Chapter 1 The Goodnight Kiss

“Stop moving! Remain still! Why are you giggling?”

“I can’t help it! I’m ticklish, especially there and there.”

“But I’m not even touching you there and there.”

Harry grabbed Ginny’s hand and kissed it gently as both were gazing at the mirror; their reflections were grinning brightly back at them.

“So, what do you think?” Ginny asked, freeing her hand and gently putting his glasses back on his face.

“I think you’re so beautiful,” Harry whispered in a teasing manner, still gazing at the reflection.

“I mean your hair,” she smirked as she took another snip at his bangs.

The last thing in Harry’s mind was his hair right now; his hair had always been messy anyway. All he could see and think of from the reflection was just how perfect and peaceful the image was, with Ginny standing and giggling behind him, stroking his hair and face. In fact, this was the best summer he had ever had because he was able to stay with the Weasleys at the Burrow. Not only was he able to learn about the simple daily lives of wizards and witches, he was able to spend the entire summer with Ginny, which was to him, the most important of all.

“Perfection,” he muttered as he got up from Ginny’s dresser table and snuggled up to her ear. “Thanks, Ginny.”

“Shhh…I think Mum is coming,” Ginny whispered, pushing him away. “Go back to your room. Hurry!”

But it was too late. As Harry made his way to the door, Mrs. Weasley had already opened it. She could see that both Harry and Ginny appeared very startled and were blushing.

“Harry…” Mrs. Weasley wanted to ask why he was alone in Ginny’s room with the door closed, but he quickly interrupted her.

“Mrs. Weasley…I…was just helping Ginny…fix the chair by the dresser,” Harry stuttered, with Ginny nodding in agreement.

“I closed the door because the chair was making a lot of noise,” Ginny said hesitantly, with Harry also nodding in agreement.

There was a pause in the room as she looked at them and the chair suspiciously, but then a broad smile appeared on her face.

“Harry, you silly boy. I could have fixed it with a spell,” Mrs. Weasley laughed and pinched his cheek. “You are a guest here. I don’t want you having to lift a finger in my house. Haven’t you done enough of this sort of thing at your Uncle’s? Come downstairs now. Dinner is ready.”

As Mrs. Weasley turned around and exited the room, Harry and Ginny eyed each other with a satisfying smile and breathed a sigh of relief. This was because both had agreed to not let Mr. and Mrs. Weasley know about their special relationship. They were very unsure as to how Mrs. Weasley would react to their relationship, which began shortly after New Year’s during Harry’s fourth year. Although they both knew that she was very fond of Harry, but because she had always been very protective of Ginny, they were uncertain if she would allow her youngest baby daughter to have a boyfriend.

“Harry, nice haircut, by the way!” Mrs. Weasley suddenly called out from downstairs.

Not knowing what to do with Mrs. Weasley’s unexpected compliment, Harry looked sheepishly at Ginny, who appeared very flushed and had an awkward grin on her face.

“Sorry about that,” Harry muttered as he kissed her on her cheek.

“We have to be more careful next time. I hope Mum doesn’t suspect us,” she whispered as they slowly walked downstairs.

“Hey, Harry, Gin,” Ron greeted them with a smirk. “We were all waiting for you. The food is getting cold.”

“Boys, wait for the others!” Mr. Weasley snapped, pulling Fred’s arm out of the breadbasket and giving George a dirty look. “Oh, Harry, come sit with me. I want to introduce you to Avis Perlmer, a buddy of mine. Hermione and Molly are still getting the rest of the food out.”

“Thanks, Mr. Weasley,” Harry walked towards the table while Ginny went to help Hermione. As he smiled at the stranger, he noticed the stranger’s face and nose were very flushed, possibly because he was drunk from all the beer he was drinking. He was examining Harry, with his eyes rolling up and down attentively, and then they focused on his forehead. Harry was used to this kind of examination by now.

“Mr. Perlmer…” Harry extended his right hand.

“Please…Call me Avis,” he interrupted as he got up abruptly and embraced Harry so tight that his glasses almost fell off. “Mr. Harry Potter, what an honor! Finally, I get to meet with the hero face to face.”

“Yeah, hail to our hero!” George got up and bowed dramatically to Harry, who was blushing from embarrassment. He could hear giggles and laughter from the background.

“Of course he is a hero. Our brave hero,” Hermione said sarcastically to George as she came in with Ginny and Mrs. Weasley.

“Avis, look at you! You’re drunk!” Mrs. Weasley shrieked, pulling him off Harry.

“Harry, Avis is a very old friend of mine. We haven’t seen each other in ages. He’s going to start working at the Ministry with me,” Mr. Weasley said excitedly.

“Thank goodness! Finally they replaced that woman!” Mrs. Weasley hollered.

“Molly, she wasn’t fired. She resigned.”

“Whatever! I never liked her. I don’t trust her. I don’t like the way she looks at you, Arthur!”

“Who is this woman?” Ron asked his father.

“Oh, forget about her!” Mrs. Weasley snapped furiously.

“Son, you’ll find out soon enough,” Mr. Weasley winked at Ron. “She…”

“ENOUGH ABOUT HER!” Mrs. Weasley blasted, the echo of her voice ripped across the table.

It was an uneventful dinner because everyone was so startled by Mrs. Weasley, who seemed to be in a very foul mood at the mere mention of this mysterious woman. However, Avis, who was drunk, could not sense the tension. The entire time he kept badgering Harry to tell him about all his achievements at Hogwarts. Throughout the evening it was only Avis and Harry speaking, with Avis asking Harry questions and Harry reluctantly answering him. Before he knew it, the only people left at the dinner table were Harry, Avis and Mr. Weasley.

“So, dear boy! Explain to me again how the Philosopher’s Stone would end up in your pocket?” Avis asked enthusiastically.

“Avis, please! It’s late. The boy should go to bed now. You can ask him tomorrow,” Mr. Weasley yawned.

“Very well. Tomorrow, I want you to start from the beginning where you…”

“Goodnight Mr. Weasley, Avis,” Harry interrupted, his voice hoarse from his endless talking.

Harry went upstairs to Ron’s room. He could see Ron was asleep already, so he quietly took off his glasses and put on his pajamas. But something wasn’t right; he seemed to have forgotten to do something.

“Right! I didn’t kiss Ginny goodnight,” he whispered to himself as he walked out of Ron’s room.

The goodnight kiss was something that he started doing soon after New Year’s, when he and Ginny were almost killed by Voldemort’s dream curse. Before they went to bed every night, they would kiss each other goodnight and wish each other pleasant dreams. For Harry, this nightly ritual gave him a sense of peace, knowing that Ginny would have a pleasant dream and would wake up the next day.

As Harry tiptoed his way to Ginny’s room, he could hear sounds of snoring coming from inside.

“I can’t believe she snores like that,” he giggled to himself as he noticed the door was unlocked and slightly ajar.

Because he didn’t want to wake her, he quickly slipped into her room and closed the door to shut out the light from the outside. The room was pitch dark. He quickly tiptoed to her bedside, leaned over, and kissed her gently.

“Goodnight, Ginny. I love you. Pleasant dreams,” Harry whispered as he kissed her again and started to stroke her hair. But for some reason, her hair felt different. Then his hand was caught on something that felt like a hair curler. He quickly yanked his hand away and leaned closer to get a clearer look.

“Ouch! That hurts!” a woman’s voice screamed as her face abruptly turned towards Harry. Her eyes were blinking wildly.

“AARGH…”

“AARGH…” Harry screamed as he darted backwards, his hands covering his ears.

“AARGH…”

He had just kissed Mrs. Weasley.

Chapter 2 Perfect Life

“What’s going on?” Hermione bounced up from her bed and asked Ginny, who was struggling to put her night robe on.

“That scream…it sounds like my Mum, and Harry!” Ginny yelled back. “Come on!”

They rushed out of Percy’s room and ran into Mr. Weasley, Avis, Ron, Fred, and George in the hallway.

“It is coming from Ginny’s room! Let’s go!” Mr. Weasley yelled frantically to the group.

Harry and Mrs. Weasley’s screams continued to thunder throughout the entire house. Not knowing what was going on, everyone crowded inside Ginny’s room, trying to catch their breath.

“Mum, what is going on?” Ginny asked nervously as she noticed Harry clearly shaken, looking down, his hands awkwardly covering his ears, and his back pinned against the wall. Mrs. Weasley was gawping at him intensely, with one peculiar hair curler dangling strangely on the side of her face.

“Harry, what are you doing here in Ginny’s room?” Mr. Weasley asked. But Harry couldn’t hear him because he was still covering his ears.

“Harry, please,” Hermione pulled his hands off his ears and dragged him away from the wall. “What happened? Where are your glasses?”

“I…I wanted to speak to Ginny…but I didn’t know…that…” Harry stuttered as he quickly glanced at Mrs. Weasley, who now appeared dazed, trying to untangle the awkward curler while looking at him nervously at the same time. At the sight of their mother’s clumsiness, Fred and George began to laugh uncontrollably.

“I am sleeping here with Ginny because Avis and Arthur will take my room tonight!” Mrs. Weasley screamed loudly, trying to drown out the laughter. “Ginny, where were you? Where did you go?”

“I couldn’t sleep so I went to Percy’s room and stayed with Hermione,” Ginny replied, her face blushing from embarrassment because she seemed to know why Harry was here looking for her.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Ron asked as Fred, George, and Avis were giggling in the background.

“How can anyone sleep with that racket?” Mr. Weasley chuckled. But he quickly stopped when Mrs. Weasley gave everyone a threatening glare.

“So it was just a misunderstanding,” Hermione laughed feebly, trying to force a strained grin. After eyeing Ginny and Harry, it had occurred to her that she had better not let this situation get out of control.

“We should go back to bed now,” Hermione blurted out as she quickly pushed everyone out of the room. But before she could get a hold on Ginny and Harry, Mrs. Weasley seized the three of them.

“Hermione, you may go. Harry, Ginny, not so fast! I want to talk to you!” Mrs. Weasley hissed.

Hermione gave one last nervous glance at them before she left and closed the door, leaving Mrs. Weasley alone with them. Harry could still hear laughter and Fred and George’s voices singing, “Show’s over…” echoing from the hallway.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Mrs. Weasley sighed at the two of them sternly.

There was a pause in the room; both of them were looking down, breathing hard, and anxiously clenching their teeth.

“Well?” Mrs. Weasley shrieked so loud that both of them jolted their heads up.

Suddenly and instinctively, Harry grabbed Ginny’s hand and looked deeply into Mrs. Weasley’s eyes. He could hear himself say, “Mrs. Weasley…I love Ginny…We love each other…We…”

Mrs. Weasley slowly walked towards him, placed her hands on his shoulders, and gazed into his green eyes. She appeared to be in deep thought. Then a broad smile appeared on her face and she abruptly hugged the two of them tightly.

“Oh, that is wonderful!” Mrs. Weasley beamed hysterically as she pounded his back, her hair curlers pressed against his face. “I’m…I’m…so happy…Awesome…My little Ginny…My baby angel…All grown up…A boyfriend…And it’s Harry…”

“Mum, you approve?” Harry could hear Ginny’s muffled voice next to him.

“OF COURSE I APPROVE, DEAR!” she roared at them as they struggled to break free from her grip. “OF COURSE I DO!”

“AS LONG AS YOU DON’T HURT HER…!” she continued screaming fiercely.

“BECAUSE SHE IS MY BABY…!” her voice was getting louder and louder.

“AND IF I FIND OUT THAT YOU HURT MY ANGEL, I’LL…I’LL…!”

Suddenly, she took a deep breath, lowered her voice dramatically, and turned to Harry, “Well, I think you know what I mean.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley,” he muttered as he slowly reached for Ginny’s hand and glanced nervously at Mrs. Weasley, with a look of apprehension on his face. He was pretty sure that the entire house could hear what she had just bellowed to him.

“Okay, Harry. If I heard you correctly, you had something really REALLY special to say to my angel, right?” Mrs. Weasley turned and walked towards the door. “Very well, I will give you two some privacy, but LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN!”

After Mrs. Weasley left the room, Harry let out a very deep sigh and waited a few minutes before having the courage to nuzzle up to Ginny, who was still startled, with a look of disbelief on her face.

“I meant to say this to you, not to your mum,” Harry teased as he played with her hair.

Ginny looked up at him and sneered, “You always get me in trouble.”

Harry winked at her, “I did warn you at New Year’s that I am bad news for you, that I will get you in trouble, that…”

Ginny quickly raised her hand and immediately covered Harry’s mouth. She gazed mistily into his sparkling green eyes and mumbled softly, “Don’t forget what Dumbledore said to you. He said it is better for me to have you in my life, even if it makes my life a little more dangerous.”

Harry caressed her hand that was covering his mouth and kissed it gently, still gazing at her.

“Goodnight, Ginny. I love you. Pleasant dreams,” Harry whispered and he kissed her deeply on the lips.

In Harry’s mind, his life could not get any better now that Mrs. Weasley had given her blessing. He would no longer have to hide his feelings for Ginny. There would not be any more awkwardness now that everyone knew about his special relationship. He could see her everyday and it would be okay. Things could not be more perfect for him as he would begin his fifth year at Hogwarts…

Chapter 3 London Rain

As the summer holidays drew to a close, Mrs. Weasley decided to spend the remaining days at the Leaky Cauldron in London so everyone could go conveniently to Diagon Alley and get all the schoolbooks and supplies ready. Harry and Hermione were both thrilled that they were also invited because they could stay close to Ginny and Ron respectively.

“Ron, where is Mum?” Ginny asked.

“I think Mum went to bed already,” Ron replied casually.

“Ron, where are Fred and George?” Ginny pressed.

“I haven’t seen Fred and George all day,” Ron’s voice now had an annoying tone to it.

“Ron, is it raining outside? I think I hear the rain. Can you hear the rain, Ron?”

“Ginny, please! Why all these questions? Are you trying to distract me so I will make a wrong move and Harry will beat me?” Ron blasted. “I am your brother! Harry is just a boyfriend!”

Ginny sneered and quickly glanced at Hermione and Harry, who were both giggling.

“Ron, I am not just a boyfriend. And for that remark I will make it a mission to beat you today,” Harry smirked as he gave Ginny a victorious look, who gently kissed him on the cheek.

Ron and Harry were playing wizard chess in the Leaky Cauldron, with Hermione cheering for Ron and Ginny helping Harry. It was clear Harry was fighting a losing battle, judging from how many pieces he had lost. But he was determined to beat Ron tonight. For some reason he believed that beating Ron tonight would make Ginny really happy.

“Ha! There goes your bishop! Check!” Ron hissed.

Staring at his embattled bishop and king, Harry could hear a cheer of excitement from Hermione. To block out all the noise, he quickly covered his ears and mentally mapped out the entire chessboard and the locations of all the pieces, but he didn’t know what to do. Then suddenly he could hear a soft woman’s voice in his head:

“Move your castle in front of your king…”

“Uh?” Harry asked Ginny, taking his hands off his ears. “Did you say something?”

Ginny looked at him in a dumbfounded way and started to blink very quickly, “Nope, I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh, okay,” Harry shrugged. After a slight pause, he hesitantly moved his castle in front of his king to protect it. As soon as he did this move, he could see Ron’s eyes quickly focusing on Harry’s knight, which was threatening Ron’s king. Harry’s castle, the piece he had just moved, had now effectively trapped Ron’s queen. There was a very long pause as Ron sat frozen, breathing deeply, with his eyes concentrating on the chessboard. The four of them remained very quiet at this point. Suddenly, there was a draft of cold wet air coming in and it blew past them as the entrance door opened and closed.

“Oh, I think it is really raining…” Ginny said casually, hearing the raindrops and wind.

“Sis, please! Forget the rain! I’m concentrating here!” Ron bellowed nervously.

“It’s getting late. Make your move,” Hermione whispered to Ron.

Ron, who was still underestimating Harry’s chess skills, quickly made a move, believing that Harry would not catch on. However, in a matter of seconds, Ron had lost his queen, both his castles, and…

“CHECKMATE!” Harry yelled out as Ginny bounced up happily and hugged him from the back.

“Harry, congratulations. You won,” Ron said in a slightly sour way.

“Thanks, Ron. That was a good game,” Harry said as he tapped Ron’s shoulders, trying very hard not to gloat.

“Boys, it’s late. I’m heading up,” Hermione yawned as Ron got up and followed her.

“I want to check out the rain before I head up since you keep mentioning it all night,” Harry said as he pinched Ginny’s cheek softly.

“Okay then. Don’t stay too late,” she said to him as they kissed each other goodnight. After wishing Harry pleasant dreams, she slowly followed the others upstairs.

Harry walked towards the entrance door and exited the Leaky Cauldron in the London night, but he immediately darted backwards to the wall where the roof extension was, because the rain was indeed falling very hard. Without noticing, he accidentally rammed into a person.

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t looking,” Harry said sheepishly to the individual as he was brushing the water off his clothes. As he looked up at her face through his water-stained glasses, he could see that the lady was stunningly beautiful, with long flowing blond hair and big green eyes that were sparkling in the rain. She was also slightly taller than him, which made him blush faintly.

“That’s alright,” the woman smiled softly.

Harry was startled by her soulful voice because it was the one he had just heard during his chess game earlier. Without realizing what he was doing, he gazed deeply at her with his mouth slightly open for what seemed to be an inordinately long time. It wasn’t until a magic chariot had sped past them and splashed water onto Harry’s arms that he woke up from his trance.

“Uh…sorry, I…I…” Harry stuttered nervously, trying to hide his embarrassment and trying to explain why he was ogling her. “I recognize your voice from earlier…and it was chess…”

“Yes, Harry. That was me. I told you to move your castle in front of your king,” the woman said gently, gazing into his green eyes.

“You know my name?” Harry asked. Then it had occurred to him that it was a dumb question because it was obvious she knew his name from his lightning scar.

“No, it is not because of your scar that I know your name,” she replied casually.

“Excuse me?” Harry asked blankly, getting a bit confused.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be doing this to you, but I really wanted to help you back there with the chess game,” she said hesitantly.

“I don’t understand, Miss…”

“My name is Aria. Nice to meet you, Harry,” she interrupted him, as if she didn’t want him to pose his questions.

Harry quickly wiped his clammy hand with his pants to regain his composure, “Nice to meet you, Aria.”

As he shook her hand, he was wondering how he was able to hear her voice earlier and why a pretty lady like her was standing alone waiting at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron in the rain. But he hesitated because he didn’t want to appear foolish in front of her.

“So, you live in London?” Harry blurted out as he quickly pulled his hand away, finally realizing that he had forgotten to let go.

“Yes, but only for a very short period. And I’ll be moving soon,” Aria replied. “I found a new job so I’ll be relocating there. I’m standing here waiting for the rain to subside because I forgot my umbrella and wand. Now I understand what London rain is all about. It never stops!”

Harry thought of his wand in his pocket, thinking that he could transform it into an umbrella so he could walk her home, but then he remembered that underage wizards were not supposed to use magic in the Muggle world.

“You are so sweet, Harry. No wonder Ginny loves you so much. She is a very lucky girl. I wish someday I will be lucky like her and find someone just like you,” Aria said to him, interrupting his thoughts.

She gazed into his eyes as she stuffed a handkerchief in his hand, “Here, wipe your glasses. It looks like I’ll have to make a run for it. Thanks for keeping me company.”

And with that, Aria ran and disappeared into the London rain, leaving Harry standing alone at the entrance door, confused and dazed.

“I will see you soon…” Aria’s voice suddenly echoed inside Harry’s head.

“Uh, what?” Harry looked around but there was no one.

“I am so sweet?” he thought to himself as he stared at the handkerchief blankly. “But I didn’t even do or say anything. And how did she know about Ginny?”

Chapter 4 Pictures Speak a Thousand Words

The past few days Harry couldn’t help but be distracted by the mysterious stranger he met at the Leaky Cauldron. He didn’t want to tell the others, especially Ginny, because for some reason he believed she would be upset if she were to find out about his encounter. Occasionally he would examine the red handkerchief, wondering who Aria was, and whether he would see her again because he really enjoyed her company. It also didn’t hurt that she was complimenting him endlessly that night, like how sweet he was and that she wished she could find someone just like him.

“Harry, are you there?” Ginny knocked on his door. “Fred and George have got this cool camera. Wanna see?”

