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SIYE Time:13:27 on 29th March 2024
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The Thorny Rose 2: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow
By Brennus

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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: 70449; Chapter Total: 6664
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
I must confess that when I posted Chapter 2 I had been expecting lots of comments regarding Ginny’s proposed Soul Bond. Instead, everyone seems to have picked up on the squashed bug bit at the end. Just shows you what I know!

Anyhow, Chapter 3. I’ve probably taken a few liberties with the Vanishing Spell, but I reasoned that if in canon McGonagall had fifth year students practicing it you probably can’t permanently Vanish a living being. After all, one slip of a wand and oops! I’ve slightly extended that to include all organic material. Oh, I also decided that if someone is killed in their Animagus form, they retain that state for a short while before they revert back to their human form. We also get one of my rarely seen original spells in Ginny’s practise duel. I don’t normally like using non-canon spells, but as the ‘Fortress Mind’ spell makes a reappearance from TR1, I figured throwing another new one in wouldn’t hurt.

As always, huge thanks to Arnel for her beta duties. Next time I promise I won’t do my final proof read late at night when I’m on the verge of a cold.




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Chapter 3 — A Path of His Own Making



Ginny held her breath as she inched forward, her wand held warily in front of her. She was barefoot, so she barely made a sound as she cautiously made her way across the wooden floor. Her ears strained for the slightest sound of movement, but everything was quiet. So far, so good.

Muttering the incantation as quietly as she could, she cast a Detection Spell on the door in front of her. As she suspected, an Alarm Charm had been cast on it. She smiled triumphantly as she Dispelled the charm; as if she would have fallen for something so obvious.

The grin vanished from her face as quickly as it had appeared: it was too obvious! Quickly, she dropped to her knees and surveyed the floor in front of her. There! Strung across the doorframe was a thin tripwire, no doubt attached to something unpleasant. Living with the twins for years had given Ginny an instinct about these things and she was glad to see she hadn’t lost her edge.

Deciding it would be easier just to leave the trap in place, she stood and reached for the doorknob. Turning it with agonising slowness, she pushed the door open as gently as she could. She was relieved that the door didn’t creak once as it opened. Stepping carefully over the tripwire, she entered the room.

Although her eyes were by now well-adjusted to the darkness, the heavy curtains that hung over the windows meant the room was nearly pitch black. Edging forward, she deliberately didn’t look directly at the object she was heading for. Peripheral sight always gave superior night vision and that was another trick she had learnt during her nocturnal wanderings around the Burrow.

Soon, she had reached her destination and she carefully extended a hand so she could feel her way. Her fingers soon encountered the soft material of a light blanket. She ran her hand along the surface of the blanket until she reached the edge. Cautiously, she pulled it back and lightly sat in the spot she had just exposed.

“What the…” a voice began loudly.

“Shush! It’s me!” she hissed.

“Ginny?” the voice murmured. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting into bed with you, silly,” she explained and swung her legs up and under the covers. She immediately felt the bed shift underneath her and assumed Harry had moved over to allow her room. Pulling the blanket over herself, she reached out until her arms encountered her boyfriend. She immediately snuggled up against him.

“Ginny, what are you doing?” Harry said in a slightly panicky whisper. “Sirius will kill me if he finds you in here. We promised him we’d stay in our own beds!”

“We promised him we’d be in our own beds at midnight,” Ginny corrected him, “and we were. However, it’s now at least half-past twelve so those restrictions no long apply.”

She heard Harry snigger quietly in the darkness. Deciding they had wasted enough time talking, she ran her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. She snaked one hand through his hair, and using that as a guide, she was quickly able to pull his lips onto hers. He eagerly returned the kiss and slid his arms around her. They continued in this manner blissfully for a few minutes until Harry broke away.

“Err, Ginny, um, exactly how far is this going to go? I mean, you’re in my bed and, well, I…” he mumbled awkwardly.

“Easy, tiger,” she giggled. “I’m not ready to go too far at the moment. My knickers are staying on tonight, okay?”

“Okay,” he replied with an odd mix of disappointment and relief.

“Don’t worry, we can still have plenty of fun,” she assured him, running one hand up and down his bare chest.

“I like having fun,” he growled. The note of desire in his voice sent a shiver down her spine and a strange aching sparked in her loins. She felt his rough fingers slipping under her t-shirt and his hot breath on her neck. She trembled with excitement as Harry discovered she wasn’t wearing anything under her shirt.

Pulling his head towards her, she passionately kissed him, their tongues locked in a frantic, erotic dance of their own. Their young bodies pressed against each other and Ginny could feel just how stimulated her boyfriend was.

It was some considerable time before sleep claimed them.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

W akefulness came slowly to Ginny. The first thing she became aware of was that she was toasty-warm and extremely comfortable. Shifting slightly, she felt Harry’s body pressed up against her and she realised his arm was draped over her stomach protectively. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, intent on getting some more sleep.

That idea was rudely interrupted by a terrifying scream. Ginny sat bolt-upright and looked around in confusion. A second later, a further scream echoed about the house and she realised the sound was coming from somewhere downstairs.

She was only just reaching for her wand when Harry flung open the bedroom door. While she had been gazing around, still half-asleep, he had grabbed his own wand and leapt into action. That was Harry, alright: always good in a crisis. Ginny rolled out of bed and hurried after him. Almost absently, she noticed that the tripwire she had found last night appeared to be gone. Sirius had obviously conjured the trap in such a way that it would vanish after a set period of time. She made a note to ask him how he had done it; that would be a marvellous tool for pranking the twins.

Forcing her mind back onto more pressing matters, she pelted down the stairs after Harry. A cry from behind her made her look around. Sirius was simultaneously trying to run down the stairs after them and tie-up his blue, silk dressing gown. The sight of him trying to dress himself made Ginny aware that she was just dressed in her knickers and a t-shirt. Harry, who had now reached the bottom of the staircase, was just dressed in his boxer shorts. She had a moment of panic when she realised that if Death Eaters had managed to get into the house she would have to fight them in her underwear.

Cursing herself for such idiotic thoughts, she sprinted after her boyfriend, leaping the last few steps in an effort to catch up with him. Ahead, she saw him turn down the narrow passageway that led to the kitchen. She ran as fast as she could after him, gripping the corner of the wall to help her turn sharply. She sprinted down the short passageway and through the kitchen door… and promptly ran straight into the back of Harry who was standing just a few feet beyond the entrance.

“Ouch!” she moaned as she literally bounced off him and fell on her backside. Harry reached down and offered her a hand to help her get back up. She accepted it and stood on shaky legs, trying to get her bearings. A second later, she again found herself flat on the floor, this time with Harry sprawled out beside her. Sirius had come barrelling into the kitchen and knocked both of them off their feet.

Groaning in pain, Ginny gingerly managed to lift herself onto her hands and knees. Harry had rolled onto his side and was glaring up at his godfather in anger. Unfortunately, Sirius was oblivious to Harry’s displeasure. He was standing with his mouth open, staring at something which had made his eyes bulge.

“What the f…” Sirius’s voice trailed off as he continued to stare.

Ginny climbed to her feet and looked over to see what had captured Sirius’s attention. The first thing she saw was Dobby, standing at one end of the kitchen, with a horrified expression on his face. The little elf was wailing at the top of his voice and was clearly the source of the hideous scream she had heard earlier. Then, she noticed what had upset him so much.

Positioned next to the door to the pantry was the kitchen bin. It was a reasonably large, metal affair, which Dobby had previously polished until it positively shined. What was so distressing about the bin at the moment was that it had a human leg poking out the top of it.

Harry, Ginny and Sirius all moved cautiously forward, matching expressions of disbelief on their faces.

“There’s being a lady in the bin! There’s being a lady in the bin!” Dobby wailed loudly.

“Err, we can see that, Dobby,” Harry assured him. “The question is why is there being a lady in the bin?”

The three of them stood and looked at each other in confusion.

Ten minutes later, the trio were sitting on kitchen chairs, still looking warily at the bin. None of them had yet had the courage to approach it. They had sent Dobby to have a nice lie down somewhere, as the little elf’s nerves appeared to have been shot. He clearly hadn’t been expecting to find body-parts in his nice clean kitchen.

“So, what do you think?” Harry said eventually, breaking the silence.

“I think there’s a woman’s leg sticking out of the bin,” Sirius replied, somewhat unhelpfully.

“But who’s leg?” Ginny demanded. The leg itself gave no clues. It was clad in ripped, nylon tights and had a viciously heeled, green shoe perched on the end of it.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Sirius replied blankly.

“Do you… do you think we’d better take a look?” Harry asked, sounding decidedly unenthusiastic.

Sirius sighed. “Okay, I guess I’m in charge here, so I’d better do it.”

He stood and slowly approached the bin. With the greatest reluctance, he looked inside.

“Oh, shit!” he bellowed and sprinted to the fortunately nearby kitchen sink. He was noisily sick into it.

“That’s not a good sign,” Harry commented, watching his godfather emptying the contents of his stomach in revulsion.

“You think?” Ginny replied in disbelief. Hesitantly, she stood and approached the bin herself.

“Ginny!” Harry called in alarm, but she waved him away. Taking a deep breath, she looked into the bin.

“Bugger! Make room, Sirius,” she shouted before virtually knocking the older man out the way to gain access to the sink.

“Guess it’s up to me,” she heard Harry state after she had finished regurgitating the remains of her previous night’s dinner. Wiping her mouth, she turned and watched her boyfriend as he approached the bin.

As it turned out, Harry had the strongest stomach of the three of them. He turned an alarming shade of green as he looked inside the metal container, but made no effort to join them at the sink. He did look up with a sickly expression on his face, however.

“Sirius, can you throw me the rubber gloves from underneath the sink, please?” he asked.

With a look of disgust on his face, Sirius reached under the sink and retrieved a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves and threw them to Harry. With a resigned sigh, Harry put the gloves on. He then lowered his hand into the bin, looking like he would rather have stuck his hand into a snake pit. He rummaged around for a moment, before he gasped in surprise.

“Rita Skeeter! It’s bloody Rita Skeeter,” he exclaimed in horror.

“Are you sure?” Sirius asked. “How can you tell?”

“Because I’m holding her bloody head, you moron!” Harry spat back.

“I’m surprised you can recognise it,” Ginny commented.

“It’s in one piece,” Harry explained. “Mostly, anyway.”

He dropped the unseen body part and backed away. He walked over to the sink and removed the blood-stained gloves, which he threw into it, before using his wand to Vanish them. He then grabbed a nearby glass and poured himself a drink of water.

“Okay, we have the nastiest journalist in the country in small bits in a bin in our kitchen,” Harry summarised. “Any suggestions how?”

“Do you think someone killed her and dumped the body here?” Ginny speculated.

“Impossible,” Sirius snorted. “Knowing Harry was coming to live here, I went a bit overboard on the protective wards around this place. No one could have got in here without me knowing.”

“Not even a skilled curse-breaker?” Ginny challenged. “Bill could get into just about anywhere.”

