|
After the Horcrux | ||||||
|
Category: Post-DH/AB Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Rape, Sexual Situations, Violence Rating: R Reviews: 138 Summary: Harry and Ginny were meant to be together, but that doesn't mean things will be easy. They must deal with a rebuilding British magical community, fame, and even overprotective family members. Hitcount: Story Total: 76668; Chapter Total: 1700 Awards: View Trophy Room |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
“Ginny don’t you trust me?” “What was I supposed to think!” she shouted at him. They were standing around the side of the castle virtually hidden from everyone else. “I haven’t forgotten what happened the day before your testing, Harry. Maybe you decided to give her a go to see if she would...” “No! Ginny it wasn’t like that.” Harry looked as if she had just slapped him across the face. “She knew who I was because...” “Because why?” Ginny had calmed her attack down. She saw how hurt Harry had become at the suggestion that he was playing the field on her. “She saw how angry I had become when some candidates said some lies about you.” “What did they say, and why would they say it with you sitting right there?” “I was in disguise. They didn’t realize that it was me.” “What did they say, Harry?” He shifted nervously and didn’t answer her. “Harry, what did they say?” “They said that you were never right for me, and that you had a reputation because you dated several boys at Hogwarts. I almost cursed them on the spot” His face contorted as though saying this was bringing him physical pain. Ginny could feel her insides melt that even after they had that terrible fight the day before he still wanted to defend her. She steeled her gaze at him but made a tactical error. She was looking straight into his eyes. Merlin, he has beautiful eyes. She thought to herself. “I am not done being mad at you, Harry Potter,” she growled. “Why is it that you must have the most beautiful woman possible as your Auror partner? Why can’t you work with some homely sod, like Ron?” Harry snorted and laughed for a second before composing himself. “Because...” he started to say to her while trying to contain his laughter “Well, I don’t have the most beautiful woman, as my Auror partner. You are my girlfriend.” Ginny felt herself melt even more when he said that. She glanced at his lips thinking about kissing them, and then she saw it. He was smirking at her. You can’t manipulate me like that, Potter. I don’t care how damn good looking you are. She thought to herself before telling him. “Nice try, Potter. Stop smirking at me, or I’ll slap it off your face. “What?” Harry said, as he stepped back a little from her. “I am not smirking at you.” “Yes, you are.” “I don’t smirk!” he exclaimed. “You do it every time you think you have pulled one over on someone. Like when you fed Ron the Canary Cream.” When you know, I am begging you to kiss me right now. Harry reached up and touched his lips as though he couldn’t feel the shape that they were in. “I’m sorry. I never realized,” he said in a sad voice. “Ginny, why don’t you trust me? It shouldn’t matter who I study with. You are the only person I want.” “I trust you, love. I don’t trust all those slags out there,” she said with slightly less anger in her voice. “That doesn’t make any sense!” he stated. “What does it matter what they think. I’ll just turn them down.” “Harry, stop being so naïve! You think that all the women in this world will leave you alone because you are going out with me. There are plenty of them, that will use any means possible, to get their hooks into you.” Ginny stepped closer to him and stressed her points by poking a finger into Harry’s chest. “You are famous, wealthy, and so bloody handsome.” Harry smiled at this last statement. “That scar on your head isn’t the only thing that people are looking at. You just never turn around to see them stare.” His face turned a deep shade of pink. “I remember Romilda Vane sent you love potion in Chocolate Cauldrons. There are more witches out there, who are even more conniving. I’m not Fleur. I can’t turn on my Veela charms and control your heart ….” Harry placed a finger on Ginny’s lips to stop her from talking. She looked at him with surprise. “All you have to do is look in my eyes with your beautiful brown eyes and tell me that you love me. You will always take control of my heart.” Ginny stood there and stared in Harry’s eyes. How dare you say that to me? I am not done being angry with him. I love his gorgeous green eyes. I need to put him in his place. Oh, I love his touch. I have so many things to say to you, Harry Potter … He has the most beautiful smile… Did I have something to say to him… oh yes? “I love you Harry. I love you so very much I can’t stand it.” She reached out and pulled him to her for a kiss. “There you have captured my heart,” he whispered to her after they broke apart. “That wasn’t too difficult.” Harry looked at her and smiled. “Don’t smirk at me! Potter.” “What — I didn’t,” he said while backing away from Ginny and placing a hand over his mouth. “I have a better way to take that smirk off your face.” She pulled his hand down, stretched up on her toes, and gently kissed him. “I love you! Harry.” They pulled each other into a loving embrace and kissed more passionately. They had lost track of the time, and Harry nearly missed the Aurors meeting because they were too busy snogging. Harry and Ginny appeared outside the great hall with two minutes to spare having run there from around the side of the castle. She stopped him in the doorway and purposely kissed him so that everyone in the hall could see. “There, I hope that will keep your attention,” she said to him. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Harry walked into the Great Hall with everyone’s eyes upon him. He could feel his face get warm from embarrassment. He has problems with people staring at him and his private life being on public display. However, if Ginny kissing him in front of twenty Auror trainee’s and the entire student population made her trust him more. Then he was all for it. He saw Carmen and she was almost laughing at him. He sat down by her and waited for Gawain to start the meeting. “I see Ginny has marked her property,” Carmen said with a smile. “I take it she didn’t like me being your study partner?” “That was part of it. She seems to be nervous about other women. She has the impression there are hundreds of women who will do anything to get me.” Harry laughed when he said the last sentence. “Smart girl!” Harry turned to look at Carmen when she said that. “No! I don’t take other women’s men. Some will. Meeting is starting,” she said as Gawain appeared from behind the head table. Gawain walked into the hall and stood in front of all the tables where the trainees sat. “Hello to you all. I am Gawain Robards. I am the head of the Auror department, as you should already know. Everyone here has already passed the preliminary testing required by the Ministry. “So, I have a simple question for all of you, since you want to be Aurors. What is the thing you will be doing the most, if you become a fully qualified Auror?” Several hands shot in the air. The first person said training. Gawain said yes you will train a lot, but that isn’t it. Another person said dueling; this brought a chuckle to Gawain’s stern continence. He told them if they spend twenty hours or more a week dueling people then they will probably be fired, for excessive use of force. “Harry! What do you think?” asked Gawain. The room immediately went silent, and everyone stared at Harry. He felt the weight of their stares and became nervous. This type of situation has always bothered him; everyone probably thinks that he should know the answer. “Investigating and researching,” he mumbled out just loud enough to be heard. “Close, but wrong,” chimed Gawain. “On the average, an Auror spends about thirty hours a week doing paperwork, which includes filling out reports.” Several trainees moaned at his statement. “Everything you do will be recorded,” he stressed. “Other members of the Auror and the Magical Law Enforcement Department will need to be able to understand your reports. These reports will be vital in the conviction and proper sentencing of the dark wizards. Not all wizards involved in the investigation will be entirely culpable for their actions. Some will be coerced by threats, black mail, and Imperious curses. Those individuals should not be treated as harshly as the ones who placed them in that situation.” Gawain stopped talking and looked at the room of trainees. He walked back and forth in front of them as though he was comparing or sizing them up. “I am guessing that three out of ten of you will not complete this training for various reasons. It will be either: too difficult, demand to much of your time, you will object to the methods that we will teach you, or this job just isn’t exciting enough for you. The truth is this job isn’t that exciting for ninety percent of the time. You investigate, analyze the data collected, and then you go and make an arrest, which should take a few minutes. If any of you wanted to work this job because you wanted to go out and duel Dark wizards on a daily basis. You do not need return after today. “Your studying this year will be split up as follows. Fifty percent will be learning how to write, read, and analyze investigation reports. Ten percent will be Defense Against Dark Art training. Ten percent will be dueling. Ten percent will be studying beneficial charms that can be used. Ten percent will be studying various Potions that you will need to know how to make and identify. The final ten percent will be concealment and stealth training. You won’t be much help trying to watch a suspect if you stick out like a sore thumb, now will you. “During this year, various members of the Auror department will be showing up to teach you. I will be seeing you more than anyone else will. The Professors here at Hogwarts will also be teaching you in their own specialties. Get used to working with various people on a daily basis. Finally, you will need to have a partner. We do not send someone out alone unless we have absolutely no choice. You will need to get used to working with another Auror. Besides, if you make it through this part of the course, the next stage will be working alongside actual Aurors on cases. As you know, all of the Aurors are presently tutoring apprentices, but by this time next year. We look to have twenty Aurors available to take on apprenticeships. “One last item for discussion, this may make some of you want to quit now, but, since the Dementors are no longer guarding Azkaban. It is now the responsibility of the MLE. The Aurors work twenty-four weeks in the field and twelve weeks at Azkaban. You will be assigned to a group rotation along with your tutor. If any of you have been to Azkaban you will know that it is a bleak and terrible place. However, we must make sure that no one escapes. “Now that everyone knows what they have signed up for. Auror training will be held here three days a week Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I will expect to see you tomorrow for your first actual day of training.” He stopped talking and smiled at everyone. “I am sure you will enjoy it and it will definitely catch your attention. Good day to you all.” Harry could feel the tension rise in the room as everyone stood up from the benches. He had never thought of the fact that he would have to go to Azkaban, but if that is what the job required, then he would do it. As Harry started towards the door, Edward Macmillan approached him, and stuck out his hand to shake. “Harry, it would be a great honour if we could partner up together.” Harry grabbed Edwards hand and resisted the urge to try to break every bone in it. “Sorry, but I have a partner already,” he said. “I am working with Carmen.” He let go of his hand, swung his hand around, and gestured towards her. Edward seemed shocked at her appearance. She was still wearing her thin silk Beauxbaton dress robes. Edward and the other males stared at her, and the women seemed to sneer at her. Harry noticed their reaction to her, grabbed her arm, and walked away from those wankers. “Let’s go find Ginny so I can talk to her,” said Carmen as they stepped out of the great hall. Harry’s jaw almost dropped to the floor when Carmen said this. He thought this could be a real recipe for disaster. Carmen saw the reaction and couldn’t help but laugh at him. “I want to tell her that I am not going to steal you. I also would like to find a place to study that she could come along, as long as she doesn’t become a distraction.” Harry relaxed when she finished the last statement. That offer might just instill enough confidence in Ginny to avoid major fight every time he went to study with Carmen. They looked around the entrance hall for Ginny. They asked several students if they had seen her recently. The best answer they received was someone noticed her going outside after she left Harry. Walking around outside Harry spotted her by the main gate. She appeared to be saying goodbye to her family. Everyone turned and stared at Harry and Carmen as they approached the group. “Ginny, we need to talk. Right here in front of your family is fine,” stated Carmen confidently. The Weasley’s were all staring at her with suspicious looks in their eyes. “I’m not out to steal Harry from you. I just want to study with him.” Harry could feel the tension heighten between the Weasley’s and him as Carmen spoke. “One of the reason’s I want Harry as a study partner is because he has never stared at my chest or posterior like most men.” She stopped to look at George. Harry noticed that George never even blushed when she did this. “Harry is just another trainee to me nothing else. He treats me like a person. I realize that you may not believe me. I will promise that you will always be allowed to study with us. I won’t take Harry off somewhere private to study. Does that sound reasonable?” Ginny stared at Carmen and Harry for what seemed an eternity. “Fine. Doesn’t seem like I have a choice in this,” she icily responded. Harry felt the chill in her voice, and she avoided looking at him. Carmen nodded in agreement before leaving through the gate and walking towards Hogsmeade. “Ginny, we need to be leaving and you need to get back up to the school to be with your friends,” stated Mrs. Weasley in her motherly take-charge tone. “Harry, Ginny tells me that you won’t be staying at the school. You can always stay at the Burrow. That way you won’t be so lonely at night!” “Thanks, but I’ll just stay at my house.” Harry could tell that Mrs. Weasley didn’t like the idea of him being unaccounted for at night now that Carmen is around. The rest of the family seemed to be glaring at him with venom in their eyes. He couldn’t figure this out. It would seem to him that what Carmen had said about Ginny studying with them would ease the tension, but it didn’t. They all said goodbye and walked out of the gate and Disapparated. Ginny turned and started walking quickly up to the school. “Why? Why are you doing this to me? Are you testing me or something?” She said, obviously frustrated rather than angry. “You couldn’t find a wizard to work with, or even an ugly witch…” “Sorry, all the hags were taken. Don’t forget I am also going to be taking NEWT classes. I’ll need someone to study with for those. I figured we will be spending plenty of time together…” “With you leaving everyday and returning when; the morning, afternoon, or maybe not at all. You think I should be happy? You really need to get a grip on