He quickly stuffed the handkerchief in his trunk, “Okay, coming.”

Holding each other’s hands, they slowly made their way downstairs, where Fred and George were busy taking pictures of Mrs. Weasley. They appeared very reluctant though.

“Come on, just one more!” Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Harry could see Fred and George rolling their eyes, with Hermione giggling in the background.

“Mum, half the film is already you,” Ron complained.

“Ah, here comes Harry and Ginny, the twin bird lovers. Let’s take a picture of them,” Hermione snickered.

“The what?” Harry asked.

“No, Hermione. They are the butterfly lovers," Mrs. Weasley corrected her.

Even Ginny was rolling her eyes when she heard that comment.

"Here, Ginny, this is a good spot. Plenty of sunshine! It will bring out your hair! Just stand here beside Harry! He will sit on the stool!” Mrs. Weasley hollered as she dragged them by the arms, with Harry almost tripping over the stool. Ginny maneuvered behind him, gently wrapped her arms across his shoulders and rested her head next to his.

“What a cute couple! Smile! I want to see a big smile! HARRY, A BIG ONE! NOW!”

FLASH…

FLASH…

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione shared a cabin on their way to Hogwarts aboard the Hogwarts Express. It was going to be Harry’s fifth year at the school. As more days had gone by since that strange night at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry seemed to have forgotten all about Aria. All he remembered now was how he was telling himself that this year was going to be the best, because he had Ginny by her side.

“Ginny, what’s wrong?” Hermione asked as she was admiring the bizarre picture she took with Ron. Ron was making funny faces and pulling her hair in the dynamic image, while she was biting his hand, laughing hysterically.

“Nothing,” Ginny replied dully, staring at the photo she shared with Harry. In her photo, her eyes were sparkling at him as she hovered closely behind him. Her arms were embracing his shoulders and she was nuzzling happily against his head. However, Harry had a strained grin in the picture. He looked very indifferent and somber, and appeared to be pulling away.

“Gin, what is it?” Harry snuggled up to her with a look of concern.

“Is there something bothering you?” she asked softly. “The picture, you don’t look too happy.”

Harry instantly remembered why. That day his mind was wandering aimlessly because of his thoughts of Aria. He also recalled being dragged by Mrs. Weasley and almost tripped over the stool. But he didn’t want to tell her this.

“Uh? Oh…I…never liked taking pictures,” Harry lied, taking a quick peek at it. Then suddenly he had the urge to kick himself in the head. It was because he remembered seeing an otherwise perfect image of their reflections not too long ago, the image of which he was sitting cheerfully at Ginny’s dresser table and she was cutting his hair.

“Now why didn’t I have a camera then?” Harry mumbled to himself begrudgingly.

“Gin, it’s just a photo. You’ll take another one with Harry,” Ron said reassuringly as he reached for her picture and examined it. “Oh, but she’s right, mate. You look mournful…almost morbid…”

“AARGH…WHY DID YOU DO THAT FOR?” Ron shrieked.

Hermione had elbowed Ron very hard but he knew he deserved it, so he didn’t say anything. He slowly handed the picture back.

The rest of the train ride was uncomfortably quiet, with Hermione shooting fiery glares at Ron and Ron shrugging his shoulders continuously. Harry continued to hold Ginny’s hand during the ride but he could sense that she wasn’t as receiving as before. He knew he had to make it up to her because he could feel her disappointment. She had eagerly anticipated for this picture, but he screwed it up.

“Gin, meet me after the feast at the common room tonight,” Harry whispered.

“Why, for the goodnight kiss?” she replied in a somewhat flat tone.

“No, not just that. I…I…want to show you something. I can’t tell you now, because it’s a surprise… I…think you’ll like it,” Harry blurted out softly. But in his mind, he didn’t know what to show her yet. All he wanted to do was to cheer her up now; he figured he could think of something by then. He gave a glance at Ron and Hermione, trying to signal them to suggest some ideas.

His plan worked. A bright smile started to appear on Ginny’s face as she took his other hand and held it together with hers.

It was already late evening when they arrived at Hogwarts. The four of them quickly jammed into the Great Hall, awaiting the feast and the sorting ceremony. As they sat and waited in the Gryffindor table, Harry peered along the head table where Dumbledore sat and immediately recognized a very familiar face sitting next to him.

“Harry, who’s that lady professor sitting next to Dumbledore? Do you think she’s a Veela?” Ron mumbled.

He didn’t reply because he didn’t want Ginny to know that he had met her before and that he hadn’t mentioned anything. As he observed her, he noticed that tonight she appeared older and more mature compared to the image from the night at the Leaky Cauldron. However, if she wasn’t sitting next to Dumbledore, he would never have believed that she could pass as a professor. Tonight, she had her long blond hair tied in a bun and her face was stern and expressionless, much like McGonagall. In his mind though, she was still the prettiest professor he had ever seen.

“I want to introduce and welcome our latest addition to the family of teachers at Hogwarts,” Dumbledore announced loudly. “Sitting beside me is Professor Aria Hannibal, a teacher that specializes in telepathy and hypnotism.”

There was applause in the room, although it was very reserved and faint. Harry wasn’t paying much attention to Dumbledore; he was still gazing at Aria, who maintained her stern posture as she slowly glanced across the room at the four tables of students. But then her green eyes widened when they caught Harry’s gaze. She suddenly broke into a deep smile and slowly nodded her head to him. Seeing this, Harry immediately looked down and started to blush.

“Oh my! Harry, I think she smiled at me!” Ron said excitedly. “But what a shame. She’s a telepath.”

Dumbledore continued, “This year I’ve included the art of telepathy as part of the curriculum for Hogwarts students that are in their fourth years and above. Professor Hannibal has informed me that she will be mixing up the students regardless of their years. You will find your groupings posted in the common room.”

“What’s wrong with being a telepath?” Harry asked blankly. He kept his head down because he could feel Aria was still looking in his direction.

“Telepaths are not well-liked individuals,” Hermione answered as she elbowed Ron to wake him up from his trance. “People generally don’t trust them. They feel like they have no privacy with their thoughts when they are around.”

Harry wasn’t sure if he could accept Hermione’s perspective on this. In his mind, all he could see was a very kind and graceful professor who could not harm another soul.

Chapter 5 I Can See Only You

As the feast drew to a close, all the students began to trickle out of the Great Hall and went to their respective houses to rest. At this point, Harry had just remembered that he had promised to meet Ginny in the common room to show her something to make up for the gloomy picture. He became increasingly agitated because he still did not know what to give her.

“Harry, can I talk to you for a minute?” Aria’s voice sounded soulfully in his head.

He turned to look at her. She was gazing and smiling at him while sitting alone by herself at the main table. Hagrid and the other teachers were talking amongst themselves at one end. Dumbledore was busy talking to McGonagall across the hall.

“Ginny, I have to talk to Hagrid about something,” Harry lied. “Can you go with Ron and Hermione and I will meet you in the common room a little later?”

Ginny nodded and followed the others out. Harry had always liked this about Ginny, that she was never too clingy with him and that she was always willing to give him the space as he needed. He pretended to walk towards Hagrid but then he gradually changed his direction and approached Aria.

“Harry, I want you to be honest. Do you still want to be my friend?” she asked, gazing into his green eyes.

He paused for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time because he didn’t really understand why she would ask him this. Nevertheless, he felt less self-conscious with her this time because she was sitting down and he didn’t have to worry about being shorter than her. As he stood there, he recalled what Hermione said about telepaths. And truthfully, having Aria’s voice sounding in his head and having her read his thoughts were somewhat eerie to him. But then he thought of his own lightning scar and how it made him stand out all his life, the hardships and burdens he had to endure, and the feelings of isolation as a result. He had understood her.

“Why? Nothing in the law book says that a professor and a student can’t be friends. Hagrid and I are very good friends, and he’s a professor,” Harry replied, trying to sound composed.

“It’s not that. It’s just…you don’t mind that I… am a telepath?” she asked anxiously.

“Uh…Of course not. I think you’re…cool,” Harry was lost for words.

A glowing smile appeared on her face, “I…The minute I saw you…I am never wrong when it comes to people. But…I just wanted to hear you say it.”

She removed a hairpin from her bun and placed it in his hand, “I know you’re thinking about Ginny. Here, give this to her. This is perfect for her flowing red hair. Tell her you bought it at Diagon Alley as a present to celebrate the start of a joyous school year.”

The hairpin was in the shape of a butterfly. It was obviously enchanted because the sparkling wings were flapping gently in his hand as if it were a real butterfly. Harry didn’t know what to say; he was just staring nervously at the hairpin and his mind was flooded with all sorts of thoughts.

“Harry, don’t worry about me,” she giggled, turning her head around to show him. “You know, you are such a charming boy! Always worrying about other people! My hair isn’t going to get undone that easily. I am wearing another pin just like it. One is more than enough to hold it together. And…you’re welcome.”

Harry was very embarrassed and blushing heavily because he realized she had just read all his silly thoughts and answered all his concerns.

“Thanks, Aria…I mean…Professor Hannibal…” he muttered awkwardly. “I gotta go…I guess I’ll see you in class.”

“Please, call me Aria,” a hint of disappointment crept across her face as she nodded. “I understand, Harry. I hope to see you soon.”

He ran out of the hall as fast as he could, trying to save himself from further embarrassment. Aria sighed deeply as she watched him speed away, hopelessly yearning for him to turn back and give her one last look. Her longing eyes could no longer see anything else but him as they faithfully followed his back and his fading footsteps until he disappeared from the hall. Feeling disillusioned, her smile gradually paled away because she could feel her heart aching and her stomach tightening into a knot. A sense of yearning had taken over her.

“That Harry, you can’t find a better person in this world! He’s the greatest kid. Isn’t he?” Hagrid called out to Aria, whose eyes were still locked on the entrance of the hall.

“Yes, he is indeed, Hagrid,” Aria replied breathlessly, with a longing and aching look on her face. “Yes, indeed.”

Harry ran up the castle stairs to the common room as fast as he could, anxiously clutching the butterfly hairpin in his hand. When he entered the empty common room, he noticed Ginny talking with Hermione by the fireplace.

“Oh, I think I hear Harry,” Hermione said cheerfully to Ginny.

Hermione quickly got up and dragged him by the arm towards Ginny, who also got up and was rubbing her eyes. As he looked into them, he noticed they were slightly red.

“I guess I’ll head up. See you tomorrow,” Hermione blurted out while giving Harry a quick glance of disapproval.

“Ginny, I have something for you,” Harry muttered hesitantly as he opened his palm and showed her the hairpin. “I got it at Diagon Alley for you…It’s…to celebrate…the start of a…joyous school year with you.”

She retrieved the pin from his hand and admired it intensely. The wings of the butterfly were fluttering gently on her palm.

“It’s so beautiful and unique,” Ginny said as she examined the pin, with a look of amazement on her face. “For a guy, you certainly have good taste and know about girls’ stuff. Help me put it on.”

For a brief moment he was completely offended with the fact that Ginny thought he knew about girls’ stuff. He wanted to say so badly that he knew absolutely nothing about hairpins. However, at the risk of upsetting her, he reluctantly agreed and helped her put it on. Much to his surprise, he was rather good at handling the pin.

“You look absolutely gorgeous!” Harry yelled out as she spun around. She purposely crashed into him.

“I’m sorry for the photo. I don’t know why I looked like that. But I know there is another picture, and I can tell you that one is perfect,” Harry heard himself say as his hands rested on her shoulders, trying to steady her.

“Where is this picture?” she asked eagerly.

“It’s here. I carry it with me at all times,” he heard himself reply tenderly as he pointed and poked at his heart. “I take it out and admire it everyday, the reflection of you giggling behind me while you were trimming my hair in your room.”

Ginny smiled and nodded, “I know I shouldn’t be upset…”

Harry watched his hand cover her lips and pulled her closer, “Shhh…For the past while, I know I haven’t paid much attention to you and you have every reason to be upset with me because you deserve better. I’m really sorry.”

He gently stroked her hair and heard himself say, “I promise, from now on, my eyes will see only you.”

He nuzzled her forehead and kissed her.

“Harry, I am sorry I got upset at you,” she muttered to him.

He grinned at her reassuringly and heard himself whisper, “Nothing you can do is going to drive me away. I’m afraid you’ll be stuck with me for a very long time.”

“I have to say again that for a guy, you do have great taste,” Ginny giggled with excitement. “Wait till Hermione and the girls see this!”

She broke out of Harry’s embrace and ran upstairs, but then quickly turned around and ran back towards him.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Goodnight, Harry. Pleasant dreams,” she said hastily as she pecked him on the lips.

Immediately after their lips met, Harry suddenly took a big giant sweeping step backward. Feeling very stunned and swallowing very hard, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, looking very dazed. Blinking very quickly, he felt like he had just woken up from a trance, as if he had just been floating from a distance, watching himself say those things to Ginny.

Chapter 6 Seduce Me

“Ginny, look at the posting. We are all in the same group for Telepathy with Professor Hannibal today,” Hermione said excitedly in the common room as she gestured the three of them to come closer. “What do you think, Harry? Now you can be in the same class with Ginny.”

Harry didn’t reply. Hermione’s tone with him was much better today. It was clear that Ginny had shown her the butterfly pin he gave her last night and told her that they’ve made up. However, he had a slight feeling of unease because he still hadn’t told any of them that he had met Aria before. Somehow, he could foretell that something would go wrong having the four of them together in the same class with her. He was desperately hoping that she would not get too friendly with him during class in front of Ginny or to give him any kind of special treatment.

The entire school day, Harry was still anxiously worrying about Telepathy class, which would take place after the Math class that they were in right now. As the bell rang, Ron immediately jumped out of his seat.

“Come on, Telepathy is next! I want to grab the front seat! Let’s go!” Ron shouted as he stormed out.

Hermione glared at him angrily, sensing why Ron was so eager to attend this class. She let out a deep sigh of disbelief and turned to Harry, “He falls for anything with a pulse, even if it is a teacher… Harry, did you hear what I said?”

“Uh? What? What were you saying?” he asked blankly.

“I said, Ron falls for anything with a pulse, even if it is a teacher,” she repeated in an annoying tone.

“Fallen for a teacher? I didn’t fall for a teacher! Why would you say that?” he replied nervously.

“No, I said Ron. Not you! What’s wrong? You’ve been so quiet all day,” she inserted.

“Nothing. Come on. Let’s go,” he muttered softly as he got up and followed her out. Hermione’s comment about falling for a teacher continued to float in his mind. Then he grinned faintly when he distinctly remembered how Hermione was once head over heels with a professor named Lockhart, the flaky Dark Arts teacher.

As Hermione and Harry stood at Aria’s classroom entrance, they could see Ron already occupying the front seats of the class.

“Come fast! I saved these four seats for all of us!” Ron yelled out enthusiastically, with Hermione shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

Harry truly wanted to hide at the back of the classroom, hoping that Aria would not notice him and the class would come and go. But from the looks of it, he may have no choice but to sit in the front with Ron.

“It’s like I’m invisible. What kind of boyfriend is this? Why can’t he be more like you, Harry? So sensitive…and caring for Ginny…” Hermione mumbled mistily.

“What?”

“She told me everything you said to her. You know, our nightly girl talk sessions! And that cute hairpin! She’s right. You do have great taste. Ron can’t fetch me a toothpick if his life depended on it,” she chuckled nastily, nudging his shoulder proudly. “You know…I’m really impressed with you. I never knew you’re such a smooth talker with girls.”

Harry was blushing with embarrassment and didn’t know how to respond. In his mind, he was just hoping that the other boys would also fight for the front seats. Thinking desperately for a way to go in late, Harry turned to Hermione, “Ginny’s not here yet. You go in. I’m going to look for her.”

“You are so sweet, Harry…always wanting to be with her. She must be held back at Potions or something. That stupid Snape! I’ll see you inside,” she called out as she walked inside the class.

As Harry wandered aimlessly in the quiet empty halls because all the students have found their classrooms, Hermione’s voice began to ring in his head:

“Fallen for a teacher…Why can’t he be more like you…You’re so sweet…so sensitive…”

“Harry?” a voice called out.

“Harry!” Aria grabbed his shoulder from behind and startled him so much that he dropped all his books. The sounds of his books crashing on the ground echoed through the empty halls.

“Aria…I mean…Professor Hannibal…I mean…” he blurted out as he quickly bent down to gather up his things, averting her gaze.

“Call me Professor Hannibal during school hours, Aria after school hours,” she kneeled down and helped him gather up his books. As she reached for his quill, her hand accidentally brushed against his. He quickly retracted his hand and started to blush immensely.

“Thanks, Professor,” he got up and muttered sheepishly, still trying to avoid her eyes.

“Why aren’t you in the classroom already?” she asked him as she got up from the ground and handed him his supplies.

Harry didn’t reply. He figured that with her telepathic powers, she would know his complicated and embarrassing reasons already by now.

“Listen, Harry. I promise I’ll stop invading your thoughts,” she said, her voice shaking slightly.

“What? I don’t understand,” he finally looked up at her.

“I really want to be your friend, you know…like Hagrid and you. You mean a lot to me. I’ve got no right to invade the privacy of your thoughts. I know you said you don’t mind me being what I am, but I think you deserve at least this. I hope you’re not mad at me for what I did to you at the Leaky Cauldron and the other day at the feast. I’m truly sorry.”

He gazed up into her green eyes, still assuming she would read his thoughts and find out that he didn’t mind. But all she did was gaze back at him, looking anxiously and waiting for his elusive answer.

After a very long pause, he finally said softly, “You were just trying to help me…but…I think I’ll like that.”

With a look of relief, she said cheerfully, “Thanks Harry. Listen, I’m new here. I don’t know this place very well. Hagrid, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall are the only ones that talk to me but you’re more fun to be with. I was wondering if you can…show me around?”

Deep down, Harry wanted to say no, because he was worried about what Ginny would think about this. However, as he continued to gaze into her eyes, he heard himself say, “Okay. I’ll meet you in your class after school.”

With a look of pure delight, she walked closer and started to stroke his bangs gently. She gazed into his green eyes as her soft hands slowly played their way to his ears, then his cheeks and neck, with every touch more sensual and intense than the last, each one sending tingles down his spine. Harry stood motionless, clutching his books tightly across his chest as he tried hopelessly to avert her electrifying gaze. He wanted to pull away but it was as if his feet were glued to the ground. Not knowing what else to do, he abruptly shut his eyes. With his eyes now closed, he could feel her arms now dancing their way across his shoulders and gently pulling him closer, so close that their bodies were separated only by the pile of books still clutched tightly across his chest. His arms were beginning to feel pain as the load of books felt heavier and heavier, but he refused to let them go. Clenching his teeth in desperation, he emptied his mind and flooded it all with Ginny’s images. Then suddenly, he felt her bolting away from him hastily as his arms bounced off her body and his books crashed to the ground once again. As he quickly opened his eyes, he could see from the corner of his view, that Ginny was marching over to their direction.

Chapter 7 Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

“Harry, what are you doing?” Ginny rushed towards them, calling out.

“You must be Ginny Weasley. I’m Professor Aria Hannibal. Your father and I used to work together. He has told me so much about you,” Aria said casually, bending down next to Harry and helping him gather up his books once again. “I was just helping your friend Mr. Potter here with his things. Come on. We are late for class.”

Before Ginny could answer, Harry immediately gathered up his books and hurried over to her. He clutched her hand and sped ahead of Aria, as if he wanted to display to her their handholding techniques. Without exchanging another word, the three of them made their way to the classroom. Visibly shaken, Harry was nervously wondering what Ginny saw and if she saw him and Aria together.

As they entered the room, Harry could sense all the eyes were directed at the three of them because they were the last ones to arrive. Certainly, this was not the kind of grand entrance that he wanted to be a part of. As he glanced around the room, hopelessly searching for empty spaces at the back, he noticed that almost all the classroom walls were mirrors. He could make out multiple haunting reflections of the three of them from the side as the mirrors from both ends of the room were reflecting off each other. Because of the reflections, the room appeared to contain many more students than there really were. Harry could see Aria was closely following behind the two of them. The room, brightly lit, was also decorated with many animal cages containing what appeared to be rabbits, squirrels, birds, and puppies. He was unsure how these animals relate to telepathy. Peering nervously ahead, he could spot Ron and Hermione watching them eagerly, with Ron pointing at the two empty spaces next to Hermione. Harry and Ginny quickly sat down while Aria stopped at their desk.

