after all.”

Harry said nothing, but he didn’t look very happy about the situation. For her part, Ginny was glad the horrid little creature was gone. He gave her the creeps just by looking at her.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Sirius declared. “I call to order the first meeting of the New Marauders, as I have decided we should be called.”

“And who put you in charge?” Harry asked with an amused grin.

“I did, so there,” Sirius replied cheekily. “I think we should start by going round the table and each of us giving a report on how they felt the first week has gone and what they think we can do to improve things. Ladies first, Miss Weasley.”

“I think we’ve achieved a lot in our first week,” Ginny confirmed. “It was really good to have Remus over for those couple of days. I know we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but you could see how having a proper teacher involved helped the proceedings. Will he be here this weekend?”

“No, Dumbledore has asked him to do a little job for him,” Sirius explained. “He won’t be back until next week.”

“Remus won’t say anything about our training to Dumbledore, will he?” she asked in concern.

“No, we made Remus take an Unbreakable Vow just like I did,” Sirius assured her. “I think we should ask anyone who gets involved to do the same.”

“Good idea,” Ginny said approvingly. “I think between you and Remus’s knowledge and experience, and my access to Tom’s memories, we have most practical subjects covered. Drawing up a training schedule was a good idea and gives us more structure. The only thing lacking at present is an Occlumency teacher and perhaps someone half-decent with Potions.”

“I have good news on the Occlumency front,” Sirius declared. “I think I’ve managed to track down an accredited teacher in the art and I’ll be meeting with her next week. Apparently, she makes a habit of only working for old, establish families and is very discrete. Not sure about a Potions teacher, though. Do you really think you’ll need that?”

“I desperately need some help in the subject,” Harry said mournfully. “I’ve barely learnt a thing from Snape.”

“Me, neither,” Ginny agreed, “and surprisingly Tom was only average at the subject.”

“Potion Masters are worth their weight in gold,” Sirius mused. “I suspect it’s one of the reasons Dumbledore hasn’t wanted to antagonise Snape over the years; he’d be too bloody difficult to replace. We’ll probably have to muddle along by ourselves with that one.”

“Oh, well. The Occlumency instructor was by far the priority, anyway,” Ginny decided. “But apart from that, I don’t have a lot more to add, other than if Harry keeps improving his duelling skills like he has been this week we won’t stand a chance against him by the end of the summer.”

Harry blushed, but Ginny wasn’t just trying to butter-up her boyfriend. While Sirius and Remus obviously had far more education and experience, and she had the knowledge of a sixteen-year-old Dark Lord to draw from, none of them had the instincts and raw power of Harry. That he had come so far since October was a testament to what enormous potential he had. If only Dumbledore had actually treated his earlier education seriously!

“I quite agree, Ginny,” Sirius said proudly. “In fact, we may need to think about getting more experienced duellers in to face Harry before the summer is out. I’m rusty as hell and Remus was never the greatest dueller in the world. Surprisingly for a werewolf, he was never really aggressive enough. Still, it’s something to think about. We might need to draft in Moody or Tonks at some stage.”

“Tonks would be my choice,” Harry confirmed. “Moody is just a bit too close to Dumbledore and I doubt he’d agree to make an Unbreakable Vow.”

“Good point,” Sirius agreed. “Anyway, Harry, your turn to speak.”

“Err, I don’t really have anything to add,” Harry said awkwardly. “I think the training has gone brilliantly, actually, and I’ve really enjoyed it. The only other thing I want to ask is when we’re going to start working on finding Voldemort’s Horcruxes?”

“We haven’t really done anything about the Horcrux issue yet, have we?” Ginny pondered. “I suggest we make some time next week to draw up a list of potential items Voldemort might have used and where they might be hidden. Hopefully, with him failing to regain his body and being reduced to a wraith-like form again, we should have plenty of time to deal with them.”

“Possibly, but it’s not something I want to put off,” Sirius mused. “The chances are that this will be by far the most difficult problem we are facing and it will take a lot of time and effort to solve. The sooner we get started the better, I say.”

“I agree,” Harry said firmly. “We should use whatever time we gained by stopping the Resurrection Ritual to hunt down these things.”

“Fair enough,” Ginny conceded, “although I feel that Occlumency training is our first priority. So, Sirius, what was your impression of our first week’s training?”

“As far as it goes, I think the week has gone splendidly,” Sirius replied thoughtfully.

“What do you mean, ‘as far as it goes’?” Ginny asked curiously.

