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Harry Potter and the Power of the Garuda | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fluff, Humor, Tragedy, Drama Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 301 Summary: Harry seventh year has not turned out as he expected! Will he find the power that he needs to defeat Voldemort? What does his love life have to do with it? What is Garuda? Hitcount: Story Total: 170912; Chapter Total: 6709 |
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In years to come Harry would look back on the week following the attack and only remember one thing clearly. On Wednesday there was a memorial service for everyone who had died over the weekend. This would stay forever in his mind. It struck him yet again that so many people had died before they were truly given a chance to live. Harry strengthened his resolve to work harder towards finding an end to Voldemort. It was not until that Friday morning that the fog started to clear from Harry’s mind and he felt like he was doing more than functioning. It had been the same when Sirius and Charlie had died. The grief was all consuming and Harry did not do much more than eat and sleep. Harry went to his Care of Magical Creatures class, which had been held on the first floor and then acting on habit, Harry had started to walk to the Room of Requirement only to get there and remember that Tonks was no longer there to tutor him. Harry held back the tears and walked towards the Headmaster’s office. When he reached his office, he said the password “Everlasting Gobstoppers” but the gargoyle did not move. “Oh you have GOT to be KIDDING!” Harry let out a frustrated yell and punched the wall next to the guarded entrance. He felt the wall give slightly but also felt the shooting pain through his arm and when he looked at his still clenched fist, he saw that it was scratched and bloody. “DAMNIT!” Harry stared at the gargoyle, all of his rage over the death of Tonks coursed through him and he started shouting. “OPEN THE BLOODY HELL UP! I HAVE NOT GOT TIME FOR THIS!” The gargoyle did not move; not that Harry believed it would... it never had before just because he yelled and was not likely to start now. “FINE! Jelly Belly!” Harry guessed and the gargoyle sprang to life, moving aside to admit Harry. Harry raced up the stairs and burst into the Headmaster’s office without bothering to knock. Dumbledore looked at him with one eyebrow slightly raised. “How can I help you, Harry?” He asked him calmly. Dumbledore looked pointed at his bleeding hand but at a shake of Harry’s head, the Headmaster wisely chose not to comment. “I went to meet Tonks after class.” Harry realized what he had said and sat down in a chair, burying his head in his hands. Harry felt like an idiot. Of course he could not meet Tonks. She was gone. “I understand Harry.” The Headmaster said kindly. Harry looked up sharply and he saw the sympathy and compassion in Dumbledore’s eyes. “I have been wanting to talk to you about your training and how you are advancing with your powers. I was delighted to hear that you and Ms. Weasley have found each other.” Harry snorted. He remembered what Dumbledore had said about his love life before. “Hermione told us that you didn’t want her to interfere. She did anyway which is the only reason we are together. She was tired of people dying and she was convinced that I loved Ginny.” The Headmaster looked taken aback. “I see.” He contemplated his fingernails for a moment before speaking again. “Ms. Granger’s understanding of people never ceases to amaze me. She has insight into people that I would only look for in a person who was at least a hundred. She told me that I was wrong to keep this from you but I made the mistake of underestimating her. I shall not do that again, you may be sure.” Harry nodded. He did not want Hermione in trouble but he needed Dumbledore to understand that he had made a mistake. “Harry, I would also like to talk to you about your growing powers and discuss your continuing education. I understand that you have requested an excuse to get out of most of your classes. After discussing this with your professors, we have decided that if you want to go to class that you may and if you do not, then you are excused as long as you are filling your time with training or some other form of educational pursuit. You seemed to have learned all there is to know about being an Auror and I am confident that you have mastered enough karate to teach the D.A.” Harry started to protest that karate was not going to help the women fight off the Death Eaters but Dumbledore went on. “I believe that Ms. Granger’s theory on how Ms. Bones was attacked is correct. When we questioned Susan I came to the same conclusion although I did not push her to talk about it. I would still like for you to teach karate. There will be times when using a wand may be impractical and from what I have heard from the Auror’s in Hogsmeade, your reflexes were excellent and helped you escape more than once.” “I have set a