“Mr. Potter, here are the rest of your quills and parchment,” she said casually, scattering them on the table.

“Thanks,” Harry shakily mumbled, hoping desperately that he would not have to interact with her for the duration of the class.

“What took you so long?” Ron whispered. “What happened to your new books? Why are they all dirty?”

“Harry, weren’t you looking for Ginny?” Hermione mumbled.

“It’s my fault. I went back to the dorm to put it on and I lost track of time,” Ginny whispered sheepishly to Hermione, pointing at the butterfly hairpin on her head.

“Sorry, Harry. I didn’t mean to have you wait so long out there in the halls,” she whispered to him.

“That’s okay,” Harry breathed a sigh of relief because he knew now that it was possible she didn’t see anything and that she wasn’t upset.

“Everyone, my name is Professor Aria Hannibal. I’m the instructor of Telepathic Studies. The topics that I’m covering this term include the power of the mind and thoughts, and spells of telepathy.”

The entire room was silent and she continued, “Since this is our first lesson, let’s do something fun, shall we? I need two volunteers for this exercise.”

Still trying to calm himself down, Harry turned around to look at the back of the class and noticed that no one raised their hands. Judging from everyone’s expressions, it was obvious to him that what Hermione said about people not liking telepaths was right.

“Mr. Potter, why don’t you come up here?”

Harry immediately gasped when he heard his name. He still had not recovered from what happened in the hallway. This was exactly what he was afraid of, that she would treat him differently compared to the other students. Avoiding Aria’s eyes, he reluctantly got up and trudged to the front.

“I need a second person. Let’s see. How about you, Miss Granger?”

Hermione got up and hurried over to Harry.

“Miss Granger, stand over there. That’s right,” Aria gestured to Hermione. She then walked over to Harry and handed him a rose, “That’s perfect. Harry, you take this.”

“Okay, Mr. Potter. I want you to concentrate your thoughts and feelings on Miss Granger. As you maintain your concentration on her, you’ll remove a petal one by one. With each petal you’ll say ‘She loves me,’ and ‘She loves me not…”

The entire class burst out laughing. Hermione clutched her stomach and shrieked so hard she almost choked. Harry couldn’t laugh; he was just staring blankly at the rose, with his cheeks hot in flames. Gradually, as the noise died down, Aria instructed him to start.

Blushing from utter embarrassment, he proceeded to remove the petals, muttering reluctantly, “She loves me…She loves me not…” He could see Hermione’s face contorting as each petal floated to the ground. It was obvious she was trying very hard not to laugh. From the reflections he noticed Ron and Ginny watching him attentively, anxiously waiting for the last petal to fall.

“She loves me…she loves me not…she loves me…she loves me not…” Harry began to speed up, in an almost robotic-like manner because he was tired of this silly exercise. In his mind, he wasn’t thinking about Hermione at all. All he was wondering about was what happened in the hallway with Aria and him, why she gazed at him and touched him the way she did, why he didn’t push her away, and why he should not have agreed to meet her after school.

“She loves me…she loves me not…SHE LOVES ME…” he finally uttered as the last petal fell.

“WHAT?” Hermione shrieked at Harry, who was thinking of digging a hole and burying himself just about now.

The whole class once again burst out laughing, with loud screams of “OH MY GOODNESS, GRANGER LOVES POTTER…HAS THE HOTS FOR POTTER…” echoing violently across the room. Ron and Ginny were staring at Hermione and Harry in disbelief.

“This is obviously a mistake, Professor!” Hermione called out, trying hopelessly to drown out the laughter.

“I guess we know who has the keys to your heart!” Aria smiled and proceeded to give everyone a rose. She then instructed them to do the same exercise.

“Harry, I don’t know who’s the bigger fraud, this blondie or that crazy goggle-eyed Trelawney!” Hermione complained angrily, gasping for breath and shaking her head in disgust as they marched toward their seats.
“What kind of lesson was THAT?? It is totally absurd! I bet a dead slug has more telepathic powers than her!”

Harry knew better. He knew Aria did possess telepathic powers and he wanted to tell Hermione that he wasn’t thinking of her during the exercise. In fact, he was thinking of Aria, and the exercise may have just indicated to him that Aria was in love with him. It made sense to him now as he understood why she touched him the way she did in the hallway. Just when he was about to open his mouth, Ron grunted bitterly, “Hermione, I thought you and me…”

“What is this you and me?” she snapped, her voice in a very annoying tone as she yanked out her chair, still fuming from the embarrassing outcome to the exercise. Giggles and murmurs of her undying love for Harry could still be heard in the background.

“I thought you and me…and not Harry,” he pointed at Harry coldly.

“Oh, you BELIEVE that stupid exercise? You actually think I LOVE HARRY?” she roared back fiercely and pointed at Aria’s direction. “Well, what about YOU AND YOUR RIDICULOUS INFATUATION WITH BLONDIE OVER THERE?”

“Shhh…” Ginny frantically gestured her hands to Hermione to calm her down while Harry’s face contorted as he quickly nudged Hermione’s arm, letting her know that the whole class was now staring at them.

Chapter 8 Point Of No Return

“Well, he deserves it,” Hermione complained bitterly to Ginny and Harry as the three of them marched back to the common room. Ron left Telepathy class by himself rather abruptly.

“Gin, you don’t believe that game…?” Harry asked anxiously.

“No, of course not,” she replied in a teasing manner. “But just to be curious, whom were you thinking of?”

“I was thinking of you,” he lied as he gently kissed her cheeks. “Remember what I said to you before? That my eyes see only you?”

“Guys, please spare me. What an awful day! AND WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PETALS ALL OVER THE PLACE?” Hermione screamed in frustration, glaring around the common room in complete disbelief. “Don’t tell me the entire school is doing this ridiculous petal removing game of hers. I can’t stand this insanity! I’m going to the library!”

“Wait for me! I’m coming with you!” Ginny hollered as she turned to Harry. “I’ve got so much homework and research to do. See you later tonight.”

Before he could answer, the two of them had already disappeared, leaving him alone in the common room, worrying about the upcoming meeting with Aria after school. So many things had happened but he felt trapped because he couldn’t tell anyone. He couldn’t speak to Hermione because judging from the resentment she had towards her, she would definitely tell Dumbledore and Aria would risk losing her job. Confiding in Ron and Ginny is basically out of the question. Besides, he didn’t even know where Ron was. Admittedly, he was very flattered by her affections toward him and he was indeed smitten with her. But he knew that the one he loved was Ginny and no other. Feeling very guilty with himself, he finally realized he had to solve this problem alone.

“I’ll just explain to her tonight that there’s nothing between us,” he paced around and muttered nervously to himself, breathing very deeply. “It can’t be that hard. Right, I’ll tell her the minute I see her! That should do it!”

As Harry hastily changed into his casual clothes, a red handkerchief fell out of his trunk when he pulled out his jacket. It was the one Aria gave him that night at the Leaky Cauldron to wipe his glasses. Wondering if he should return it to her, he quickly stuffed it inside his jacket.

Harry slowed himself down as he walked out of the common room and took his time making his way down to the castle to Aria’s classroom, trying to catch his breath. In his mind, he was busy telegraphing everything that he was going to say. He planned to tell her upfront how he felt about her, and that they could be friends but nothing more. Perhaps by doing this she would understand and cancel their outing. His feet felt heavier and heavier with every step he took. Before he knew it, he had arrived at her doorstep.

“Harry! Thank you for coming,” Aria beamed. “Come in! Are you hungry? I made you some butter chocolate cookies. You’ll love them.”

“Thanks, I’m not hungry,” he lied as he marched in. The aroma from the cookies certainly was attractive. But something much more alluring had captured his attention. He noticed she had let her flowing blond hair down again. No longer looking like a stern professor, she was wearing her regular casual clothes instead of the loose robes, making her appear much younger and prettier. He was convinced that the age difference between them could not be that far apart.

“Wait, Professor Hannibal…I mean Aria…” he suddenly pulled himself out of his thoughts and remembered his plan of attack.

“I think it’s raining outside. We ought to bring an umbrella with us,” she interrupted hastily.

Harry checked his pockets and realized he had forgotten his wand in his school robes, “I don’t have my wand with me…”

“That’s alright. We’ll share this one. Don’t worry,” she said rather cheerfully, handing him the umbrella and pointing at her shoes. “Since you’re the taller one today, now that I’m wearing my comfortable walking shoes.”

He noticed she was wearing flat-heeled shoes and she was right; he was slightly taller than her. But somehow, the idea of sharing an umbrella with her seemed completely inappropriate. He recalled his plan again but before he could open his mouth, Aria interrupted him once more.

“Harry, I really appreciate what you’re doing for me,” she glowed warmly as she nudged his arm and walked out of the classroom.

On their way to the castle entrance, they encountered many passer-bys of students, and many of them were clearly staring at them.

“Don’t worry, Harry. I’m used to that by now,” she calmly said.

Harry wasn’t sure if they were staring at her or staring at them because they were walking together rather closely. He tried to put some distance between them but it always seemed that she would only get closer. He realized he couldn’t tell her now in the halls in front of all these students. So he decided he would do it outside the castle, where it was more open and there are much less people.

As soon as they reached the castle gates, Harry could hear the noisy drizzles and spot the gloomy skies. It was darker than usual because of the rain. When he opened the umbrella, Aria immediately came really close to him, so close that his arm was rubbing against her.

Harry blushed but he pretended to not notice her close presence. He continued to walk in silence, thinking of the best opportunity to explain to her.

“You wanna see the Whomping Willow and the Shrieking Shack?” he blurted out, trying to control the umbrella because the winds were getting stronger and the rain heavier. Those were the first two places that popped into his head.

“That sounds exciting. Bring me there,” she replied, clutching her blouse and trying to brush her hair off her face. Clearly, the umbrella wasn’t of any help because the winds were blowing the water on them now as they marched on. But before they were anywhere near there, a very strong draft blew at them. The umbrella turned over and drifted out of Harry’s grip.

Without the umbrella covering his view, he noticed that the entire school grounds were deserted because of the pouring rain. Peering around, he noticed a field of trees not too far away.

“Come on. Let’s hide underneath the trees over there for a while,” Harry pointed and without thinking, he had unknowingly grabbed her hand and guided her to that direction. Running as fast as they could, it wasn’t until they were underneath the trees that he realized what he had done. Soaking wet and blushing heavily, he immediately pulled his hand away. But as he caught a glimpse of her through his water-stained glasses, his eyes became locked into a longing gaze that refused to let go. Her blond hair was dazzling with water drops and shining through her soulful green eyes. He was instinctively overcome with burning desire at the sight of her wet blouse hugging tightly onto her body, revealing every curve on her voluptuous womanly figure.

Swallowing hard as he finally managed to tear his hungry and defiant eyes away, he whimpered awkwardly, “Sorry.”

Intuitively, he removed his jacket and gently placed it over her shoulders. Trying hopelessly to suppress his yearning emotions, he quickly turned his back towards her and took a few steps away.

“Thanks,” she grinned warmly, trying unconvincingly to sound as if she didn’t notice him ogling her. She was gazing at his backside as she hugged his jacket tightly, admiring the way his wet shirt was clinging onto his body.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” she called out, rubbing her hand that was just held by Harry. “It was raining that night too, the same kind of rain like now…”

Harry ignored her and maintained his back towards her. But deep inside, he could indeed remember the two of them that rainy night as the rain and winds now continued their powerful ways. Huge splashing noises echoed throughout the dark skies. Water waves were crashing against the school grounds, creating explosive fireworks of water droplets.

“We should wait here until the rain dies down,” he mumbled softly, trying desperately to suppress the screaming sensations of his wet clothes hugging his body.

“What?” she called out as she went up behind him.

Harry turned abruptly to her, “I said we…”

Harry was startled because he accidentally collided into her when he whipped around. Their faces were merely inches apart now that both their magnetic yearning green eyes were locked with each other. Harry’s burning lips could now sense her moist warm breaths. Both panting deeply in their water-soaked clothes, she suddenly grabbed onto him and melted her face and body into his, her hands tearing their way underneath his shirt as if she was devouring his all. As she was kissing and groping him violently and passionately, Harry’s water-stained glasses slipped off his face and his jacket was pushed off her shoulders and floated to the ground.

Chapter 9 Friend Or Foe

“NO…” Harry finally roared as he struggled out of Aria’s grip and pushed her away so fiercely she fell to the ground. Still panting and swallowing hard, he wiped his lips and stared at her stunned disheveled face and body as she was lying helplessly on the water-filled ground.

“I… I AM SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN TO…” he screamed as his knees buckled in panic. He was determined to not succumb to his urge to help her get up after finally realizing in disbelief what they had just done. Desperately searching for his glasses and averting her presence, he wanted to stay on the ground as long as possible because he didn’t want to face the consequences of what just happened. As he maintained his focus on the blurry water-filled grounds for what seemed like an eternity, he noticed from the corner of his view, that her feet were slowly making their way towards him. As he glanced up at her hesitantly, he noticed Aria had found his glasses. Her arm was outstretched towards him, holding his glasses, her eyes misted with tears.

“Sorry! I have to go! I’m truly sorry…” he got up, grabbed his glasses and bolted back to the castle, trying to fight back tears. Aria, left alone underneath the trees, was once again gazing at his back the way she did at the feast, hopelessly longing for him to turn around and spare her one last look. As he disappeared into the rain, tears spilled out of her eyes as she sobbed despairingly. She reached her arm out to him but her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the ground next to his jacket. She slowly reached for it and cuddled it tenderly like it was the most precious thing she had.

As Harry was running in the rain, he could hear Aria’s sorrowful cries and sobs in his head. Her heartbreaking cries were getting louder and louder in his head, drowning out the noise from the rain and winds:

”Why…Don’t leave me alone…Please…Don’t leave me…Harry…”

”You’re all I have…Please…You’re hurting me…”

Desperately covering his ears, he ran deep inside the quiet deserted castle, but her cries continued to scream painfully in his mind. Not knowing where to run, he collided onto a castle wall and slowly fell down onto the floor, with tears flooding out of his eyes. He could no longer see or hear anything else but her, her pain, and her despair. Heartbreaking images began to flash in front of his eyes. He could see himself running away from her; he could feel her arm reaching out for him and he didn’t even turn around and give her one last look. Sitting on the floor by himself, he buried his face with his hands, sobbing uncontrollably, as her aching cries continue to ring in his head:

”You’re hurting me…”

“STOP…PLEASE…I’M SORRY…I’M SO SORRY…I CAN’T…I JUST CAN’T…” Harry pleaded and sobbed hopelessly as he curled up on the hard cold floor, desperately begging for her cries to go away.

As the sounds of her lonely cries gradually began to die down in his head, he slowly pulled himself back up and trudged to the common room. Visibly shaken, sweat was breaking out from all over his body as he was soaked from head to toe. Wiping away his tears, he walked inside to discover Hermione waiting by the entrance.

“WHAT HAPPENED, HARRY? ARE YOU OKAY?” Hermione screamed, apparently shocked by how completely messed up Harry looked.

She immediately hurried over next to him and tidied up his wet hair, “You’re all wet! Were you outside in the rain? You’ll catch a cold like that!”

Her hand then made its way to his chest, “Harry, your shirt is missing some buttons! What happened?”

“Harry, go upstairs and change! You’ll catch a cold!” Hermione insisted. “Why are your glasses broken?”

“NO! I’M FINE!” Harry roared in frustration, gripping his hair with his hands. She immediately backed away and stared blankly at him in silence.

“Hermione, where’s Ginny?” Harry broke the silence and pleaded weakly, clenching his teeth but his tone was now much more controlled than before.

“She’s still in the library,” she mumbled anxiously. “Harry, have you seen Ron?”

“Uh? No,” he whimpered, but then he raised his voice again. “GINNY’S IN THE LIBRARY??”

“What is it? What’s wrong? Harry, are you…”

“AARGH…” Harry roared hysterically as he stormed upstairs.

“Harry…HARRY…” she screamed. But all she heard was a loud bang from his door being slammed shut.

*****************************************************************

“GINNY WEASLEY, why are you wandering in the halls this late in the day?” Snape growled from behind, holding a lantern.

“Professor, I was just leaving the library and…”

“SILENCE! YOU STUPID GIRL!” Snape shouted as he slithered over next to her. “You and Potter and those pesky friends of his are always prowling around the castle like it is their own playground, coming up with ridiculous excuses…with no regard for rules. Let’s see, how many points shall I deduct from your wretched house…”

“Do you make it a habit of always stalking girls after sunset?” a strong piercing voice suddenly called out from the corner of the dark hall. The voice was Aria’s and she marched menacingly towards them. Her hair was completely soaked and she was awkwardly draped in Harry’s jacket. There were mud stains all over her dress. However, despite her disheveled outer appearance, she had an aura of ferociousness enough to match Snape’s sinister presence.

“Ah, the always lovely Professor Aria Hannibal, but it looks like you have a really bad hair day!” Snape smiled sarcastically at her, eyeing her up and down. “Is that the latest fashion trend…mud stains on clothes?”

“Even on my worst day, I’ll still look better than you!” she hissed back and gave him an icy stare, gripping Harry’s jacket tightly across her shoulders.

“You know, I overheard that you don’t have many friends here. It is very unwise of you…”

“Speaking of old friends, Severus,” she chuckled coldly. “I also overheard that Voldemort was one of your old friends? Send him my regards for me, shall you?”

Biting his lip in anger, Snape gave the two of them a fiery glare and stormed away.

“Thanks, Professor Hannibal,” Ginny muttered as she examined her closely, with a curious look on her face. She noticed her eyes were very red and puffy, “Are you all right, Professor?”

“Oh, yes. I…was caught in the rain, and I slipped and fell…and…a student gave me his jacket,” she grinned wearily. Her tough composure that bullied Snape away was now beginning to unravel. “Come on, Miss Weasley. It’s late. I’ll walk you back to your quarters. I don’t want Snape lurking behind you in the dark again.”

“Professor, may I ask? The way you mentioned his name…my brother Ron can’t even…” Ginny asked hesitantly as they began their hasty walk.

“Whose name? Oh, you mean Voldemort?”

“You’re not afraid?”

Aria slowed her steps and gazed at Ginny with her reddened eyes, sighing solemnly, “Fear…I lost that feeling years ago when I realized I have nothing to lose. And…there is…no one in my life…perhaps…

“…except one person…perhaps…” Aria tightened her hold on Harry’s jacket again as she stared into the open space, muttering despairingly. Tears began to fill her eyes once more.

Aria abruptly stopped walking, realizing that she shouldn’t speak to a student in this manner. Trying to choke back tears, she took a deep breath and started again, “I…used to work with your father, did I tell you that? He is a very kind man. I wasn’t in the Ministry for very long but I learnt a great deal from him.”

“He said you resigned? So you came to teach here?”

“I was going through a difficult time, and the best way for me was to resign. Headmaster Dumbledore was generous enough to offer me this position…

“Your father used to go on and on about you and your brothers at work. He is so proud. You’re very lucky, Miss Weasley, to have such a big warm loving family, parents and brothers who adore you, and Harry…”

Ginny looked up at her blankly.

“Oh, I saw…Mr. Potter holding your hand earlier today when we headed to class together, remember? So I assume he’s…your boyfriend,” Aria said wearily.

“Harry’s the perfect guy. He loves me very much, and I love him. I don’t know what I’ll do without him…” Ginny nodded enthusiastically as a bright deep smile appeared on her face. But her smile quickly faded when she looked up at Aria and saw her somber face, which was burdened with heartbreak and pain. Ginny’s every word were like unforgiving daggers stabbing at Aria’s heart.

“Professor, please call me Ginny. Are you sure you’re okay? You want to come in and rest or something?” Ginny asked worriedly as she noticed that they had arrived at the common room entrance.

“RON? IS THAT…you?” Hermione yelled eagerly as she jumped out of the entrance, but then her tone flattened with disappointment. “Oh, sorry Ginny. I heard voices…Oh, it’s you, Professor.”

Hermione gave Aria an unwelcome glare as she examined her up and down disapprovingly, paying particular interest to the jacket Aria was awkwardly draped in.