“Well, I can’t help but feel that we should be a bit more proactive,” he explained. “Don’t get me wrong, this training is exactly the sort of thing Harry should have started ages ago. He should have been home schooled by the finest teachers available, if Dumbledore hadn’t had his head stuck up his own arse. But is strikes me that while we are stuck here training, our enemies are digging in and getting stronger. I think we need to take steps to improve our position and make sure we aren’t caught by surprise.”

“What sort of thing had you in mind?” Ginny asked, intrigued by the older man’s suggestion.

“Firstly, we need information,” Sirius declared. “We need to know what’s happening amongst our foes. And I don’t just mean the Death Eaters, either. Dumbledore recently asked me to re-join a group he’s formed called the Order of the Phoenix. They were originally active during the first war against Voldemort and Albus feels that they need to be reformed in anticipation of the Dark Lord’s return. While I declined to join, I think we need someone on the inside to report on what they are doing.”

“Is that possible?” Harry asked. “Won’t Dumbledore demand an Oath from all the members like we’ve done?”

“I doubt it,” Sirius replied in amusement. “He certainly didn’t the first time round, which was a shame as Peter Pettigrew was a member. Dumbledore would have saved us all a lot of pain and grief if he’d taken that simple precaution. No, I think he’ll just take people on trust and I’m fairly convinced he’ll ask Tonks to join.”

“Do you think she’ll help us?” Ginny asked eagerly.

“I’ve been sounding her out over the last few days and I think she’ll be up for it. She’s very impressed with young Harry here and appears to have a lot of doubts about Dumbledore’s handling of things. Besides, she’s family and blood is thicker than water,” he grinned.

“Great!” Harry exclaimed.

“We also need ears in the Ministry,” Sirius continued. “I did initially think of your dad, Ginny, but I fear he would be too loyal to Dumbledore. While I have a few low-level contacts, we need someone closer to Fudge.”

“I might have an idea about that,” Ginny piped up, “but I’ll need to give it some thought. Let me come back to you on that one.”

“I’ll leave that in your hands,” Sirius smiled. “The real problem will be finding a spy within Voldemort’s forces. I suspect we will have to end up either threatening or blackmailing someone to pass information, and that’s always risky.”

“That’s another reason why Dumbledore is so accommodating to Snape,” Ginny reasoned. “He’s too valuable as a spy.”

“True, but I don’t think there’s much point on us asking him to act for us, eh? As I recall, the last time Severus and I were together he was trying to get me Kissed by a Dementor.”

“Yeah, greasy bastard,” Harry snarled.

“Anyway, I think that wraps it up for this morning. We’ll review our plans again next weekend to see what ideas we can come up with,” Sirius announced. “Right, as we have no Remus to help us, I suggest we train until about five-ish, and then we all go out to a rather nice Muggle restaurant I’ve discovered for dinner.”

“That sounds good to me,” Ginny said, genuinely pleased at the prospect of being taken out for a meal.

“Excellent. I thought we should push the boat out on account of the lovely Miss Weasley here staying for weekend. Just remember you two, I’ll be expecting you to be in your own beds by midnight and I will be checking,” Sirius said sternly.

Harry stared at him in disbelief. “Sirius, did you just set us a curfew?” he asked.

“Yes, I did, and I expect it kept to,” he said waggling his finger and trying to look intimidating. The effect lasted for about three seconds.

“Oh, damn it! This isn’t fair,” he moaned. “I’m Sirius Black: Marauder and born trouble maker! I’m not supposed to be the one setting rules. It goes against my very nature.”

“Then don’t set any rules,” Harry said in amusement. “You can trust Ginny and me.”

“I trust no teenage boy left alone with a pretty young girl, not even you, Harry,” Sirius replied. “Besides, I keep having this vision of Lily glaring at me in disapproval. I’m sorry, my boy, but I’m not risking her displeasure when I finally meet her again on the other side. You will behave and I want you both tucked up in your own beds before twelve, got that?”

“I promise,” Harry said in a resigned voice.

“Me, too,” Ginny said in amusement, before suddenly jumping in the air. Sirius had banged his fist down on the kitchen table without any warning, startling both of them.

“What’s the matter?” Harry asked in alarm.

“Oh, sorry kids, there was a big, ugly bug crawling across the table. Awwweee, it’s all over my hand. Bugger, I’ve left my wand in the training room. I’ll just scrape it off into the bin.”

Ginny giggled as she watched Sirius’s increasingly frantic efforts to get all of the squashed bug from his hand. She did sympathise with him about having to set rules, however. Living with her mother had given her an aversion to strict disciplinarians.

Still, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, right?






Reviews 213
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear