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Dawn of the G.S.F. | ||||
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Category: Post-HBP Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Humor Warnings: Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 13 Summary: This story takes place after the events in "Esacpe and Evasion" See what happens to the quartet as "training begins"! Hitcount: Story Total: 5726 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: Please note that anywhere you see italics represents someone speaking "non-verbally"
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J.K. Rowling owns these characters. I'm only doing this to kill time until book 7 comes out. As I always strive to make each of my stories stand-alone, I urge you to read my other stories first as they lead up to the events in this story. These order of these stories is as follows: -Intervention -Misunderst andings -Vows and Promises -Incompleteness -Escape and Evasion But if you do read any of my stories, or any stories by any author for that matter, please take the time to leave a review. It means the world to authors when you do this and I’m sure I speak for all authors when I say that we always find it ironic when we get over a thousand hits on our stories but only get a fraction of the reviews. Your feedback, good or bad, is always appreciated. Dawn of the G.S.F. By EROD37 Harry found the confines of his new bedroom extremely comfortable, but seeing as he had slept for over twelve hours the night before, sleep would not come to him. So he decided that since he was awake, he might as well explore what was going to be his new home for some time to come. A Lumos charm was more than enough to light his way. There was no way the corridors here could be mistaken for the ones at Hogwarts. Here it was a matter of function over form as only torches lined the halls. Not a painting or a suit of armor was to be found. It almost seemed as if the people who lived here wanted a break from all the clutter that was Hogwarts. Harry turned a corner and found a beautiful set of glass doors that opened up to a balcony, giving anyone who stood on it a full view of the castle’s courtyard. As he stepped outside, he found a lone figure standing against the balcony’s railing. She wasn’t looking at the courtyard, but at the starlit night sky. She seemed oblivious to Harry’s approach. “Hermione are you alright?” Hermione continued to look to the night sky as she silently nodded. Harry knew instantly that she was lying. She would never react this way if she was fine. “You know you shouldn’t let what Moody said get to you. He was just trying to show us that our Occlumency skills are weak and…” Hermione cut him off, “Harry, why did you risk your life for me today? Those Dementors could have killed you. I know what the prophecy says. You are much too important to the wizarding world to risk yourself for anyone…” “…even me,” whispered Hermione, her eyes still looking skyward. Harry stepped to her side and looked to the stars himself. He took a deep breath and began speaking. “Hermione, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time now. As long as I can remember, long before I found out I was a wizard or that there was a wizarding world, or much less a wizarding school, I used to spend a lot of sleepless nights wishing my parents were still alive. Not just because I wanted to be away from my aunt and uncle, but because I always wanted a family of my own.” “I spent so much time wondering what would have happened if my parents had lived and they had more children. Merlin, how I wished for a sister or a brother…to talk to, to play with, to understand me. I wished for so many years. I realized it was just a sad attempt to push away my loneliness, but I did it anyway.” “Then one day I got a visit from a friendly giant, who gave me my acceptance letter from Hogwarts, and everything changed. But the strange thing was that my wishing didn’t. I still wished for my parents. I still wished for a sister or brother.” “But you know what? After Halloween of my first school year, I finally stopped wishing.” Harry reached over, placed his hand on top of Hermione’s and gave it a small squeeze. “I stopped wishing because I finally realized that my wish had finally come true,” said Harry in a wavering voice. Finally, Hermione’s eyes turned from the stars. She turned to face Harry and what she found were a pair of green eyes fighting back tears. She could hardly hold back her own as Harry continued. “So, if saving the wizarding world means that I have to sacrifice my sister, then to hell with the wizarding world. I’m not giving up my sister, or my brother, or my soul mate for anything. I would rather die first. Now, do you understand why I jumped off my broom today?” Hermione couldn’t have answered him if she had tried. She wrapped her arms around him as her tears fell. She had grown up an only child herself, and while she always felt Harry was a brother to her, she was always afraid to speak her feelings in case Harry didn’t feel the same way. Now there was no doubt for her anymore. Hermione hugged him tighter as her voice finally returned, “I love you, Harry.” XXXXXXXXXX Harry awoke the next morning feeling rather refreshed. His talk with Hermione had not only helped her, but himself as well. He knew that he always had trouble expressing his feelings, but after the events of his sixth year and the war raging around them, he thought it best to tell the ones he loved how he felt about them. He didn’t want to think about the guilt he would feel if he lost someone and never got the chance to tell that person what they meant to him. It had already happened twice in his life, with both Sirius and Dumbledore. He just didn’t want it to happen again. At the edge of his bed he found a set of clothes he hadn’t placed there the night before. There was a black running suit, plain T-shirt, shorts, socks, and trainers. He prepared himself and made his way to the ballroom. As he entered, Harry was greeted by a familiar voice. “Wotcher Harry! I see you’re up early,” said Tonks, her black hair fixed into a very tight looking bun. “Morning ma’am,” replied Harry. He saw what he could have sworn was a look of disappointment pass through Tonks’ eyes when he called her “ma’am”. But before she could respond , another voice caught their attention. “Ah, Potter! Good, I was hoping to speak to you alone before we start today,” said Moody, his magical eye going between Harry and Tonks’ faces. He continued, “Tonks give the others a few more minutes to sleep and then get them down here, and for goodness sakes get your wand out of your back pocket!” “Yes sir!” replied Tonks as she pulled her wand, snapped a crisp salute with it, placed it behind her ear in a “Luna Lovegood” sort of way, turned and left the room. Harry barely held back his laughter as Moody spoke, “If that girl wasn’t such a great Auror, I would have strangled her by now.” Moody was sitting at the front of the room as he pushed a chair with his foot and told Harry to sit. Harry found himself thinking of his fourth year and how this was like shortly before the events of his first task in the Tri-wizard Tournament. He had to keep reminding himself that this was the real Mad-Eye Moody and not Barty Crouch Jr. He was just sitting down when Moody began speaking. “That was an amazing piece of magic you and Miss Weasley pulled off to fend off those Dementors yesterday. Not to mention that display of raw power you used to make the building shake.” Harry merely nodded as Moody continued, “Potter, I need you to understand something. Whether or not you know it, you lead this team. It may not be a responsibility you wanted or asked for, but it is yours nonetheless.” “Now I have no idea what path Dumbledore has set you on and I don’t want to know. But being a leader is a difficult job in any situation, much less war. When all hell is breaking loose around you, you must be the calm eye in the storm. You will be the person everyone turns to and they should never see doubt in your eyes. “The leadership position can be a lonely one. You will be responsible for making decisions that could very well mean life or death for those around you. But they are decisions you are going to have to make, regardless of the situation.” “But there is one thing this team has going for it. When I read all of your thoughts I saw it. The four of you love and care for one another to a level of dedication I have never witnessed. That sort of thing is amazing to see. I only tell you this because you need to realize that those three would give up their lives for you just as selflessly as you would for them.” “Potter, the training I have set for you will not be easy. But something tells me that we are on the horizon of something great…” Harry’s attention was snapped by several large explosions. This was followed by Tonks’ voice, which Harry could tell was being amplified magically by her wand. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were being rudely awakened. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they would be joining him in the ballroom. “To your feet Potter, training begins,” said Moody as Harry complied. The first person in the room was Ginny. Harry could see a smile on her face. He could sense her excitement regarding what was about to begin. He also felt a combination of her “tomboy” side and a happiness of not being treated like a baby anymore. She was eating this up. She stood by his side and he felt her hand give his a quick squeeze. He wanted so badly to kiss and hold her. But before he could think anymore on the subject, Hermione entered the room, followed closely by Ron. He was the last through the door as he was being chased by Tonks, who was firing hexes at his feet to keep him moving. Harry could see sleep in his best mate’s eyes as he took his place in line. The three of them wearing outfits identical to his own. Ron leaned over, “That Tonks is a bloody maniac. No wonder Ginny was afr…” “Silence!!” yelled Tonks as she sent another hex at Ron’s feet, causing everyone in line to jump. “Good, you’re all awake! You all must learn that in times of war that there are no wake up calls! You must be constantly vigilant! Voldemort and his counterparts will not wait until you are all well rested or fed to attack!” yelled Moody as his voice bounced off the walls. “Today we begin developing your minds and bodies! You will start each morning with a five kilometer run. You may take any path from the castle you like. But as soon as you reach the boundary, and you’ll know when you have reached it, you are to turn and head back to the castle! The area around the castle is safe! Both Tonks and I have verified this!” continued Moody. Hermione’s hand shot into the air, “Sir, where exactly is the castle located?” “Good question Granger! But it is one I will put to the four of you to answer! You will find that everything we will teach you will be a lesson within a lesson! Use your time outside the castle to figure out our location! You are forbidden to use magical means to find the answer! Now go and Merlin be with you if you are the last person back because you are going to wish you weren’t born!” yelled Moody as he fired a spell that caused the ground to shake. As the four scrambled from the room, Tonks turned to Moody and asked, “Do you think they’ll figure it out?” “Yes, and it will be Granger who figures it out first and that is something that is going to have to change,” replied a grim looking Moody. XXXXXXXXXXX The first day of training went as badly as Harry had expected it to. The morning run set the standard for the rest of the day. Harry thought it horrible that Hogwarts did not give them the physical training they needed to stay in shape. He found himself actually missing Oliver Wood’s Quidditch workouts. Hermione finished last in the run and took a verbal beating from both Tonks and Moody that would have put Snape’s tongue to shame. Harry could see her on the verge of tears, but she just managed to keep her composure. Meals were eaten in silence as Moody screamed that they weren’t eating in the Great Hall anymore and if they wanted to communicate with one another that they should figure out how to do it without speaking and without attracting either his or Tonks’ attention. By the time Harry entered his bedroom, he barely had the strength to take off his clothes. He had just removed one shoe when there was a knock at his door. He opened the door to find no one behind it. He pulled his wand and stuck his head into the hallway to take a quick look around. It was empty as well. Closing the door behind him, he sat on the floor and removed his other shoe. He stood and began removing his jacket, when he suddenly turned and jumped toward his bed, his arms outstretched. He tackled an Invisibility Cloaked figure onto his bed, a smile coming to his face, “Ginny, haven’t you figured out that we can’t sneak up on one another?” She was laughing as she pulled the cloak off of her face, “Well it worked with Ron and Hermione. You can’t blame a girl for trying.