Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 11: Family Ties

As much as Ron Weasley had been embarrassed by the Polyjuice incident, he soon had a new weapon to use against the ‘evil Slytherin corruption’ of Harry Potter. It was confirmed thatGinny Weasley would be alone…well, with her family. For the holidays.

As she was miserable.

While Fred and George continued to try to be civil to their sister, it was obvious they weren’t fond of what she had become (Ron had given them a heavily-edited version of the incident, omitting the actual reason that Harry now held a four-thousand pound weight over his head). Percy wasn’t any better, preferring to just ignore his sister at all times, avoiding her in the hallways, and not responding if she said hello to him. He’d often moved upstairs or to the library when Hermione would invite Harry and Ginny into the Gryffindor Common Room. Neville Longbottom had tried to engage them in conversation multiple times, but seemed fearful of Ron’s wrath. Harry realized that the boy probably had few friends, and didn’t want to alienate any of them.

Ron was less blatant than usual, but he still reminded Ginny that she’d be alone with them for the two-week holiday break (it was longer this year, for some reason). It was strange that a girl wouldn’t want to be with her family, but the only family that Ginny wanted to see was her parents. He’d found her crying several times in remote locales of the castle, depressed that she’d be alone, and also very guilty that she didn’t want to be with her brothers. It took a cold-blooded threat from Harry to stop Ron constantly reminding her.

After receiving Ginny’s permission, Harry had even sent a letter off to Daphne, asking if she might talk to Molly Weasley and see if she might allow her daughter to spend the holidays at Dressler Manor. Ginny wasn’t optimistic, though, she expected that her mother would be shocked that she was even asking and would baby her, believing that this was part of her already-shattered crush. Harry’s tactic making Ginny constantly aware of her infatuation, while not giving in whenever her crush became apparent, seemed to have worked. Ginny no longer felt the least bit embarrassed or awkward around Harry.

She’d also begun to pick up some friends of her own. She was especially spending a lot of time around Luna Lovegood.

Luna had to be the strangest individual that Harry had ever met. According to Ginny, her childhood friend had been very quiet and shy, and had been extremely close to her mother, Amanda, who was employed by the Spell Research and Development, but preferred to do the vast majority of her work at home. When asked, Daphne couldn’t recall ever meeting her.

Nor could Andromeda, who visited the Department often in her job as Head Secretary of the Accidental Spell Damage Department at St. Mungos. Andromeda, while under a Secrecy Charm, couldn’t disclose the names of patients, but could rattle off dozens of strange cases that crossed her desk. Many of them involved spells never seen before, hence the visits to the ‘Think-tank,’ as it was known in the Ministry.

Regardless, the death of her mother had apparently changed her daughter a great deal. She could now spit out hundreds of facts about dozens of non-existent creatures, and read the Quibbler like Muggles read Scripture. What was deceiving about her was that in between the spurts of nonsense, Luna was easily as observant as Harry or Nott, and had a talent for recognizing both the obvious and the subtle. One simply head to learn to filter out the details of Snorkack migration and learn to nod agreeably, and you’d hear some of the most profound things that a girl wearing a butter-beer cork necklace had ever said. Some didn’t make much sense, of course.

It could be a test of his patience at times, but Ginny seemed to find it amusing, and could actually have four or more lines of intelligence conversation before Luna said something odd.

Still, like with Tonks, a conversation was never boring when the girl’s dreamy voice entered it.

Ginny’s other new friend was Anne Grunitch, the same girl that she had met the night of the Sorting. Anne was, obviously, very different than Ginny. She seemed kind to those she liked, while cold and unhelpful to those she didn’t. Harry didn’t know her level of magical power, but she seemed bright enough. She was also ambitious, and competed with Ginny for the highest marks in the year, without the aid of the two most diligent and studious pupils in Second Year. Still, Harry wasn’t sure if it was natural ability or simply determination to be better than everyone else that drove the girl. He had a feeling she was not a person he’d like to get on the bad side of.

Harry and Hermione had finally hit a rough patch in Second Year, with the arrival of some rather difficult Transfiguration and Potions. The former required great precision, while the latter required more than just knowledge of the textbook. Harry found that he was developing a feel for the subject, and was able to make accurate judgments and guesses to improve the potency of their potions.