“Perhaps another time, Ginny,” Aria said tiredly. “Sneeze…”

“Oh, no, Professor. You’ll catch a cold…” Ginny said.

“I’ll be fine. Goodnight, Ginny, Miss Granger. I’ll see you in class tomorrow,” Aria turned and slowly trudged away, gradually disappearing into the dark.

Chapter 10 Playing With Fire

“I’ll see you in class…I’ll see you in class…” Hermione imitated Aria’s voice mockingly as they went inside the common room. “Gin, what were you doing with HER?”

“Snape was giving me grief earlier but Professor Hannibal bullied him away. He was mad as hell!”

“How? By giving him a rose and making him remove the petals one by one?”

“Hermione, let it go,” Ginny frowned annoyingly. “She’s actually a very nice person. We talked for a while and it felt like I was talking to a friend, not a professor. She’s not like the other teachers. She seemed very sad and depressed though. Something very bad must have happened to her today…”

“She looked like a real mess!” Hermione said suspiciously, trying to not allow herself be convinced by Ginny.

“She was caught in the rain.”

“Her too? Earlier, Harry was soaked to the bone…caught in the rain too…”

“Oh, where is he?”

“In his room. I told him to get dry and change or else he’ll catch a cold…Acting very strange though...He stormed in looking like a complete mess and then he was yelling for you, like he really needed to see you or something.”

“He’s probably looking for his goodnight kiss. That’s all. I guess he’s asleep by now. No point waking him up…”

“Oh, Ginny. You know where Ron is?”

Ginny shook her head and reassured Hermione, “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s just letting off some steam. You told him off pretty bad in class today, especially when you yelled out to the entire class that he has a love obsession with Professor Hannibal…

“I have to admit I was trying very hard not to burst out laughing at that point,” Ginny giggled. “The idea of a teacher and a student together…what a far-fetched concept… I’m sure he’ll be okay tomorrow. Goodnight.”

With that, Ginny marched upstairs. Hermione stood motionless by herself in the common room, worrying about Ron’s whereabouts and Harry’s bizarre behavior.

“MEN…” she mumbled to herself angrily.

“But Hannibal’s jacket looks so familiar…”

**************************************************************

“Hey, Harry, HARRY!” Ginny called out from the common room downstairs. “Is that you? Aren’t you gonna come down?”

Harry immediately stopped his footsteps, turned around, and slowly tiptoed back upstairs. He couldn’t face Ginny now; he wasn’t ready to see her after what he had done last night.

“Hermione said you were looking for me last night? But I can’t talk now. I’m late for class. I’ll see you later, okay?” Ginny hollered as she hurried away without checking if he was actually there.

Harry looked and felt like a wreck. The whole night he was tossing and turning, overwhelmed with guilt, thinking about the kiss he and Aria shared last night. He hadn’t eaten supper and had only managed to fall asleep at dawn, only to have to wake up for class now. His school robes were untidy; he forgot to shave, and his glasses were broken after Aria ripped them off his face last night.

After hiding for a few more minutes to make sure Ginny had left, he slowly marched downstairs.

“Harry, is Ron still in bed?” Hermione sped over to him, who shook his head mindlessly.

“Look at you! Give me those glasses!” she stared at him disapprovingly as she tore them off his face and fixed them.

Still feeling disoriented, he let out a grunt when Hermione put them back on his face. As she was putting them on him, she could see Ron marching in from the corner of her eye, but he appeared enraged.

“Ron? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I WAS WAITING ALL NIGHT…” she yelled and ran towards him.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Ron roared at her as he took a step back, glaring at both Harry and Hermione.

“What’s wrong?” she muttered blankly.

“I guess it’s true! Here you were laughing at me about how stupid I was to believe that stupid game! And the fool of me! I actually wanted to apologize to you! But now here you are…you and Harry…so cozy together…” Ron hissed coldly.

“You’re insane! I was only helping him fix his glasses…there’s nothing going on…”

“Yeah? And he can’t put them on himself?? He can’t use his own hands?” Ron roared as he approached Harry.

Hermione was gasping for air, trying to hold back her tears in shock, “Harry, say something! Ron! NO!!!”

Ron punched Harry across the face. His glasses flew off and he crashed onto the table. He was covering his face and wincing in pain.

“RON!! WHAT THE HECK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU??” Hermione shrieked angrily as she hurried over to Harry.

“RON! THERE’S NOTHING BETWEEN US! You have to listen to me. I wasn’t thinking of Hermione during that game…” Harry pleaded as he covered his face.

“I’ve heard enough! Some friend you are, Harry Potter! Double-crossing my sister and playing me like a damn old fool!” Ron snapped bitterly.

“Ron, WAIT!” Harry called out with his arm outstretched. But he had already stormed out of the common room. “Hermione, forget me! Go after him!”

“NO! Why should I go after him if he can’t even trust me and you?? And after everything the three of us have been through??” she tearfully replied as she helped him to his feet.

Harry flinched when he heard the word ‘trust.’ In his head, the feeling of guilt and betrayal flooded his head as he visualized himself kissing Aria while Ginny was tearfully watching from behind.

“Oh, no! There’s blood on your lip. That wretched Ron! Come on! I’ll take you to Madam Pomfrey. Where did your glasses fly to?” Hermione went to look.

“I should go myself…you know…to avoid more misunderstandings…I’ll be fine…Besides, I don’t want you late for class...”

Hermione wiped her tears off her face as she picked up his glasses and repaired them again, “Since when do I care about what other people think? We have absolutely nothing to hide! Besides, Hannibal cancelled her class today for some reason. She did looked like a mess last night, much like you were. So our schedules got reshuffled and classes will start later…”

Harry gaped at her when she mentioned Aria’s name.

“Come on, don’t just stand there! Hello! Hospital wing??” Hermione snapped her finger at Harry to get his attention as she put the glasses back on his face.

“No, I’ll do it,” he sheepishly grabbed his glasses and put them on.

When they arrived at the hospital wing entrance, they could hear Madam Pomfrey tending to another patient.

“It’s only a head cold. It’s nothing serious. You didn’t have to come all the way down here and see me…Take this juice and you should be fine,” Madam Pomfrey said as she pulled a bottle from her medicine cabinet, in a somewhat annoying tone. She then slammed the cabinet door.

Harry immediately froze when he went inside because he recognized Aria from the back. She was the patient that Madam Pomfrey was tending to. He wanted to run out but Hermione’s hand was gripping his arm and yanking him forward.

“Potter, Miss Granger, what can I do for you?” Madam Pomfrey called out and quickly approached them, holding Aria’s bottle.

Aria immediately turned towards the entrance when she heard Harry’s name. Harry quickly pulled his face down to avoid her eyes.

“How did you get that shiner?” Madam Pomfrey laughed at Harry, still clutching Aria’s bottle, with Aria looking on worriedly.

“Harry, Harry!” Ginny yelled as she stormed into the hospital wing and hurried over to Harry, putting her arm around him. “Oh, here you are! I was looking for you everywhere! I bumped into Ron and he said he punched you in the face! He’s such a jerk! Are you okay?”

Harry didn’t reply. He just wanted to dig a hole and hide because he was fearing for the worst. He was now trapped in the hospital wing with Ginny, Aria, Hermione, and Madam Pomfrey at the same time, all staring at him but for different reasons. The hospital wing suddenly became very stuffy.

Ginny looked up and noticed Aria sitting alone on the hospital bed, “Oh, hello Professor Hannibal. What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?”

“Ginny, I just have a head cold…that’s all,” she smiled faintly, finally pulling her eyes away from Harry. Her voice was very hoarse and somber.

“I knew it when you cancelled your class today. You shouldn’t have been walking around in all those wet clothes yesterday. It’s my fault you had to accompany me back to the common room…” Ginny said in a motherly tone.

Harry shivered after hearing what Ginny had just said, given what had happened between him and Aria last night. The idea of Aria walking and talking with his girlfriend could not be more bizarre for him. He maintained his silence because he was trying to be invisible, hoping no one would notice him, until…

“Isn’t Ron Weasley your best friend? And he hit you?” Madam Pomfrey turned her attention to him again, forgetting about Aria’s bottle that was still in her hand. She chuckled sarcastically as she eyed Hermione and Ginny suspiciously, both of whom had either their hand or arm on him now. “I believe there is only one explanation why someone would hit his very best friend. You know, Potter…you’re supposed to be with one girl at a time…”

Harry abruptly pushed Hermione’s hand off him and buried his face with his hands. Dying from embarrassment, he was pretending he was in a lot of pain from the bruise and could not speak.

Before Hermione could respond to Madam Pomfrey’s immature accusations, Aria interrupted; she had seen enough of this circus show now, “My bottle, please? Madam Pomfrey…”

“Oh…almost forgot you are still here…where are my manners…Here you go,” she said coolly and tossed the bottle on the table. “You may go now. Keep the bottle. You don’t have to come back…”

Aria pulled herself out of the bed wearily and picked up the bottle. Her voice was weakening with every word, “Goodbye, Ginny, Miss Granger…

“…Mr. Potter…”

Harry lifted his head and hesitantly glanced at her. She slowly trudged out of the hospital wing as the three of them looked on.

“I don’t know what it is, but something is definitely wrong with Hannibal…” Hermione mumbled to Ginny, her voice containing a dose of sympathy as both girls gave Madam Pomfrey an icy glare.

Harry knew. Aria’s heartbreaking cries and feelings of hurt and loneliness were still lingering inside his mind.

Chapter 11 Test Of Honor

“Professor, are you there? It’s Harry…” he knocked on Aria’s classroom door. After no one answered, he slowly went inside and closed the door.

It had been more than a week and Aria still had not restarted her classes. Harry knew she was deeply hurt when he pushed her away that night. He wanted to apologize and check that she was okay, but he also wanted to find an opportunity to explain to her how he truly felt. He simply could not let Ginny find out about this. As he peered around the quiet and deserted room, he noticed all the animal cages were empty. His reflections were staring coldly back at him from all sides. When he paced around, he discovered the floor was littered with cookies that she had made for him the night they kissed. Pieces of broken glasses from the cookie dish were scattered all over.

At the sight of this, Aria’s feelings of heartbreak began to creep into his mind again. He could still recall her cries when he ran away from her that rainy night:

”You’re hurting me…”

“I’m sorry, Aria. I’m truly sorry…” he muttered weakly. Suddenly he heard someone knocking on the door.

“Professor Hannibal, are you there? Can we come in? It’s Ginny and Hermione.”

Harry immediately bolted to the front of the room and hid behind the teacher’s desk. He could not let them know he was here.

“I really don’t like this room. It’s so chilling to see thousands of reflections of yourself. Why does she have to have all these mirrors?” Hermione questioned annoyingly as she stared across the empty room.

“Why is the floor littered with glass and cookies? And those cute animals she keeps in these cages… Hey, what happened to them? You think she eats them?” she sneered.

“Hermione! Please!” Ginny frowned. “I told you, she’s nothing like that. I thought you said you weren’t upset with her anymore.”

“Sorry. Bad joke. After seeing the way Madam Pomfrey treated her the other day, I think it’s more like I empathize with her,” Hermione said softly. “Telepaths are people too.”

“Neville overheard Dumbledore telling Hagrid he received a lot of complaints from parents about having a telepath at Hogwarts, “Ginny sighed. “Everyone hates her. They think this school is insane, having telepaths and giants as teachers…

“Remember all the hate mail Hagrid got when people found out he was a half-giant? That’s why he told Dumbledore he will support Professor Hannibal all the way.”

“Telepaths, giants, muggles, pure-bloods…I know how she’s feeling now. I still get very upset when someone calls me mudblood,” Hermione said defiantly.

Ginny nodded in agreement, “It was the way she told me about herself that night. It was as if she has nothing worthwhile in her life…no hope…no family…and when she stood up for me, Snape laughed at her and said she has no friends.”

Clenching his teeth in anger behind the desk, Harry’s hands were in balls of fists.

“That stupid Snape!” Hermione snapped bitterly as she rolled her eyes. “Of all people, he’s the one to talk… about having no friends! Like he has so many friends…”

“She did mention that there was a person in her life though. This person must be really special.”

Harry winced.

“You think it’s a man?” Hermione asked curiously.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders, “Let’s go. She’s not here. We’ll come back another time.”

After Harry heard the door closed, he waited a few minutes before climbing out of the desk. He could not be more confused with what to do after hearing what Ginny and Hermione said. But he remembered how devastated Hagrid was when he received all those hate mail and he was there as a friend to support him.

“I did promise to be her friend,” Harry said defiantly to himself. “I have to be there for her the way I did for Hagrid…as a friend…as a best friend.”

**********************************************************

Aria restarted her classes after another week had passed by. Once again, the four of them were grouped in the same session. This was suffocating because Ron wasn’t speaking to both Hermione and Harry. In fact, it had been like this for more than two weeks, even though Harry shared the same room with him. Harry could not remember the last time Ron was this angry. Harry was upset with him too, for punching him and refusing to listen to reason, so he gave up trying to make up with him. Occasionally, Ron would give Ginny dirty looks if she spoke to either of them. Harry would walk around eggshells with Hermione if Ron was around. Hermione, thinking she had nothing to hide, would overcompensate by being too friendly to Harry, which made Ron even more upset and jealous.

The first desk in the front was conspicuously empty, as if it was always reserved for the four of them. Ron and Harry were sitting on the aisle seats, while Ginny sat next to Ron and Hermione sat next to Harry in the middle. The animal cages were still empty. When Aria entered the classroom, Harry was glad to see that she appeared radiant and graceful again, much better than the last time he saw her at the hospital wing. Wearing her hair in a bun in her teacher robes, she looked expressionless and stern, brandishing a very threatening sword.

“Today’s lesson is the power of friendship inside our minds,” she announced loudly. “It is known that two good friends can share a telepathic link, especially in times of immediate danger, so they can help each other.”

The entire class was expressionless and quiet as she continued, “I need two volunteers for this exercise to demonstrate this power.”

Harry immediately pulled his head down. He didn’t want to participate in another humiliating exercise.

“Mr. Potter, please come up here for me.”

Harry let out a sigh, wondering why he was always the one being picked on. There were giggles in the background as he slowly trudged forward. Murmurs of Hermione’s undying love for him were echoing faintly. As he went up, he avoided looking up at Aria.

“Mr. Weasley, please come up.”

Ron reluctantly got up and went to the front, clearly maintaining his distance away from Harry. Aria handed Ron the sword.

“This is an enchanted sword that I discovered when I was in Arabia. It is an otherwise normal looking sword. However, its magical feature is that it cannot hurt the holder’s family and friends no matter how hard the holder tries…

“This feature was originated as a solution for accidental deaths due to friendly fire during the war. It is useful when you don’t want friendly fire to accidentally wound or kill your fellow soldiers in the confusion of battle…

“Mr. Weasley, please stand closer to Mr. Potter…”

The class was eerily silent and could foretell what was about to happen.

“…and point the sword directly at Mr. Potter’s heart,” Aria instructed Ron.

The entire class gasped in horror. Ginny and Hermione immediately leaped out of their seats.

“Professor, wait! You don’t understand!” Hermione shrieked desperately, her arm outstretched.

“Shh… Let him concentrate on the sword. Since they are best friends, the sword will know what to do. Everyone must remain quiet.”

She turned to Ron again, “You may begin.”

Clenching his teeth in anger and jealousy at the sight of how concerned Hermione was over Harry’s well being just now, Ron raised his sword and pointed it at him, who stood motionless and pale, with sweat all over his face. As he was staring at Ron’s blazing eyes, the tip of the blade was brushing against his school robes and was aiming for his heart. From the corner of his eye, he could see the thousands of haunting reflections of Ron pointing the sword ruthlessly at him. He quickly closed his eyes to shut out the overwhelming reflections.

“Stab his heart!” Aria demanded.

Chapter 12 Why So Sad?

As Ron continued to aim his sword at Harry’s heart, the entire class sat frozen, afraid to make any kind of noise that would distract him. Ginny and Hermione sat helplessly in their seats, watching them with their tear-filled eyes, not knowing what to do.

“Stab his heart!” Aria, walking closer to Ron, demanded again.

Staring coldly at Harry, Ron could vividly remember Hermione caressing Harry’s face and then lying to him about it by insisting that she was only helping him put on his glasses. He could hear the echo of her laughter and calling him stupid for believing in the flower exercise in front of the whole class. Glaring at Harry, he wondered why he was always forever destined to be the shadow behind his attention and fame.

“You’re a two-faced liar,” Ron growled, narrowing his eyes in disgust by what was in front of his eyes. He could feel the sword yearning to pounce forward as jealousy was ravaging him.

Suddenly, he spotted a much younger Harry sitting beside him in the Hogwarts train. They were sharing his food and teaming up against Malfoy. Then there was the time they played real-life chess and he sacrificed himself to help Harry reach the Philosopher’s Stone. He remembered not too long ago when they crashed the car and hit the Whomping Willow, and Harry saving his sister and how Harry was an orphan… The sword suddenly became heavier and heavier, so heavy it fell out of his hand and crashed to the floor.

As everyone breathed a sigh of relief, both Harry and Ron took a big backward step away from each other, panting very hard.

“Everyone can see how the enchanted sword did not allow Mr. Weasley to stab him in the heart? It’s because it read his mind and knew that he was pointing it at his best friend,” Aria said proudly. “Now, I want everyone to turn to chapter four and read more about the power of friendships and the mind.”

Harry and Ron were still frozen, staring blankly at each other in disbelief. Aria guided them back to their seats.

“What just happened?” Ron muttered to Harry, trying to slow his breath. It was the first words he said to him since these past two weeks.

Harry shook his head, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. “But you definitely scared the daylights out of me,” he whispered as he sat down. He noticed Ron flash a slight grin.

“About the flower exercise in our previous lesson, I can assure you that your friend was not thinking of Miss Granger during the exercise,” Aria turned to Ron and said softly.

Ron stared at Aria with a dazed look. After a pause, he mumbled, “Who was Harry thinking of?”

“Hmm…It…doesn’t matter…” Aria stuttered as she glimpsed awkwardly at Ginny. “But I am definitely sure that it wasn’t Miss Granger he was thinking of. So you should not be upset with him or with Miss Granger.”

Ron smirked hesitantly at Harry’s direction. Meanwhile, Ginny smiled deeply, seeing the way Aria glanced at her after what she had just said.

“I also want to add that I lied about the sword having the enchanting powers. The fact is there is no such thing.”

The chins on the four of them fell to their desks in shock. All four of them were speechless.

Aria kneeled in front of their desk and turned to Ron, “I know at one point you were so angry while you had the sword that for a very brief moment you really wanted to hurt him. But you stopped yourself because your friend means a lot to you. Am I correct?”

“I thought the sword stopped me from striking Harry,” Ron muttered.

“No, the sword didn’t stop you because it possesses no enchanting powers. It was you who stopped yourself from hurting your best friend. In fact, you didn’t even try to push your sword forward because you will never take the risk of injuring your friend under any circumstances, even with the fact that you believed the sword had the magical powers to stop you from hurting him.”

Aria turned to Harry, “You could have made a run for it, but you chose to stand still and let your friend point his sword at your heart. You even closed your eyes. Do you know why?”

Harry shook his head.

“It’s because you trust your friend very much. You trust him so much that you were absolutely positive that he is not going to hurt you. He never has, and he never will, because in your heart, he is always going to be your best friend.”

Harry glanced at Ron sheepishly.

“Professor, you didn’t have to go that dramatic just to get them talking again. This is serious. Ron could have hurt Harry badly,” Hermione complained, shaking her head.

“Dramatic? I like your choice of words to describe my lesson this time. At least you didn’t say that it was stupid like my previous lesson,” Aria smiled. Hermione quickly blushed.

“Actually, Hermione, I agree with you. This demonstration was stupid. But I want to show them that it is not worth it to lose a best friend over such a stupid misunderstanding.”

“Professor Hannibal, but you just told the entire class that such a magical sword exists even though it doesn’t?” Ginny asked.

“It doesn’t matter, Ginny,” Aria laughed. “This will be my final class at Hogwarts. After this class, I’m going to the Headmaster to submit my resignation. It is no longer my concern if parents send in letters complaining that the crazy Hogwarts telepath has been teaching lies to their kids…

“I did this exercise with you to correct an error on my part. I felt bad about what happened in the previous lesson and for that I am sorry. It’s the least I could do.”