reality Harry.” “Ginny, I wish I could stay here instead of leaving every day. Yes, I will be here every single day, because I will want to see you every single day! The fact is I will have a tremendous amount of work to do, and the private time we get to spend together will be minimal. Sorry! It will go better though if we can spend the time pleasantly instead of fighting all the time.” “Fine!” Ginny had stopped and looked at Harry. “I’ll try to be positive and happy. Have you seen your NEWT class schedule yet? I bet you have a different schedule than mine.” “That was a real blast of sunshine!” Ginny smiled at Harry’s comment. “I guess I’ll have to find McGonagall for my schedule.” “No. Harry. You need to find Hagrid. He is the head of Gryffindor House now. Ever since Dumbledore… you know.” They left to find Hagrid. Harry took several steps before he felt a little hand slide into his. He turned to look at Ginny and she just looked up at him and smiled. They found Hagrid and spent the rest of the afternoon talking to him. Hagrid also talked about Carmen to Ginny. He was happy that she will be working with Harry. She wasn’t very good at Defense Against Dark Arts. Harry was an excellent teacher look what he did with the DA. Ginny became a little more at ease with the arrangement. The thing that made Ginny the happiest was that Harry and she had identical class schedules. She wasn’t happy about him having training on Saturdays as this would interfere with Hogsmeade weekends. The sun was starting to set, and Hagrid offered to cook a meal for everyone when Harry and Ginny decided to go back up to the castle. They strolled leisurely across the grounds holding hands. The crowds from the ceremony were gone, and the yard was cleaned up. It was as peaceful as two years ago when they would slip away and spend quiet moments together. They stopped in the shadows of the castle to snuggle with each other. “When are you leaving tonight?” “I am not sure. I need to check to see how late I can stay. I will be here around eight every morning. My first class is never before nine so that will give us an hour to eat and — talk.” Harry smirked at the last part of this statement. “Talk? Is that what you call snogging now? Harry.” They went into the great hall to eat dinner. During dinner Professor McGonagall called all the students who weren’t sleeping at the castle to meet her immediately after in the entrance hall. When everyone had assembled, she told them that the main gate has been charmed to let them out when they speak a password. Their passing through the gate will then be recorded on a piece of parchment in her office. The passwords only work to let a person leave the grounds. They will not let someone reenter the grounds. The gates will be open and monitored from seven o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon. During that time, they will not need to use the passwords. She handed everyone a slip of paper with his or her password. Harry’s was Flobberworm. Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the evening curled up in one of the common room’s squishy chairs. Harry’s trunk had been returned to Grimmauld Place. Kreature had sent it back earlier in the evening. Ginny had threatened to tell Hermione about how hard he has been working his House Elf. They walked down to the main gate together and there under the stars spent several minutes saying good-bye and giving each other reasons to want to stay. When they finally broke apart from the intense snogging session, they were breathing as though they had just run here from London. Harry turned, walked through the gate, stood on the other side, and waved good-bye before he turned and Apparated home. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Ginny flew out of the portrait hole a seven forty-five the next morning. She wanted to get to the main gate to greet Harry when he returned. “Excuse me are you looking for someone?” Ginny turned when she heard the familiar voice. Harry was standing beside the portrait hole waiting for her to come out. “What has happened to you? You were never on time before, but this past summer you have become so Percy-like.” Harry looked offended to be compared to Mr. Upright and Uptight Percy Weasley. She did have a point; this past summer Harry had changed and was becoming increasingly punctual and responsible. They kissed before walking to the great hall. They sat together at the Gryffindor table for a few minutes before Carmen showed up and sat across the table from Ginny and Harry. She was dressed as she had been for the testing at the Ministry in rugged looking clothes and her hair pulled back in a plait. “Are you ready for the first session?” she asked Harry. She seemed to be very excited about the upcoming classes. She had a gleam in her eye like Hermione when she became excited about a class. Harry thought he could hear Ginny mumble something about “not another one”, and he had to choke back a laugh. The hour until classes started flew by in a heartbeat. Harry leaned over to give Ginny a kiss at the table. He felt her pull away from him, and he noticed she was looking towards the head table. When he looked up, Professor McGonagall was staring at them. “She told