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Black & Red | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black Genres: Drama, General, Romance Warnings: None Rating: PG Reviews: 76 Summary: Raised by his godfather, following the events of Halloween 1981, Harry spends his childhood, hidden from the Wizarding World, preparing to face his destiny. However, his world is turned upside down when he reunites with the beautiful redhead he rescued down in the Chamber. Hitcount: Story Total: 30710; Chapter Total: 1990 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: Thank you to Arnel for your brilliant editing skills as always. I do not apologise for how I have chosen to end this chapter! Hehe! (Edited - 31/07/2021) |
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“Why me, Hermione?” Ginny moaned as she followed the older witch and her brother towards the Hog’s Head. “Why do I have to be the one to lead this meeting?” It was now the beginning of October and the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year. Somehow, though Ginny was not sure how, Hermione had convinced her to help her form a defence group and wanted Ginny to not only lead it but teach those who joined. It had become alarmingly obvious that, despite complaints from every year group, Umbridge would not budge when it came to her refusal to provide practical lessons. The fifth and seventh years were already beginning to panic that they would not be ready for their OWLs and NEWTs come June. The Ministry official was slowly taking over the school just as Ginny had feared and she couldn’t help but wonder what Umbridge would do next to destroy the school she knew and loved. Thankfully, Ginny had managed to keep her temper in check and had not earned any more detentions. That was not to say there had not been moments that she wanted to call out the lies Umbridge had continued to insist on telling, but Harry had warned her, during one of their late-night chats, that she risked having her privileges of attending Hogsmeade and being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team taken away if she wasn’t careful. The atmosphere in school already felt miserable, all thanks to the interfering witch, but there was no way Ginny was going to let her take away the things that she enjoyed. It also didn’t help that she was desperately missing Harry. Their late-night chats, via their connected mirrors, had been a saving grace, but it wasn’t the same as when they had curled up together on the sofa or Harry’s bed. Luckily, she had managed to not let her feelings for her best friend make their conversations awkward. While there had been some nights where she had thought she should just tell him when she called him through the mirror, she knew she wanted to wait until she saw him in person. She just hoped she didn’t have to wait until Christmas before she could do so. “How many times do I need to remind you, Ginny?” Hermione replied with a huff, pausing to turn and look at the younger witch. “I know you hate talking about what happened to you in your first year, but you are, right now, the only person in school who has any experience with You-Know-Who. I don’t expect you to tell anyone the details of what happened that year, but you can, at least, make them understand just how cruel he can be.” Ginny had not even considered that the older witch might want her to mention anything to do with the Chamber. The whole school knew she had been the one to be dragged down into it, but none of them, barring Hermione and Ron, knew the full details or that Voldemort had been controlling her in order for her to do his bidding. She didn’t know if she was even ready to have that conversation with anyone who didn’t already know the truth. Yet, here was Hermione, in her own brash way, asking her to be honest with people who could potentially laugh in her face. “I can understand you wanting me to speak up about my own experience with Voldemort,” Ginny replied as the three teens continued their walk through Hogsmeade, “but I can’t even promise you that I will even reveal that much. It’s not easy for me to talk about with people who have minimal knowledge of that year.” “I’m not asking you to give them a full account of what happened to you that year, Ginny,” Hermione told her. “You can still give them something without exposing how uncomfortable it is for you to speak about.” Ginny was not sure how to take that approach without revealing more than she wanted to. Hopefully, the conversation with the other students would guide her towards a suitable answer that she felt at ease with. There was still the question, though, of why she was the one most qualified to teach the other students, all of whom were older than her. “Why me, though?” she asked as they neared the Hog’s Head. “Why am I the one being made to teach the group? I’m just a fourth year and everyone coming today is older than me. What could I possibly teach them that they don’t already know?” “Are you kidding me, Gin?” Ron responded. “You had extra training with your best friend over the summer. You began to learn the Patronus Charm in your second year when Dementors were stationed at the school because of Peter Pettigrew. Yes, you may not have successfully conjured a full corporal Patronus until this summer, but you were getting close by the time you finished your second year. If you don’t think you are suitable to teach other students, then think about everything you have accomplished in the last two years.” “I am going to have to agree with Ron,” Hermione said, shocking Ginny, “because you told me you would