“No, as head of the House of Black, I can place near unbreakable restrictions on access to this house. Apart from you two, I’ve only added Remus, Tonks and Molly to the access list, so far. I can’t really see any of that lot butchering Ms Skeeter here, can you?”

“Dunno, my mum was pretty pissed off at her after that last article,” Ginny mused. “She’s pretty scary when she’s in a temper is my mum.”

“Ginny!” Harry protested. “Your mum would not have killed and dismembered Skeeter!”

“Nah, I’m only joking,” Ginny admitted. “But it still leaves us the problem of how Rita got here.”

“Are you sure no one could get through the wards?” Harry asked. “I mean, would they keep a non-human out? Could a goblin or something get in?”

“No, the wards would detect… oh, bugger. I’ve just realised how she got here,” Sirius said in a sick voice.

“How?” Harry and Ginny demanded simultaneously.

“I’m an Animagus, right? Well, one of the advantages of being one is that you get a kind of sixth sense about when other Animagi are near. I was always convinced McGonagall knew exactly what James, Peter and I were up to at Hogwarts. Anyway, remember I squashed that ugly-looking beetle last night? Now I think about it, I swatted it before I even consciously realised what it was. I instinctively knew it was there,” Sirius explained.

“Oh Merlin, and you scraped it off into that bin!” Ginny realise in shock.

“I just murdered Rita Skeeter!” Sirius moaned in despair. “I’ve only just got out of Azkaban and now I’m going back!”

“It wasn’t your fault!” Ginny assured him. “How were you to know Skeeter was an Animagus? Come to think of it, she must have been an unregistered one. It certainly explains how she managed to get all those news scoops. But no one would send you to Azkaban for an accident like that.”

“Don’t kid yourself, my dear girl,” he replied mournfully. “There were a lot of people very upset that I was pardoned and will be itching to get me locked up again. Lucius Malfoy in particular was furious I was freed. He’d been hoping that his wife would inherit the Black fortune and he’ll do anything to get me behind bars again.”

“Then we simply keep this quiet,” Harry declared purposely. “If Skeeter was an illegal Animagus then the chances of her telling anyone she was coming here are slim. Besides, apart from us three, who knows she even managed to get into the house? We’ll dispose of the body, and no one will be any the wiser.”

“Are you serious?” Sirius asked in amazement. “You’re really suggesting we just cover this whole thing up?”

“If it keeps you out of Azkaban, yes. Besides, I wouldn’t put it past Malfoy to implicate me in this. I say we don’t give him the ammunition to slander us in the first place,” Harry replied.

“Okay, say we do this: how do we get rid of the body? We can’t just Vanish it, that doesn’t work permanently for organic material and I don’t fancy having her remains suddenly reappear just as we’re having dinner. Even Transfiguring her into something and burning it will leave a magical signature. I’d rather not risk that,” Sirius deliberated.

“I know the perfect place to dump the body. One where it will be disposed of for good,” Harry said.

“Wait, you, a fourteen-year-old boy, knows the ‘perfect’ place to dispose of a body? Would you care to elaborate on that for me?” Sirius demanded, his eyes narrowing.

“I’m nearly fifteen,” Harry said defensively.

“Your bloody age doesn’t matter! How do you know about disposing of bodies?” Sirius snapped.

“Err, well, do you remember I was telling you about my second year at Hogwarts? After Hermione got Petrified, Ron and I were trying to discover what had caused it and Hagrid told us to follow the spiders. Do you remember what we found when we followed a trail of spider into the Forbidden Forrest?”

“Yes, you said that… blimey! Acromantulas! There’s a nest of them in the Forbidden Forest, isn’t there? You’re absolutely right; if we dump Skeeter’s body there it will be gone in five minutes. What a great idea! But how on earth do you think of that?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, I remembered Ron and I made a joke about it being a good place to hide a body at the time,” Harry lied.

“Okay, that’s a twisted sense of humour you have there, but I’m not complaining. We’ll take the body there as soon as it gets dark,” Sirius said, relief evident on his face.

“Hold on,” Ginny piped up. “Will we be able to enter the grounds of Hogwarts without the Headmaster knowing? I mean, he might be a bit curious as to why we’re tromping around the school during the holidays.”

“Damn, didn’t think of that,” Sirius cursed. “He knows when anyone enters the school grounds; the wards will alert him immediately. Still, we can enter the forest via another route. It’s longer, but it avoids entering the school grounds completely.”

“Sorry, I wouldn’t have a clue how to find the Acromantulas’ nest unless I follow the route I took before,” Harry apologised.

“Fair enough,” Sirius acknowledged. “I’m actually quite proud that you know your way around the forest, at all. The Marauders only ever entered the place in animal form. Okay, how about this. I did promise that I would visit Dumbledore in the near future; I get the impression he wanted to talk about you, Harry. Why don’t I visit him with you two in tow? I’ll go up to his office and say that you decided to make use of the Quidditch pitch while we were there. Dumbledore will be happy because I suspect he wanted to talk about Harry without him being there, and you’ll have time to dispose of the body.”

“Brilliant, but with one modification,” Ginny added. “Dumbledore is less likely to randomly try Legilimency on you than Snape would be, but we can’t rule it out. I’ll cast the Fortress Mind spell on you just before you go up to his office. At very worst he’ll know you’re hiding something, but won’t be able to find out what.”

“We really need to crack on with learning Occlumency,” Harry pointed out.

“I’m interviewing the prospective teacher on Monday,” Sirius confirmed. “I’m starting to understand why this is such a priority for you. Right, as there is no need for darkness we might as well take care of this now. Perhaps it might be advisable if you two get dressed first, though.”

“Oh, yes, good idea,” Harry mumbled in embarrassment.

They had just started to head for the door when Sirius called to them.

“Oh, by the way, Ginny? Nice work avoiding two of the alarms I put on Harry’s bedroom door. Shame you never noticed the third one,” he smirked.

“Sneaky git,” Ginny muttered as she pushed a mortified Harry out the door.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

J ust over an hour later, Harry and Ginny were picking their way through the Forbidden Forest. Harry was Levitating the rubbish bin in front of him as they felt it would be easier, not to mention far less messy, if they left Skeeter’s remains in it. He’d removed his Invisibility Cloak which he’d previously draped over the bin to hide it from unwelcome eyes, and it was now happily bobbing along a couple of yards in front of them.

“We’re starting to make a habit of this,” Ginny noted as they walked along the narrow forest path.

“I don’t think doing something twice constitutes a habit,” Harry disagreed.

Silence fell for a while.

“Do you think we should be more upset about this then we actually are?” Harry asked eventually. “I mean, we were both horrified when we accidently killed Nott, but neither of us seem that bothered about Skeeter.”

“I don’t know, Harry,” Ginny replied thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s because Sirius was the one who did the deed. Besides, I know the circumstances were not dissimilar to Nott, but if you choose to spy on people disguised as a bug you shouldn’t be too surprised if you end up getting squashed.”

“Yeah, perhaps,” Harry acknowledged. “Skeeter was a pretty awful person, too. I mean, Nott wasn’t particularly nice, either, but he was still just a kid. Rita Skeeter was a vile woman who delighted in causing trouble. I don’t know how she got away with all her lies.”

“People like to believe the worst of others.” Ginny shrugged. “Skeeter wouldn’t have gotten away with it if people didn’t want to read that stuff. At least she won’t be printing anymore bollocks about us.”

“Yeah, but that kind of makes me worried,” he replied. “You don’t suppose we’re not bothered about her dying because we’re just glad she won’t write any more stories about us? That makes us pretty nasty people, doesn’t it?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Ginny argued. “It’s not like any of us were actually trying to kill her. It was an accident, pure and simple. If the Wizarding world was a fair and honest place we wouldn’t have to hide what happened, but it’s not. I didn’t want Skeeter dead, and I’m sorry it happened, but I can’t feel guilty for something that the woman brought upon herself.”

“You’re probably right,” Harry sighed. “Look, that’s the spiders nest up ahead. We’re almost there.”

“It’s a lot less scary doing this in daylight,” Ginny noted.

“Yeah, less chance of running straight into Aragog, as well,” he agreed. “Okay, I’m going to upend the bin just over there. You might want to look away.”

“Good plan,” Ginny agreed and quickly turned her back. A few seconds later she found herself gagging as she heard a revolting sucking sound that was followed by a dull thump of something hitting the ground.

“Don’t turn around yet, Ginny,” Harry advised. “I’m having to shake the bin up and down. Some bits are stuck to the bottom.”

“Lovely,” Ginny said, feeling glad she hadn’t had breakfast yet.

“Nearly got it. Hold on, I’ll just rinse it out. Aguamenti!” he called out. “Right, that’s all of it… err, I mean her. I’m alright to Vanish the bin now, aren’t I?”

“You should be, if you don’t want it anymore,” Ginny confirmed.

“You really think we’d still want it in the house?” he snorted. “Evanesco!

Harry had no sooner Vanished the metal bin when an eerie chittering sound started coming from the undergrowth around them. Harry grabbed Ginny’s hand and they rapidly headed back the way they came. The smell of fresh meat was obviously bringing the Acromantulas out from their nests. They made their way back in silence, their hands clasped tightly together. They were nearly to the forest’s edge when Harry broke the silence.

“You know, I’ve just thought of something. When I met Aragog here back in my second year, he knew that the Slytherin’s monster was a basilisk. He called it the thing that spiders fear the most,” he pondered.

“Yeah, so?” Ginny asked.

“Well, as horrible as he is, Aragog cares about Hagrid. Don’t you think he would have told Hagrid what the monster was?”

Ginny stopped short. “I think it’s quite possible. But don’t you think Hagrid would have told someone if he knew? I mean, it’s not like he’s one to keep secrets now, is it?”

“Maybe he did tell someone,” Harry speculated. “Maybe he told someone he respected and trusted above all others?”

“Dumbledore?” Ginny exclaimed. “Are you telling me that sneaky old bastard knew it was a basilisk running around the school and did nothing about it? Harry, I was bloody lucky no one was killed when I released it! If someone had died, I would never have lived with myself. And he… he… he knew! The miserable sodding git!”

“Easy, Gin,” Harry said comfortingly, taking her into his arms. “We don’t know for certain. This is just me guessing. Maybe Aragog never said anything. But still, I think we need to look into this when we go back to school in September.”

“I agree,” she replied angrily. “You know, I’m starting to wonder exactly what else Albus bloody Dumbledore has been keeping secret.”

“Me, too, Ginny,” Harry replied in a distant voice, “me, too.”

Swallowing her anger, Ginny rubbed her boyfriend’s arm supportively.

“Never mind,” she told him. “We’ll deal with this later. I know what we need to do to cheer us both up.”

Harry smirked suggestively. “Really? What did you have in mind?”

“Not what you have in mind, obviously,” she giggled, giving him a playful push. “What I meant was that we left our brooms over by the Quidditch pitch! Let’s do some flying.”

“Okay, that’s good, too,” Harry admitted, looking slightly shame-faced.

“I don’t know,” Ginny said in mock exasperation. “I couldn’t get you to kiss me all of last term, and now you’ve turned into a sex maniac.”