“Why are you resigning?” Hermione blurted out worriedly.

“I hope it’s not because of the hate mail. Hagrid gets them all the time and he’s still here,” Ginny added.

Aria gave Harry a quick glimpse and stuttered, “I…have my…reasons…Ginny.”

“Please don’t go,” Ginny pleaded. “Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the four of us will support you.”

“I want you to know that it makes me feel very good that I have your support,” Aria reached for Ginny’s hand. “But I’m afraid that my staying here may do more harm than good.”

All four of them gazed silently at Aria. Except for Harry, the three of them were wondering what she meant by her doing more harm than good. Aria simply smiled back at them. Suddenly, they heard the sound of the classroom door being closed. When they turned around to look, they noticed the entire room was empty except for the five of them.

With her smile fainting away, Aria got up and said solemnly, “I believe the school day is over for today.”

The four of them got up and walked toward the door. Before they exited, they turned back and gave Aria one last farewell look.

“I hope to see you soon,” Aria waved them goodbye. They left and closed the door.

After contemplating for a few minutes, she packed up her belongings, picked up the sword from the floor, and marched wearily to the door. On her way, Aria spotted her reflection from the mirror beside the door. When she examined her reflection closely, she could see a beautiful woman was gazing and smiling back at her. The beautiful woman resembled her but Aria refused to believe that the beautiful woman could possibly be her. It was because deep inside, she was aching in pain, alone, and drowning in tears over her feelings for Harry. When Aria gently wiped the corner of her eye, the beautiful woman proceeded to brush her cheek too.

“Why so sad?” the beautiful woman asked.

“It’s over,” Aria muttered to the beautiful woman as she pulled despairingly away from the mirror.

She smiled faintly as she admired the empty classroom one last time. Clutching her belongings, she paused to gaze at the spot where she had placed the cookies she made for Harry that night, and how she hopelessly threw them all on the floor when he rejected her. Sighing deeply, she slowly turned to the entrance and opened the classroom door. A ray of light from the afternoon sun shone on her face and she noticed a pair of feet was standing across the hall. Someone was waiting for her. It was Harry.

Chapter 13 One Step Backward, Two Steps Forward

“What are you doing here? Where are your friends?” Aria, clearly startled by Harry, uttered coldly and immediately turned away.

“Aria, can I talk to you?” he pleaded, walking closer to her. But she backed away and bolted back inside the classroom. She tried to push the door shut but he overpowered her and pushed his way through. After banging the door shut, he tailed her inside.

Aria maintained her distance and said stiffly, “I don’t have your jacket with me right now but I’ll arrange to send it back to you.”

“ARIA!” Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her around to him. Her belongings and the sword fell out of her grip.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” she blasted. She was struggling to break free but he was clutching both her shoulders now.

“ARIA! LISTEN TO ME!” he shook her by the shoulders.

“DIDN’T YOU HEAR WHAT MADAM POMFREY SAID?? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH ONE GIRL AT A TIME??” she shrieked, trying to pull her face as far away from him as possible.

“LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME, ARIA!” he screamed and shook her by the shoulders so hard her hair became undone.

“LET GO OF ME!!!” Aria shrieked and slapped Harry in the face, sending his glasses crashing to the floor. Panting very hard from shock, Harry immediately let her go. With his mouth hanging open, he quickly stepped back and covered his burning cheek.

Aria immediately reached down for the sword and pointed it at his heart, “STAY AWAY FROM ME! I CAN’T PLAY THIS GAME ANYMORE, HARRY! IT’S KILLING ME! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? I GIVE UP! PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

Harry’s feet were glued to the floor. He was staring at her without his glasses, brandishing the sword viciously at him. She was gripping it tightly with both hands. Behind her tear-filled eyes were fires of rage and despair. With the mirrors around him, it was as if there were a thousand pairs of eyes, all focusing their anger at him.

“You hurt me so bad that night, do you know?” she hissed, inching towards him with the sword. He forced himself to slowly inch backward.

“Of course you know. It’s because you felt my pain. Every ounce of it! You cried with me! You matched every teardrop that I shed, didn’t you, Harry?” she continued to inch forward furiously but Harry was now pinned to a mirror on the wall. He could no longer go backward.

“The heartache and pain when you abandoned me by the trees that night, the loneliness that I endured my entire life… you felt it, you heard it… how did it feel?”

Harry didn’t reply. He just kept his shocking gaze at her, refusing to let himself think of that night when he was curled up on the floor sobbing when her cries echoed in his mind.

“I lost control of my telepathic powers that night and my mind and emotions were channeled all to you, and do you know why?” she stopped inching forward but the tip of the sword was now pressed against his chest.

“It’s because I love you so much. You are engrained in my mind and emotions. My thoughts are all you. You are everything to me. You are all I have…

“But why did you hurt me so bad… of all people… why did it have to be you…

“Why…Harry…why…

“Goodbye… Harry Potter…” her tearful voice pleaded hopelessly in his head.

“DO IT, ARIA! IF IT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER! DO IT! KILL ME NOW!” Harry, widening his eyes, snapped fearlessly.

With cold sweat all over his face, he felt the unforgiving blade now pressed forcefully against him. Without his glasses, his wide eyes were glued to her angry gaze. He could no longer see anything else. The vicious blade, the empty classroom, and the angry mirrors all suddenly disappeared from his vision. All he could see was the fire and pain in her eyes.

“AARGH…” she roared violently.

Harry heard a sound from his chest as if a piece of cloth was being torn. Then he heard a crisp clanking sound echoing from the floor, ricocheting across the empty room.

Panting heavily, Harry slowly began to recover his blurry vision. He saw Aria curled up on the floor, sobbing profusely. She had thrown the sword across the room. When he looked at his chest, he noticed a piece of cloth on his school robe was dangling strangely. It had been awkwardly torn apart undoubtedly by the sword.

“You know I can never hurt you…” she sobbed despairingly and buried her face with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Harry…”

Rubbing his eyes to clear his vision, he hurried over to her and helped her to her feet.

“Please just leave me alone,” she pleaded, trying to fight off his hands. He ignored her and pulled her up.

“Is it my fault that I fell in love with you?” she whimpered weakly, thumping his chest wearily with her fists. “I knew you have Ginny already but I still fell in love with you… I couldn’t control my feelings for you anymore…

“Please tell me what to do to get rid of this pain. Please…” she begged. “Madam Pomfrey thought I only had a head cold… If only it were true…”

Harry gently pushed her hair away from her weeping face and embraced her. He could feel her entire weight leaning into him, as well as her pain and internal struggles. They remained like this quietly for a while, with her face buried on his shoulder. The only sounds in the room were her muffled cries.

“I felt it when I was in your mind… you do have feelings for me… I know you do… From the very beginning when we met that night at the Leaky Cauldron, I could hear your heartbeat, I felt it,” she whimpered tearfully to his ear. “It is the first time someone felt like that about me… So genuine and pure… And it feels so nice…”

Harry didn’t respond. Struggling internally, he refused to believe he had romantic feelings for both her and Ginny at the same time. She finally lifted up her head and met his apologetic gaze with her tear-filled eyes.

“But your feelings for me were nowhere near the same level as the feelings you have for Ginny…” her face contorted in pain.

“I’m sorry… for what happened that night,” Harry finally whispered faintly, holding her in his arms. “I… should not have pushed you like that… But Ginny…”

He abruptly stopped. He didn’t want to tell her about his feelings for Ginny. He wanted to spare her from more agony, so he quickly changed subjects.

“Thanks for getting Ron talking to me again…

“I really want to be your friend… I did promise that to you… You really need a friend now…”

Aria slowly pulled herself up and steadied herself. He held on to her arms to support her. Wiping tears off her face, she whimpered sadly, “That is not possible… after what has happened. We can’t be friends after all this…”

He gazed at her reddish green eyes and whispered, “But I did promise you…”

“I won’t force you to uphold your promise. It’s okay, Harry. I understand. I’m used to it,” she interrupted.

“Everything that has happened is not your fault. The fact that you came to me today… It speaks volumes about you… You’re a good man, Harry. Your loyalty to her… Ginny is indeed very lucky to have you…” she grinned faintly, tenderly stroking his hair.

“You must think I am some kind of lunatic, going ballistic on you like that, but I feel better now. I really do,” her smile gradually broadening.

“I almost got killed twice today but it’s okay, as long as you feel better,” Harry joked as he finally let go of her arms.

“Harry, I’m going to be okay,” she said, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “You don’t owe me anything.”

He kneeled down on the floor and retrieved an envelope.

“Is this your letter of resignation?” he asked. She nodded, rubbing her reddish eyes.

Harry tore it in two and tossed the letter on the floor.

“Harry, no…” Aria reached for it.

“Too late, Aria. We want you to stay. I want you to stay. You’re a terrific teacher,” he grinned. “As long as you promise to not bring the sword to our next lesson. I don’t think my heart can handle another stab.”

“Can we forget about what happened that night?” he whispered hesitantly. “And we’ll start over… as friends?”

Aria didn’t respond. A light smile appeared on her face as she was gazing at his sparkling green eyes.

He walked towards her, “As a best friend.”

Chapter 14 Her Eden

“I want to show you something,” she said, with a sudden burst of excitement in her voice. “I want to bring you somewhere, as a friend. I’m sure you’ll like it, if that’s okay with you?”

“Okay, as a friend,” Harry heard himself say awkwardly as he finally released her from his grips. He retrieved his broken glasses and slowly walked towards the door, but she pulled him back by the arm.

“No, not there,” she grinned. “Just take my hand, and close your eyes.”

Harry wasn’t sure what this was about but he closed his eyes and gently held her hand. In his mind, he was wondering whether it was appropriate to hold a friend’s hand the way he held hers. She guided him to the mirror he was just pinned against. For the next few seconds he felt very light and airy as he felt winds were gently circulating around him.

“Aria, what’s going on?” he asked nervously, still holding her hand.

“We’re here,” Aria said gently.

“Uh? What?” Harry asked, his eyes still closed. He could hear sounds of animals around him: dogs parking, birds singing, and whistling of the leaves. His face felt warm as if the sun was shining on him. It was obvious they were no longer in the empty classroom.

“Open your eyes, Harry!”

Harry found himself standing beside Aria in a very beautiful outdoor environment, surrounded by trees, flowers, butterflies, and bright sunlight illuminating the sunset horizons. His vision was blurred without his glasses but he could make out the squirrels, rabbits, and puppies running about. Songbirds were perched everywhere around him. A pond filled with swans was nearby. Beside it stood a magnificent two-storied house surrounded by butterflies fluttering all around it. Harry could feel the gentle breeze and hear sounds of water flowing like a waterfall echoing from afar. When he turned around, he could see a wall of glass, and behind the glass was the empty classroom that they were just in.

“Where are we?” Harry asked shockingly, with a look of amazement on his face.

“This is my world,” she smiled shyly. “It’s not much but it’s all I have.”

“Your what?” he asked as he bent down to touch the grass and leaves, finally letting go of her hand. A butterfly landed on his head. He could not remember seeing such a beautiful place.

“I created this universe with my telepathic powers. It is like people using their imaginations to create and immerse themselves in their ideal worlds when they feel down or they want to escape from their reality,” she said as she gently picked up a puppy that was chasing a butterfly.

“But for me, I am able to make my imaginations very real and concrete. The trees, house, pond, and all these cute animals that Hagrid gave me… these are everything that I’ve ever wanted.”

“You mean... I’m in your imaginary world?”

She nodded, “Come inside the house. We’ll change and I’ll show you the place.”

She kissed the puppy and put it back down on the ground.

“This is so real! I’m really impressed! Everything is absolutely gorgeous!” Harry said excitedly.

She held his hand and guided him towards the house.

“Here’s your jacket,” she said as she retrieved it from the hammock and handed it to him.

“Thanks,” Harry placed his torn school robes on the hammock and put the jacket on. He then remembered he had put her handkerchief in the pocket.

“Aria, thanks for the handkerchief the other day,” he said awkwardly, pulling it out and handing it to her.

“Harry, forget the handkerchief. Keep it if you want,” she grinned as she held his hand again and guided him inside the house.

“Feel free to look around, Harry. I’ll go upstairs and change,” Aria hurried upstairs.

The house could not be more authentic, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, and living room, with all the furnishings. The living room had sofas, bookshelves, tables, vases, and a fireplace. There were portraits and windows all over the wooden walls. Butterflies were flying in and out through the windows. There was a record player on a working desk. In Harry’s mind, he kept wondering how this world was possible and how he could be in someone’s imaginary world, and yet everything felt so real.

“Harry, are you hungry? I’ll make you something to eat,” she marched downstairs and went to the kitchen.

Aria was wearing her casual clothes and she was barefoot; Harry was now the taller one. She cleaned up her face and hair, looking radiant and graceful once again. He followed her to the kitchen.

“Just a little. Aria, you can’t create the food with your telepathic powers?” he joked.

“Well, I can. But I won’t. Unless you want to eat imaginary food and feel hungry all night,” she smirked. “Besides, I want you to try my cooking skills. I’ve never had a guest before.”

“Are there other people here?” he asked.

She didn’t reply and her smile fainted slightly. She proceeded to pour some beer into a mug and gave it to him.

“These are definitely better than the kind they serve at The Three Broomsticks. Here, try some,” she said to him. “Harry, why don’t you wait in the living room? I’ll make dinner.”

Harry went to the living room and sat on the sofa, admiring the delicate features of the house as a sense of tranquility swept over him. He never remembered feeling this peaceful in a home before, not once at his Uncle’s and definitely not at the Burrow. The sounds of pots and pans were in harmony with Aria’s singing in the kitchen, together with the sounds of someone whistling. He put his mug on the coffee table, lied down on the sofa and admired the ceiling. Even though he wasn’t wearing his glasses, he could clearly make out the butterflies dancing happily all over the house. He quickly smiled when he discovered that he was the one whistling to Aria’s happy tunes. The feeling of calmness and peace continued to blanket warmly around him; it was as if he was a different person. For once, he no longer envisioned the horrific images of his past that would haunt him every time he stared at the ceiling. All he saw now was a ceiling filled with butterflies and free of burdens. Slowly, his eyelids began to feel heavy. Lying motionless on the sofa, he winked when he noticed a butterfly landed on his eye. He fell asleep.

**************************

“Hagrid, it’s Ginny. Are you there?” she knocked on his door.

Hagrid opened his door, a big smile appeared on his face, “Ginny, what a pleasant surprise. You haven’t visited me in a while. Where are the others? Shouldn’t you be having dinner back at the castle right now? Please come in. I’ll make some tea.”

“That’s okay. Hagrid, where’s Harry?” she asked hopefully, trying to peer inside his cabin to check if Harry was inside.

“I haven’t seen him all day. In fact, other than during my lessons, I haven’t talked to him in quite a while. I figure he must be spending all his time with you. But that’s okay. You two should spend more time together, you lovebirds. After all, the two of you are in different lessons, so you don’t get to speak to each other until the school day ends… Ginny, are you listening?”

“Uh? Yes,” she replied, trying to hide the disappointment etched on her face.

“Anyway, did you hear about what happened to Professor Hannibal and the hate mail she’s getting? Your brother is thinking of starting a competition between her and me to see who gets more hate mail by Christmas and have the students place bets on us. Ron is trying to put a light spin on all this foolishness. I personally don’t mind but I don’t know if Aria’s gonna find this to be amusing. Who do you think is going to win? Ginny, Ginny, what’s wrong? Are you listening?”

“Hagrid, I have to go. I’ll see you in class,” she sighed and marched tiredly to the castle in frustration.

Chapter 15 An Intimate Gaze

“Stop moving! Remain still! Why are you giggling?”

“I can’t help it! I’m ticklish, especially there and there.”

“But I’m not even touching you there and there.”

Harry grabbed Aria’s hand and kissed it gently as both were gazing at the mirror; their reflections were grinning brightly back at them.

“So, what do you think?” Aria asked, freeing her hand and gently putting his glasses back on his face.

“I think you’re so beautiful,” Harry whispered in a teasing manner, still gazing at the reflection.

“I mean your hair,” she smirked as she took another snip at his bangs.

The last thing in Harry’s mind was his hair right now; his hair had always been messy anyway. All he could see and think of from the reflection was just how perfect and peaceful the image was, with Aria standing and giggling behind him, stroking his hair and face.

“Perfection,” he muttered as he got up from Aria’s dresser table and snuggled up to her ear. “Thanks, Aria…”

“Aria…”

“Aria…”

“Uh? What?” Harry blurted out. He lifted himself up, rubbed his eyes, and saw Aria smiling and hovering rather closely over him. She was trying to cover him with a blanket. It was nighttime already and he had unknowingly fallen asleep on her sofa. That was just a dream. But for him, it felt so familiar for some reason.

“Sorry to wake you. You fell asleep, and you were mumbling and giggling about something. What was it about?” she teased as she folded the blanket and placed it on the sofa.

He immediately blushed. Without realizing it, he was gazing deeply at her as the images of the dream began to creep in his mind: the familiar dresser table, their bright reflection, and the ticklish sensations. He felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Dinner is… ready…” Aria, turning to him, stuttered because she had just caught his heavy green eyes that were still gazing at her.

In his mind, he was busy debating with himself whether he should stay for dinner because it was getting late. The aroma coming from the dinner table was too hard to resist, and it would be rude to leave now, after all the trouble she had gone through to put everything together, he thought to himself. So he decided he would leave immediately after dinner.

“Oh, sorry,” he quickly looked away after having realized he was still gazing at her. He scratched his head shyly, touching his hair to check if Aria had just trimmed it like what happened in the dream. Swallowing hard and still feeling very drowsy, he slowly stood up and followed her to the table. On his way, he noticed the fireplace was burning brightly, warming up the entire house. Something else was burning on top of the fireplace. It was a jar containing burning incense, and it was emitting a strong but sweet floral smell. The dinner table was decorated with flowers. There was a lot of food, bread, a plate filled with beautiful fruit, and two beer pitchers.

“Everything looks and smells perfect,” he said as he instinctively pulled out a chair for her. She smiled and sat down, pouring more beer into the mugs. He quickly took her plate and put some food for her. Starving himself, he did the same for his plate and proceeded to eat.

The rest of the meal was very quiet and calm. It suddenly occurred to him that he never really had a dinner date with Ginny like this before. He never tried organizing something like this at Hogwarts, even though he did promise her a picnic on the mountain top overseeing the stars this past New Year’s after the two of them were almost killed by the dream curse. And during the summer, they were always being surrounded by the Weasleys at the Burrow. At the time, since they wanted to keep their relationship secret from Mrs. Weasley, they didn’t do much as a couple, other than talking, holding hands, kissing, and hiding in Ginny’s bedroom.

Suddenly, as he thought of Ginny’s bedroom, he remembered the dresser table in the dream and why everything was so familiar. The dresser was Ginny’s, and it was identical to the one in his dream. He recalled he was in Ginny’s room that day at the Burrow and she was cutting his hair, tickling him on purpose, while he was admiring their smiling reflections. Completely confused, he was wondering why Aria replaced her in the dream. But now that he thought of Ginny, he reminded himself that he must finish dinner quickly and head back to the castle to be with her.

The butterflies continue to dance around them in the house. He ate rather quickly. The aroma of the incense took over the house as the meal went on. Before he knew it, he had already helped her clear the table. All that was left were the beer pitcher and their mugs.

“You’re right. This is definitely a lot better than the ones at Three Broomsticks,” he said as he poured himself another glass, trying to come up with an excuse to leave politely. But his head was beginning to feel very light and his eyelids felt heavy again.

“It’s because it is a lot stronger. Be careful, Harry. Don’t drink too much,” she said worriedly.

“Can you tell me more about this place?” he blurted out, taking another sip as he gazed at her with a starry impression on his face.

“It’s my hideout. I come here to be by myself, you know… to escape… to get some peace and quiet,” she muttered and took another drink. “Harry, are you all right?”

“Oh? Sorry. I’m fine,” he lied. He actually felt very hazy, light-headed, and his cheeks felt very warm. Aria was right. The beer was much stronger than those from Three Broomsticks, and much more addictive.

“Go on. Continue with what you were saying. You said Hagrid gave you the animals?”