never let anyone ever control you the way that Tom Riddle did. You threw yourself into your schoolwork, especially Defence Against the Dark Arts. Not only that, but you also made the effort to make friends beyond our house. People like you, so trust me when I say, they will listen to you.” Ginny sighed, knowing she had lost the argument. Her brother and friend had made valid points, ones she could not refute. She also knew she had to remember that many of those invited needed a way to practice the spells they would require for their OWLs and NEWTs. She doubted she would be able to help them, except for, perhaps, assigning time for them to focus solely on those specific spells. “Fine,” Ginny said in a huff, “but I am warning you, if we get caught, I am taking you down with me!” “Deal,” Ron replied before Hermione could complain. “Now, can we go in? I can see the twins heading this way, which means others should be following pretty soon.” Within half hour of entering the near-empty run-down inn, a bigger group than Ginny had been expecting filled a good portion of the available tables. George and Fred, who she had known would be coming, had talked Angelina, Alicia and Katie from the Gryffindor Quidditch Team into attending, along with their best friend, Lee Jordan. She could also see her fellow Gryffindor, Colin Creevey, as well as a couple of sixth years from Ravenclaw and a fair few others from other years and houses. She was especially happy to see one of her closest friends, Luna Lovegood, had attended. It seemed, however, that nearly all of the fifth years had come along, except for those in Slytherin. Despite how nervous this number of people made her, she knew that almost all of them believed that Voldemort had returned, accepting that Professor Dumbledore would not have announced it without good reason. “Thank you for coming everyone,” Hermione said as she stood to face the group of students. “We all know why we are here, which is to discuss the potential idea for forming a study group for Defence Against the Dark Arts. We all know Umbridge refuses to teach practical lessons, believing that they are not needed and that a decent knowledge of the theory behind a spell will mean we would be able to cast it on the first try during our actual practical exams. I will admit that for those of us who have our OWLs or NEWTs this year are desperately in need of the practical lessons, but there is another reason for the need to learn these spells “ Lord Voldemort is back.” Ginny sat up a little straighter at hearing her friend willingly say “Voldemort” out loud for the first time. She didn’t fail to notice the visible reactions of most of the group, however, something that angered her. She knew she could work on making sure the group could not only stop reacting to the name but teach them to say it without fear as well. Harry had managed it with her, and she’d had a real reason to fear the name. “Where’s the proof that he is back?” said a boy she knew to be Zacharias Smith, a Hufflepuff in her year. “Professor Dumbledore announced it,” Hermione replied firmly. “He has spoken to those involved and has seen the evidence that confirms it.” “What evidence?” Zacharias argued back. “Harry Potter is the one who supposedly saw You-Know-Who come back, if Dumbledore is to be believed, but he has not spoken out once to confirm it.” “Why are you here?” Ginny asked angrily. “What reason brought you to this meeting? Is it to find out details about how Voldemort returned? Because that is something none of us here can even provide you!” The Hufflepuff shrunk back under the angry glare Ginny gave him. She knew Harry did not want her mentioning to anyone outside of her family and Hermione that she knew him personally, but she also knew he would want her to say whatever it took to make people understand and accept the truth. “I may not have been there in June to witness his return,” Ginny said as she went and stood next to Hermione, “but I already knew he was never dead and was attempting to find a way to return.” “You don’t need to do this, Gin,” Ron whispered as he came up behind her. “I know we said it would be good for you to say something, but not like this, not when you are angry.” Ginny turned her head to look at her brother and was surprised by the look of concern on his face. She knew he cared for her, even though they still argued as siblings did, and he had taken good care of her on her return to Hogwarts for her second year. Yet, in this moment, his look of concern overwhelmed her. “I need to do this, Ron,” Ginny quietly confessed to him, grateful she had him there to support her, especially if she couldn’t have her best friend by her side. “I need to face what happened to me and not hide from it.” Ron nodded, but remained where he stood, making clear he was standing by her as she spoke to the group. “You all know that I was the one taken down into the Chamber of Secrets back in my first year at Hogwarts,” Ginny began to explain, hiding the fear she had that people would reject her for what she was forced to do. “What you are not aware of, however, is that I was being controlled by a diary I wrote in. It somehow possessed me and forced me to open the chamber, release the Basilisk and attack Muggleborns. I apologise if you were one of those people that was attacked or affected by what I did.” “Was it You-Know-Who’s diary?” Colin Creevey asked, one of those she had unwillingly attacked that year. “Yes,” Ginny whispered. “That’s why you believe Dumbledore when he says You-Know-Who is back,” Cho Chang stated, not questioning Ginny any further