“Sex maniac?” Harry protested mildly. “Besides, just which of us crept into the other’s bed last night?”

“Oh, don’t you want me to do that anymore?” Ginny teased.

“I didn’t say that,” Harry replied loftily.

Ginny snorted with laughter. “Come on, Potter. I bet I can outfly you, Firebolt or no Firebolt.”

“In your dreams, Weasley,” Harry chuckled. “You’ll be eating my dust.”

They raced back to the Quidditch pitch and reclaimed the brooms they had left there earlier. It was a rare treat to have the entire pitch to themselves and they made the most of it. They started with a series of gentle aerial manoeuvres before moving onto more daring dives and turns. Several times Harry yelled his amazement at Ginny’s skill and she couldn’t help but feel rather smug about his apparent surprise. Still, if Harry was shocked by her abilities, her brothers were going to have a fit when they saw her fly.

Their formation flying soon dissolved into a game of aerial tag which involved some extremely dangerous manoeuvres, a few snatched kisses here and there, and a great deal of laughter. If Ginny had thought about it, she would have realised that she had been right earlier. Flying was the perfect way perfect way to cheer themselves up. As soon as they had mounted their brooms all thoughts of the grizzly task that they had performed earlier vanished from their minds.

Their fun was interrupted by a shout from below. Looking down, Ginny saw Sirius standing in the middle of the pitch waving his arms at them wildly. Initially, she was surprised to see him there so soon, but when she glanced at her watch she realised that they had been flying for over an hour. Time really did fly when you were having fun.

Pushing her broom into a gentle dive, she landed smoothly next to Sirius and was followed a second later by Harry. Her boyfriend was looking windswept but had a massive grin on his face.

“That was some pretty impressive flying up there,” Sirius told them as they dismounted. “I knew you were hot stuff, Harry, but I had no idea your girlfriend here was as talented as you.”

“Neither did I!” Harry exclaimed. “You were brilliant, Ginny. You have to try out for the Gryffindor team next term.”

Ginny shrugged. “I’m really only interested in being a Chaser and those places are pretty tied up at the moment.”

“Yeah, but you’re sure to bag a reserve place,” Harry argued. “Besides, this will be Angelina’s and Alica’s last year. Once they’re gone, I bet you’ll walk into a starting slot.”

“I agree,” Sirius interrupted, “but as much as I hate to break up this little party, I think we need to get out of here sharpish.”

“Why?” Harry asked, looking a little concerned.

“Let’s just say my conversation with Dumbledore didn’t go too smoothly. I think we should leave before he gets it into his head to come down here and talk to you personally, Harry.”

“What did that old coot say?” Ginny demanded, her temper rising.

“I’ll tell you back at Grimmauld Place,” Sirius insisted. “Come on, let’s go.”

Quickly, they made their way off the grounds of the school and back to Hogsmeade so they could head home.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Once they made it back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius immediately collapsed into a chair and called for Dobby.

“Dobby, my dear fellow, would you be so kind as to fetch me a large glass of Firewhisky? I’m definitely in need of a pick-me-up.”

“Right away, Master Black, sirs!” Dobby responded enthusiastically and within ten seconds Sirius had his requested drink in his hands. He took a large gulp before sinking back into his chair in relief.

“Firewhisky so early in the day?” Harry noted disapprovingly. “You always tell me that a gentleman never breaks out the hard liquor until after dinner.”

“Who ever said I was a gentleman?” Sirius grinned. “Besides, after listening to Dumbledore berate me for an hour and a half I need a stiff drink.”

“Just exactly was Dumbledore saying to you?” Ginny demanded.

“Oh, he was telling me how irresponsible I was being by not making Harry return to the Dursleys,” Sirius snorted. “Apparently, that’s the ONLY place Harry is safe.”

“I don’t get it,” Harry said angrily. “Why is the old goat so obsessed with me going back there? I can almost understand him wanting me to grow up in the Muggle world, but why does he want me to go back now?”

“I have an idea about that,” Ginny mused. “I think it’s all down to the Headmaster’s precious Blood Wards.”

“But I have Blood Wards around this place, too,” Sirius objected, “and they’re only a small part of the protections this building has. Besides, nothing can beat a well-cast Fidelius Charm as long as you’re careful about your Secret-Keeper.”

“Yes, but the protections around Privet Drive were linked to Potter blood, and think what those protections did to Voldemort before,” Ginny argued. “I suspect that Dumbledore believes that because of the protection Lily Potter put on Harry, the wards at his aunt’s house would be deadly to Tom. They wouldn’t kill him, of course, not with the Horcruxes still about, but they could well reduce him back to being a wraith.”

“But he’s a wraith now!” Harry spat. “Those wards will be useless in a couple of years anyway, so why make me suffer when there’s no need?”

“I assume Dumbledore just wants the reassurance that there’s a totally safe place he can stash you safely if needed,” Ginny noted sadly.

“And that’s worth me being beaten, starved and abused, is it?” Harry shouted. “What bloody use is it protecting me from Voldemort if I’m at just as much risk from my bloody relatives?”

Ginny and Sirius exchanged worried glances. Harry never talked about his time with the Dursleys and always brushed off any questions about his treatment there. Ginny was beginning to suspect that things were a lot worse than any of them suspected.

“It’s alright, Harry,” Sirius said soothingly, “we agree with you. There’s no way that I’d ever let you be sent back there.”

The anger seemed to drain out of Harry instantly and he appeared to fold in on himself. Ginny guessed that he felt he’d revealed too much.

“Ah, sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to have a go at you. I was just angry at Dumbledore, that’s all.”