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a long loving kiss. It was amazing to him how such a simple action could make his exhaustion disappear. Ginny broke the kiss and began speaking, “Can you believe this training? Morning exercise, studying and practice of charms, spells, hexes, and curses that even have Hermione baffled. Spell casting, both aloud and silent, and Moody yelling at us the whole time!” “Hate it already do you?” said a teasing Harry. “Actually no. So far I’m having a great time,” replied Ginny as the two smiled at one another. “I thought so. You look like Hermione on the first day of each school year,” teased Harry yet again. Ginny’s face turned stern, “Speaking of Hermione, is there something we can do to help her? I didn’t like watching her get yelled at that way after our run.” “I tend to agree with Moody. We are preparing to fight in a war. I don’t think there’s much we can do to help her. She’s always been the bookworm out of all of us. Hermione is just going to have to toughen up physically.” Ginny would have gotten angry at Harry for saying that about her closest friend but something inside her said that his intentions were in the right place. She merely shook her head. She may not have liked hearing it but she knew it was true. Harry had undressed down to his T-shirt and shorts. He then laid on his bed. The exhaustion returning to his body. Ginny sensed his exhaustion. “Do you want me to go?” “Of course not. But I don’t want you getting into trouble if you get caught in here with me,” answered Harry. A small Fred and George like grin came to her face, “What are they going to do? Dock us house points? We aren’t at Hogwarts anymore.” Harry smiled, “Fair enough. Besides, the closer we are, the better we seem to sleep.” “Accio blankets!” commanded Harry as Ginny had also stripped down to her T-shirt and shorts. Ginny wrapped the blankets around the two of them as she laid against him. She had thought herself still full of energy as she kissed Harry’s cheek. But as she put her head against his chest, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. “Good night, my husband.” The only answer she got in reply was the sound of Harry’s open mouthed breathing as sleep finally overwhelmed her. XXXXXXXXXX A week later found the quartet with no clue as to how each day’s training would transpire. The only certainty was the morning run which Ginny was beginning to find easier with each day she had to do it. Everyday she took a different path , taking in her surroundings, trying her best to unravel the mystery as to their whereabouts. She and Harry began making the run a contest to see who would arrive back at the castle first. Harry was faster on open, flat terrain. But she could outrun him on uneven ground and cluttered areas. Hermione was still bringing up the rear and of course still taking verbal beatings. But Ginny could tell that she improved each day and it would only be a matter of time before it would be a footrace to see who wouldn’t get yelled at. The four of them had just finished their run when Moody stopped them in the hallway before they could enter the dining room for breakfast. “So have any of you figured out where we are yet?” asked Moody, his magical eye moving between the four of them. Hermione’s hand shot into the air, “Sir, according to my findings, I believe we are currently located in…” A blinding blast of red light stopped Hermione from finishing her sentence as it slammed into her chest. She spun in midair and landed hard onto the floor, unmoving. Harry, Ron and Ginny’s eyes opened wide in fright as Ron screamed Hermione’s name and made a move to go to her side. Moody’s voice stopped them all in their tracks. “If any of you makes a move towards Granger, you will find yourself in the same condition as she is!” None of them even considered moving as they saw both Moody and Tonks with their wands drawn. It was almost as if they were being dared to move. “Why in the bloody hell did you do that?” yelled Ron, his hands balled into fists, his face red with anger. It was Tonks’ voice which gave the answer, “Is Hermione the only academic among you? You all depend way too heavily on her to find the answers you need. Imagine if she was dead instead of stunned as she is now. You three would be no closer to knowing your location and in a wartime situation that could cost someone their life!” Moody continued, “You are hereby ordered to set aside time every night to pass on your gifts to one another! No more withholding information! Share everything! By the end of training, I want you four to be able to act as one! So that if one of you happens to fall, you will still have the capability to function without missing a step! Do you understand?” Harry, Ginny and Ron could only nod in agreement. None of them liked this particular lesson but the point was made and very well taken. “You three, go into the dining area and get some breakfast. Hermione will be up and about in a few minutes and we will explain everything to her. We have a busy day ahead of us,” said Moody as he and Tonks began making their way over to Hermione. The rest of the day went by in a haze. The quartet studied defensive spells and practiced using them against one another for part of the day. Moody stressed learning silent spell casting, which made performing them difficult as only Hermione seemed to have the talent for it. The hour before bedtime was set aside for strict study of one another’s talents. The quartet decided Hermione would be first. Harry, Ron and Ginny had expected Hermione to begin ranting about study habits or scheduling study time. But she surprised everyone. She spoke about growing up as an only child in the Muggle world. How magical things would happen around her and she couldn’t explain why. She told them about getting her letter from Hogwarts and discovering that she was a witch. She explained how intimidated she felt about being looked at as a Mudblood and how hard she studied before getting to Hogwarts just to prove herself worthy. By the end of the hour, Ron, Harry and Ginny had a new understanding of the friend they thought they knew. Ron was especially impressed. He got to see a side of her that he didn’t know existed. He knew her love of books. Heck, there were times he imagined her with an open book on her head in place of her face. But now it all fell in to place. She wasn’t a know-it-all because she was trying to prove to people how smart she was. She was a know-it-all because she was trying to prove to herself that she fit in. Ron made a promise to himself that he would never call her a know-it-all ever again. XXXXXXXXXX Several days later found Ron and Hermione running together. Ron allowed her to set the pace. It wasn’t that he wanted to be last in the run, it was just that he had been keeping a close eye on her since the week’s earlier stunning. Hermione thought his protectiveness sweet, but he continued denying it, admitting to her that the only reason he was watching her was to get the answer to their location. He was trying everything he could to get that information. But she was having none of it. If he was going to get the answer, it was one he would have to figure out on his own. He noticed that her running was definitely getting better as she quickened the pace when she made the turn at the castle’s magical boundary. As Ron reached the boundary he grazed his hand against it, receiving a warm fuzzy feeling as he did so. He also made the turn for home when he caught sight of something that made him stop running. “Ron, what’s wrong?” asked Hermione as she also stopped. “Nothing’s wrong. I think I’ve just figured out where we are,” answered Ron as he continued to look over the ground in front of him. “So where are we?” asked Hermione. But Ron said nothing as he turned to face her with a smile on his face. He dropped his hands to his sides… …and bowed. Hermione returned his smile as she threw her arms around him and kissed his lips. After a few moments she playfully tripped him to the ground and began running back towards the castle. “Looks like you’re going to be the one getting yelled at today,” yelled Hermione over her shoulder as she ran faster. Ron found himself smiling at her retreating form as he picked himself off the ground and began sprinting after her. XXXXXXXXXX “Japan sir…we’re in Japan,” said Ron to a now smiling Moody. “How did you figure it out?” asked Tonks. “I recognized the local plant life from something I learned in herbology. Take that Neville Longbottom!” “Very good Weasley. Now we may begin the next phase of the training,” said Moody. Moody waved his wand and there was a loud crack. Appearing in front of everyone was a petite woman who looked older than Tonks but not as old as Moody. Harry found himself instantly thinking of Cho Chang as this woman was oriental as well. But she looked nothing like Cho. Her hair was short, almost to a young man’s hairstyle. She stood no taller than a meter and a half tall. As it seemed even Ginny overshadowed the woman by several centimeters. She was wearing a loose fitting black outfit that Harry recognized as a martial arts uniform called a Gi. He remembered this as his cousin Dudley used to wear one to his martial art school before being thrown out of the school for being, as he heard his Uncle Vernon saying, “Too violent”. Moody’s yelling grabbed Harry’s attention, “This is Komiko Takahara! You will address her as Sensei! Years ago while instructing potential Aurors, I was struck by how dependent wizards had become upon their magic! When I mentioned a change in the training for dueling! The Ministry voted me down, stating that a wizard’s magic would be more than sufficient for defense purposes!” “To this day I still