meeting for Monday so I will start then.” Harry informed him. “Excellent! I will be looking forward to seeing their progress. Now, I would like to talk to you about your growing powers. What have you noticed that is different?” Harry thought about it. “My Patronus hurts Dementors… I don’t need to sleep as much as I used to, I can do fine on only three or four hours. I also can read quickly and retain what I have read.” That was all Harry could think of. “I believe that you can use the knowledge that you have acquired without much practice, am I correct?” At Harry’s nod, he continued. “I have seen you perform several feats of magic that I thought were impossible which include Apparating into Hogwarts and stopping a Bat-Bogey Hex much to the chagrin of Ms. Weasley. Hagrid informed me that you removed the Conjunctivitis Curse from him, which is extremely specialized magic that only trained healers know. Can you tell me what you did?” Harry thought back. “I just said ‘Finite Incantatem’ and the curse lifted.” Dumbledore look impressed. “Well… I can see that your powers are increasing for which we can all be thankful.” Harry examined his hand. It was throbbing painfully but most of the cuts were only oozing slightly. He was going to have to go and see the nurse to get this fixed. Harry sighed; she’d probably try and keep him. “What I want to know is how any of these powers are supposed to help me kill Voldemort?” “Yes, an excellent question and one that I am afraid I was wrong about. I thought, incorrectly I might add, that love would be the power that you have that Voldemort does not. Love is certainly very powerful and your heart is still capable of love even though you certainly never received any from your aunt and uncle. I thought that once you fell in love that we would have the answer but either your love for Ms. Weasley is not strong enough or love is not the complete answer. Ms. Granger and I shall have a long talk to see what we can come up with sometime in the near future. I believe she is already working on the answer to that very question.” “Yes, she said she was working on it.” Harry muttered. He did not like Dumbledore’s assertion that his love for Ginny was not strong enough. Some of what he was thinking must have shown on his face because the old man’s face showed concern. “Harry... I do not believe that your love for Ginny is not strong enough. I saw how you looked at her before you and I dueled and I had seen that looked before.” Harry looked questioningly at him. “I saw your father look at your mother that way on the day that they got married.” Harry drew in a sharp breath… he was going to have to tell Ginny about that. She would be pleased. The thought made him smile. “Your ability to love is stronger than anyone I have ever met Harry. You care about people that you do not even know… so much so that you would risk your life for them and you do this despite your childhood. You may look like your father Harry but in life experience you have been shaped very differently. James knew what he wanted because he had been shown love his entire life. The decision to marry your mother was easy for him because he had loving parents to show him the way. I believe that your best friends are experiencing the same thing as your parents. They can be sure about each other because they have always known love. But you have had to struggle your entire life because you were not loved unconditionally like most children are, until you met Mrs. Weasley and then Sirius. You have had to struggle and yet you have risen above the obstacles in front of you to learn to love Ginny and I believe that your love for her runs deeper than even you know. It may be that you will not be able to defeat Voldemort until you are fully committed in your love for Ms. Weasley. Something that I think you need to remember is that Tom Riddle was not abused in the orphanage but he certainly was not loved. He became a bitter and twisted child who turned into the embodiment of evil itself. You were not loved and you were abused and yet you have come through it the stronger man who is good and loving. You have overcome your background and you have chosen to do what is right. I am very proud of you Harry.” Harry was looking at the floor. He did not know what to say but he was touched. “Now, as for your training, I will arrange for the teachers to be at your disposal and I will train with you on Fridays after lunch in the Room of Requirement starting today. I will teach you as much as I can and we can only hope that the answer to Tom’s defeat will reveal itself to us. I think that perhaps you should head down to see Madam Pomfrey and then go down for lunch. If she insists on keeping you then you have my permission to sneak out again. I will talk with her about it later.” Harry got up and left, heading straight to the hospital wing. The nurse berated him for ten minutes while she fixed his hand. He had shattered every bone in his hand when he had punched the wall. “Mr. Potter you spend quite enough time in here without