At this moment however, Harry was in search of the third ‘conspirator’ in Ron Weasley’s idiotic plan to infiltrate the Slytherin Dormitories. From what he’d gathered from Terry and Mandy, Penelope Clearwater, a Muggleborn Ravenclaw Prefect known for her passion to succeed, was not a likely candidate to brew an illegal potion, and even less of a candidate to trust Ron Weasley with the execution of the plan. Nonetheless, when confronted, Dean had implicated her.

He left Hermione in the library, where she was attempting two equally difficult research projects: find new spells that they could learn before their magic matured, and figure out what could allow someone to Petrify a living being without the aid of the ridiculously long and strenuous ritual that was normally required.

His destination was the last place he’d seen Ron and Dean that seemed suspicious: Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. As he approached, he heard voices, and knew he’d hit pay dirt.

“…You told Potter!” a slightly hysterical female voice cried out. “Are you insane?”

“…it wasn’t my fault!” a petulant-sounding male voice replied.

“…he would have found out anyway,” a defeated sounding voice replied. Harry had already identified the latter two as Ron Weasley and Dean Thomas. The first was, no doubt, the aforementioned Penelope Clearwater.

“…SO WHAT!” Penelope cried. “It’s not your career and magical education that’s hanging in the balance…and Percy…”

“…what made you want to be with that stuck-up prat anyway!...So he dumps you, big deal!”

SLAP

Harry took this as his opportunity to make an entrance. He roughly shoved the door open, putting on a sly grin as he did so, and surveyed the scene in front of him.

Myrtle had apparently been rather unhappy recently, as the bathroom was flooded, and all four people in the room were now standing in about an inch of water. Harry had heard about the bathroom from Hermione, but this was the first time he’d been inside it. The floors and walls were cracked and chipped, and it looked like most of the toilets and sinks were out of order. He also noticed a boiling cauldron atop one of the toilets in a stall off to his right.

As to the people in the room, Harry gave them each a look-over. Dean was slumped against one of the sinks, his body language defeated. He had a dejected look in his eyes, and a kind of forlorn resignation that they’d been beaten. Ron was standing in one of the deeper pools of water, next to the mirrors. His right hand was currently touching his cheek, which was bright red from where Penelope had slapped him for his tactlessness.

The aforementioned Ravenclaw Prefect looked terrible, her face pale and drawn, her eyes red-rimmed from crying, and her hair disheveled. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. She probably hasn’t if what I overhead was true. This could get her expelled, and as a Muggleborn, she’d lose her only chance at advancement and a magical education. It’s really a fine line they walk, and Dean ratted her out. No wonder she’s mad. I doubt this is about Percy at all…

As he entered, all three froze in horror and turned to look at him, eyes widening. Penelope paled as Harry’s emerald eyes drifted to the boiling cauldron. “My, my…what do we have here?” he asked, already knowing exactly what was going on. Ron spluttered, and Dean coughed.

Penelope recovered her composure remarkably fast, and crossed her arms across her chest. “Fine. You’ve got me Potter…what do you want?” she asked sharply.

“Leverage. It’s always useful to have it over a Prefect…” Harry said, his Slytherin tendencies showing themselves. Indeed, being able to have a Prefect on his side, unwilling or not, might get him out of a number of sticky situations that he might find himself in.

“…Why you slimy…”

“Quiet, Ron,” Penelope snapped, turning hard blue eyes back to Harry. “You’ve got it. You no doubt just overhead our whole conversation. I know how you Slytherins operate. You keep your mouth shut, and I do something for you in the future…Fine. It’s not like I have any choice.”

Harry nodded. “Why did you do it? I really thought you more intelligence than this…”

Penelope sighed, the hard look in her eyes clouding over with regret. “These two somehow convinced me that as a Muggleborn, it was in my best interests to help them solve the mystery of the Heir of Slytherin. I was stupid enough to believe them. That, and I don’t want my relationship with Percy getting back to the twins…they’ll make our lives hell.”

Harry stared at her. “Let me get this straight…you bought that? And risked everything on the word of an idiot like Weasley?”