know that the Ministry was wrong! So you will learn to defend yourselves with and without your wands. I want you to be able to depend on your physical selves as much as you do you your magical selves.” XXXXXXXXXX The days of training began to meld together as the group grew accustomed to each day’s training. The quartet took to running as a group each morning. The only thing that changed was the path taken and who led the group. Moody and Tonks’ verbal beatings all but stopped as it seemed that running as a group was exactly what they wanted the quartet to do in the first place. Academic training was going smoother as silent spell casting was becoming second nature to each of them. Moody continued to instruct them in spells that even Hermione found herself having to research further in the castle’s extensive library. Moody instructed them in both Occulmency and Legilimency. Harry always had a hard time with these subjects. But with Ginny’s presence in his mind, they began growing stronger together. The quartet’s favorite training was with Tonks. While she couldn’t teach them to be a Metamorphmagus, which you had to be born as, she could teach them the charms associated with changing one’s appearance. She impressed upon them all, especially Harry, that as one of the most well known people in the wizarding world it would be more than necessary to change his looks every now and then to avoid recognition. Meals were becoming more interesting. While they were still eaten in silence, the quartet had begun developing a silent language which used everyday body movements in place of words. While neither Moody or Tonks seemed to ever pick up whenever the four used the language, Harry could see that they were impressed as he caught Moody giving Tonks a wink of his real eye shortly after Hermione and Ron finished a non-verbal argument regarding Ron’s using up all the hot water in the shower that morning. Self-defense training was the only thing that was still going slowly, as getting a balance between magical and non-magical fighting was not coming easy for any of them. A good round of healing charms were used during the first few weeks as their Sensei put them all through their paces, learning various blows, strikes, attacks, and blocks, which she demonstrated on all her students - often with painful results. Evenings were progressing nicely as they each took turns explaining their own personal strengths and weaknesses. Hermione’s sessions involved discussions revolving around items of interest learned during the week. As well as things she picked up from reading Dumbledore’s journal. Ron’s sessions began with the game of Wizard’s chess and then evolved into how he viewed the board and pieces as a game progressed. Eventually he was able to pass on his ability to see offense, defense and how to apply strategy. From there it was an easy transition to it’s applications in everyday life. Such as when he set up perfect seating arrangements for Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Ginny used her turn to pass on to the others how she was able to perform hexes as early as her first year at Hogwarts. She also explained the connection that she and Harry shared, and how she had known it existed shortly after the events of her first year. Harry had listened with interest, but it was Ron and Hermione who seemed to be riveted by the story as neither Ginny nor Harry had ever fully explained the connection to their best friends. Harry’s sessions were almost reminiscent of the D.A. meetings of his fifth year as he reviewed Moody’s teachings. The only exception was when he passed on his love and natural talent for flying. He had made a vow to better Hermione’s flying skills and his sessions were where it began. Harry explained to Hermione that it was her analytical mind that got in the way of her being a good flier. To stop “over thinking” everything and just allow herself to enjoy it. The quartet began looking forward to Harry’s lessons as they dedicated one night a week towards improving their flying. They weren’t allowed to fly outside, so they did the next best thing, they practiced flying throughout the many corridors of the castle. The sharp turns and unpredictable changes in the staircases made it an ideal obstacle course. On one particular late night, during a very intense race between Harry and Ginny, Moody just barely avoided becoming a permanent fixture in the castle. When he exited his bedroom to find Harry missing him by mere centimeters. Moody merely yawned, turned and reentered his bedroom. Mumbling something about insane Quiddtich players and how lack of oxygen from sustained high flying destroys their brain cells. XXXXXXXXXX “So what do you think we’ll be learning today?” asked Ginny as she held on to Harry for dear life. For the morning run the quartet decided on a contest, Harry and Ginny versus Ron and Hermione. The females would have the easy job as they only had to run half the five kilometer distance. On the return run the males would have to give the females a “piggyback” ride home. The day seemed to belong to Hermione. She outran Ginny to the boundary by almost a full minute. Harry would be hard pressed to make up the distance on Ron. But he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. “I honestly have no idea. We’ve learned so much over the past five and a half months,” replied Harry as he picked up his pace, he could see Ron and Hermione in the distance. “You’re right about that. I feel as if I’ve learned more in my short time with Moody than I did in all my years at Hogwarts combined,” said Ginny as she caught sight of her brother and Hermione as well. “In Hogwarts defense, they weren’t preparing us to fight in a war,” replied Harry. Ginny smiled, “Speaking of fighting, are you planning on catching Ron soon? I know you’re faster than he is, or maybe you want me to carry you?” A smile came to Harry’s sweaty face, “Maybe you should stop eating all those chocolate frogs at night, so that I would have less weight to carry!” Harry’s remark received two replies, a quick giggle and a small bite to his ear that made him run faster. XXXXXXXXXX A red eared, smiling Harry sat quietly next to an equally smiling Ginny. The two of them were witnessing Ron and Hermione in the middle of the most heated “non-verbal” argument they had seen the two of them have yet. “Really Ron, I can’t believe I gave you a one minute lead and you still let Harry catch you.” “I ran with everything I had, Hermione. By the finish I had nothing left. How did I know he would catch me in the last ten meters.” “That’s just fantastic. Now you owe Harry a case of Butterbeer and I owe Ginny a full day at a Muggle beauty spa. I hope you’re happy because I’m not.” “Maybe you would’ve been happy if I was your boyfriend Vicky, so that I could have thrown you around like he did during the Champion’s Waltz at the Yule Ball!” Hermione’s eyes widened and then turned furious, “What! I can’t believe you would even bring him up again. How many times do I have to say that my heart belongs to…” Hermione’s “non-verbal” statement came to halt as she saw Ron’s eyes light up with the biggest smile she had ever seen come across his face. “And what exactly are you smiling about, Ronald Weasley?” “You have no idea how beautiful you are when you’re furious with me. I’m kidding about Victor and I’m sorry about the race. But it is great to see your competitive side come out for more than just academic contests.” Hermione’s eyes softened as she pouted and gave Ron a slap on his arm. “I hate it that I can’t stay mad at you.” Moody’s voice stopped the conversation, “It’s great to see that you all feel up to hitting on one another today because I’m happy to announce that you have all passed the theoretical portion of the training. Today we begin the practical portion.” While Harry and Ginny shared a mental connection, they continued to perfect their “non-verbal” language as a backup. Ginny looked to Harry, “Practical portion? What do you think Moody means by that?” “I guess we’re about to find out.” XXXXXXXXXX A half hour later found everyone in what had been dubbed by the quartet, “The Pit”. They named it this due to the odor the room acquired after countless days of martial arts training. Moody refused to allow any cleaning charms to be used as he proclaimed that the smell was, “What Aurors were made of!” Tonks proclaimed that people like Moody were, “What mental institutions are made of!” “The rules for today’s exercise are quite simple. Today you will perfect everything Sensei Takahara has taught you in combat against one another. You will be doing both single and team combat. You will be fighting against multiple opponents. The only rule is that you are not to use Unforgivable Curses.” The four friends looked at one another, unsure looks in all of their eyes. They were all thinking the same thing. They didn’t want to fight one another. Tonks saw their apprehension and was the first to speak, “I realize that you may not like the thought of fighting against one another, but understand that this is the first step in learning to fight as a unit.” “Sensei Takahara will mediate to make sure no one gets out of hand. Ginny, Hermione you’re first.” Tonks walked over to a set of chairs and joined Moody, as Ginny and Hermione took their places opposite one another on the large sparring mat located in the center of the room. “I honestly don’t think those two are going to fight to the best of their abilities. They care about each other too much to even consider it,” whispered Tonks as she took a seat. “I’m sure they will fight and caring about one another will have nothing to do with it,” replied Moody with a dark grin on his face. Tonks realized something was afoot as soon as she saw Moody’s grin, “What did you do?” “I just cast a small charm on the mat that affects the emotions of anyone who steps onto it. Takahara won’t be affected by it since I placed a countercharm on her,” answered Moody. Tonks’ jaw dropped, “You didn’t? What if they get so angry that they start firing Unforgivable at each other?” “Not to worry. I also placed wards on this room to keep them for doing exactly that. They need to be able to tell when something is affecting them,” answered Moody, his grin fading away to a set expression. “Lessons within lessons. This should be interesting,” stated Tonks. Hermione and Ginny drew their wands and faced one another. They placed their hands at their sides and bowed. As soon as Takahara gave the signal to begin, Ginny performed a roll to her right and fired three quick Bat-Bogey hexes. Hermione blocked the first two and ducked the third. She then dropped to one knee and fired a Bird-hex that Ginny recognized from her fifth year when Hermione was angry with Ron for kissing Lavender Brown. The birds put Ginny on the defensive as she was forced to perform freezing charms to keep the birds from scratching her face. Hermione pressed her advantage by charging and placing a side kick towards Ginny’s left shoulder. Ginny’s reflexes were the only thing that saved her from the full effect of Hermione’s kick. Nonetheless the kick connected, glancing off of Ginny’s shoulder, causing her to stumble and fall backwards. She rapidly got to her feet as they both began circling one another. “Is that the best you’ve got? Little-Miss-Brightest-Witch-Of-Your-Age! ” said Ginny as she switched her wand from one hand to the other. Hermione’s