on her experience. “It’s part of it. I have other reasons that I currently cannot reveal to you, but even without them, my experience with the diary would have been more than enough for me to believe Professor Dumbledore.” The look on the faces of the students that were present was mixed, but no one seemed to want to argue with what Ginny had told them. She had made them accept he was back, but they still needed to understand how bad things could possibly become for the entire wizarding world. “None of us here are even old enough to remember the last war against Voldemort,” she continued when it appeared no one was going to say anything further. “Yet, a fair few of our families were impacted because of it. My two uncles died and from what Ron and I have been told, they refused to go down without a fight. My mum was devastated by the loss of her brothers, but is proud by how they refused to go quietly.” “Ginny’s right,” Neville said, standing up to address everyone. “You-Know-Who and his followers will willingly kill or destroy anyone who stands in their way. My parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and other Death Eaters, and they are now permanent patients at St. Mungo’s. Harry Potter had defeated You-Know-Who by that point, but that didn’t matter to them.” The silence that followed Neville’s confession was deafening. Everyone knew he lived with his grandmother, but no one had ever asked what had happened to his parents. People had just assumed they had died in the war “So, are we going to make this group happen then?” Neville asked when no one else seemed to have a response. The next ten minutes led to a somewhat fierce debate about where and when they were going to meet. It didn’t help that they needed to figure out how to schedule around Quidditch team practices, Prefect duties and homework. In the end, it was agreed that until they could find a suitable place to meet, which was away from prying eyes, they would put the first meeting on hold. “Who’s going to teach us?” one of fifth year Ravenclaws asked, who Ginny recognised as Michael Corner. They had met at the Yule Ball the previous school year and had shared one dance together before Ginny had gently refused his advances. “Ginny will,” Ron said confidently. “She was given some additional training over the summer. She has accomplished so much, even mastering spells that we are not taught until seventh year.” “Like what?” Ernie Macmillan asked sceptically. “The Patronus Charm,” he replied proudly. Ginny knew Ron would usually be jealous of what she had accomplished, but he had understood the necessity for her to learn as the Dementors had an awful effect on her. Every student, her brothers included, looked at her in awe, something Ginny was not comfortable with. “I’m not an expert,” Ginny argued. “Please don’t expect me to get you through your exams. That is down to you, not me. The stuff I was taught was for me to be able to defend myself, because of fears that I may potentially be a target.” “I highly doubt you could be a much worse teacher than Professor Umbridge,” Neville declared to much agreement from the other students. Ginny wanted to argue back, but it seemed that everyone was set on her being the one to teach them. She didn’t know if she could do it or help them as they thought she could. She would need to ask for advice on how to do what was expected of her and she knew the perfect people to ask. She just wished they had been able to come to Hogsmeade today, but she had not received word from Harry or Sirius in any form. “Before we go our separate ways, I think it is important that Umbridge is not made aware of what we are planning,” Hermione stated as she pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from her bag. “I also think we should all sign our names on this as an agreement not to reveal what we have planned.” Ginny immediately saw the reluctance on the faces of several students. She didn’t care for their arguments and just wanted to get out of there, so she could go back to Hogwarts and call Harry on her mirror. So, she walked over to Hermione, took the quill and signed the parchment. “If you don’t sign it, I will happily learn how to Obliviate those who refuse,” Ginny said before walking away from the group, not noticing the two people slipping out of the door of the inn. “Hey, Red,” came a gruff voice. She turned her head in the direction of the voice to see the barman looking at her. He seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t place why he did so. “Have a note for you here,” he said, causing her to approach him to collect it. Ginny immediately recognised the handwriting on the front of the note, and she quickly opened the parchment and read it. Her heart jumped for joy to discover Harry and Sirius were in Hogsmeade and wanted her to join them in the Three Broomsticks for lunch. However, she questioned how they had known to give the note to the barman to pass onto her. Had they been in here without her realising? There had been a couple of patrons, but they had ignored the group. Looking round, she noticed they were no longer here, leading her to believe they had been present during the entire meeting. She wouldn’t know for certain, though, until she asked them. The sooner she rounded up her brothers and Hermione, who had also been invited along, the sooner she could find out and ask for their advice. HP&GW “Madam Rosmerta? I believe you are expecting me and my brothers,” Ginny said once she had reached the bar at the Three Broomsticks. The landlady turned and smiled on seeing the young redhead, “Of course, if