“Hey!” Ron yelled. Dean elbowed him in the ribs. A quick look from Harry shut him up.

“Well…?”

Penelope sighed again, running a hand through her tangled hair. “My family isn’t that wealthy…I thought that we might get a reward-No, actually, Ron guaranteed we’d get rewarded…I can’t believe I bought that…”

“Neither can I,” Harry admitted, his voice stiff and business-like, “but what’s done is done. You understand your part, I understand mine.” Penelope nodded sharply as she tried to maintain her composure.

“How can you just let him do that?” Ron demanded. “How can you just…just give up to that bloody Slytherin?”

She rounded on him. “Because he has the upper edge. Sometimes you have to concede defeat.” Harry nodded, a small smirk breaking through his stoic, business-like expression.

“She’s right…I recommend you get rid of that Polyjuice before I accidentally tell Snape he ought to check on the Second Floor Bathroom. Routine checkup, y’know?”

Penelope glared at him. “I’m sure, Potter. Not a word.”

“I may be Slytherin, but I keep my promises. You help me out at some point in the future, and I don’t tell Snape who was going through his personal store cupboards,” Harry replied evenly, then spun on his heel and left the three to clean up their mess.

It had taken Harry a while, but he’d finally figured out why Ginny was so nervous about staying with her brothers at Hogwarts. She certainly didn’t fear for her safety, and Ron could be as big an arse and Percy as big a prat as he wanted, but Fred and George weren’t going to abandon their little sister. But what Ginny was afraid of was that they wouldn’t treat her like an equal, that they’d treat her like some poor little child who had had her good and innocent way corrupted by the Slytherin Demon known as Harry James Potter.

He couldn’t blame her for being depressed.

“You know Ginevra, families are meant to be together. Sometimes healing can only be achieved once people have mutual understanding…like how Night-Eyed Bliggies eat the nargles out of each other’s hair,” Luna stated. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Terry, Mandy, and Padma all blinked at that declaration. It was December 15th, and Christmas Break was drawing near, just three days away.

“…Okay, Luna. Thanks…” Ginny replied uncertainly.

“No problem Ginevra…heliopath got your tongue, Harold? You don’t want to undergo the treatment for heliopath possession at the Ministry. They suck your brain out with a magical straw and replace it with a tank of vampire blood.”

For some reason, the word ‘possession’ cause Harry to shudder. He blinked twice, both at Luna’s nonsensical declaration and that strange feeling. Hermione was staring at Luna as though she could decipher the enigmatic girl’s language by gazing into the depths of her soul.

Harry glanced up when he heard the chatter increase, and saw the morning post owls flying through the window. He was surprised to notice his own snowy owl flying down towards them. Hedwig landed right next to Harry and began helping herself to his bacon, while sticking out her leg. Harry pulled the ribbon off his familiar and scratched her behind both ears. “It’s Daphne’s reply,” he said. Ginny sat up excitedly, and scooted over so that they could read it together.

Dearest Harry,

As we agreed upon, I’ll be meeting you at King’s Cross once you get off the Hogwarts Express. Tonks has managed to get time off so that she can come with Andromeda (She REALLY wants to see you…I’d be wary), so they’ll both be staying with us.

As will Ginny. I flooed her mother, and while she was a bit averse to having her only daughter stay with a male friend (I’ll not say boy friend as to spare her some embarrassment if she’s reading this), she eventually agreed it would be best. She’s rather disappointed with her boys, and I don’t want to be Ronald when he gets home. Or Percy.

It seems like things are looking up. It’s horrible what happened to Lisa, and I hope Dumbledore doesn’t let his guard down because there hasn’t been an attack in about a month. I’ve got some spells I’ve picked out that I’ll have you read up on. We’re going to do some work this summer, Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry or not. The Ministry won’t be able to find out at any of our homes; the wards are too strong.

So, back to the point of this letter. If Ginny wants to come, just send Hedwig back with a reply, and I’ll owl her mother. I have no doubt that Molly will send Ginny something exuding over-protectiveness and smothering love. I pity her, and tell her I’ll let her make her own decisions during her stay at Dressler Manor.