eyes grew angry, “Well maybe you’re stronger because you’ve had more than one man in your head. Oh, I’m sorry, I meant one Dark Lord and one Boy-Who-Lived!” “YOU BUSHY HAIRED LITTLE WITCH!!” screamed Ginny as she attacked. Everyone watching the fight found themselves amazed as the two combatants fired spells, charms, and hexes at one another with tremendous speed. Each blocked and evaded the other attacks perfectly. Neither could get an advantage. The pair resorted to physical fighting in conjunction with their spells. Each would land a blow on an opponent only to find themselves hit in turn. The anger and intensity of the fight grew until the fight went from incredible display of martial arts to a simple catfight as both fighters lost their wands and got into a hair pulling match. Sensei Takahara did her best to break the two up, but to no avail as both Ginny and Hermione fell to the mat and rolled on top of one another until they both cleared the mat. The fight between the two best friends stopped instantly as Takahara finally separated them. Moody stepped up, “Very good, you two. Right up to the time when you turned the contest into a school yard bawl!” Hermione wiped a sheen of perspiration from her brow, “Ginny, I-I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean what I said.” Ginny was just getting to her feet, “Neither did I, Hermione. I’m sorry too.” “Potter and Weasley, you’re next!” yelled Moody as Ginny and Hermione sat down near the sparring mat. “What in the blazes do you think happened between those two?” asked Ron as he and Harry positioned themselves on the mat. “I’m not sure,” answered Harry. Harry really wasn’t sure, but he had a good idea. He had been witness to something similar only one other time and it involved the person standing directly in front of him. Harry could still remember the pain in his ear from when Ron punched him under the influence of a love potion. He was determined not to let that happen again. As the sparring session began, Ron instantly went to the offensive as he attempted to use his size advantage against his friend. Harry backpedaled as he went into a defensive posture. He felt his heart rate rise as he blocked and evaded Ron’s attack. He found himself marveling at how his best friend’s wizarding skills had improved over the last few months. Ron fired two quick stunning spells which Harry blocked easily. But he wasn’t ready for Ron’s physical attack as his front kick landed on Harry’s hand, sending his wand flying. An evil grin passed over Ron’s face as he continued to fire spells at his best mate. Harry seemed to do exactly as Ron expected as Harry opened up as much space between the two of them and used all the techniques they learned to avoid spells when getting caught in the open. Ron had finally gotten the range on his opponent, when Harry did something that everyone in the room thought was both incredible and suicidal. He charged directly at Ron. A small laugh of triumph escaped Ron’s lips as he adjusted his aim towards Harry’s chest and fired. But to everyone’s amazement, especially Ron‘s, Harry magically called his wand to his open hand an instant before Ron’s spell reached him and blocked it away. He could sense Ginny’s admiration as he and Ron came together again. “I didn’t teach him that!” said Moody and Tonks in unison as they looked at each other in astonishment. “Wandless magic, amazing,” whispered Hermione to herself. “Hermione, my connection with Harry feels strange. Almost like there’s a veil between us. I can sense him, but it’s like there’s a blanket of dark emotion that wants to wrap itself around him,” stated Ginny. “Dark emotion?” repeated Hermione. Then the answer came to them both as they also spoke in unison, “The mat’s charmed!” Ginny spoke first, “That would explain why our emotions got the better of us when we sparred. Do you think you can break the charm?” “It would be faster if you would help me. Besides, it looks as if your brother’s emotions are getting the better of him, so we really need to hurry.” “You still recall the spells we studied to break charms?” asked Hermione as she stood and drew her wand. Ginny nodded as she drew her wand as well. She reached out and took Hermione’s free hand with her own. “Alastor, look at Ginny and Hermione,” whispered Tonks. “Looks like they’ve figured it out. Let’s see if they can do anything about it.” Meanwhile Harry had gone back to his defensive posture. Ron attacked with more vigor but to no avail as Harry expertly blocked each attack. “What’s the matter Potter? Afraid to hit your best mate or are you just a pouf?” taunted Ron. But Harry kept quiet as he continued to defend himself, refusing to throw a single spell or blow. “That is it, isn‘t it? You’re a pouf because my sister has taken your manhood! Maybe I’ll be able to get a rise out of you if I call her a little tramp…OOOOFFFF!!!” Ron’s statement came to an abrupt end as Harry slammed a powerful uppercut into Ron’s midsection. “Nice shot…I quit,” whimpered Ron as he fell to his knees. But Harry heard nothing but the angry hammering of his own heartbeat as he prepared to slam his fist into the side of Ron’s head. It was then a cold wave of relief passed over him. The pounding in his ears stopped instantly as Sensei Takahara grabbed a hold of Harry’s fist before he could use it. “No Pottersan, he has submitted,” said Takahara. “It’s OK sensei. I wasn’t going to hit him again,” replied Harry as he turned to Ginny and Hermione. “The mat was charmed, wasn’t it?” asked Harry loudly. Hermione and Ginny nodded in agreement as they sat down. They both looked a bit pale as it seemed they were the ones to break the charm. Ron was just getting to his feet as he spoke, “I’m sorry, mate. You know I didn’t mean what I said.” “No sweat, mate. I had a feeling the mat was cursed before we started sparring. The only reason I was able to keep my emotions in check for so long was because I’ve gotten used to being verbally abused over the years. Trust me, you’re an amateur at it,” replied Harry as he smiled at his best friend. A pair of clapping hands grabbed everyone’s attention, “Very impressive. The self-defense, the spell breaking, and the wandless magic.” “Thank you sir,” replied the quartet together. “Now that the charm has been broken, let’s get back to sparring!” yelled Moody, as Tonks gave Harry a thumbs up from behind him. The rest of the sparring sessions went without incident. One-on-ones, two-on-twos, and three-on-ones sessions took place. Each contest helping them to understand each other’s fighting style. Before the day started the quartet had thought their teamwork was solid. By the end of the day, they knew it was. As the quartet finished for the day and cleared the room, Moody bent over and whispered in Tonks’ ear, “So what do you think, are they as good as you? Tonks gave Moody a grim look, “No, not at all…” “…they’re better.” Moody and Tonks leaned back in their chairs, smiles on both their faces. XXXXXXXXXX “Could you please pass the salt?” asked Harry. “No, I want to see you call it to your hand without your wand,” teased Ginny. “Yeah, that was bloody brilliant,” added Ron. All Hermione could do was nod her head in agreement. “Honestly, I don’t remember how I did it.” said Harry. “Fine, here’s your darn salt,” said a now smiling Ginny. The four friends were quietly enjoying their meals after a full day of sparring, when their attention was drawn to a stack of papers as they were slammed down onto the center of the table. “The papers in front of you are room layouts. Tonight during your self-study session you will all take the time to learn all of these room patterns. Tomorrow after your run, you will be practicing how to properly clear rooms in combat situations,” said Moody as he then turned and left the room. They passed the papers among themselves. Harry, Ginny and Hermione didn’t give them more than a passing glance. Ron, on the other hand, was studying each one with great interest. Harry could see his best friend’s strategic mind working very hard. Ron looked up from the paper in his hand and gave his dinner plate a quick glance before doing something Harry found amazing. He pushed his dinner plate away. It took quite a bit to distract Ron from any food, much less dinner. But the layouts seemed to do the trick. Ron placed the paper in front of him and got Hermione’s attention. “Would you help me with something?” “Sure Ron, what can I do for you?” replied Hermione, her cheek leaning against the open palm of her hand, a huge grin across her face. “What are you grinning at?” “At you. You have no idea how cute you are when you’re deep in concentration.” Ron would like to have come up with a witty comeback. But after he looked at Harry and Ginny, who were laughing hysterically, all he could do was cover his reddening face with the papers in his hands. XXXXXXXXXX After the morning run and a quick breakfast the quartet found themselves alone in the hallway outside of the dining room. “Where do you think they’ve gone?” asked Ron. “Weren’t we starting practice in “clearing rooms” today?” asked Ginny. “Clearing rooms…I think I have an idea where we need to go,” said Harry as he began walking, the others quickly following. After several minutes of walking through the castle, Harry finally stopped in an empty hallway. “Alright, now that we’ve all walked off breakfast, what exactly are we doing here?” asked Ron. “Really Ron, don’t you ever stop to take in your surroundings? Doesn’t this place look at all familiar to you?” asked Hermione as she pointed to a rather plain looking brick wall. Ginny could see Ron struggling to see what the others saw. She tried her best not to scream at her brother’s single mindedness. She decided to give him a hint, “Come on Ron, DA!!” “Don’t you mean, DUH!!” answered Ron. Ginny slapped her forehead in frustration, Harry chuckled and Hermione thumped her head against the brick wall. “No, not “duh”, Ron. “DA”, you know, “Dumbledore’s Army”. Where did the D.A. practice?” asked Ginny. A look of comprehension came across Ron’s face, “Wait a second, this hallway looks just like the one at Hogwarts where the Room of Requirement was located. Do you mean to tell me that there’s a Room of Requirement here?” Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, without missing a beat, applauded. Ron had nothing to say as he stood before his friends with a smirk on his face. Ginny had already taken Harry and Hermione’s hands in her own and with the others began concentrating on finding the room they were looking for. Ron walked over and took Hermione’s free hand as he began concentrating as well. After a few moments, a rather weather beaten door appeared before them. On the door was a note. The quartet gathered closer and began reading. It explained that the room they had to enter was based upon any one of the ten layouts they studied the night before. To make matters worse, the pattern would change each time the quartet exited and reentered. The object of the exercise was to clear the room of one or more of the three instructors without being blasted by a spell in the process. Stealth and vigilance, as Moody pointed out, was key to completing this exercise. Ron was the first to speak, “Does everyone still remember the layouts, and codenames we gave each room?” Everyone nodded. Harry spoke up next, “Wands at the ready everyone. “Table Talk” only until we clear the room. Ron you take the lead, we’ll follow your orders.” Ron recognized the room as soon as he entered. He gave them the codename as they entered and he sent everyone to their assigned directions. Hermione found Tonks rather quickly and Ron found Moody a few seconds later as Harry and Ginny completed the search of the rest of the room. Each of the quartet yelled, “Clear!” as Moody and Tonks were ushered to the center of the room. Suddenly Ginny found herself slamming into Harry as a strong sidekick caught her unawares. Both she and Harry fell to the floor at Tonks’ feet. Sensei Takahara finally revealed herself from beneath an Invisibility Cloak. A look of disappointment of her face. “When you yell the word “clear” you had best be sure that the room is cleared or someone could end up paying for your mistake,” instructed Tonks. “Miss Weasley, don’t tell me you have already forgotten everything you were taught about detecting someone using an Invisibility Cloak?” asked Moody. Ginny slammed her palm against the floor in frustration. From what Harry could sense, it wasn’t from being kicked, but from not detecting Takahara. “Outside, all of you and let’s try this again,” said Moody as he helped Harry from the floor. The day continued in roughly the same manner. The layout of the room changed with each exercise. Entry positions were switched up each time to give every member an opportunity to lead. To everyone’s surprise, the study sessions must have stuck because everyone was able to identify each of the ten rooms. But to no one’s surprise, they continued to have trouble clearing rooms as someone would miss finding one of the instructors or miss checking every area in the room. Each mistake ending in a painful lesson learned with a physical or magical attack that left one or more of the quartet on the floor. As the day went by, the teamwork between the four again began to solidify. Cloaked or uncloaked, it did not seem to matter as finding the instructors became easier with each try. Harry found himself very impressed with his teammates as he lead them into the room once more. Harry swept his section of the room as he heard his teammates voices. “Clear!!” yelled Ginny, as she ushered Takahara into the center of the room. “Clear!!” yelled Ron as he had found Moody. “Clear!!” yelled Hermione as she found Tonks under the Invisibility Cloak. Harry was just about to call his area clear and end the exercise, when Moody moved with lightning reflexes. He snatched the wand from Ron’s hand, placed him in a choke hold and used Ron as a human shield. Harry and Ginny instantly covered the other instructors as Hermione leveled her wand towards both Ron and Moody. Moody pushed the stolen wand into Ron’s temple as he began speaking, “As good as the four of you have become over the last few hours, you still haven’t learned that you must incapacitate your prisoners! Be it by Body Binds or harsher methods if necessary! Just to teach you all a lesson, I think I’m going to “Crucio” Weasley here!” “NO, YOU ARE NOT!!” screamed Hermione as she attempted to draw better aim on Moody. Everyone knew how much Hermione loathed the use of Unforgivable Curses. Much less using them against someone she cared about. Harry could see her determination to stop Moody as she rounded him. Moody was careful to keep Ron between himself and Hermione. “You have three seconds, Granger! What are you going to do!?!” snarled Moody as the tip of his wand began to glow. “Alastor, no!” yelled Tonks from across the room. Harry found himself silently urging Hermione to act as he saw Ron’s eyes wide with fear. “Three! What’s it going to be Granger!” Hermione placed her free hand on her wand, but did nothing. Her eyes showing fear as well. “Two! I will fire when I’m done counting down!” The tip of Hermione’s wand began glowing as she took aim between Moody’s eyes. “One!” Hermione can see Ron’s eyes pleading with her to do something…anything. “Zero! Expelliarmus!” yelled Moody as he magically knocked the wand from Hermione’s hand and marched right up to her. He released his grip on Ron and threw him full force to the floor before speaking, “While I both commend and respect the fact that all of you value life! There is something you have to come to grips with! In war, there is no room for hesitation! “A moments hesitation can get you , your teammates, or your loved ones hurt or killed! If you four are as serious about your quest as I think you are, you had better realize that if it ever comes down to a choice between the life of your enemy or your life, it had better be your enemy that gets the worse of that choice! Each and every time! Don’t you fool yourselves for a second thinking that Voldemort or his little helpers would hesitate to kill you!” Hermione was the first to speak, “I disagree, sir! I don’t believe we should have to lower ourselves to the level of our enemies to get the job done! In my book, the use of Unforgivable Curses goes against everything we are fighting for!” “I agree with Hermione, sir! I’m sure I speak for all of us all when I say that we didn’t agree to all of this to become murderers!” added Ron as he rubbed his neck. Tonks joined in on the now growing argument, “Moody isn’t saying you are to become murderers! He’s saying that sometimes you must be prepared to take life in order to preserve life!” Ginny walked up to Tonks and started yelling as well, “I’m sorry, but choices like that, you just don’t walk away from. It’s something you are going to have to carry around with you for the rest of your life and I for one don’t want to carry that burden with me. I’ve already been partly responsible for almost killing three people and not a day goes by that I don’t remember or regret it!” The argument lost all order after that last statement as everyone began yelling at once. The arguing reached a fever pitch, when a small voice stopped everyone from saying another word. Ginny turned to the direction of the voice and asked, “What did you say, Harry?” Harry had taken a seat on the floor. His head leaning against the open palm of his left hand. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, but with what was going through his mind, he couldn’t bring himself to look anyone in the eyes, even Ginny. “I said, Moody is right.” A look of shock came to his three friends’ faces as he explained. “There’s something I never told anyone regarding the night that Cedric Diggory was killed. Not to any of the teachers at Hogwarts, not in the Quibbler interview, not even to any of you.” “Cedric was an incredible wizard. There were times during the tournament that I truly envied his abilities. When he held his wand, it was like an extension of his own body. When he preformed magic, he made it look effortless. Merlin, he was brilliant.” “I remember when we got Portkeyed to that graveyard. I remember how badly my scar burned. I remember seeing Pettigrew holding a shrunken Voldemort as they emerged from between a set of graves. But what I remember most was the way Cedric was holding his wand as he caught sight of them.” “He was no longer holding it as an extension of his body at that point. He was holding it as a weapon, and he looked as if he knew exactly what to do with it.” “Cedric had Pettigrew and Voldemort dead in his sights! One spell and he could have killed them where they stood!” “But he hesitated, and now he’s dead because of it!” “I’ve tried for two years to convince myself that Cedric’s hesitation alone was what got him killed. But the truth is that my hesitation killed him as well!” The silence that hung in the room didn’t help matters one bit as Harry looked up to find a pair of brown eyes only centimeters from his own. He held Ginny’s gaze for only a split second before looking at the floor once again. What he had just confessed was not easy for him. Ginny felt her connection to Harry snap shut as if he closed a door between the two of them. He was trying to close himself off to her. To save her from his anguish. Her heart went out to him. Ginny cupped his face in her small hands and made him look at her, “That’s crazy, Harry, you can’t blame yourself for what hap…” “Can’t I? I know my head felt as if were about to split open, but I could have done something to help Cedric! Anything at all, but I didn’t…didn’t even try.” said Harry as his guilt threatened to overcome him. “Moody’s right, hesitation can get a person killed! The three of you are well aware of what I may have to do, and while I don’t like the path that decision may put me on. It’s a decision I won’t hesitate to make and I’m going to have to live with it, regardless of the consequence!” Harry tried to pull away from Ginny’s hands, but she wouldn’t let him, “Harry, regardless of what you do when that decision comes, please understand that we will always be here for you. You’ll always be Harry to us. That will never change in our eyes.” Harry looked to find Ron and Hermione nodding in agreement. “She’s right. You are who you are. Taking a life in defense of others is not wrong. Always remember that, and you’ll never go wrong, that goes for all of you,” stated Tonks, as Moody gave Harry a quick wink of his normal eye. Ron walked over and helped Harry to his feet, “So what do you think, mate? Full Body Binds for the next go around?” Harry adjusted his glasses and ran his fingers through his hair, “Definitely, I think we could also improve…” It was at that moment an ear piercing alarm rang throughout the castle. While everyone covered their ears, Tonks and Moody looked at one another with concern on their faces. Moody was just silencing the alarm with a wave of his wand, when Ginny asked, “Sir, what was that?” “Perimeter alarm. Looks like someone is inside of the magical boundary. Tonks, show me the castle and the surrounding grounds,” said Moody. Tonks seemed to be ahead of him as she was already performing a spell that caused a small three dimensional image to appear in front of everyone. The image was that of the castle surrounded by what looked like a half bubble. “I take it the bubble represents the magical boundary surrounding the castle, but what are these?” asked Ron as he pointed at a series of colored dots. “The green dots that you see inside the castle represent the seven of us. The blue dots represent living creatures that are natural to the surrounding area, no real threat to us. The red dots, on the other hand, are the ones we need to worry about. They represent people with magical abilities who don’t have permission to be in this area,” answered Moody. “What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!” said Ron. Tonks took a closer look at the image, “I’m making out about twenty-one red dots making their way towards the castle.” “Six against twenty-one. This should be interesting,” remarked Ginny as she continued to look at Tonks’ image. “Seven.” corrected Takahara. Hermione turned to her sensei, “Six. You’re just a Muggle, you can’t just go out there and face those wizards.” “Seven, Grangersan. I will not just stand by and watch as my students risk their lives,” answered Takahara. Tonks was just shutting down her image when she spoke, “Hermione, you among everyone here should understand that magic doesn’t make you who you are. We are seven, not six, against twenty-one.” “Potter and Miss Weasley will cover the eastern wall of the castle. Granger and Mr. Weasley will take the southern wall along with Komiko. Tonks you get the western wall and I’ll cover the