“Animals are great, aren’t they? They never lie; they don’t judge. Sometimes I wonder which one is more human. Hagrid loves them too,” she mumbled and went to the record player.

“You want to dance? Is it okay to dance with a friend?” she asked, turning the player on. Music suddenly filled the entire house.

“Okay,” he heard himself blurt out. He couldn’t believe he had just agreed to dance because he hated dancing. He had forgotten that he had wanted to leave, and the next thing he knew, he had his arm on her waist and her hand was on his shoulder. They were spinning wildly across the room to the beat of the music in the butterfly-filled background. It was the most liberating feeling he had ever felt. He felt free to do anything, to be himself, and safe. He was whistling with the music, his steps becoming faster and faster, as he held her tighter and tighter, until he banged into the bookshelf, almost knocking the vases off it.

“That was incredible, and I managed the entire dance without stepping on your feet,” he choked, trying to catch his breath as he grabbed his mug from the table and took another sip of beer.

“Aria, thanks for all of this… I’ve never felt so great,” he took off his jacket because the room began to feel very warm. The fireplace continued to glow brightly in the background. He threw his jacket wildly across the room.

“Harry, you’re drunk. Look at you. Come rest on the sofa. I’ll turn off the music,” she laughed and helped him to the sofa but when she got back up, he found his arms suddenly reaching out to her. Without knowing it, he pulled her into him and she landed on his lap. Her blond hair brushed against his face.

“Why did you do that?” she yelled as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I really want to thank you for tonight. It’s just that I’ve never felt like this before, so carefree, light, just like these butterflies… as if nothing matters anymore. I can be free of my problems, burdens. I love this place,” he heard himself whisper as he gently leaned his flushed face onto her shoulder.

“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want. As a friend, of course…” she turned to him and smiled eagerly, reaching over to hold his head tightly towards her lips, her fingers teasing his earlobe as she was now passionately kissing the side of his neck.

“Aria, I have to go now. It’s getting late,” he mumbled, struggling fruitlessly to free himself. But it appeared the music had drowned out his voice because Aria remained on his lap.

“I have to go back to the castle…” he protested, struggling to catch his breath.

“Listen, I should… go…” he muttered softly, wanting to set her onto the sofa, but he found his arms were very stiff and he was unable to move them.

“Harry…”

She suddenly gazed deeply into his eyes. It was the most penetrating and intimate gaze he had ever experienced. As her eyes were anchored with his, he could see everything about her, her life, her experiences, her pain, and her emotions flashing in front of his eyes. She was drawing him into her soul. He could feel her drinking his energy, and he wanted to close his eyes, but it was futile, because fighting back meant that he was only leaning even closer to her, so close that the tips of their noses were touching each other.

“Stop… No, Aria… Please don’t…” he pleaded, with each syllable getting weaker and weaker. They were the only words that he could muster together.

Her green eyes were now sparkling in silver light, and he could feel her inside his mind, exploring him intimately, his dreams, his secrets, his beliefs, and his desires, and he found himself doing the same thing to her, exploring her thoughts deeply. All the barriers between them were slowly falling to the wayside. Everything that he believed in and stood for began to peel off and melt away. There was nothing separating them anymore. Their minds were united as one.

“Please…stop…” he whimpered one last time. But his words simply sank to the ground. He felt like he was floating in between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Clenching his teeth helplessly and weakened and overwhelmed by all these breathtaking sensations, he discovered that his blurry vision was fading away. Everything that were in his view suddenly vanished except her. All he could see was her, and all she could see was him...

Chapter 16 Walking On Broken Glass

Harry was awakened by the sunlight that was shining on his face. He felt a splitting headache, and was extremely dizzy, undoubtedly from a hangover. Lying on the sofa underneath a warm blanket, his body and neck were sore and his vision was blurry. After spotting the butterflies all over the ceiling, it suddenly dawned on him that he was in Aria’s house the entire night. He panicked and bolted up so violently that the blanket unraveled off him and tumbled to the floor, as details of what happened last night quickly flooded his mind. Thankfully, he realized he was fully dressed because he had a nasty feeling in his head that he wasn’t. Peering nervously across the living room, the house was eerily silent. He noticed the fireplace that was burning so fiercely last night had gone out. The incense was no longer burning but the suffocating aroma still lingered in his mind. The beer pitcher was still on the table. His jacket was folded neatly on the coffee table in front of him. On top of his jacket were his glasses, and they had been repaired. Aria was nowhere to be seen. He hastily put on his glasses, grabbed his jacket, and started to walk towards the door.

“Harry, you’re awake!”Aria suddenly jumped downstairs happily and hurried towards him with her arms outstretched.

Clearly startled by her abrupt appearance in the room, he gasped and his jacket fell out of his grip. Dying from embarrassment and his cheeks in flames, he immediately reached for it. But for some reason, all the butterflies decided to swarm on it as well. Aria noticed him too preoccupied brushing the butterflies off, so she grabbed the edge on the opposite side, trying playfully to yank it away from him.

“STOP IT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??” he complained angrily, immediately bolting up.

“Relax, Harry! I was just helping you pick it up! That’s all!” she snickered wildly.

Pretending that he didn’t hear her immature taunts, he finally overpowered her and pulled it away from her. His cheeks were redder than ever from embarrassment and also rage; he was mad at her and mad at himself.

“All right, all right,” she sighed and shrugged her shoulders innocently. He regained his footing and immediately looked away.

Trying to suppress her giggles, she continued to tease him, “What do you think? Does this pin look good on me?”

She spun around and collapsed into him deliberately. As they collided, his vision suddenly became hazy and Aria’s face became Ginny’s face. He had remembered seeing Ginny spinning happily just like that and then crashing into him when he gave her a butterfly hairpin as a present not too long ago. He shook his head and as he slowly regained his vision, he could see Aria wearing the same pin.

“I was just about to make you some breakfast. What would you like to eat?” she asked enthusiastically, rubbing heavily against him.

“ARIA, PLEASE!” he bellowed and pulled away once again.

He could not take this anymore. The guilt, the consequences, and the idea of hurting and losing Ginny as a result of his reckless behavior were too much to bear. Spending the entire night here and letting her invade him telepathically was the biggest mistake of his life. He had wanted to cover his ears but he realized his hands were too busy clutching the jacket. Aria stood there smiling and gazing at him, following his footsteps, as he quickly gathered up his shoes that were spread across the floor.

“I better go,” he muttered as he got up and walked towards the door.

Her smile suddenly disappeared. Blinking very quickly, she whimpered, “What?”

“I am sorry. Last night was a mistake. I made a huge mistake. I betrayed Ginny. It shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have followed you here. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk and lost my senses. It was a mistake. It will never happen again. I am truly very sorry,” he blurted out as he paused at the doorway, his back towards her.

“It shouldn’t have happened. I said we were just friends. And you’re my professor. What have I done??” he was struggling for words.

“I have to go. Goodbye Aria. I am truly sorry,” he finally inserted and walked out, his stomach churning in pain.

Heartbroken, Aria was once again gazing at his fading footsteps, hopelessly longing for him to turn back and give her one last look. But it was not to be. He had disappeared. She stared at the doorway with her tear-filled eyes, too numb to move.

Suddenly, she saw a shadow of a person appearing from the doorway. It was Harry. He had come back. A bright smile appeared on her face at the sight of him coming back into the house, as if her wish had finally come true. She gazed intensely and enthusiastically into his green eyes, with a look of eager anticipation on her face, believing he had finally turned back for her and be with her.

“Hmm… I forgot that I am in your world right now. You never told me how to leave here,” he said sheepishly.

Her smile quickly vanished from complete disillusionment by what he just said as her hopes went up in smoke.

“You don’t even want to stay for breakfast?” she gave it one last try.

“No, I’m not hungry. I just want to go,” he replied, averting her eyes.

There was a long pause and the room fell silent. Aria slowly turned away, trying to hide her crushed contorted face.

“Just go back to the mirror and walk through it,” she uttered chokingly, biting her lip and trying to sound strong.

“Aria, I’m sorry,” he muttered and sped away, as if staying for even one second longer with her would be too disgusting for him.

“HARRY!” she roared as she turned to the doorway with her arm desperately outstretched. But he was already gone.

The house that was just filled with energy moments ago was now overflowing with loneliness and silence. The music that was playing endlessly last night when they made love had stopped; the sofa was conspicuously empty and the dinner table had no one sitting on them. It was so lifeless the butterflies had also left the house. Sighing deeply from heartbreak, Aria walked tiredly to the table. She grabbed the pitcher and devoured all the leftover beer from last night in one gulp. With beer spilling all over her face, she despairingly tossed the pitcher onto the floor, shattering it. Broken glass was all over the floor. Barefoot because she wanted to make Harry more comfortable by appearing shorter than him, she wearily trudged to the coffee table, inadvertently walking over the broken glass. She believed she had done everything to please him, but it was all a wasted effort. Too numb to sense any pain from her bloodied feet, she picked up the blanket from the sofa and hugged it tenderly. She felt his aroma and warmth from his residual body heat. Tears instinctively spilled out of her eyes but she wasn’t crying; her face was as stoic and pale as ever. She violently yanked the butterfly pin out of her hair. The pin was the same one she gave to Harry as a present to Ginny. As she stared at it with her ghostly eyes, the enchanted pin was fluttering its wings anxiously. Glaring into the open space, she clutched it tightly against her chest and collapsed onto the glass-filled floor.

Chapter 17 The Mark Of Remorse

Harry carefully climbed out of the mirror and found himself back in Aria’s empty classroom. Checking his watch, he realized the school day had already started.

“What have I done?” he stared at his filthy hands, still in complete shock, the events of last night beginning to sink in.

The halls appeared to be more crowded with students than usual; everyone was in their robes except him. He quickly headed back to the dorm, hoping that on his way there, he would not run into any familiar faces or attract any attention to himself because he was a total mess and was not ready to face anyone. But once again, he would always manage to run into people that he didn’t want to see.

“Harry, where have you been?” Hermione saw him speed past her in the common room. He pretended that he didn’t hear her and continued hurrying along with his head down, until he crashed into Ron.

“Hey, mate. Slow down! Watch where you’re going,” he blocked his way playfully. Harry had no choice but stop and acknowledge the two of them.

“Where were you last night?” she questioned, eyeing him up and down suspiciously, paying particular attention to his jacket. Her tone was quite nasty.

Harry’s stomach churned when he heard the words, “last night.”

“What’s that dark spot on your neck?” Ron asked heatedly. “Is that what I think it is? Oh my goodness! You and my little sister were making out last night??”

He immediately covered the hickey and rushed to his room upstairs, “It’s a bruise! I accidentally tripped and fell! That’s all. I’ll see you later in class.”

“Harry, what a load of crock! If Mum finds out that you and my sister were…”

“RON, SHUT UP!” Hermione shrieked and yanked his arm. “He wasn’t with Ginny last night!”

“Uh? What? How do you…”

“Listen to me. She was in the girls’ dormitory the entire night by herself. I saw her and she was all depressed. Remember the four of us leaving Hannibal’s class yesterday and Harry suddenly said he had to see Hagrid and the three of us came back here? Well, he never visited Hagrid.”

Ron stared at her with a confused look on his face.

“Remember the three of us were eating supper in the hall and wondering where Harry was? Then Ginny said she wasn’t hungry and left rather quickly? It turned out that she went to visit Hagrid and found out Harry never went there.”

Ron stood frozen and didn’t know what to make of this.

“She was so upset when she told me this last night. I was just trying so hard to help Harry’s cause by repeating over and over again how much he loves her, how sweet he is, and harping on and on about what a wonderful boyfriend he is, giving her such incredible presents like the dream catcher this past Christmas and that butterfly pin, and comparing him to the lousy excuse of a boyfriend that I am stuck with!”

“I figure you’re talking about me now?” he asked in a very hesitant tone.

“NON, I am talking about my beloved dream guy Malfoy, my favorite Slytherin!” she hissed sarcastically and smacked his shoulder, glaring at him in disbelief. “Who do you think I’m talking about?”

“I’m sorry but I don’t have the money to…” he pleaded, trying to understand her signals.

“Ron, please. Do you really think that’s the issue? Money? Do you see me as that type of person? Is that what you think I want?” she interrupted and shook her head miserably.

“So, what do you want?” he pleaded. “I can’t read your mind.”

“Must I spell out everything for you?? You’re so dense, you know,” she growled. “But this is not the time to figure out my wants. There is a much bigger problem in front of us. And we have to sort it out before it’s too late. You do want Ginny and Harry together, don’t you?”

“Yes, but shouldn’t they be sorting it out themselves? We have no business…”

“WE ARE THEIR BEST FRIENDS! AND GINNY’S YOUR SISTER! OF COURSE IT’S OUR BUSINESS!” she bellowed, silencing him.

“So, if he wasn’t with Hagrid. Where did he go?” Ron asked hesitantly.

“More importantly, who was he with all night?” she snapped impatiently and then she narrowed her eyes. “And what was he doing?”

Ron understood what she was implying, “I know Harry. He is not the type of person…”

“I know Harry too. He is the most honest and honorable person. I know he is not the type to cheat on Ginny. But you and I spotted the hickey on his neck with our own very eyes and the way he lied about it. And did you smell that strange floral scent when he rushed by? I think guys normally don’t smell like flowers. How else would you explain it?” she disputed worriedly.

“So what do we do? Should we tell Ginny?” he blurted out.

“ARE YOU CRAZY? WHAT IF WE’RE WRONG?” she smacked him on the shoulder again. “We can’t jump the gun on this. It’s too serious. What we have to do now is to hide in the background and try to fish out the truth because something is definitely wrong! But more importantly, we can’t have Ginny and Harry suspect anything!”

“Hmm… How do we play this game of detective?” he joked with a grin on his face.

Well, you’re his best friend. You have to go find out,” she nudged him to follow Harry upstairs.

“Me? You’re crazy!” Ron’s grin quickly disappeared.

“Yes, and yes I am! But you love me anyway, so you’re even more crazy. But that’s another story. Now hurry up and go on!” she pressed.

“It’s just not a guy’s thing to talk about this kind of fluffy stuff…” Ron frowned and complained dejectedly but he immediately stopped when he noticed Hermione’s fiery stare getting very nasty.

Ron reluctantly trudged upstairs because he didn’t want to get her more upset. However, he was still not convinced that he should be prodding in other people’s affairs. Besides, in his mind, he was absolutely convinced that his best friend would never do anything to hurt Ginny and that Hermione’s suspicions were utterly baseless.

Harry was in the shower. Turning on the brutal cold water to the maximum, he immersed himself into the powerful downpour. As the current glided down his body, everything about last night and all the details unwillingly sank deeper and deeper into his mind. Disgusted with himself, he was desperately hoping that all that had happened would be cleansed away by the freezing punishing waters. He scrubbed his neck continuously, wanting the bruise to disappear. He pushed his soaked hair away from his tear-filled eyes and stared appallingly at the blasting showerhead. The freezing waters were piercing him like needles to his skin, as if they were punishing him for everything that he did.

“GINNY…” he choked on the cold water that was flooding his mouth.

Tears began to pour out of his eyes when he thought of the eventual pain that Ginny would have to endure because of him and his betrayal. Staring at his filthy hands, the gnawing pain in his gut was becoming unbearable as he realized that she would be burdened by his reckless behavior for the rest of her life.

“AARGH…” he roared, pounding the wall with his fists. “WHAT HAVE I DONE??”

Why did he succumb to Aria’s advances again and how could he have done something so irresponsible and stupid like this to hurt Ginny, he thought to himself, after what they had been through together, after what she had done for him, and how she was there when he needed her most. Ginny was everything he had, the only one that loved him.

In his mind, the things he did with Aria were simply unforgivable. It was already a mistake sharing a kiss with her in the school grounds, but not only did he stop, he revoltingly allowed himself to go further, insisting foolishly on maintaining a friendship with her and abandoning Ginny in the process. To top it off, he had to lie to all his friends and used his best friend, Hagrid as a decoy. How could he be so irresponsible, he thumped his fists against the walls despairingly.

Harry remembered vividly like it was yesterday how Ginny entered his nightmare and saved him that night at the church this past New Year’s because she loved him. That night she gave up her all and was willing to die for him. He remembered how he hurt her last Christmas by abandoning her under the mistletoe and he promised to himself he would never ever hurt her like that again. Yet it wasn’t even their first anniversary of them as a couple and he had already betrayed her.

The grueling waters were smashing his eyes and cheeks now, but he knew he deserved the agony because the pain that Ginny would experience as a result of his reckless actions would be a thousand times more severe. If it was possible, he was willing to die in exchange for sparing Ginny from suffering through this pain.

He recalled promising Mrs. Weasley he would never ever hurt her baby angel when she gave him her blessing to date her baby daughter. Mrs. Weasley was like a mother to him but he had let her down; he had let everyone down, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, The Weasley family, McGonagall, and Dumbledore… How could he be so selfish and hurt all these people who meant so much to him, he thought to himself. He knew that everyone of these people would die for him without even considering for a second, and yet he let them down. Clutching his abdomen because of the gnawing pain in his stomach, he wanted to throw up. The weight of all this torture and anguish slowly grinded him to the flooded unforgiving surface of the tub, as he curled up helplessly and sobbed uncontrollably, finally realizing the damage and repercussions of his reckless behavior on the most important people in his life.

“GINNY…” he cried out despairingly, gripping his hair so tightly as if he wanted to tear them off his head.

“Ginny…”

“I’m so sorry…”

His words went down the drain with the cold water.

Chapter 18 Red Light At The Crossroads

“Harry, where is he?” Ron mumbled to himself, opening the door to his room to discover it was empty. He peered around and saw Harry’s clothes tossed messily on Ron’s bed.

“I guess he’s in the shower,” he sighed, dumping Harry’s soiled clothes back on his own bed. His clothes smelled like beer, and also some kind of sweet flowery aroma.

“Harry’s such an idiot! Can’t even figure out which bed is his!”

As he threw the jacket down, a red handkerchief fell out of the pocket. He picked it up from the floor and examined it curiously. A disturbing feeling emerged inside of him as he stared at it. He was now beginning to regret having discovered this.

Suddenly hearing footsteps from the door, Ron immediately tucked the handkerchief into his pocket and dropped the jacket on Harry’s bed. It was Harry coming in. Wearing a bathrobe, he slowly trudged in. When he saw Ron hovering over his bed, he immediately turned his head down, trying to hide his reddened eyes. He was too ashamed to face him.

“Hi… Harry… Hmm… How is everything?” he asked awkwardly, trying to regain his composure. “You wanna talk?”

Harry dragged himself over to the bookshelf and reached for the doves that Ginny gave him last Christmas. Biting his lip, he gazed at them solemnly as he was overcome with remorse.

“Harry, is there something wrong?” Ron asked as he walked over to him, trying to get a look at his neck once again. “I’m your best friend. You can tell me anything.”

Swallowing hard and breathing deeply, he shook his head. He had his back towards Ron and was clutching the doves tightly against his chest. He knew Ron was his best friend, but he simply couldn’t tell him that he cheated on his best friend’s little sister.

“Thanks for asking, Ron. I’ll see you in class,” Harry finally whispered weakly, his voice cracking.

Ron could still see the dark mark on Harry’s neck. He remembered earlier how he was initially upset at Harry, horrified by the idea that his best friend was making out with his little sister in such an intimate way. However, now he desperately wanted to believe that Harry did make out with his little sister and that the mark was from Ginny and not from someone else. The idea of his best friend cheating on his little sister would simply be unimaginable. A flash of anger erupted in his mind and he wanted to punch him, but he remembered Hermione telling him to wait and not overreact. So he restrained his fists, shook his head and walked calmly out of the room, tucking at his pocket to make sure that the handkerchief was safely hidden.

“I’ll see you later,” Ron called out and closed the door, realizing Harry was shutting him out. Harry remained motionless with the doves and did not reply.

After Ron had left, Harry crashed into his bed and cuddled the doves tightly in his grips, drowning in remorse. If it were possible, he would want to stay there for the rest of his life.

Ron ran downstairs and discovered Hermione anxiously waiting for him by the staircase.

“Well, what did you find out?” she asked, pulling him to the fireplace.

Ron showed her the red handkerchief and proceeded to tell her about his clothes smelling like beer and the sweet floral scent, and how depressed he appeared to be. He also reminded her that what Harry had on his neck was indeed a hickey.