Love,

Daphne< /i>

Ginny giggled as she read the letter, and Harry turned to her. “What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that Daphne knows Mum so well. Everything she predicted is almost guaranteed to happen. So I get to stay with you over break?” Ginny asked excitedly.

Harry nodded, smirking. “And Tonks. Never forget Tonks. And get ready for some merciless verbal torment.” Ginny smiled.

“I think I can handle it…so, Hermione, are you going to be coming by?”

Hermione looked thoughtful. “I hope so, I just don’t know how much my parents will push for me to stay with them. They really…I don’t know, it’s probably strange for me to be spending so much time away from them, considering how close we’ve been in the past…”

Harry nodded. “You ought to give them that, Hermione. We’ll see plenty of you when you get back.”

Hermione sighed. “I know…I just…last summer, I tried to socialize with some of the children in my neighborhood, but they’re all Muggles and…well, Biology doesn’t really compare well to Transfiguration…”

“That’s got to be tough, pretending that you don’t live in another world except for homework,” Ginny said sympathetically.

“It is,” Hermione said sadly.

Harry and Ginny were in the library, practicing the movement for a Shielding Spell. Hermione was feeling a bit under the weather and had gone to Madam Pomfrey for some potions and a lie-down. As he went around Ginny’s back, taking her wrist and working her through the movements for the Cross-, Ron approached, looking murderous and Ginny jumped back like she’d been scalded. Harry deftly stepped aside, so that he was slightly in front of the younger girl. “What do you want, Ron?”

Ron mouthed something, and Harry stared. Then he cancelled the Silencing Charms. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Why’d the bloody hell did you put Silencing Charms up in the library? Teaching my sister Dark Magic?” he demanded angrily.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Practicing her classwork, mostly, as well as mine and Hermione’s. We were just working on the Shielding Charm.”

“Yeah right,” Ron muttered. Then he looked up brightly. “So, Ginny, I came here to ask if you’d like to stay with the rest of us in the Gryffindor Dormitories for the Christmas Break. There’s so few Gryffindors, I doubt McGonagall would mind.”

“…well, you see Ron…” she began nervously.

“She’s staying with me at Dressler Manor,” Harry finished for her. He then whispered a few Silencing Charms, to contain the inevitable explosion. Ginny looked absolutely terrified as Ron turned an interesting color of puce, his ears so red that Harry half-expected to see steam coming out of them. And he hadn’t had a Pepper-Up Potion.

“WHAT? YOU’RE STAYING WITH HIM! HOW THE BLOODY HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE? DOES MUM EVEN KNOW?”

“Yes, Ron, she does,” Ginny replied, tearing welling up in her eyes. Harry’s ire rose.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BLOODY, SODDING-“

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione, wand drawn, say something from beyond the Silencing Charms. It turned out to be the incantation for the Stunning Spell, as a red jet of light hit the furious redhead in the back, and he slumped to the ground.

Hermione walked through the charms, a regretful look on her face. “I really wish I didn’t have to do that.”

Ginny took a deep breath, a few tears in her eyes. “I just wish he wouldn’t be such a git…that he would grow up.” She turned to look at them. “I just don’t understand why he can’t see how nice you are,” she said sadly.

Hermione walked up to her and the younger girl into a hug. Harry meanwhile, levitated Ron’s unconscious form to another part of the library, recast the Silencing Charms, and sat there, arms crossed, waiting for him to recover.

This was just getting out of hand. He needed to have a talk with Weasley, before he drove his sister into depression and Harry over the edge. And there wouldn’t be much left of him to be scolded by his mother if the latter happened.

Ron stirred with a groan, blinking repeatedly. Harry kept his wand in hand in case things didn’t go so well, but kept it pointed at the floor. He gave Ron a hard look, and the redhead glared at him. “What do you think you’re doing, Stunning me like that? I’ve got some dirt on you now, Potter!”

Harry didn’t blink, remaining stoic and composed. “First rule of blackmail, Weasley: make sure you actually have dirt in the first place. I didn’t Stun you; Hermione did. And it was because you were a second away from doing something you’d very much regret.” He said this with no anger, no resentment; no emotion at all. It was more intimidating, in a way.