North,” ordered Moody as the assigned teams went in different directions. Harry and Ginny: Harry was just catching up to Ginny as they found a hiding place just outside the castle wall. Ginny was just shutting down her own image of the surrounding area and tying up her red hair in a makeshift ponytail. She could still hear the voices of both Moody and Tonks echoing in her mind as they reminded her that, in combat, one’s own hair could become one’s worse enemy. She had just finished getting the last few strands of hair in place when she looked over to Harry. She showed him her right hand with four fingers extended. He acknowledged her signal with a quick nod. There were four people coming towards them. He could just make them out in the late afternoon sun. They were all of similar height and weight, but neither Harry or Ginny could make out anything else as they were all wearing black robes with hoods covering their faces. Harry could feel his heartbeat increasing. The strange thing was that it wasn’t from fear of dying. But from fear that all his training would fail him. That everything he learned up to this point would be for nothing. It struck him as ironic that he had trained for months for just this kind of situation but it still hadn’t totally prepared him for this moment. Ginny’s anxiety rang in Harry’s chest as well. It was good to sense that she had the same self-doubt that he did. Not that you could tell this from looking at them as they both wore identical looks of seriousness. It would have been too easy to ambush the approaching party. But something inside Harry told him to be sure that these people were actually the enemy. He didn’t want to think about the guilt he would feel if he attacked innocent people who just happened to wander into the wrong area. Ginny tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a quick grin. She had sensed his noble apprehension and agreed to what Harry had in mind. Harry placed the tip of his wand to his throat and spoke, “THE FOUR OF YOU, STAND WHERE YOU ARE! YOU HAVE TRESPASSED ONTO PRIVATE PROPERTY! PLEASE TURN AND LEAVE THE SAME WAY YOU CAME IN! WE MEAN YOU NO HARM, BUT IF YOU FORCE US, WE WILL USE ANY MEANS NECESSARY TO MAKE YOU LEAVE!” Ginny was impressed at Harry’s Voice Control Charm. Not only had his voice been amplified, but he had manipulated it so that it projected from every direction. The four figures were completely fooled as to where the source of the voice was actually coming from. Harry’s question as to the intentions of the four intruders was answered as they all pulled their wands and began firing spells in every direction. “Well I guess that settles that!” yelled a smirking Ginny over the sounds of spells exploding on the tree she was using for cover. Harry quickly removed what looked to be two lollipops from his pocket. He tapped each of them once with his wand as he looked to Ginny and with a hint of sadness in his voice said, “So it begins” After which he flung the lollipops into the middle of the four intruders. The pops hit the ground and with a small bang, started emitting black smoke which completely blocked out the vision of all four people, causing all of them to stop firing spells. For a few moments, the intruders could hear nothing but the sounds of their own breathing as they fought to see anything through the black haze that surrounded them. The next thing they knew they were being swept off their feet as a huge magical blast of wind knocked them all to the ground, clearing the black smoke from their eyes. To their surprise, they found a redheaded young lady standing before them. A glowing wand in her right hand and a blazing determination in her eyes. “You were warned. Leave NOW!!!” The four wizards sprang to their feet and started firing spells in Ginny’s direction. But not a single spell came close as she dodged each one. To the intruders’ amazement, she even began firing spells in return. A blast of white light slammed into the shoulder of one of the wizards. He spun, running face first into a swinging fist. Harry had Apparated into the midst of the wizards and was adding his physical attack to Ginny’s magical one. Harry and Ginny’s teamwork could only be described as a dangerous pleasure to watch as Ginny’s spells would miss an enemy by mere centimeters, but would force the enemy to turn into Harry’s next strike. In turn, Harry continually Apparated and Disapparated from person to person. Each crack of Apparition followed by a crack from a physical attack. Ginny was sprinting towards the last standing wizard, who in desperation, fired spells in a mad effort to put her down. She blocked each attack with practiced ease. Tonks would have been proud. A loud crack to the last wizard’s right distracted his attention long enough for Ginny’s Stunning spell to slam into his chest. The last thing the wizard saw as he fell to the ground was Harry’s fist at it crashed into his face. “The next time we see Fred and George, remind me to thank them for their inventions. They’re truly madmen, but they’re our kind of madmen,” said Harry as Ginny embraced him. Ginny was just about to kiss him when she pulled back, “We should Body Bind these four and start looking to help the others.” Harry smiled as he drew his wand, “You really should stop reading my mind. Come on let’s go.” The pair rapidly cast their spells and fled the area. Ron and Hermione: The faint echoes of Harry and Ginny’s attacker’s launching spells was more than enough to begin their assault on the seven wizards that came Ron and Hermione’s way. For them there would be no warning, as seeing wizards in black robes brought back memories of the Death Eater’s attack on Hogwarts that the pair would have been more than happy to put from their minds forever. Sensei Takahara had already taken down three wizards as they underestimated the diminutive woman. Ron, from experience, knew it was a lesson they would remember for the rest of their lives as he could have sworn he heard several bones snap. Ron was in the middle of dueling with one wizard when he risked a glance over his shoulder. He saw Hermione was thoroughly engaged in a fight with one wizard but did not see that another wizard was getting into position to hex her from behind. He quickly stepped into the guard of his opponent and drove his elbow into the intruder’s jaw, the wizard fell to the ground like a rag doll. Momentarily free of opponents, Ron dropped to one knee and took aim on the wizard closing in on Hermione’s rear. But he needn’t have worried. For just as Ron fired his spell, Hermione allowed herself to fall backwards towards the ground. The wizard to Hermione’s rear fired, his spell missing her by only a centimeter. Slamming into the wizard who she was dueling with originally. The wizard had just enough time to see his mistake before Ron’s spell knock him into a stupor. She rolled to her feet and looked to Ron. She would be poking fun at his reaction for a long time to come. He was completely slack jawed with what she had done. Hermione’s smile suddenly fell from her face, “RON, LOOK OUT!!” “Expelliarmus!!” Ron’s was blasted from behind as the last of the seven wizards knocked the wand magically from his hand, grabbed up a stunned Ron in a choke hold and began using him as a human shield. Hermione felt her heart go cold with fear as this horrible scenario replayed itself again in front of her. She circled the wizard and drew aim. Her hand giving away her anxiety as it shook with nervousness. She could see the wand against Ron’s temple…glowing. Hermione felt her heart pounding against her chest. She didn’t want to fail Ron again. She looked to his eyes expecting to see the same fear as earlier. When she suddenly noticed Ron’s fingers moving. “I trust you” “LET HIM GO, NOW!!!” warned a yelling Hermione. An almost frightening confidence dripping from her voice. Ron smiled when he noticed her wand hand wasn’t shaking anymore. With pinpoint accuracy, Hermione fired, nailing the wizard with a Stunning spell right between his eyes. Ron didn’t so much as move as the last wizard crumbled to the ground. “Ron, Ron are you OK?” asked Hermione with a worried look on her face as she ran up to him. Before she could say another word, He grabbed her up in a strong embrace and kissed her like he never kissed her before. It took her by surprise at first but she quickly melted in his arms. Only the tiny sound of a clearing throat caused them to stop their embrace, as the pair opened their eyes to find Takahara smiling at them. Whether it be from pride in their performance or from watching them kiss, neither of them would ever know. “You should Body Bind these foes and begin your search for Tonksan. I will stay behind and guard these seven.” ordered the almost serene sounding Sensei. Their feet were moving long before Takahara finished speaking. Mad-Eye Moody: “Overconfidence in your abilities can be your undoing!” Harry could hear the voice of Moody repeating this in his mind over and over again as he and Ginny witnessed the scene playing out in front of them. From the safety of a set of trees and bushes, they watched as Moody was surrounded by no less than five foes. He was wandless and on his knees. It looked as if he got himself caught in an ambush. Ginny watched curiously as Harry pulled his wand and tapped the lenses of his glasses. “Why did you just do that?” she whispered. Harry removed his glasses and handed them to her, “It’s a spell I’ve been working on. I would have told you all about it at the last self-study session, but I didn’t think it was important because I’m the only one out of the four of us who wears glasses.” She put the glasses on her face expecting her vision to blur. But instead she saw a view similar to those of a set of Omnioculars. “Wow.” replied Ginny as she looked in Moody’s direction and zoomed in. “Be amazed later. We need to come up with a plan to save Moody before those…” “That’s weird?” Ginny interrupted. “What’s weird?” “I just saw Moody move his hand and fingers similar to our “Table Talk”. But that’s impossible when only the four of us know the language.” replied a perplexed Ginny. “He just might be. I’ve been teaching him the language over the last week. He said he was impressed with it because neither he or Tonks could figure it out,” said Harry as he returned his glasses to his face. “When were you planning to tell the rest of us that Moody knows our language?” “Tonight, just before Hermione’s next flying less…you’re right, he is speaking “Table Talk” and he wants us to attack in roughly one minute,” answered Harry. Harry was about to say more when the sound of Moody’s screaming grabbed their attention. The wizards were using the Cruciatus Curse on him. Harry could feel his own insides twist as the memory of Voldemort using this curse on him entered his mind. “We need to move, now!” yelled Harry as he grabbed Ginny’s hand and Disapparated. They Apparated just behind the group, their wands blazing. Two wizards went down almost instantly. Two others were able to get their magical shields up but had no hope as both Ginny and Harry stepped inside their defenses and pummeled their opponents unconscious. The last wizard, knowing he was out gunned and out classed attempted to turn and run, only to be nailed by a spell from Ginny’s wand. “Sir, are you OK?” asked Ginny as she knelt by Moody’s side. “No, but I will be. No matter how many times you get hit with the Cruciatus