“But I still refuse to believe that our Harry is this type of person,” Ron stared at the handkerchief, trying desperately to convince himself. “Something terrible must have happened to him because he looked like a wreck. He kept staring at the doves Ginny gave him.”

“Or maybe this is his,” Ron pointed desperately at the handkerchief. “Maybe he likes to use red handkerchiefs…”

Hermione glared at Ron with a complete look of disbelief after hearing that last remark. By now he knew he was fighting a losing battle. He was finally convinced.

“I’M GOING TO KILL HIM! HOW CAN HE DO THIS TO MY SISTER???” Ron roared, tossing the handkerchief to the floor angrily.

“Quiet! I told you to not overreact until we find out more!” she hissed, yanking him to calm him down.

“You said you found it in his jacket?” she asked, picking it up from the floor. He nodded.

“The jacket somehow seems so familiar to me for some reason, like I’ve seen it before,” Hermione mumbled to herself.

“Of course you’ve seen it. Harry’s worn it hundreds of times!” Ron chuckled miserably.

“No, you idiot. I mean I’ve seen it on another person somewhere,” she sighed in frustration, trying to think.

It was obvious Ron was unable to add more insight to this mess. “I’m going to the library,” she complained, hoping she could sort this out by herself.

For the next week or so, Hermione and Ron were busy secretly tailing Harry as much as possible, trying to figure out who he was with that night. They were hoping that they would catch him in the act to confirm their suspicions and then Ron would beat him up. However, Harry was either hiding in his room or in his classes, and the three of them shared most classes together anyway. Other than that, he would devote his time in the fields wasting away, practicing flying for his Quidditch games, as he told the two of them. It was obvious Harry was trying to be alone and to numb himself to forget about what happened. He was trying to figure out how he would tell Ginny the truth. He was still having a hard time facing his friends and he remained unusually quiet and somber, and Hermione and Ron could sense this. They didn’t want to ask him anything directly. Instead, they acted as natural as ever. They didn’t even tell him that Ginny was now suspicious of him, fearing that otherwise he would detect that they knew something and he would act defensive and try to hide from them.

Ginny was conspicuously detached from the group this past week for some reason, spending most of her time hiding in her room or in the library. Because Aria cancelled her classes indefinitely, citing illness, Ginny didn’t even have to share that one class with Harry. She was hiding from him all week and without realizing it, she couldn’t remember the last time they had kissed each other goodnight.

It was again late at night when Harry got back from one of his late night flying practices and he bumped into Ginny in the common room; she just came from the library. Both were startled at the sight of the other, as if neither wanted to see one other.

“Hi, Ginny,” he smiled faintly, quickly covering the mark on his neck awkwardly, pretending that he had an annoying itch. He realized he hadn’t seen her in days. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red. Seeing this, the weight of remorse suddenly crashed on his shoulder. There was a great amount of distance between them and he could sense her tension.

Seeing him standing there with his Firebolt reminded her of the promise he made to her last year about giving her a ride on his broomstick and taking her with him anywhere, anytime. Her eyes began to tear up. Trying to forget this agonizing memory, she averted his eyes and replied with a hoarse voice, “How is Quidditch practice?”

“It’s good,” he answered flatly, his stomach tightening up nervously, still standing quite far from her. He was afraid to approach her. “How’s everything with you?”

“Very busy, studying for midterms and loads of homework to do for tomorrow. The course load is very difficult for me,” she lied, trying to control the shakiness of her hoarse voice. She had forgotten that it was late Friday night now; there was no school and nothing was coming due tomorrow.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I had the same subjects last year, and Hermione had to help me get through them,” he chuckled dully, trying to prolong the pleasantries.

“Well, it’s late. I have an early class tomorrow. Goodnight Harry,” she quickly turned away because she couldn’t contain her tears any longer. She kept her head down and marched to the staircase.

“Ginny, wait! But there’s…” he reached his arms out longingly, but she ran up very quickly and had already disappeared.

“…no class tomorrow…” he mumbled to the lonely staircase.

He could hear a loud bang from her closing her door. Standing alone by himself in the common room, his eyes began to water as he thought of all those tender goodnight kisses they shared together that were now no more. The gnawing pain in his stomach was becoming unbearable.

“Goodnight, Ginny. Pleasant dreams,” he whispered despairingly to the empty lifeless staircase.

The Firebolt slipped out of his hand and crashed onto the ground.

“I have to tell her the truth…”

Chapter 19 When You Hold Me...While I Cry…

It was the weekend and most of the older students were heading to Hogsmeade as usual. Seizing this opportunity to have the deserted school grounds to himself, Harry really wanted some private time with Ginny because he truly missed her. The mark on his neck was now barely visible. He wanted to take this opportunity to tell her because it would be a thousand times more painful if she were to find out on her own. He waited behind the castle entrance in front of the main gathering spot until she appeared.

“Ginny, come with me!” he hurried over to her and pulled her along.

“Harry, what’s going on?” she was startled by his sudden appearance.

“Just come with me. I want to show you something,” he said excitedly.

They ran to the back of the castle towards a pile of hay located at the far corner. Harry went to the pile and pushed the hay away. Underneath it was a bicycle.

“I found this in the forest the other day with Hagrid and I cleaned it up. Good as new,” he pulled it up and brushed the hay off the seat.

When he mentioned Hagrid’s name, memories of his lying about visiting Hagrid resurfaced. But seeing how excited he was, she didn’t want to spoil the mood, so she maintained a strong and happy, but strained face.

“It’s a bicycle? A common recreational vehicle in the Muggle world?”

“Climb on. I’ll give you a ride.”

She climbed on and wrapped her arms around his waist. The feeling was unfamiliar; it had been so long since she was this close to him.

“Ready?” he asked, looking over to her.

She smiled and nodded. With this, he gave a push with his foot and away they went.

It was only a bike ride, but she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. In front of her was the only boy she had ever loved. Gazing at his back and holding his waist, she let out a deep smile, wishing this moment would never end and that time would stand still for her. She really missed being with him.

“All right back there?” he asked tenderly as he pedaled faster and faster. She could sense that he was more caring towards her than usual. The bicycle was gyrating wildly on the rocky path, as if it was trying to symbolize the circumstances of their torrid relationship.

“I love you, Harry,” she replied breathlessly. Her arms gently caressed his chest as she leaned on his back, closed her misty eyes, and cuddled him.

She could hear his racing heartbeat as he pedaled on. Somehow, hers was starting to match his. With their hearts beating as one, their soulful and mesmerizing echoes gradually made her forget about his lies regarding Hagrid. All was forgiven as long as he was with her, just like this. She had avoided looking at his neck yesterday but today she was too close to not see it. She had heard hurtful whispers in the halls about it the entire week. Ron and Hermione were walking on eggshells around her, probably because they knew something she didn’t. Everyone believed it was her that marked him, except she knew devastatingly that it wasn’t her.

There was indeed someone else. She had suspected it all along, even though Hermione was always trying so hard to argue otherwise. Ginny had no idea who this girl could be. She could cross paths with her everyday at school and she wouldn’t even know it. It may even be her classmate, a friend or a roommate of hers. All she knew was that some girl out there was probably laughing at her right now, for the fool that she was.

She didn’t want to ask Harry, because the truth and losing him to someone else would be too painful for her to bear. She had avoided him all week because she didn’t want to face reality. By avoiding him, he would not have a chance to tell her he was leaving her.

She remembered hating him to the bone yesterday when she bumped into him in the common room. In fact, she had hoped he could drop dead moments ago. But now, she found herself unable to let go of him and unable to pose her painful questions. Her voice had failed her.

“I love you too, Ginny,” Harry whispered lovingly. At this moment, he knew he loved only her and no one else. Her warmth, beauty, innocence, understanding, and her compassion… At the sight of her angelic face, all the courage that Dumbledore said he possessed suddenly vanished. He had planned to tell her the truth today but now he had lost the courage to confess. He was overcome by the fear of losing her and not having her by his side because without her, he would have no purpose and life would lose its meaning. His eyes were starting to tear up.

Those very words that he just whispered used to be music to Ginny’s ears. They no longer sound endearing anymore, as if her favorite harmony had gone off-key because of a dissonant third tone, and the unwelcome tone was her.

The ride gradually steadied as he slowed down. Harry had brought Ginny to the lakeside and they were alone. It was a gorgeous day but it failed to lift her shattered spirits. After he came to a complete stop, he wiped his eyes to make sure there were no tears before he held her hand and helped her off the bike. Then he went behind the bushes and retrieved a picnic basket and a blanket.

“You had planned this all along,” she pretended to cheer, choking back tears, and secretly pinching her hand, hoping that this wasn’t a dream or one of her fantasies. She pulled her head down to hide her reddened eyes.

“With a little help from our two best friends this morning, of course. Hermione does deserve more credit, come to think of it,” Harry smiled deeply.

“Let me help,” she muttered tiredly. All the crying this past week and many sleepless nights had drained all her energy.

“No, just rest on the hammock and enjoy my magical performance!” he declared, trying to sound as assertive as possible to mask his screaming urge to cry.

She wearily climbed on it and admired him as he struggled with everything from opening the basket to laying the blanket on the grass. Nothing was following his orders. It was obvious Harry’s specialty when it came to his magic skills were spells against the Dark Arts. His magic and courage were always unparalleled when it came to his selflessly saving and defending people against evil, she thought to herself proudly as she continued to gaze at him. In other people’s eyes, he would always be a hero. In her eyes, she was convinced he was her only love, her eternal guardian angel that would always protect her and never hurt her, at least until the inevitable day when he would tell her he was going to leave her.

Harry gave up when the blanket flew over his head. He tucked his wand back in his jacket dejectedly, and proceeded to set everything up manually. He failed to impress her; he had once again failed her, he thought to himself. As he glanced at her shyly, Ginny quickly flashed a faint smile so he wouldn’t notice her struggles.

“It’s all Ron’s fault. He kept interrupting Hermione and me this morning and I couldn’t remember all the words of the spells. And Hermione was going into so much detail… She knew I wasn’t good with this kind of stuff,” he mumbled before realizing he shouldn’t have blamed his friends for his mistakes. His mistakes were his own, and some mistakes simply could not be undone.

Ginny giggled slightly, even though her stomach was twisting as her eyes couldn’t help but focus on his neck and the mark of betrayal. She didn’t want him to notice her heartache, so she covered her mouth, pretending she was coughing.

“Oh no. Gin, I forgot something. Wait here. I’ll go back and get the parchment.”

“Parchment?” she asked blankly, in between coughs.

“Yeah, wait here. I want to show you what I do with them. I’ll ride back and fetch some,” he handed her a glass of orange juice, and suddenly pulled out a red rose from his sleeve. Ginny’s mouth opened in awe and her eyes glowed at the rose. The gnawing pain in her gut momentarily vanished; she was mesmerized.

“At least this spell worked,” he said sheepishly as he inserted the rose gently into her hair. He kissed her on the cheek and rushed to the bicycle. He turned his head to her and smiled before he rode off.

Ginny pulled the rose out of her hair and rubbed it against her cheek.

“This must be Hermione’s idea. Harry would never know what to do with a rose, except to peel off the petals one by one…” she giggled as she vividly remembered how Professor Hannibal made him do that silly flower exercise in front of the whole class.

“Why do we need parchment?” she was confused. Nevertheless, she put the glass down and lied on the hammock, admiring the bright blue skies, wondering what he was up to. Perhaps he brought her here to break up with her, she thought to herself. Perhaps this beautiful dream had reached its conclusion and it would be here that he would finally abandon her. But she was determined; she was going to stay and wait for him, no matter how long it took. She had once again led herself to believe his words, the words of a lying lover. A drop of tear rolled down her cheek as the aching pain in her gut came rushing back.

It was only minutes and he had already gotten back to the lake, but to Harry, those minutes felt like eternity. Panting heavily, he hurried over to Ginny, but her eyes were closed. He took off his jacket and covered her gently, admiring her angelic face.

“Dumbledore always said I am brave for my age, then why don’t I have the courage to confess the truth?” he stared into the beautiful sky as he mumbled hopelessly to himself and sat on the warm grass with his back facing her.

He took out a quill and wrote on the parchment:

“Please forgive me for everything that I did. I’m so sorry. Truly sorry. Love, Harry.”

He stared at the parchment with a longing look on his face as his eyes began to tear up again, worrying about the pain Ginny would have to endure as a result of what he did. Rereading what he wrote again and again, he was certain she would leave him. She deserved someone better, because what he did was despicable. He slowly folded the parchment into a paper plane and launched it into the sky. The plane flew steadily towards the lake. After watching it disappear, he continued with the rest of the parchment:

“I hope we’ll always be together. Always. Love, Harry.”

“I’ll die without you! Please don’t leave me! Love, Harry.”

“Please tell me what to do to heal your pain! Love, Harry.”

“I am sorry. Love, Harry.”

He launched the paper planes dejectedly toward the lake, sniffing back tears and watching them stoically as they disappeared into the horizons, desperately hoping that his wishes would come true, that she would not leave him.

Draped in Harry’s jacket and resting on the hammock behind him, Ginny was only pretending to have fallen asleep. She had to close her eyes because she knew they were red and filled with tears; she didn’t want him to see her like this. As she gripped his jacket tightly, she could feel his familiar warmth and endearing aroma embracing her soul. She didn’t want to let go because his warmth always made her feel safe and at peace. As she cuddled it with her arms like it was the most precious thing in the world, she wondered despairingly if his jacket would be all she would be left with that was his after today. She slowly turned to her side and gazed yearningly at his back. Another drop of tear carelessly sparkled down her cheek. She was trying very hard not to look at the mark on his neck as he continued to launch the planes into the lake by himself.

“What a silly boy,” she thought. “Still playing with paper planes…”

She remembered how it wasn’t too long ago that they used to be so passionate as a couple that even Hermione became jealous. They were making promises to each other that they would be together forever regardless of what happened. Now, all she could do was wait for the day he was going utter those final words that he was going to leave her for someone else. All that was in front of her eyes now was his back that didn’t see her. Trying hopelessly to suppress these painful memories so she wouldn’t break down, she breathed deeply and wondered how much longer could she hide behind her actress smile and the inevitable truth.

“AARGH…”

Suddenly, Ginny crashed onto the grass and rolled into him. The two of them were tangled together by the hammock as the two of them tumbled along the grass towards the lake. The parchment flew out of Harry’s hands and flew into the air, like autumn leaves falling from their trees.

“What happened?” Ginny yelled out, struggling with her arms, her hair covering her tear-filled eyes.

“I think the hammock gave way and became undone! Are you okay?” he said as he stopped the momentum and tried desperately to free her. But the hammock became very stubborn and the knot between them became tighter and tighter. It was as if even the hammock wanted them to be together forever.

Their struggling on the grass reminded Ginny how the two of them used to roll around in her bed this past summer when she would tickle him nonstop.

“Are you implying that I’ve gained a few pounds?” she choked, blowing her hair and parchment out of her face. “Just for that, TAKE THIS!”

She stuck her arms out of the netting and buried all ten fingers into his abdomen, tickling him wildly.

“Stop it!” he laughed hysterically as tears rolled down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if his tears were from crying or from laughing too hard.

Of all people, Ginny was the expert in finding his weak spots. She had all summer to discover them at the Burrow. In fact, she had to cast a silencing charm on her door to drown out the craziness. But Harry was always a gentleman with her. He would never fight back or touch her inappropriately, even though many times she would long for his forbidden touch. Now, it was devastatingly clear to her that the reason for his not touching her was that he never loved her the way she loved him. As he continued letting her have her way, she began to wonder painfully if he was also a gentleman when he was with the other girl.

Their laughter echoed across the lakeside as they continued rolling playfully on the grass. This kind of hearty laugh between them seemed like a distant memory trying to rekindle itself. For some reason neither were in a hurry to untangle each other now as her hair would whip his face and his leg would brush against her arms, just like this past summer. The laughter momentarily drowned out the gnawing pain and agony in their hearts.

Harry suddenly held her hands to him and gazed into her misty brown eyes. She gradually stopped laughing when she caught his apologetic and teary green eyes. She couldn’t help but look away, because he had once promised that those very eyes of his would see only her. The pain in their hearts resurfaced again when the echo from their laughter finally disappeared with the rest of the parchment. As he slowly leaned over to kiss her, she felt his lips and thought despairingly how many times the other girl tasted those very lips as well.

Harry reached for his jacket and wrapped her in it. Wishing the knot would tie them together forever, he embraced her tightly in his arms. He had never held her this tightly before but this time was different; this time he didn’t want to let go and wished that this moment would never end. He was still too terrified to confess; his voice simply left him and his courage continued to fail him. At this very moment, not only was he revolted with himself for betraying her, he was utterly disgusted with himself for the fact that he didn’t even have the courage to tell her to spare her from more pain.

Struggling internally with remorse, he was appalled by his selfishness for unwilling to let her go and for holding her back. His heart was telling him that because of what he did, he no longer deserved her love. Ginny deserved someone who would not hurt her the way he did, and the coward that he was. He had concluded that he had no choice but to set his guardian angel free. It was the least he could do. It was the right thing to do. She deserved someone better, and that person was certainly not him, he thought to himself as he closed his teary eyes and rested his head on Ginny’s shoulder. The right thing to do would be that after sunset, he would go back to being her friend, a friend that would always wish her the best. After sunset, all that would remain of them in his heart would be nothing but a beautiful and painful memory. But without her by his side, he realized he would no longer have a reason to live. He simply loved her too much.

As Ginny’s head snuggled onto his remorseful shoulder, tears started pouring down her cheeks as she wished that the knot would tie them together forever. But sadly, she could sense Harry wanted to tell her something. Her heart was telling her that it would be here that everything would come to an end, that they would part ways, and her guardian angel would finally leave her, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. Despite all this, she realized that the right thing to do would be to remain as his friend, a friend that would forever wish him the best. Their love together would be nothing but a beautiful and painful memory in her heart after this. But without him by her side, she would no longer have a reason to live, because she loved him too much.

If only their aching hearts were linked the same way as their heartbeats, then perhaps both could hear each other’s internal struggles. Trying very hard to keep her cries silent as she gripped the back of his shirt, Ginny bit her lip, hopelessly wondering for how much longer was this endearing embrace going to last or whether this embrace would be their last.

Unbeknownst to her, Harry was biting his lip and crying silently, wondering about the very same thing too.

Chapter 20 Forget Me…My Beloved

The ride back to the castle somehow seemed much less turbulent, probably because both were too numb to feel anything. Harry glanced at his chest and noticed Ginny’s delicate arms around him. One of her hands was resting on top of his aching heart, pounding mindlessly and no longer with purpose.

Harry recalled he had been eagerly anticipating the start of the current school year because he was finally able to start a year with true happiness, with Ginny by his side. He certainly could not have anticipated any of this anguish. In fact, he could not remember feeling worse than this very moment. The agony he was experiencing now could not even come close to all the other physical or emotional trauma that he had witnessed before. The feelings of despair and hopelessness were mixed potently together with the utmost hatred for himself for failing Ginny and for ruining the only best thing that was in his life. He knew his mistake was simply unforgivable and irreversible. She certainly deserved someone that wouldn’t hurt her the way he did. He wanted to die because he hated himself so much for failing her. But without her, his life would be empty and meaningless; losing her would be like losing his soul and losing the reason to live.

Meanwhile, Ginny realized Harry was still her man, at least for another day, until he would ultimately leave her for the other girl. She knew very well that delaying the inevitable pain would only make it more excruciating. But to her, having Harry in her arms for one more day was worth all the pain in the world.

Draped inside his jacket, she had her eyes closed and she rested on his warm back, listening to his racing heartbeat as he pedaled on. Both remained silent as they tortured themselves with thoughts of how it was possible that in such a short period of time, their relationship would spiral down to this, when they were in heaven just this past summer. Merely months had passed by but they felt like they had aged substantially, especially these past few days, as they struggled with all kinds of complicated emotions that were too convoluted for them to understand.

“Ginny, look. It’s Dumbledore and Snape,” he finally broke the suffocating silence when he spotted a group of people rushing out of the castle.

Seeing Dumbledore reminded him of the conversation they shared this past New Years regarding Ginny. He wondered if Dumbledore would say the same things if he knew what Harry had done now.