doing something as stupid as punching a wall!” She gave a pronounced sniff. “Now, you will lay there quietly for an hour and then you may go. I won't even try to keep you overnight but if you sneak out again before your time is up I will be forced to tell the Headmaster.” “Actually Professor Dumbledore said that I was allowed to sneak out.” “I do not care what the Headmaster said you were or were not allowed to do! You will stay in bed until,” the door flew open and Ginny ran in. “HARRY! What are you doing here? You didn’t show up for lunch and then I got the map and it showed that you were here! What happened?” Ginny looked at him, concern written all over her face. Madam Pomfrey gave Harry a triumphant smile before turning back to Ginny. “Mr. Potter decided that it would be a good idea to punch a wall and break every single bone in his hand, along with cutting himself severely and then he did not come to see me until almost an hour and a half AFTER HE HAD PUNCHED THE WALL! And now he is refusing to sit quietly for an hour so that he can heal properly.” Harry saw Ginny’s face turn red which was not a good sign. He got up to go to Ginny when she yelled at him “SIT DOWN!” So Harry sat. Ginny pointed a finger at him. “You will sit there for an hour! I cannot believe you Harry James Potter… what were you thinking? You need to take care of yourself!” Madam Pomfrey’s smile was smug. “I will have lunch sent up for you both. If you need me, I will be in my office.” She turned and left them. Ginny walked over to him and motioned for him to budge over. She sat down next to him and looked at him, gently taking his newly healed hand in hers. “You want to tell me why you punched a wall?” Harry looked down at their entwined hands. Her hand was so small. Her nails weren’t painted and her hands were not delicate like most girls that he knew. She played too much Quidditch for that. He noticed that her hands were also freckled. His hands were rough and much larger, completely engulfing hers but despite their size difference he could feel the strength in her touch… a match for him… his equal. “I went to meet Tonks only to remember that she was dead. So then I went to Dumbledore and the password had changed so I punched the wall. Then I guessed the password and went and talked to him about some stuff.” “What did you talk to him about?” “He asked me about my powers and we talked about our relationship, you and me, I mean.” “Really? What did he say?” Harry grinned at her and kissed her quickly. “He said that he thought I loved you more than I realize. He told me that when I looked at you before he and I dueled a few weeks ago that he had seen that look before.” His smiled even wider at her puzzled expression. “He said that the look I gave you was the same one my dad gave my mum on the day they got married.” Ginny’s eyes went wide and he saw them fill with tears but she didn’t let them fall. Harry thought for a moment that she was upset but then a small smile flitted across her face and she looked deeply into his eyes. “That is an amazing thing to hear. Thank you for sharing that with me.” She kissed him then, a long and lingering kiss. “So how do you think you’ll look at me when we finally get married?” Harry started to answer and then he stopped and several things fell into place in his mind. He drew a quick breath. He loved Ginny so much already and every day it seemed like his feelings for her deepened. If he already looked at her the way his dad looked at his mum on their wedding day… did he love Ginny as much as his dad loved his mum? It was a strange thought. When he thought about his parents he pictured them as older but according to Remus his parent got married when they were his age right after graduation and that was only a few more months from now for him. Ginny, of course, still had more than a year to go so he could not possibly marry her at the same age as his parents. But rather than comforting him that he had more time, he started to feel an ache inside himself… one that he was not sure he wanted to examine right then. He looked over and Ginny, her expression was unreadable. She had obviously been waiting for him to speak. “I… I don’t really know.” Ginny nodded and looked down. Harry could almost feel her disappointment at his not having an answer and yet she did not push him for more. She looked back up at him with a smile on her face but he could see that it was forced. He wanted to say something, anything to make her feel better but he was not quite sure why she was upset so he blurted out the first thing that came into his head. “Why are you sad?” She shook her head as if to throw off the question. “It’s not really all that important Harry, don’t worry about it.” She tried to smile again but failed and this time he saw tears come into her eyes. She hastily got up and turned away from him. “Ginny…” Harry got up and wrapped his arms around her from the back. He buried his face in her hair and whispered in her ear. “I can’t fix it if I don’t know what I did wrong… please, just tell