“That’s understandable,” Sirius assured him. “Let’s forget about it. Look, we all need to blow off a bit of steam. Why don’t we have an hour or so of Duelling practice before dinner?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Harry agreed, his face expressionless.

Ginny looked at her boyfriend anxiously. Trying to get him to open up now would be impossible. When Harry set his mind to something he was the most stubborn person in the world. She would, however, watch him carefully for any clues as to what he’d been forced to go through.

And, Merlin help her, if it turned out the Dursleys had hurt him she would make them suffer.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Here are my credentials. You will find them perfectly in order,” the woman declared in stern voice, a faint German accent evident in her speech.

“Umm, thank you, Frau Hagen,” Sirius replied uncertainly.

“Please, I have been in this country many years now and prefer to be referred to as Madam Hagen,” the woman instructed him. “Besides, it would be Fraulein, not Frau.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Sirius said hastily and quickly busied himself inspecting the thick wad of parchment Madam Hagen had presented him with.

Ginny regarded her new Occlumency teacher with something approaching awe. Madam Hagen was a tall woman with pale blond hair which was currently tied back in a rather severe bun. She wore a pristine skirt suit in a rather stark grey colour, the jacket of which was struggling to contain a bosom that could have felled a full grown troll if swung correctly. The totalitarian look was completed by a pair of black-rimmed glasses that were perched on her nose in such a way as to permit her to glare at people over them. She probably was in her mid-thirties, but it was rather difficult to tell. All in all, Madam Hagen was an intimidating sight.

“Well, everything seems to be in order,” Sirius said, looking up from the parchment. “I do have some questions about confidentiality, however.”

“I am a fully accredited Occlumens, Mr Black, and as such can be relied upon for complete discretion. If you so choose, however, I am willing to enter into a magically-binding contract that any information I inadvertently become privy to will not be disclosed to any third-party. Do we have an agreement?” she demanded.

“What? Oh, yes, I suppose,” Sirius stuttered, clearly unnerved by the woman. “Shouldn’t we discuss your salary first, though?”

“My tariff is included on the first page of my documentation,” she replied, glaring at Sirius in disapproval. “It is not negotiable.”

Sirius fumbled with the parchment until he found the correct sheet. “Ah, yes, here it is. Um, my word, that’s more than I was expecting, but still, trained Occlumens don’t grow on trees, do they?”

Madam Hagen stared at him like he was something she was going to have to scrape off her shoe.

“Yes, well, we appear to have a deal,” Sirius said quickly. He looked like he was on the verge of running from the room screaming.

“Excellent, I will forward the contract for your signature tomorrow,” Hagen informed him. “These children, they are to be my pupils, yes?”

Madam Hagen looked sternly first at Ginny before she turned her attention to Harry, who was sitting next to Ginny on the sofa. Ginny turned to look at her boyfriend, who appeared to be starting to panic in much the same way as his godfather.

“Yes, this is my godson, Harry, and his girlfriend, Ginny,” Sirius explained hastily. “I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about Harry before.”

“I do not read the newspapers,” Madam Hagen snapped.

“Err, Harry is world famous,” Sirius said in confusion. “You probably know him as the Boy Who Lived.”

“Oh, he’s that one, is he?” Madam Hagen said, fixing her gaze firmly on Harry, who by this point appeared to be trying to crawl through a gap in the sofa. “Ah.”

Ginny had never heard a two letter word carry so much disapproval in her life.

“If you could make sure the contract is signed and returned immediately, Mr Black, it would be most appreciated. I can’t abide tardiness,” Madam Hagen informed Sirius as she stood. Ginny could hear Harry sigh in relief as the woman’s penetrating gaze shifted off of him.

“Of course, of course,” Sirius assured her. “And when will we commence lessons?”

“A week today,” she replied. “I will be here at nine o’clock sharp. Please ensure there is a suitable training area available.”

“Naturally,” Sirius agreed, nodding like Padfoot being offered a juicy steak. “Let me show you out.”

Ginny watched the woman’s retreating form. There was definitely something Valkyrie-ish about Madam Hagen, she decided. Ginny tried to imagine her with a winged-helmet, burnished breastplate and spear. The image fit her perfectly.

“Bloody Nora!” Harry exclaimed as soon as they were out of ear-shot. “That woman’s going to be our teacher? She’s like Professor McGonagall crossed with an East German shot-putter!”

“Shot-whater?” Ginny asked.

“Err, never mind. It’s a Muggle thing,” Harry explained. “So, what do you think?”

“I think I’m going to take my Occlumency studies very seriously,” Ginny replied. “That is not a woman I want cross with me.”

“You’re right,” Harry agreed. “I’ve never seen anybody intimidate Sirius like that.”

“I wonder if we could recruit her? She’d be enough to scare most of the Death Eaters into surrender just by looking at her,” Ginny suggested.

“Yeah, she would at that,” Harry said nodding. “And remember, we get to take lessons from her, starting next Monday.”

“Whoopee,” Ginny said, grimacing.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP HPHP

Gritting her teeth, Ginny rolled to her side and scrambled to her feet. Even as she did so a Stunning Charm flashed past her head, missing her by mere inches.

Not having time to aim properly, she shot a Stunner of her own in the rough direction the spell had come from, more in the hope of buying herself some breathing space than of hitting anything. As soon as the spell left her wand, she started to run. In a duel, movement was your best chance of not getting hit.

It turned out that she had made the right choice, as no sooner had she moved than a bolt of purple light streaked past the spot in which she had just been standing. She was momentarily surprised that she didn’t recognise the spell Harry had used; clearly he had been spending some time in the Black family library when she wasn’t here.