me, that she doesn’t want any Public Display’s of Affection,” said Ginny with a sad tone. “Sorry, but we will need to stop doing that openly. You know! Head Girl. Good example and every-bloody-thing.” Harry looked at the sad expression on her face, before whispering. “We will definitely need to find someplace more private then.” As he stood up to leave, he watched as Ginny’s face flushed. Gawain started the first session, by handing out Auror handbooks. These books had the standard procedures that fully qualified Aurors used in the field. The trainees were to read these books cover to cover as soon as possible. They will not be tested on the contents of the book, but the information will constantly be referenced in their other classes. He then handed out two cases to each trainee that the Auror department had worked on in the past. The names and addresses have been removed to protect the victims’ privacy. Everyone will look over these cases with your partner and determine if the proper procedures were followed, and to suggest any improvements or changes in the investigation. He had everyone look at the one common case they had. The other cases were different so everyone would be working on their own unique case. He stressed how important this was. It would start them thinking like an actual Auror, which is a major hurdle to overcome in the training process. After reviewing the common case with the trainees, He handed out a list of textbooks that everyone will need to purchase. Other items on this list need to be purchased. Those items were various changes of clothing and things for tracking and concealment. Harry noticed Carmen seemed to wince when she looked at the list. As everyone was looking at the lists, Kingsley entered the room. He stood up front talking to Gawain. Harry had noticed a smile on their faces as they spoke. It was probably nothing but a joke about the trainees. “Hello!” said Kingsley. His deep resonate voice filled the room. “I am Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic. I am here today though not as a Minister of Magic, but as a former Auror. I had at one time headed this department. So, it would be natural for me to be one of your instructors.” Harry smiled at this statement. He couldn’t think of a better more experienced living Auror than Kingsley. He looked around the room and noticed the awe in everyone’s face as he spoke. “I will be teaching dueling techniques,” he proclaimed as a murmur of excitement filled the room. “Does everyone have their wands?” Kingsley watched as everyone pulled out their wands. “Good! That is good. How many of you have ever been in a duel with a dark wizard before?” No one raised his or her hand including Harry. He sat there trying to be inconspicuous. Kingsley looked directly at him, raised an eyebrow, and cleared his throat. ‘Well, I do know somebody here is lying,” he jovially said. Everyone laughed at his statement. He turned to talk to the other trainees. “Dueling with dark wizards is actually an oxymoron. Dark wizards don’t duel. They fight on their terms. They will attack you when you are unprepared or too exhausted to fight back. As you study these cases, you will see many instances of this. Dark wizards are not interested in seeing who is better. They want to win.” He stopped and looked over the room again. “What? Are all of you good enough that you are not going to take notes?” he chided the entire class. There was a shuffling of parchment and the sound of quills being dipped in ink, before he spoke again. “As, I was saying Dark wizards will almost always tilt the balance of power in their favour before attacking. There isn’t anything you will be able to do stop that from happening. You must always keep, as my tutor told me, Constant Vigilance!” Kingsley shouted. “Why aren’t you all writing that down? I want to make sure that everyone of you understands the meaning of constant vigilance.” Harry was writing on his parchment, until Kingsley said, “understand the meaning”. He looked up as Kingsley drew his wand and pointed it at him. Harry had laid his wand on the table beside him earlier. He grabbed for it, but Kingsley was too quick. Harry jerked backwards off the chair to avoid the Stunner flying at him. He could feel the curse pass over top of his nose as he fell backwards. The room broke out in mayhem. As Harry fell, he reached out for his wand, and noticed it seemed to curve into his hand as it fell off the table. He closed his fingers around it as his back smacked on the stone floor, knocking the wind out of him. He felt a thump beside him and looked over to see Carmen landing on the floor while covering her head with her arms. The table had fallen also. It landed on his leg shooting pain through it, but Harry ignored it. The table was now acting as a shield. He crawled over to Carmen and shook her. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. She was shaking from fear. All around the room curses were being fired. It sounded as if Kingsley and Gawain were the only ones casting spells. He kept hearing them goading the trainees to fight. “Why aren’t you fighting me? I may not even be the Minister of Magic. What if I was a rogue Death Eater under the influence of Polyjuice Potion? Come on fight me!” “Carmen,” Harry whispered. “What? Sorry Harry. I’m scared!” she muttered to him. “Everyone gets scared, Carmen. We need to work together. Go around the end of the table and I’ll draw their fire. When they are preoccupied with me, curse them.” “What should I use?” “Expelliarmus, Rictusempra, Jelly-Legs, Stupefy, any of them. It doesn’t matter. You will catch them off guard and I’ll finish them. All right?” She nodded yes and crawled towards the end of the table. Harry watched her until she was almost completely around the end on the table. He turned and listened to Kingsley and Gawain casting spells at the other trainees. It sounded as if no one had tried to confront them. Everyone should know that neither one of them would be casting anything dark at them. He jumped from behind the table and simultaneously cast a Shield Charm in front of him. He felt two spells bounce off it. He quickly dropped it and sent a Stunner towards Kingsley. He jumped out of the way of the spell, and while he was moving, Harry pointed his wand at Gawain and thought Levicorpus. He heard Gawain’s startled cry, and he thought Liberacorpus, which was followed by a thump. Kingsley had recovered and shot a Stunner at Harry, who had been moving the entire time he had been attacking Gawain. The Stunner went wide of him, and he returned fire at the Minister. Kingsley moved to Harry’s left. Harry stepped between Kingsley and Gawain while moving frantically about while casting Shielding charms and offensive spells. On several occasions, the spell meant for Harry had almost hit the other assailant. Suddenly, Kingsley’s wand flew out of his hand. Harry bound him with ropes before he could grab the wand out of the air. He turned towards Gawain and seeing him standing in front of a chair lying on the ground. Harry dodged his spells and summoned the chair. It collided with Gawain’s legs and flipped him onto his back. As he fell, Harry disarmed him and bound him. He heard Kingsley laughing, and turned to look at him. He had rolled over so he could look at Carmen, who was still cowering behind a table. “Good teamwork, you two, excellent teamwork,” praised Kingsley. “You can release me now Harry. No more dueling, I promise.” Harry vanished the bonds on him and Gawain. Kingsley stood up and questioned the rest of the class. “There were only two assailants and twenty Auror trainees. The battle should have lasted only two minutes, with Gawain and I incarcerated.” He then continued to compliment Harry and Carmen for working together. It was a sign of his maturity when it comes to dueling. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Harry burst out of the classroom doors at a very fast pace. Ginny, who had been waiting for him outside in the hallway, tried to follow him through the crowded halls. She wanted to know how everything had gone and what all the noise was coming from the room. She walked close behind him because the halls were so full of students. Even though she was asking him questions, he never answered her. He just kept walking at this very fast pace. Ginny wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, until crowds around them disappeared. Ginny realized suddenly that she had followed him into the boys’ loo, and so did the twenty or more boys who were in there. She looked at them and they returned her dumbfounded look. It was like neither one was sure what to say or do. Harry seemed to be the last person to realize that she had followed him in the loo. “Ginny! What are you doing in here?” he shouted at her. “Ah…Ah…leaving.” She turned and walked out into the hall. Ginny stood across the hall from the door, waiting for Harry to walk out. As each boy walked out of the loo, they looked at her and smiled. This only worsened her already sour mood. Until finally, Harry walked out and stared at her. “Why did YOU do that TO ME? Do you know how embarrassing that was?” “Why did I? You’re the one that followed me in there. I didn’t ask you to come in. Yes, looking at the brilliant shade of red your face was, I could tell how embarrassing that was,” he laughed at this last statement. “Don’t laugh at me!” Ginny emphasized each statement by punching Harry’s shoulder. “That wasn’t funny! You could have told me!” “I’m so sorry dear. I forgot to tell you girls aren’t allowed in the boys’ loo. Ouch!” Ginny had taken her largest book out of her book bag and hit Harry with it. Ginny’s embarrassment didn’t ease up when they walked into the Great Hall for lunch. The rumors had spread quickly and nearly everyone was looking at her and sniggering. Ginny sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked down at her plate, so her hair covered her face. She would periodically kick Harry’s ankles when someone would walk by and make a comment to her about needing glasses or keep her hair out of her face. That afternoon Harry and Ginny had charms with Professor Flitwick. The class was large because many of Harry’s classmates were also taking it. Ron and Hermione however weren’t there. Harry seemed a little lost without his friends there. Ginny had always been envious of them. She had many friends in the school, but none of them were as close to her as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were to each other. They left that class with plenty of homework. Harry told Ginny that he was to meet Carmen that night in the library to start on their Auror homework. When Ginny and Harry walked up to Carmen in the library, she tried her best not to be unpleasant. It didn’t help, because the entire library seemed to be charged with nervous energy. After about thirty minutes, the tension was gone, and they were three students studying at the same table. The skulling session lasted until Madam Pince shooed them away at nearly ten o’clock. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] The following morning, they had Herbology. Ron and Hermione showed up for this class, at the last second. As Harry and she were walking down to the green houses, Ron and Hermione came running across the grounds. He had a scowl on his face and her hair was flying wildly around her shoulders. The entire way she seemed to be whispering something to him, which he only occasionally responded. Ginny and Harry waited outside of the greenhouse door for them. As they approached, Hermione looked at them and said, “Don’t Ask!” before she walked in and found a spot to stand. Ron shook his head at the two of them, followed her, and stood beside her. She and Harry found their own spot some distance from them as Professor Sprout started to talk. The entire time during the class, she kept glancing over to Ron and Hermione. They seemed to be continuing their bickering, but it also seemed to be losing some of it venom. Finally, as the class finished, Ginny approached them. “What’s wrong Hermione? Ron steal the covers last night?” laughed Ginny, as they walked away from the greenhouses. “No!” was her tart reply. “He had to go to work this morning, and he must return straight away.” “Inventory,” was all he said. Hermione and Ron waved good-bye as they walked towards the main gate. She and Harry stood and watched them leave, before going to lunch. Harry also left after lunch for several hours to pick up the books he would need for Auror training. When he returned Ginny and he found a quiet place by the lake to do homework, eventually. They stayed there until the sun had set. That evening Ginny had her Firebolt out and was cleaning it for tomorrow. The Quidditch pitch would be open all day for students to practice for the school’s team Quidditch tryouts. Madam Hooch would supervise them. Ginny was practically giddy with anticipation. Harry told her that the only thing she needed to worry about was making enemies after she humiliates the competition. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] The Saturday morning training session for Aurors was almost brutal. Gawain had everyone read his or her critiques of the Auror’s reports. Then he would comment on the trainees’ critiques, and he showed no mercy. Harry was happy that the only thing that Gawain mentioned about his was that he needed to check on the statutes in the magical law library. He told everyone to rethink their critiques and he gave the class an extra one, to be completed by Wednesday. They spent the rest of the time working on Disillusionment and Incarcerous charms. After class, Harry went to the great hall to find Ginny and eat lunch. She was sitting and talking with a large group of students all dressed in Quidditch robes eating lunch. When she saw Harry, she ran over to him and hugged him then started a fifteen-minute nonstop description of the mornings flying session. Harry wasn’t sure but he didn’t think that she breathed the entire time she was talking. She ended by asking him to watch the afternoons practice to give her some pointers on things that she may need to improve on. Harry sat in the stands shivering. The day was cold and rainy. He watched Ginny fly around the pitch. She would play either chaser or seeker. Madam Hooch would split the team up by talent so that the sides were evenly matched. Harry noticed that Ginny would be teamed with younger and less experienced players and they would win half the time. Finally, at four o’clock Madam Hooch collected the balls and finished the practices until next week. Ginny walked up to Harry wet and splattered with mud. He was amazed how beautiful she looked while soaked and muddy. That evening after a hot meal, Harry rested in a settee by the fire in the Gryffindor common room reading with Ginny curled up beside him sleeping. He escorted her to the girls’ stairwell to kiss her good night before leaving for home. “Thank you! Harry” “You’re welcome. I think you were going to make the team even without the Firebolt.” “That’s not why I’m thanking you. Last year we were all worried about being tortured, imprisoned, and murdered. This year all we have to worry about is classes and homework. It is all because of you, and your defeat of Voldemort.” “But…” “Don’t tell me it was everyone else. The only reason everyone fought this time was that you made them believe and understand that it was the right thing to do. You made everyone believe. No one else could. Thank you, for that and coming back to me. I would have had a very lonely life without you.” She leaned into him and gently kissed him good night. |
| Reviews 138 |
Previous Next
|