Curse, you never can get used to it.” answered Moody as he sat up. Harry had just finished rounding up the last of the now Body Bound wizards as Ginny was conjuring up another image of the surrounding grounds. Moody grinned as he seemed impressed with Ginny’s skills. “Looks like only that side of the castle is seeing any action,” stated Harry as he pointed to a section of the image showing one green dots facing off against five red ones. Ginny spoke, sounding worried, “That’s the western wall of the castle, Tonks’ side. We really should…” “Help her, I know.” finished Harry as he turned to Moody. “Sir, can you make it?” asked Ginny as she shut down her image and reached for Harry’s hand. “Not if you two are planning to Apparate. Get moving, once my head clears completely, I’ll be on my way.” A pair of loud cracks were all the reply Moody received as Harry and Ginny Disapparated. Tonks: While Tonks’ abilities put her among the elite in the Auror corps, even she was having trouble trying to keep five wizards at bay. She had taken a defensive position among a group of trees. Harry and Ginny had just Apparated roughly two hundred meters from the firefight and could only watch as the five wizards were slowly surrounding Tonks, wearing her down. It was only a matter of time before they would close in for the kill. It was just then that Ginny picked out the small forms of Ron and Hermione. They were about half the distance from Tonks that she and Harry were. Given enough time they would be able to attack the five wizards from the rear. But time was the last thing Tonks had and Harry knew it. “Ginny, Apparate to Ron and Hermione. Tell them to keep their distance until I Apparate to Tonks’ side and give the signal to attack,” ordered Harry. “What are you planning to do?” asked a worried looking Ginny. “You’ll know it when I do it. Now go! Tonks doesn’t have much time,” answered Harry as he kissed Ginny’s forehead. “I swear, you go and get yourself killed and I’m going to kill you myself!” screamed an angry Ginny as she Disapparated. Harry’s face showed nothing but confusion as Ginny’s last comment repeated in his mind. He turned towards the raging battle, as he began clearing his mind. He saw Ginny Apparate at Hermione’s side. They were all in position now. Good, thought Harry. Holding his wand with the tip pointing towards the ground, he placed his left hand on the wand’s grip. He then placed his opened right hand, palm down at the wand’s bottom. Harry could feel Ginny’s worry in every fiber of his being. She never did like it when he went into what she called, “Saving the world” mode. He pushed her feelings to the back of his mind, took three deep breaths and with a loud crack, Disapparated. XXXXXXXXXX The five wizards were within twenty meters of reaching Tonks, when Harry Apparated ten meters in front of them… …and five meters in the air!!! Harry dropped from the sky, landing with great force. As he landed, he used his momentum to drive his wand into the ground like a sword, casting his spell at the same instant. A tremendous underground explosion ensued. Followed by a shockwave which rocked the ground in a one hundred and eighty degree arc, away from Tonks and into the oncoming wizards. The five wizards were flung from the earth and thrown quite a distance from where they were originally. The lucky ones were merely slammed to the ground, the wind knocked from their lungs. The unlucky ones wouldn’t be getting up for quite a while as they were slammed into nearby trees. The fight was over in seconds after that as Ron, Hermione and Ginny performed clean-up duty. Harry was still kneeling with his wand embedded in the ground, when he received a kiss on his cheek and a pair of arms around his neck. Harry turned to find the smiling face of Ginny. She batted her eyelashes at him as she whispered sensually, “My hero!” Harry laughed before speaking, “Very funny Tonks. But I could pick the real Ginny out of a million Ginnys on Polyjuice Potion.” Tonks was still smiling as her face changed back from Ginny’s back to her own, “I know you could. That spell was brilliant by the way. Thanks for the rescue.” “No thanks necessary. Just tell Remus that the next time I see him he owes me a Butterbeer,” said Harry as he got to his feet and was immediately smothered in hugs by both Ginny and Hermione. He couldn’t keep up with either of them as he was bombarded with questions and admiration regarding the spell he had just used. Ron was strangely quiet as he pulled Harry’s wand from the ground, a huge grin on his face. He handed back to Harry, “Bloody unbelievable, mate.” Just then a series of loud sounding cracks caught everyone’s attention as they found themselves surrounded by all twenty-one wizards they had just taken down earlier. The quartet had their wands drawn instantly. Two more cracks sounded as Moody and Takahara appeared in front of the intruders. Moody turned to the hooded figures, pulled his wand and passed it in front of him, causing all the wizards to dematerialize. Hermione was the first to speak, “So those wizards, they were just…” Tonks answered before Hermione finished, “You could call them smart drones. Alastor and I conjured them up a few weeks ago.” “We could only unleash them when we thought you were all ready for combat and I think I can say with all confidence that you are definitely all ready,” finished Moody with a smile. “Lessons within lessons. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them,” said Ron. A smiling Tonks reached over and placed a hand on Ron’s shoulder, “You never do, Ron.” “So is it safe to say that we won’t be tested anymore today?” asked Harry. “Yes, I believe that would be very safe to say,” answered Moody. “Good!” replied Harry as he collapsed to the ground and sat back down. He was drained after that last spell and just wanted to rest. “Come along Potter, let’s get back to the castle and celebrate. We meet in the ballroom in exactly one hour. To your feet, Potter! Training is over!” ordered Moody as he, Tonks and Takahara disappeared. Ginny and Hermione helped Harry up. That spell really did tire him out, but he knew that only through practice could he increase his magical stamina. He could hear Moody’s voice reminding him of that. Hermione’s voice caught everyone’s attention, “Why do you all look so solemn? Don’t you understand? We’ve finally completed training!” The quartet smiled at each other as they held one another’s hands and Disapparated as well. XXXXXXXXXX An hour later found the quartet entering the ballroom and discovering a dinner table with enough food on it to rival that of anything they had seen at any Sorting Ceremony feast they had ever attended. Their three instructors were already sitting as they each took a seat and began eating. The conversation was very lighthearted. No talk of training or magic. No lessons or reprimands. Just light chat. It reminded the quartet of school, it was like being in the Great Hall again and they all loved it. Shortly after the meal was over. Sensei Takahara rose from her seat and smiled, “I must go now.” The quartet got to their feet. Harry spoke for all of them, “Sensei, we would like to say thank…” Komiko silenced Harry with a simple lifting of her hand, “It has been my pleasure to instruct you. Trust in your abilities. Stay loyal to one another. Safe journey, my students.” And with that said, Komiko Takahara bowed to them, and with a wave of Moody’s wand, disappeared. “I think it’s time I return as well. Remus must be worried sick about me,” spoke Tonks as she waved her wand and caused the dining table to disappear. Hermione and Ginny ran over and smothered Tonks in hugs. The girls had tears in their eyes as they pulled away. “Don’t look so sad. This isn’t goodbye. I’m sure we will run into each other again,” said Tonks as she wiped tears from her own eyes. Ron walked over and gave Tonks a hug. She gave him a smile and wink as they pulled apart. Ron returned the smile with a slight blush on his cheeks. The biggest hug was saved for Harry. She held him so tightly that Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley. What was it with these women always wanting to crush his bones. Harry smiled at the thought. Harry whispered in Tonks’ ear, “Thank you, Tonks. For everything.” “You can thank me by returning home safe. Make sure you watch out for those three,” whispered Tonks as she released him. Tonks stepped back and removed a galleon from her pocket. She tapped her wand to it, placed her wand in her back pocket and with a last smile to Harry, disappeared. Moody was shaking his head in mock disapproval, “That girl’s going to be the death of me someday.” The four students stood before their last instructor. Moody took the time to shake each of their hands as he looked each of them in the eyes. “Totally blank, good. I can’t read any of your minds anymore. My task is complete.” Moody continued, “You know, when I started this, I had every intention in developing the next generation of Aurors. But, I was mistaken. I think I’ve help develop something more - something I may not be able to duplicate.” “My last two pieces of advice to you are these, don’t forget who you are. All this training was not designed to create “Moody clones” . It was so that you could protect yourselves and each other. So when this war is finally over and done with, you can go back to being the young people you always have been. Don’t let this war change you for the worse.” “Lastly, remember to keep your mission secret. Act with stealth and speed. You would be surprised how much fear you can generate when your foes have no information about you and where you‘ll strike next. “Harry, this was in my study. There were specific instructions to give it to you once training was complete,” said Moody as he placed a small oak box on the small table, next to the all familiar gong. Moody then reached for the Portkey galleon he had placed on the table months ago. Hermione screamed, ‘Sir wait that’s the…” “Portkey galleon?” answered Moody as he picked it up, twirled it in the air and placed it in his pocket. “I never actually charmed it. I never expected any of you to grab it in the first place,” said Moody with a big smile on his face. “Good luck to you all. Remember that if you ever need help that the resources of the Order of the Phoenix will always be at your disposal,” said just before his own Portkey took effect and he disappeared. “I can honestly say that it has been my sorry pleasure to have learned under that man,” said Ron. “This place seems so much more empty without them here,” stated Hermione. “Speaking of which, how are we going to get home without their help, not that we all haven’t been trained in the creation of Portkeys? But, I don’t want to try to create one for such a long trip,” said Ginny. Harry was in the middle of opening the oak box when he spoke, “I’m pretty sure that has been taken care of for us.” Inside the box, Harry discovered a roll of parchment. He unrolled it and tears came to his eyes as he finished reading it. The others were at his side in an instant. The parchment was a legal document passing on ownership of the castle from Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Ginevra Weasley. “I never knew he owned a castle. How did he know that we’d end up coming here?” asked Ron. "I’ve stopped trying to understand anything anymore when it comes to Dumbledore,” said Harry