Twisting, she fired yet another Stunner blindly and sprinted to her left. Realising she was running out of room to manoeuvre and not wanting to be pinned into a corner she halted and threw up a Shield Spell.

Nothing hit it.

Desperately, she scanned the room trying to locate her boyfriend, but there was no sign of him. Cursing, she realised that Harry must have taken the opportunity to cast a Disillusionment Spell on himself. He could be anywhere!

Caligo!” she cried and a thick mist began to stream out of the end of her wand and rapidly fill the room. Although the mist wasn’t dense enough to completely obscure her vision, it would make anyone who was invisible stand out like a sore thumb, particularly if they tried to move.

It was only instinct that saved her. She had been intensely scanning the mist looking for a Harry-shaped hole in the fog when a flash of light in the corner of her eye prompted her to duck. Another Stunner flew past, close enough to make the hairs on top of her head move. How the hell had Harry managed to move so fast?

Finite Incantatem!” she screamed pointing her wand in the direction the spell had come from. This time she got lucky; her spell managed to catch Harry and he instantly became visible, crouching down perhaps fifteen yards to her left. Quickly, she adjusted her aim to try and catch him with a spell before he recovered.

Harry’s reactions, however, were superb as always, but his response was unexpected. Rather than trying to cast a spell of his own, he launched himself forward and charged straight at her. For a second Ginny panicked: this was not a recognised duelling tactic! Harry was incredibly fast and in her moment’s hesitation he had already closed half the gap between them. Frantically, she fired another Stunner hoping to hit him at point-blank range.

Unfortunately, this was just what Harry had been waiting for. Ginny’s spell had barely left her wand before Harry dived forward into a roll and levelling his wand at her.

Petrificus Totalus!” he cried and Ginny felt her body instantly stiffen. For a second, she wobbled and then began to topple forward gracefully. She cringed as she prepared to smash face first into the floor, but Harry managed to scramble forward and grab her before she fell too far. He stood her upright and gently placed a kiss on her nose before cancelling his spell.

“Bravo!” a voice cried out and Ginny looked over to see Sirius, Remus and Tonks clapping and cheering their performance from one side of the room.

“That was bloody brilliant!” Tonks yelled enthusiastically. “You’re better than some Auror graduates that I’ve seen. Fantastic!”

“What did I tell you?” Sirius said smugly. “By the time he’s finished, Harry will be the best duellist in the country.”

“I believe you,” Tonks confirmed, “and not just him. Ginny’s pretty hot stuff, too. How did two teenagers get so bloody good?”

“Well, I like to think I’ve helped a little in that regard,” Sirius said, buffing his nails on his shirt.

Ginny blew a loud raspberry. “We’ve only been training here for a couple of weeks, and what new stuff we have learnt was taught to us by Remus!”

“I’ve helped!” Sirius protested.

“Indeed, it was very kind of you to repeatedly allow Harry to beat you in duels over the last fortnight,” Remus said with a commendably straight face. “I’m sure he learnt a lot from that.”

“Why does everyone always pick on me?” Sirius moaned.

“Because you generally deserve it, cousin,” Tonks laughed.

“So, what do you think?” Harry asked Tonks. “Will you give Ginny and me extra training?”

“You bet,” Tonks grinned at him. “I’m looking forward to it. By the time I’m finished with you pair, you’ll be up to Auror standard and probably beyond. You both are naturals; you simply can’t teach people to have the reactions that you both showed. Your spell selection was a bit unimaginative, though, and I can show you a few extra tricks to help the speed of your casting and aim, but there’s no denying that you two have got talent.”

“Great! Thanks, Tonks,” Harry gushed. “I can’t wait to start!”

“Yeah, this is going to be fantastic,” Ginny agreed.

“No problems, you two,” Tonks replied. “Besides, it will be nice to spend some time with young people rather than just these two crusty old farts.”

“Oi!” Sirius objected and tried to make a grab for Tonks, but she just laughed and danced out of the way. Ginny happened to glance at Remus, however, and noticed that sad expression on his face that Tonk’s words seemed to have caused. She filed that titbit away for future thought.

“Right, if you’ve finished abusing your elders and better, Nymphadora, then I suggest we all head down to the kitchen for some refreshments,” Sirius announced. “Besides, we have something we want to discuss with you.”

“Or how about I just Hex you into the middle of next week for using that name,” Tonks growled, fingering her wand eagerly.

“Oh, you can dish it out but you can’t take it, eh?” Sirius smirked. “Seriously, though, we do need to talk to you about a matter of some delicacy.”

“Okay, hexing postponed for the moment,” Tonks agreed before smiling evilly. “I’ll just wait to get you later when you’re not expecting it.”

“Give it your best shot,” Sirius said smiling. “Come on, I’m parched.”

The five of them headed downstairs to the kitchen where Dobby supplied them with drinks and an assortment of nibbles.

“What was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Tonks asked, although in Ginny’s opinion the young Auror appeared more interested in eating a chocolate éclair in a suggestive manner in Remus’s general direction.

“What we’re about to tell you may come as something of a shock,” Sirius began, “but I would ask you to hear us out. But before we start, I’m going to have to ask you to make an Unbreakable Vow not to disclose anything said today to anyone outside of this room.”

“What?” Tonks said, looking up in shock. She’d been busy licking melted chocolate off her fingers in a way that seemed to be greatly upsetting poor Remus. Ginny decided that she must arrange to have a private conversation with Miss Tonks; the girl obviously had more things to teach her other than just duelling.

“Both Remus and I have taken a similar vow,” Sirius assured her.