you give me a minute, I will show you through.” Ginny nodded in understanding before turning back to her brothers and Hermione, hoping they wouldn’t be left waiting too long. “Are you sure I was invited?” Hermione asked her nervously. “I don’t even know them, so why would I be asked?” “Yes, you are invited,” Ginny replied, hoping to ease her friend’s nerves. “As to why, well, we may have told them a little bit about you, especially your opinions on house-elves. Just don’t pepper him with questions, Hermione.” Before Hermione could make any sort of promise, Madam Rosmerta returned and led the group through to a private room at the back of the inn. She had barely opened the door when Ginny, on spotting her best friend, burst through and ran over to Harry, throwing herself into his arms. “You came!” she said excitedly. “Of course, I did,” Harry replied as he hugged her close to his body. “I have been bugging my dad for the past month about coming.” The two friends finally pulled apart when they heard someone, most likely Harry’s dad, clear their throat. Turning round to face everyone, they found knowing looks on the faces of Sirius and Ginny’s brothers and an awe-struck Hermione. “You remember my brothers, Harry,” she said, realising she needed to introduce Harry to the one person he did not know. “And, this is Hermione Granger, Ron’s best friend, who we told you about over the summer.” “I have heard a lot about you,” Harry said as he walked over and held out his hand to the bushy-haired witch. For a moment, Harry thought the girl might faint as she gazed up at his scar. Instead, words seemed to burst from her mouth as she began talking about how it was an honour to meet Harry before spouting off random information from a variety of books that he had been mentioned in. “HERMIONE!” Ginny shouted, annoyed that Hermione had done the one thing she had asked her not to. “Oh, I’m sorry,” the bushy-haired witch cried as she snapped out of her rambling. “I am so sorry.” “It’s ok,” Harry kindly said. “It isn’t the worst reaction I have had when someone has met me for the first time.” Ginny was stunned by Harry’s reaction, knowing how much he hated the way most people fawned over him. While she knew that Sirius had kept them hidden away from the wizarding world since that tragic night, she was aware that they did, on occasion, go to Diagon Alley. They usually stuck to the Muggle world, but that didn’t always stop someone from recognising who Harry was. “It is very nice to meet you,” Hermione replied calmly. “Ginny told me how much you helped her after what happened in her first year.” Harry turned and smiled at Ginny as he said, “Well, given my own experiences, it felt wrong not to help her. Not many people survive facing Voldemort and live to tell the tale.” With the ice finally broken between Harry and Hermione, the group sat down around the table. No one failed to notice how Harry and Ginny pulled their individual chairs close to each other so there was very little space between them. The action brought a small smile to Sirius’ face, knowing just what Harry planned to do before Ginny left to return to school. “So, you’re starting a secret defence group,” Sirius stated once Rosmerta had brought in a round of Butterbeers for everyone and taken their lunch orders, “and all under the nose of the worst Ministry official.” “You were there!” Ginny exclaimed as the jaws of the twins, Hermione and Ron dropped in shock. “Of course, we were,” Harry replied. “I had to come and see what Ron and Hermione had dragged you into. Quite honestly, I love the idea!” Ginny was thrilled to hear her best friend say he loved the idea as it made her feel more relaxed at being the one to lead and teach the group. “If you five can make up a list of spells you wish to cover, then I’ll add to it,” Sirius told the group. “Best to add the entire spell list for fourth year and above and go from there.” “That’s all well and great, but there won’t be any point if we cannot find somewhere to meet,” Ron stated. “Why don’t you ask the house-elves?” Sirius suggested. “They know the school better than anyone who has passed through the doors, and I say this as one of the creators of the Marauders Map. I can guarantee they will find you somewhere suitable that will give you enough space to practice and keep you hidden.” “We can go down there and ask them tomorrow,” Fred said as George nodded in agreement to the plan. “And before you ask, Hermione, no, you cannot come with us. You have already upset them enough with your ideas of freedom and paid work.” Hermione looked ready to argue back, but, thankfully, the door opened as Rosmerta came to deliver their meals. Lunch remained relatively calm with no more talk of house-elves. Instead, the group talked about what had been happening at the school and how the Ministry were trying to force their way in to take control. “Oh, I forgot to ask,” Ginny asked as she remembered the conversation that she’d had with Harry a few weeks earlier. “Have you found a suitable publication to tell Harry’s version of the events in June?” “No, not yet,” Sirius confessed. “The publication is not even the problem. It’s more finding a journalist who is willing to write the story and risk their career. It doesn’t seem to matter if you mention the Boy Who Lived, most people I have spoken to refuse to take a chance on a story that the Ministry is denying even happened.” “Have you asked Xenophilius Lovegood?” Ginny replied. “He runs the Quibbler.” “Isn’t that the magazine full of crackpot ideas that Luna’s dad runs?” Ron asked his sister, which nearly resulted