Ron seemed to take this in. “What do you want, Potter?”

“We need to have a talk, Weasley. One that doesn’t involve wand, fists, or threats,” Harry said. There was an air of authority to his voice, a maturity beyond his years that was present in anything Daphne said.

“What do you mean?”

Harry paced around. “Get up, Weasley. I don’t want to talk down to you. That undermines the whole exercise.”

Ron got to his feet, his hand plunging into his robes. “No wands, Weasley,” Harry said, dropping his own on the floor, and then rolling it towards the middle of the space with his toe. Ron reluctantly followed his lead.

“What’s this about?” he said, taking a deep breath.

“It’s about your sister, Ron. It’s about how you’ve been treating her like, well…how you treat me. Which is hardly the way that one should behave around immediate family, am I not right?” Harry asked rhetorically.

“I guess…I guess I’ve been ignoring her a lot,” Ron admitted.

Harry stopped pacing. “If she hadn’t been friends with me, how long do you suppose it would have taken for you to get over what House she was Sorted in? Answer me honestly.”

Ron looked thoughtful for perhaps the first time Harry had ever seen him. “I dunno. I was really mad…though it was more with you…but Ginny can’t be Slytherin! She’s a Weasley, they’re all redheads and Gryffindors!” Ron protested.

Harry sighed. “There’s your problem, Weasley…Ginny is Slytherin, and is whether I never speak to her again or not. You need to accept that, or we’re going to have problems. That isn’t a threat; that’s a statement of fact.”

Ron nodded. “It’s just so…strange, I dunno…I don’t trust you around her, and I don’t like you…I mean…I dunno…you’re a Parselmouth, and you weren’t at the Feast, and you’re really sneaky and, I dunno…” he said lamely trailing off. Obviously, he couldn’t truthfully say he thought that Harry was evil or Dark.

Of course, that brought up another question.

“I know exactly what you mean, Ron. I am who I am,” Harry stated, looking him straight in the eyes. “And I’m not ashamed of it. My parents were Gryffindors…I’m not. It doesn’t reflect badly on any of us.”

“What House was your guardian in?”

“Ravenclaw…but that just proves my point. I’m not evil, Weasley. I despise Voldemort and everything he stands for. He took away my parents. I’ll admit I have ambition, but as of now, I have no secret plans to succeed him. Ginny isn’t dark, Ron. I’m teaching her things that may save her life one day. Like it or not, Ron, Voldemort isn’t gone yet. I fought him last year, I know…and you know what?”

Ron shook his head, his eyes wide from these latest revelations.

“I nearly died because of it. I stood no chance against him. He was weaker than he’s ever been, and he still nearly killed me. I’ve faced Death twice, Weasley. And it’s only because my mother loved me so much that she gave her own life that I’m still here.”

Ron muttered something incoherent, and Harry ignored it. “I don’t like you, Weasley. I think you an impulsive, crude, attention-seeking prat who has played a large role in making my life a living hell. I don’t trust you, because I think you’ll jump on any possibility to win something over me, or get me in trouble, as if that’s an accomplishment.”

“I just…I’m sorry. I really am. I really shouldn’t do that…it’s below me…I still don’t like you hanging out with my sister, though. You’ve got to admit its weird having your baby sister go off for two weeks with a boy you hate.”

Harry snorted. “It’s not going to be the two of us. Tonks, who will get along famously with Ginny, is going to be there, along with Daphne and Andromeda. I like Ginny as a good friend, nothing more, nothing less. I suggest you stop thinking otherwise…and as for why she’s going, it’s because of you. You’re doing it again, believing that taking her away from me for two weeks is something to be proud of. All you are doing is hurting her. She doesn’t know what to do anymore. You’ve been such a git to her that she doesn’t want to be around you, yet the things that you’ve been saying to her make her wonder if she’s betraying your family. Are you proud of that, Weasley?”

“No,” Ron said. “Look, I’m sorry. I really am…I just…I dunno, I wasn’t thinking…”

“No,” Harry said coldly, “you weren’t. You need to grow up Ron, live in the real world. Because your social skills are atrocious.”

And with that, Harry left the redhead, for the first time feeling that he’d made a breakthrough.