me.” He felt her shoulders drop slightly and she slowly turned around to face him, embracing him. “Well the first thing that is wrong is that you are standing when I expressly forbid you to do so. Get back in bed.” This time her smile was real so Harry walked back over to the bed and sat down. She sat down next to him and took his hand again, looking straight into his eyes. “Harry, I don’t want to push you if you are not ready to admit certain feelings. All that will happen is that I would end up making you do things that you are not ready for. Can you understand that?” He nodded and she went on. “That does not mean that I don’t want to hear you say certain things and it’s hard trying to be patient. Patience is not one of my strongest points.” She looked down at their linked hands and started to trace the veins on his hands with her finger. “I want for us to be where Hermione and Ron are… and for a minute I thought I saw that same longing in you and I got my hopes up.” She looked up at him. “Hope has always been my downfall when it comes to you.” She leaned over and kissed him. “I love you and I’ll take what you are ready to give and I don’t ever want you to feel pressured. If your heart is not in the right place then it’s not the right time for us to move our relationship forward. End of story; but I should not have made you feel bad about something that I did to myself, so I’m sorry. You did not do anything wrong, alright?” Ginny looked at him as if expecting that he would say that he knew he was not at fault but Harry did not feel that way. He had been thinking about his feelings for her and she had known what he was thinking and rather than share with her he had pushed her away by claiming ignorance. “I am at fault. You were right to hope… I was thinking about my parents and how they were married at my age and how if I look at you like my dad looked at my mum then I probably love you like he loved her. I was also thinking that when I think about my parents being married, they always seem so much older but it isn’t the truth. When you count life experience sometimes I feel as old as Dumbledore and sometimes I don’t want to see any more pain but I know I’m going to see a lot more. I thought about the fact that you are sixteen years old so I can’t possibly marry you when I graduate because you have another year of school left. It wouldn’t be fair to you to ask you to marry me now and the thought of not marrying you made me upset and I didn’t want to examine why because I’m seventeen years old and I’m probably going to be dead before I am twenty. I’ve never had to think about being married before because no one has ever even loved me before and if you would have asked me even a few months ago I would have said no one will ever likely love me.” He took a deep breath. He felt tears in his eyes but he knew Ginny would not care if he were crying so he did not try to stop. “I’m just really confused right now. I want to be with you but I’m scared that I will lose you and…” a new thought hit him like a punch to the stomach. “I’m afraid of not being with you too. I want to be with you all the time and I know that I can’t but I want what little time that I probably have on this earth to be with you.” He looked at her and saw the tears streaming down her face but she did not try to wipe her eyes. She just held onto his hands, willing him with her steady gaze to continue. “I’m really afraid that you will be hurt because you are with me and I’m afraid that you are way too good for me. But I love you and I don’t really know what to do with that.” Ginny threw herself on top of him, holding him close. She was sobbing into his shirt and Harry automatically, it seemed, started to rub her back and whisper comforting words to her. He felt better after getting all that off his chest and he was glad that he had Ginny to share those feelings with. He was pretty sure that when she calmed down that she would have an answer for his confusion. “Excuse me sir and miss.” A squeaky voice interrupted them and they pulled apart to see a house elf carrying a tray of food. Harry gently slid Ginny off his lap and went to the house elf. “Thank you.” He said, taking the tray. The house elf looked at him in adoration before bowing deeply. “You is very welcome sir!” The house elf turned quickly and left. Harry set the tray down on his bed, in between himself and Ginny. She seemed to have regained her composure enough to speak. “I used to be able to hide it when I cried but now all I seem to do is break down in front of you.” She gave a half laugh. “I don’t mind.” Harry told her. She gave him a doubtful look. “Seriously! I just want to help you feel better when you do cry and… well… we have a lot of really bad stuff happening right now and I’ve cried a lot too. You don’t care when I do it.” He shrugged. He didn’t know how he was supposed to explain that feeling but she seemed to understand. He picked up a sandwich and took a bite. “Do you want to talk more about what I said?” Ginny nodded. “That was