“Trust me, Dora, it’s a necessity,” Remus added. “Once you hear what we have to say you’ll understand.”

Tonks looked questioningly at both men for a moment before she turned to look directly at Harry. “What about these two?” she asked suspiciously.

“Ah, well, these two are rather central to everything and it’s their secrets we’re protecting,” Sirius explained.

Tonks turned and looked earnestly at Remus. “Do you promise me that if I give the vow I won’t live to regret it?” she asked him.

“I can’t promise you that,” Remus replied looking the young woman directly in the eyes, “but I do think you’ll want to hear what we have to say, even if it puts you at odds with you’ve come to believe is established wisdom.”

For a moment, Tonks seemed lost in thought. She drummed her brightly painted nails on the table top before she looked up at her cousin.

“Okay, I agree,” she told Sirius, “but only a vow not to disclose anything I hear today. I refuse to commit to more until I know what’s going on.”

“And I wouldn’t expect you to,” Sirius assured her.

The Unbreakable Vow was given quickly, with Remus acting as the Bonder. As soon as Tonks had given her vow of secrecy, she looked at Sirius expectantly.

“This has something to do with Dumbledore, doesn’t it?” she asked him directly.

Sirius chortled. “Ah, Tonks, I always said you were a smart one. You are quite correct; this has to do with Dumbledore and primarily his handling of Harry’s affairs.”

“I gathered that you weren’t happy with Dumbledore,” Tonks noted. “You’ve certainly been dropping enough hints lately. Is this why you refused to join the Order?”

“Partly,” Sirius confirmed. “Although I’m not convinced Albus’s much lauded Order of the Phoenix is all it’s cracked up to be. People seem to forget how close to complete annihilation we were back in the war with Voldemort.”

“You weren’t there, Dora,” Remus agreed. “The Order came pretty damn close to being wiped out. We lost so many good people: Dorcas Meadows, Frank and Alice, Gideon and Fabian, Marlene McKinnon…”

“We could sit here all day and list the people killed or maimed,” Sirius interrupted, “and part of that was due Dumbledore’s leadership. He just wasn’t aggressive enough! All we ever did was patrol and mount guard duty on key points; we never once took the fight to the Death Eaters! We were fighting a war with one hand tied behind our backs.”

“And you don’t win wars by being on the defensive all the time,” Remus noted. “Dumbledore is a good man, but that’s half the problem. He just wasn’t an effective military leader. The man is a scholar and a philosopher, not a warrior. Voldemort might fear him due to his power and capabilities, but as a general, Albus leaves much to be desired.”

“You must have attended the first meeting of the Order by now, tell me, did they agree anything useful at all?” Sirius demanded of his cousin.

“Well, not really,” she admitted, looking extremely embarrassed and pointedly keeping her gaze on the table top.

“I bet they talked about me, didn’t they?” Harry suddenly asked in a frosty tone.

“Yeah, mostly,” Tonks admitted sheepishly. “Dumbledore seemed very concerned about you not spending the holidays with your relatives. He thinks you should be with your real family and I do think he has a point.”

“Real family?” Harry spat, leaping to his feet. “Real family? Those bastards are not and never have been my ‘real family’! I bet no one thought to ask the Dursleys what they thought about me not returning, did they? Well, I’ll tell you what they’re thinking: they’re over the moon! I bet my aunt and uncle are dancing with joy at not having to have the freak stay with them this summer. And trust me, I feel the same way about them.”

“But Dumbledore said they were extremely upset that you weren’t going back to stay with them,” Tonks said in surprise.

“What?” Harry yelled. “He said that? What a pile of shit! That lying, old bastard! I’ll never trust him again.”

Ginny leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. “Easy, Harry,” she said in calming tone. “It’s not Tonks’ fault; she didn’t know any better.”

“There’s no way in hell you’re being sent back to those people,” Sirius assured his godson. “It’s not going to happen.”

Harry began to calm down and looked over at Tonks guiltily. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you,” he mumbled.

“That’s alright, Harry,” she replied. “I get the impression Dumbledore wasn’t exactly telling the truth, then? Why did he lie?”

“Because he puts so much faith in the damn Blood Wards he set up at Privet Drive, even though they’re no better than the wards around this place,” Sirius snorted.

“There’s more to it than that,” Ginny disagreed. “What Dumbledore really wants is complete control over Harry. While Harry is with the Muggles he has no contact with the Wizarding world at all and, more importantly, can’t do any magic. This means that our darling Headmaster has complete control over exactly what Harry is taught and what information he is given. Clearly that’s not the case with him being here with Sirius.”

“I don’t get it,” Tonks said shaking her head. “Why would Dumbledore want to restrict what Harry learns? And come to think about it, why is Harry so important anyway? I know he defeated You-Know-Who last time, but why is controlling Harry now so important?”

“Tell her,” Harry said simply.

“You’re sure?” Sirius asked doubtfully. After receiving a nod from his godson he turned back to Tonks.

“It’s all due to a prophecy that was made shortly before Harry was born,” Sirius explained. “I don’t know the exact wording, but we think the jist of it is that Harry will be the one to defeat Voldemort for good.”

Tonks looked around the group in complete confusion. “But if that’s the case then why isn’t Dumbledore training Harry himself?”

“Because he believes I have to sacrifice myself to defeat him,” Harry replied in a cold voice, “and just to make sure that I do, Dumbledore is making sure that I don’t have the tools to fight Voldemort fairly.”

A look of horror appeared on Tonks’s face and she looked like she was going to be sick. Gradually, her expression began to change and she took on a look of determination.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked resolutely.

“That’s my girl,” Sirius said, breaking into a wide grin.







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