in him being hexed by Ginny before Harry stopped her. “I had considered him,” Sirius admitted, “but I was concerned about how low his readership was.” “It wouldn’t matter, though, as Harry’s name would be enough to make anyone buy a copy to read,” Hermione noted. As much as Ginny didn’t want to agree with Hermione, she knew the older witch was correct in her thinking. Any publication would sell out quickly just from having the Boy Who Lived on the front page, even if the story was considered to be complete nonsense. “She’s right, Dad,” Harry said, much to Ginny’s surprise. “I know we have never used my name to gain access to anywhere or get our hands on something we have wanted, but even I can recognise that there will be times that we should use it to our advantage. Dad, this is one of those times.” The group could only watch as Sirius considered Harry’s plea, who knew he could no longer hide his son from the world as much as he still wanted to. It was time for Harry to speak up. “Fine,” Sirius finally said. “I’ll speak to Xenophilius in the week and see if we can get something set up this month. Hopefully, we can have the article published before Christmas.” The rest of lunch passed with the group moving away from the more serious topics and towards the subject of the twins’ plans to open their own joke shop. Sirius took the chance to hand over the paperwork he promised he would arrange that would bring Harry and Sirius on as investors. Harry, on the other hand, took the time to learn more about Hermione, as well as educate her about house-elves so she could focus on her desire to help them on where they truly needed support. Eventually, lunch came to an end with the twins disappearing to meet Lee Jordan, Sirius going to out into main bar to pay the bill, and Hermione and Ron leaving without the need for a hint to do so. That just left Ginny and Harry by themselves, both suddenly feeling awkward and neither realising the other wanted to speak about the same thing. “I want to tell you something,” they both said at the same time when they turned to face one another. “You first, Harry,” Ginny said, not quite sure if she had the courage to tell him what she desperately wanted to say. “Ok, but bear with me,” Harry asked. “I’ve never done anything like this before and I am probably going to screw up what I want to tell you.” Ginny couldn’t help but secretly hope that Harry was about to tell her he liked her. As bad as she knew it would sound, she felt relieved if that was, indeed, the case as she honestly didn’t believe she could be the one to make her feelings known first. It didn’t matter that it had been over two years since the events of the Chamber, experiences like that left marks and one of hers was the fear of being rejected. “I have hated being apart from you over this past month,” Harry began nervously, ignoring his own feelings about potentially being rejected. “I know we have spoken through our mirrors every night, but I think we both know that it just isn’t the same as seeing each other every day. The only good thing that I can truly take from us being apart is realising just how much you have come to mean to me and how grateful I am to have you in my life. What I am trying to say to you is that I really like you and was hoping you feel the same way about me.” Ginny knew she was squealing inside, delighted that the boy she had fallen for felt the same way she did. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something was telling her to wait for the ‘but’, yet she ignored it, not wanting to ruin the moment. “I really like you, too, Harry,” she replied calmly, not letting her excitement get the better of her. “You do?” “Of course, I do. How could I not? You are one of the best people I know and so much more than the stories I was told about you as a child. You are the reason I have managed not to let the events of the Chamber define me or my life.” As Ginny had spoken, Harry had moved closer to his best friend. He was close enough that, when Ginny had stopped talking, he couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her. For their first kiss, it was simple and sweet, and everything they could have asked for. Pulling apart, they rested their foreheads together, smiling shyly at one another. “Before I ask you the question that I believe I already know the answer to,” Harry said, feeling like his heart was racing, “I need to tell you one more thing.” Ginny nodded, knowing whatever it was, it would not be an issue for her. “I really do want you to be my girlfriend, but…” Harry paused, hating himself for what he was about to ask of her. “You want us to keep our relationship quiet, just like we have our friendship,” Ginny stated rather than questioned. She had already decided before meeting him today that she would request the same thing. She didn’t need anyone hassling her at school about him, while, at the same time, she wanted to protect Harry from any potential problems that would come from them dating and being friends. “Is that ok?” he asked nervously. “Ask me the real question, Harry,” she told him firmly, causing Harry to smile widely at the request. “Ginny, will you be my girlfriend?” “Yes, I will,” she happily replied before Harry leaned down to kiss her once again. Neither had noticed, however, that the door had been left ajar after their friends had left the room. Had they realised this issue, then, they would have spotted the pair of eyes watching them and understanding how what he saw could be a vital piece of information to the Dark Lord. |
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