what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear that you were feeling the same things that I was… but when you said you didn’t know I just thought… well I thought that you didn’t feel the same way and I was trying to accept that.” She also picked up a sandwich and started to eat. “Do you remember what I said to you before about us getting married… when I was teasing you about engagement rings?” Harry thought for a moment. “You mean when you said that you expected me to marry you when we were ready even if Voldemort was still active?” Ginny nodded and met his gaze. “Age does not determine readiness Harry. Fred and George are almost twenty years old but I very much doubt that at thirty they would be ready for marriage. They are just too set on being immature; they enjoy it.” Harry smiled. She had a great point. Her two brothers would probably not marry for quite a while. “Harry… you have to understand that it goes the other way. Just because someone is still in school does not mean that they are unable to handle the responsibility that comes with being married. It also does not mean that they are too immature to be married. Most of the time our age is a determining factor for when responsibility is placed upon us, and with good reason… but I think that in our cases, you in particular, have proved that responsibility and age have never coincided. You have been responsible for the fate of our world since you were born and you took on that responsibility when you were fifteen. You have chosen to face it rather than run.” “Ginny if we even considered getting married now your mum would kill us… that and you can’t get married if they say no.” “I am NOT saying that I am ready to get married now because I’m not completely sure that I am and I want to be positive so don’t worry about my mum and dad too much. We can worry about them later when we are ready.” She took another bite and chewed slowly before speaking again. “Do you think mum is right to tell Ron and Hermione not to get married?” “No. I think that they are doing the right thing. Your mum’s reasons are valid, of course, but Ron and Hermione are adults and they have the right to decide. But they are also meant for each other and they belong together.” “Sometimes parents mean well but they are not always right. IF we were ready tomorrow but they would not allow me to get married then we would have to wait until I turn seventeen in August and elope like Ron and Hermione are going to do. Hopefully it won’t come to that and we may find that we aren’t ready to be married until you are forty.” She stopped and thought about that. “No, never mind. I would have made you marry me long before that. I do want to have kids.” She smiled at him. “Do you see what I mean? Many times the adults in our lives know what is best for us but sometimes they don’t… even though they think that they do. Mum’s always saying that she wants us to learn from her mistakes but I really would like the chance to make my own mistakes and live my own life, the way I feel I should.” Harry was impressed. “When did you get to be so wise?” Ginny looked startled. “I’m not wise Harry. I’m just using commonsense.” “You sound wise to me.” Ginny sighed. “What do you want for Valentines Day?” Harry wanted to kick himself. It was just over a week away and he had completely forgotten. He made a mental note to talk to Neville later. “Are you trying to change the subject?” “Yes, now answer the question.” Harry pondered this for a moment. “I don’t know… whatever is fine or even nothing. I’m not too fussy about this sort of stuff.” “Harry, fair is fair. I told you what I wanted, thereby making your life easier. The least you could do is pay me the same courtesy.” “How about a hug and a kiss?” “Try again.” “How about a hug and a kiss AND you tell me that you love me… twice.” “Harry, I want you to take this seriously.” He thought for a moment and then an idea came to him. “I want you to get a picture of the two of us that I can keep in my dorm. Ask Colin to take it or whatever and put it in a frame for me.” Ginny smiled widely. “That’s perfect Harry! I like that idea. That way you can look at my beautiful face every night before you sleep and every morning as you wake up.” “Yeah… it’s not as good as waking up next to your beautiful face but I guess it will have to do.” Harry put the empty tray on the floor and pulled her into his arms. “That will be something I am going to look forward to… being able to hold you as I sleep. That night we napped on the couch was amazing.” “It’s a perk of being married.” “It’s not the only perk.” Harry said then cringed for being so blatant. Ginny pulled back from him and studied his face. “No…” she replied slowly. “It’s not the only perk.” Then she gave him a sexy smile that sent chills down his spine. “No… it will be a definite perk when I get to sleep with you… and cuddle with you…and warm my cold feet on you.” Harry started to laugh despite himself. “You’re too good to me, you know that right?” “Absolutely.” |
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