as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Ginny was wiping her eyes as well when something else in the box caught her attention, “Look at this.” From it she pulled a smaller jewelry box that contained a piece of parchment and a beautiful square shaped emerald. She handed Harry the parchment. He read it and spoke, “Everyone gather up your belongings and meet back here. You have five minutes.” Five minutes to the second found everyone with their backpacks and brooms in tow. Curious looks on all their faces. Harry was standing before them holding the Gryffindor shield in one hand and the emerald gem stone in the other. “Strap on your gear and grab a hold of the shield. It’s time to go home.” They each grasped the shield as Harry secured the stone into a small indentation located at the center of the shield. Like the first time they used the shield, nothing happened at first. But then the gem stone gave off a bright green light as the shield started shaking in their hands… …and in a bright green flash, they were gone. XXXXXXXXXX Harry used to hate Portkey landings. But after almost six months of training, he and the others could walk into a landing better than most experienced wizards. A laughing Ron practically read Harry’s mind, “No more sinus clearing landings for us!” They had expected to find themselves back at the Muggle church they had originally Portkeyed from. But when they looked around they realized this wasn’t the case. Harry was the first to recognize where he was as he cleared his mind and focused. Slowly appearing before them all was his house, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. “Come on, Let’s go inside. We need to all sit down and figure out where our search should start,” said Harry. They found quite a few wrapped packages piled in front of the entrance to the house. Some of the tags on the packages had names on them that Harry recognized, such as the Weasley family, various classmates, and Remus Lupin. But many of the packages had names on them Harry had never seen before. A quick flutter near his ear grabbed Harry’s attention as Hedwig landed on his shoulder. Her feathers were a brilliant blue as it seemed that Harry’s Disguising charm was working perfectly. He smiled as he stroked her feathers. He had missed her very much. “I guess you have your answer as to how some of these packages got here. But why are the packages here?” asked Ron. “Harry, I think these packages were delivered here for your birthday,” said Hermione. “My birthday, that was months ago,” said Harry. The four of them had been so busy with training that his birthday had completely slipped his mind. “Looks like the “Boy-Who-Lived” still has some fans out there,” said a teasing Ron. “I guess since you were gone, people didn’t know where to send the gifts, so somehow the owls must have known to bring them here.” said Ginny. A thought suddenly came to Hermione’s mind, “Did any of you notice that it was a warm night when we arrived here? It should have been rather chilly here since it’s the middle of October.” Harry and Ginny’s eyes met. Just in front of the row of houses that lined Grimmauld Place was an elderly man walking his dog. “Excuse me, sir. But could you tell me what day it is?” asked Ginny as she and Harry walked towards the man. “Why yes, little Miss. It’s the thirty-first of July,” answered the kindly man as he continued on his way. “No way!” said Harry and Ginny to each other in unison. Ron and Hermione were just as astounded when they got the news. Ron could only shake his head. “We trained for almost six months, but it seems we’ve been gone for only a few weeks. The gem must have been some kind of Time Turner.” said Hermione. “You were right, Harry. It’s best not to try and figure out Dumbledore,” said Ron as he continued to shake his head. XXXXXXXXXX Half an hour later found everyone around a small table located in the kitchen. They were all busy discussing where the search for the Horcruxes should begin. So far they found the discussion going no place but in circles. “Why don’t we take a look at Dumbledore’s journal again, maybe there’s something we’re overlooking.” said Hermione as she looked around the room for their backpacks. Harry already had his backpack in his hands, “It’s in my bag. I was the last to read it.” Harry turned the pack over, allowing the contents to of the badly packed bag to spill onto the table. “Mum would be having a fit right now if she saw what you just did…wait, is this what I think it is?” asked Ginny as she picked up and examined a piece of jewelry that had fallen on the table. A sudden sadness crossed Harry’s heart, “Yeah, it’s the fake Horcrux that Professor Dumbledore and I recovered from that cave the night he was killed. Didn’t I ever show it to you?” “No, it’s the first time I’ve seen it,” said Ginny as she examined the locket. She ran her fingers across it and it popped open to reveal the note that was hidden inside. Harry felt their connection intensify as he felt her mind going in a hundred different directions, “Ginny, what is it?” “Follow me,” ordered Ginny as she left the kitchen, followed closely by the others. Less than a minute later found the quartet in a room Harry remembered being in only one other time. It was one of the few times he and Sirius had spent time alone together. “What in the bloody hell are we doing in this dreary room?” said Ron to his sister. “Ron, shhh!!” snapped Hermione and Harry in unison, as they both knew that Ginny was on to something. Ginny walked over to the Black Family tapestry. She scanned it up and down as she held the note in front of her. She came to a stop as soon as she found what she was searching for. “You have to assume that outside of Voldemort the only people who would have any idea of the Horcruxes or their locations would be Death Eaters. These initials, R.A.B., I think they belong to this person right here.” said Ginny. She pointed to the tapestry, to a name Harry had heard about before, Regulus Black. “Of course, Sirius told me about him. He was a Death Eater. They killed him shortly after he tried to quit.” said Harry. “O.K. so we’ve determined the initials R.A.B. might be Regulus Black. What about it?” asked Ron. “Something about this locket struck me as familiar. I thought I might have seen one like it before, and after seeing the initials on the note, I finally figured it out. Do you remember two summers ago when we spent our time here helping Mum and Sirius clean up?” asked Ginny. Ron, Harry and Hermione nodded, curiosity on all of their faces. “Well, Sirius threw out a lot of valuable antiques. Including a locket just like this one,” finished Ginny as she displayed the locket. Hermione covered her mouth with her hand, “Oh my God! I remember it now. Sirius couldn’t get it open. None of us could.” Ron slapped his hand against the wall, “Damn! We had one of the bloody things in our grasp and we didn’t even know it!” “Maybe Kreacher hid it in his sleeping space,” stated Hermione. “No, I remember Sirius specifically ordering Kreacher not to touch any of the items he placed in the bag that day,” said Ginny. “There’s only one person I know who would have enough gall to touch that bag after Sirius threw it out.” said Harry. In unison the quartet came up with the answer, “Mundungus!” “I haven’t see that thief since that time in Hogsmeade, last I heard he was in Azkaban.” said Harry as they all left the room. “Not anymore, last I saw him, he was at Dumbledore’s funeral,” said Hermione. “We really should get some rest then. We need to start our search for him as early as possible,” said Ginny “Wait, I have some things I need to say,” said Harry as he picked up the Gryffindor House Shield and walked into one of the larger meeting rooms in the house. He placed the shield on a table in the center of the room as the others joined him, “Tomorrow we begin an active part in this war, probably the most important part there is. Just remember that there are only four of us. As we were instructed, we must act in secrecy. Even more so than the Order of the Phoenix.” “We have to keep ourselves out of the public eye. We must do whatever it takes to keep our identities and our mission hidden. If Voldemort and his minions get in our way, we have to do everything in our power to stop them. Our small force has to be willing to strike wherever and whenever necessary at all opposing groups to get the job done.” “I originally wanted to say that we should do this for the wizarding world. But I find myself wanting to do this for those who have fallen before us. James and Lily Potter, Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore and countless others. Let’s not allow their sacrifices to be in vain,” finished Harry as he drew his wand and pointed down at the shield. Ron, Hermione and Ginny followed his example and drew their wands as well. Surrounding the shield from the other ends of the small table. Hermione looked to Harry, “I wish there is something more we could say to honor the people no longer with us.” Harry thought for a second and then took his left hand and placed it, palm down, on Ginny’s chest just above the area where her heart was, “Sirius said something to me the first night we met. He said that the ones that love us never really leave us, you can always find them in here.” The others smiled as they did as Harry did once again. “ Looks like the D.A. rides again!” said Ron. “No, we need to come up with a name that will be like a thorn in the side of Voldemort and his little flunkies every time they hear it,” replied a stern faced Ginny. She thought to the months of training, of the speed in which they had taken out the drones during the last test, and finally she looked to the Gryffindor symbol on the shield before her. “No, not the D.A., but the G.S.F.” said Ginny. “The G.S.F.” asked a curious looking Hermione. “The Gryffindor Strike Force!” answered Ginny. “Leave it to my sister to come up with these names,” said Ron as he gave Ginny a kiss on her cheek. “Well the G.S.F. needs to get some rest,” commented Hermione as everyone headed for bed. XXXXXXXXXX Harry hadn’t had trouble sleeping since he had reunited with Ginny. So when he rolled over and felt an empty space where Ginny should have been, he awoke rather quickly. After a search of the house, he found her in the room Harry recognized as the one used in the past for Order’s meetings. She was sitting quietly in front of the room’s fireplace. A roaring fire giving off an orange glow to the dark room. “Hey, I though it was me who can’t sleep?” Harry joked. Ginny didn’t so much as grin. “What’s wrong?” asked Harry as he took a seat next to her. Ginny looked at him with guilt ridden eyes, “We were all so busy training that I completely forgot your birthday. I forgot to get you a gift.” “And this wasn’t enough?” asked Harry as he showed her the locket she had given him. “No, that was a goodbye gift. I wanted to give you something special for your seventeenth birthday.” Harry reached out, cupped her face in both of his hands and looked her in the eyes, “You’ve already given me the greatest gift I could ever have… …your heart.” “I love you, my wife.” said Harry his green eyes dancing in the firelight as he bent forward and kissed her. The smile Harry had grown to love came across her face. The love she knew he felt for her warmed her, body and soul more than the fire ever could. |
| Reviews 13 |
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