“What’s going on?” Ginny glanced up and saw Hagrid, McGonagall, Trelawney, and other teachers rushing out.

Harry pedaled faster and raced towards the castle. He could now recognize the tension in all their hurried faces as he came closer.

“Something is wrong!” he yelled to her.

When they arrived at the castle entrance, both jumped off the bike and rushed inside, only to find Aria at the entrance. She was leaning on the wall with her crutches, with a panicked look on her face. Her eyes immediately sparkled with the greatest excitement the minute she spotted Harry coming in. Her worried demeanor was now completely lifted at the sight of him.

“Oh, Harry! Thank goodness you’re safe!” she beamed as she awkwardly rushed over to him rather closely. Seeing Ginny standing next to him though, she quickly controlled herself and refrained from touching him. She could painfully see Ginny wearing his jacket, the same one she was draped in that rainy night. Harry noticed both her feet were wrapped. He didn’t want to ask about her injury, and he immediately grabbed Ginny’s hand and pulled her closer to him. Aria noticed this immediately and took a few steps back. Her initial excitement was all but gone, and was replaced by a contorted face etched with heartache.

“What’s going on, Professor?” Ginny asked nervously.

“A group of wizards and witches have besieged Hogsmeade. Dumbledore and the teachers have gone to help the students get out!” Aria took a deep breath to regain her composure and muttered in a very controlled tone.

Harry and Ginny were both shocked, staring at each other in disbelief.

“Who sent these evil wizards to attack Hogsmeade?” Ginny cried.

“We don’t know, Ginny. We suspect they are Deatheaters. Headmaster Dumbledore told me to stay here because of my feet, and stand guard and not let the students out of the castle.”

“Ron and Hermione are at Hogsmeade!” Harry hollered. “I have to go help them!”

“NO, IT’S TOO DANGEROUS! YOU HAVE TO STAY HERE!” Aria roared desperately and pulled him back, her crutches slipping off her grip. But he struggled away and stormed towards the stairs. He was heading to the secret passageway entrance to Honeydukes in the third floor behind the one-eyed statue. Ginny tailed him immediately.

“Harry, where’re you going?” Aria demanded with her arm outstretched.

“Come back!” Aria called out. But they had already disappeared.

“Ginny, you can’t come with me. Aria… I mean, Professor Hannibal is right. It’s too dangerous. I want you to stay here in the castle with her and wait for us,” he pleaded worriedly as he stood in front of the statue, searching for his wand to open the passageway before realizing that he had placed it in his jacket and Ginny was wearing it.

“NO!” she glared at him with a fierce look of determination as she pulled his wand out. Her heart was telling her to stay by his side and to follow him forever.

“Ron is my brother and Hermione is my friend too! I have to help them!” she argued. She knew she had his wand but now she had found the reason that he couldn’t dispute. He had to let her come with him.

Staring at his wand that she was hoisting, Harry knew it was hopeless to argue with a determined Ginny. Not wanting to waste more time, he reluctantly agreed, even though Ginny’s well-being and safety were the only things in his mind right now.

The passageway was dark and wet. Harry and Ginny had to use their wands to light up the path. They ran as fast as they could, hoping Ron, Hermione, and the others were safe. The entire time Harry kept pushing Ginny back, because he wanted to shield her in case anything happened. They weren’t midway in the passageway when suddenly, a powerful fiery explosion erupted ahead of them that shook the entire passageway violently. A cloud of dust and heat rushed toward them. It was as if the entire structure was going to collapse inside out. They both fell to the ground and the lights at the tip of their wands fizzled out. Submerged in the dark and with the ground still shaking uncontrollably, a sense of desperation erupted inside them.

“GINNY, YOU MUST GO BACK TO THE CASTLE! IT’S TOO DANGEROUS! JUST RUN! FORGET ABOUT ME!” he roared, quickly pulling her to her feet. He had never raised his voice to her like that.

“NO, I WON’T LEAVE YOU, HARRY!” she collapsed into him and tears rushed out of her eyes.

“Harry, don’t leave me. Please…” she pleaded tearfully, gripping the back of his shirt so tightly she was going to rip it apart.

“No! Ginny, I want you to be safe! You have to promise me! Whatever happens, just run and forget about me!” he cried, pushing her away. But she shook her head and refused to hear his words.

“Forget about me! Ginny.... JUST LEAVE ME…

“I… DON’T… DESERVE…YOU…” he shook her violently by the shoulders to make her listen and screamed tearfully, with each word louder than the last.

“What?” she whimpered and gazed deeply into his downcast green eyes.

“Please… go back to the castle! Forget me, Ginny…” he begged her despairingly, pulling his head down and staring at the wet ground.

Harry could no longer hold back his tears. He realized the reason Ginny was determined to follow him was because she loved him very much. She loved him so much she was willing to sacrifice her life for him. But he kept reminding himself that he didn’t deserve her love. His heart was telling him that she must not risk her life for him because he was not worth it, after what he did to her.

He remembered Ginny nearly died twice because of him, once in the Chamber and the other when they were inflicted by the dream curse. After beating the dream curse this past New Years, Dumbledore had taught him to not blame himself for Ginny’s suffering because of him. Dumbledore convinced him it was okay to love Ginny, to stay with her, and to focus on the good he would bring into her life instead of focusing on the bad.

Dumbledore was wrong, he finally concluded to himself. She deserved better. She would be better off without him. She would be better off if he didn’t exist. He wanted to set her free. He must set her free now before it was too late. He could not put her in harm’s way a third time. He knew he must save her from further danger now.

“FORGET…”

“LOOK OUT!” Ginny shrieked.

A white beam was shooting at them from a dark shadowy figure that had just emerged. The beam was racing towards them. Instinctively, Harry darted in front of Ginny, closed his arms around her, and shielded her from the beam. As it hit him in the back, his glasses fell off because of the devastating impact from the beam. He collapsed and landed on top of Ginny. Both crashed to the ground.

“HARRY! NO……” Ginny cried in tandem with a shrieking voice coming from behind. It was Aria and she was storming towards them. Her feet were bleeding profusely but her green eyes were blazing with fire.

“AARGH…” Aria shrieked at the top of her lungs as she raised her wand at the dark figure. Clutching it with both hands, a powerful red blast exploded out of it. The blast sped violently towards the shadowy figure. As the blast severed the figure’s arm, it quickly stormed away.

Ginny pulled herself out from under the motionless Harry and Aria rushed over to them immediately.

“HARRY!!” the two of them hovered on top of him and screamed desperately, both in tears. He was lying lifelessly on the wet ground. There was blood in the corner of his mouth and his face was very pale, but he wasn’t wincing in pain. The white beam had hit him in the back and it was now engulfed in ice.

“Harry, why did you do that? Why… Why…” Ginny broke down and sobbed as she wiped away her tears and brushed the blood off his face.

He didn’t reply. Choking back his blood and tears, he slowly opened his eyes and gazed at Ginny bleakly.

“HARRY! SAY SOMETHING! TALK TO ME!” Aria shrieked as she stroked his bangs away, choking back her tears. “We have to head back to the castle… to the hospital wing…”

When Aria tried to lift him up, he started coughing up more blood. Both of them gasped. He appeared to be struggling to say something but all that came out of his mouth was more blood. The life behind his green eyes was slowly fading away.

“Glasses…” he finally whispered, in between his coughs as more blood spilled out of his mouth. He refused to let his eyes blink; they refused to let go of Ginny. They were still locked on Ginny’s tearful face.

Aria immediately looked around and spotted the glasses lying next to him. The glasses were not broken but they were covered in mud. She quickly reached for them, wiped the lenses, and gently put them on his face.

Harry continued to gaze at Ginny. He let out a faint weak smile because he could see her clearly now with his glasses. It was as if he wanted to admire her angelic face, her sparkling brown eyes, and her fiery red hair one last time, so her image would be imprinted deeply in his heart, and he would remember her forever.

The ground had stopped shaking and the noise gradually died down, but the feeling of desperation was now replaced with the feeling of hopelessness. As Harry continued to gaze and smile at her, he slowly widened his eyes. He was trying desperately to muster all the strength he had to make them emit one last final sparkle for her. He remembered Ginny always loved looking at his eyes. He wanted to see her smile. He really wanted to hear her laugh and be happy again.

“Ginny… I am sorry… for always getting you into trouble…” he took a deep breath and whispered weakly.

“What?” she whimpered.

“Remember what happened… at the Burrow this summer… when I sneaked into your room that night… to kiss you goodnight… and… I kissed… your mum by mistake?” he mumbled, chuckling and coughing at the same time.

“Harry, please! WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS UP NOW?” Ginny cried in frustration. She rested her trembling hand on his chest, longing to feel his heartbeat. “We have to get you back to...”

“Twice…”

“What?”

“I kissed your mum twice… I whispered I love you and pleasant dreams… to your mum,” he grinned feebly, trying to make Ginny laugh and to cheer her up.

“Two kisses… and I still couldn’t figure out… that I was kissing the wrong person…

Ginny tried desperately to pull him up, but he refused to budge.

“Harry, save your strength! Stop talking! This is not the time to be silly…”

“And when I heard the loud snoring that night… I thought it was you…” he interrupted her.

“I don’t snore…” she shook her head and sobbed weakly.

Harry reached for her hand and kissed it tenderly, “And then… the entire Burrow went crazy… because your mum and I were screaming at the top of our lungs… Do you remember?

“And everyone panicked… and crowded into your room…

“Ron, Hermione, your father, Fred, George… and that strange man, Avis…

“I was… pinned… to the wall… covering my ears… your mum’s screams… were louder than Sprouts’ Mandrakes…”

Harry let out a severe cough but he continued stubbornly, refusing to stop, “I thought… Mrs. Weasley was going… going to kill me…”

Ginny sniffed back her tears and finally grinned helplessly at him.

“And then… I said you always get me in trouble…”

“You’re right, Ginny. I’m… so bad for you…”

His face brightened immensely when he finally saw her smile. He could see that Ginny was unhurt and was smiling again. He had done what he had to do to make sure she was safe. There would not be a third time that his beloved would be in danger because of him. Knowing this, he was finally at peace. The aching pain in his heart was gone. He could let go now.

“Ginny…” Harry took a deep breath and smiled at her peacefully.

“…Forgive…me…” he gradually closed his eyes and gently let go of her hand.

Chapter 21 Knife Cuts Like A Knife

A week had passed by and the hospital wing was now quieter with less patients. Many students were injured, including Ron and Hermione, in the surprise attack at Hogsmeade. Because of the attack, everyone in the castle was clearly very nervous and agitated.

Ron broke his arm and Hermione had minor bruises but fortunately, none of the injuries suffered were too serious. More fortunately, the professors were able to rescue all the students and escort them back to the castle. Dumbledore had temporarily put in curfews disallowing students from visiting Hogsmeade for now, until the investigation was complete.

Aria was in the hospital wing the entire week, recovering in a bed next to Harry’s because of her injured feet. She aggravated them and they became infected when in the heat of the moment, she chased after Harry in the passageway to make sure he was safe. She also had to help Ginny bring him back to the castle.

Ginny was spending all her time in the hospital wing, mostly by Harry’s bedside, anxiously waiting for him to recover. Madam Pomfrey had successfully extracted the ice off his body. He had recovered from most of his physical injuries but the impact from the direct hit may have caused some brain trauma, resulting in his current state of unconsciousness.

Ginny couldn’t pull herself away from Harry and was determined to stay with him. She insisted on being his personal caretaker, even though Madam Pomfrey strongly disagreed. It wasn’t until Dumbledore intervened that Madam Pomfrey backed off. Ginny was very stoic though, almost robot-like, as she helped him shave, wash his hair, and change his clothes in a very methodically manner. She wanted him to look his best and she was determined to continue this one-sided relationship.

Her strong demeanor surprised Ron and Hermione, who had expected her to be sobbing all day, because Hermione was crying uncontrollably when she discovered Harry’s condition. Ron was also completely devastated. But Ginny didn’t shed a tear. She was determined to stay strong for him and at the same time, trying to mask the agony from her heart, from the mixed messages of him saving her and him breaking up with her just before he was attacked.

Ginny may have fooled Ron and Hermione with her outer appearance but inside she was in great pain. She blamed herself for what happened to Harry. Trying very hard to numb her heartache, she was obsessed with making sure she remembered to wear his jacket and the butterfly pin that he gave her to the hospital everyday. Those were her only possessions that were his that could be worn. Wearing them gave her the illusion that he was still with her by her side, embracing her, and loving her.

“Everything is going to be okay. I know what I have to do,” she kept muttering to him reassuringly, just like that night at the church last year when she took care of him so he wouldn’t die from hypothermia.

It was a rainy night and Ginny continued to rest on Harry’s bedside, watching him attentively and holding his hand, with Dumbledore and McGonagall standing calmly next to her. Dumbledore gazed at him solemnly and gently rested his palm on his pale forehead. His palm was radiating a white glow that sparkled brightly.

“Harry, come on. Please wake up,” Ginny whispered softly as she kissed his cold hand, hoping Dumbledore would revive him. Ron and Hermione got out from their beds and watched anxiously, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, he shook his head somberly as the white glow fizzled out.

“Headmaster, how is Harry?” Hagrid asked hopefully as he entered the hospital wing and placed his heavy hand on Ginny’s shoulder. McGonagall gazed at Dumbledore eagerly.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and removed his spectacles. His eyes appeared very tired and they had lost their usual glitter. He walked tiredly to the window and gently closed it, because the rain was getting heavy.

“So many horrible things have happened to him… so young… but burdened with so much pain…” Dumbledore sighed solemnly, shaking his head.

Dumbledore gazed wearily at the ceiling, “The boy has lost his way. I could feel his sadness, despair, and hopelessness…the sense of emptiness inside him. He has lost his will to live…

In deep thought, he soberly walked back to Harry’s bedside and sat next to Ginny, “Let me tell all of you a story. It is a story about a little boy… I remember it like it was yesterday…

The room was as somber as ever. Dumbledore gazed at Harry hopelessly, sighed heavily and quietly began.

“One night not too long ago, I encountered a little boy with jet-black hair and bright green eyes… standing alone with his invisibility cloak… gazing at a very large mirror by himself…

"He didn’t understand what the mirror was doing but he noticed two people, a man and a woman, standing next to him, smiling and gazing lovingly back at him. He was so close to the mirror his nose was brushing against it…

“The boy didn’t know who they were until he recognized the woman’s bright green eyes and the man’s jet-black hair. He realized he had the same eyes and hair as them…

“He finally discovered his father and mother for the first time… after eleven years…

“In the reflection, they rested their hands tenderly on his shoulders…

“All the little boy wanted… was to hold their hands… to feel their love…

“So he reached for his shoulder, but sadly… there was nothing there…

“He was alone… standing alone…

“The little boy had this terrible feeling of sadness when he spotted the image of him and his parents together as a loving family…

“The image was everything that he ever wanted but he knew he was looking at the impossible…

“Other people would wish to see all the superficial things in the world…

“But all the little boy wanted was to have his father and mother… by his side…” Dumbledore continued despairingly as he held Harry’s hand.

Ron pulled his head down and bit his lip, trying to hold back his tears. He too could recall that night when his best friend woke him up and told him he saw his parents in the mirror.

“For an eleventh year old child to feel this way…

“The little boy felt… very lonely, like there was no one to love him and he had no one to love…

“Seeing him like this, I wished I could… give him back his father and mother…

“But I couldn’t…” Dumbledore wiped the corner of his eyes.

“Headmaster…” McGonagall whimpered shakily.

“I’m alright, Minerva,” Dumbledore grinned faintly. “Something fell into my eye, that’s all. Let me continue.”

“I asked the boy… to not dream about the past, and to move on, to be strong, be brave, and live…

“…and he did, and in the process, he found his beloved, a sweet and beautiful redhead that was just as courageous as him.” Dumbledore said, turning to Ginny and smiling at her proudly.

Dumbledore’s face then turned somber again, “The boy lost his way again when he thought he lost his love this past New Years…

“He blamed himself for what happened…

“He was afraid to fall in love with her because he believed that everyone he loved would always suffer a terrible fate…

“He did not want her to risk her life for him…

“But not only did the girl come back to him, she rekindled his spirits and managed to stop the boy’s downward spiral…

“I’ve seen him when he’s with this girl. He’s genuinely happy with her.

“But once again, the boy has lost his way. And this time I’m afraid it is much more serious because...”

Dumbledore paused and took another deep breath because his voice was weakening. He found himself unable to continue. Everyone stayed silent, trying to choke back tears, with Aria watching painfully from behind.

He gazed at Harry with his downcast eyes, brushing his jet-black hair tenderly, “Often times, it is the state of the human mind and the human spirit that will determine whether a person will get well…

“When there’s no will to live and fight back, it is virtually impossible to recover from any kind of illnesses…

“This is the time that he must not give up… he must fight back, be brave, and recover, but unfortunately…”

Everyone stared at Dumbledore bleakly in silence, desperately seeking for a ray of hope. However, it was the first time they saw him unable to continue his words. He too, fell silent. The ray of hope disappeared.

“Ginny, I know this has been a difficult ordeal for you, but I believe you’re the only one in this room who can help Harry find his way back, to rekindle his will to live. You’re the only one that can do this for him.”

Ginny could not reply because she was on the verge of tears. She sat motionless and continued to gaze at Harry, trying to control herself.

“Ginny, help me rewrite the story of the little boy. Let me turn it into a happy ending,” Dumbledore muttered tiredly.

Ron walked closer to Harry’s bedside, ”Sis, maybe these will help.”

He handed her the pair of doves that Ginny gave to Harry last Christmas. Dumbledore and McGonagall gazed at the doves attentively and nodded in agreement. They both remembered how important the doves were to the two of them.

Deeply moved by this, Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around Ron affectionately.

“Love,” Hermione muttered and kissed him on the cheek. “Ron, you finally understand.”

She then gave Aria a frigid stare and continued, her voice suddenly in a very testy tone, ”Ginny loves Harry and Harry loves Ginny. Together, they defeated Voldemort’s dream curse last year with their love. It proves that their love is so strong, it will overcome anything or anyone that stand in their way.”

Dumbledore smiled faintly, nodding in agreement, and slowly headed to Aria’s bedside. McGonagall and Hagrid followed him.

“Professor Hannibal, thank you for looking after Harry and Ginny that day. Don’t blame yourself for all this. There’s no way you could have prevented this. It is well known our Harry rarely follows rules. I hope you get better soon,” McGonagall said gently.

“Aria, once you get better, I would like you to file a formal report of what took place in the passageway,” Dumbledore added.

Aria smiled and nodded faintly.

“Ginny, I’ll tell Pomfrey to let you stay with Harry for as long as you need,” Dumbledore reassured her before both he and Hagrid left the hospital wing. McGonagall dimmed the lights and followed them out. Ron and Hermione went back to their beds.

“Harry, I love you,” Ginny wiped her reddened eyes and whispered in the dark, tenderly stroking his hair.

As she gently placed the doves on his chest and rested his hand on them, Ginny felt a draft coming towards her. She turned around and noticed the door of the hospital wing opened and closed. Aria’s bed was empty; she had disappeared.

Aria was trudging to her classroom; she wanted to head to her imaginary world to escape from the loving display of Ginny. She had to rush out of the hospital wing because she could no longer handle seeing her only love being loved so deeply by someone else. Her feet were still infected and in great pain but the physical pain was nothing compared to the torture in her heart from watching Ginny wearing Harry’s jacket, caring for him so intimately and displaying her love for him so freely in the hospital wing the entire week.

Aria instead had to keep all her love for him locked inside her heart. She could not pretend to not see Ginny with him because his bed was next to hers. She couldn’t have a private moment with him even at night because the hospital wing had been filled with patients, including Ron and Hermione. When she tried to speak to him with her telepathic powers this past week, he wasn’t responding to her, as if he had shut her out. She could feel his shattered spirits just like Dumbledore had described, but all she could do was gaze at his back that didn’t see her and to cry silently at night.

In fact, she could surely identify with Harry’s feelings of loss and despair. If anything, she could be the only one in the room other than Harry, who could truly understand what it felt like to have no one and no love. These hopeless feelings had followed her like a shadow all her life. She couldn’t even find a single thread of joy in her memories and her past, because they were just as empty as they had always been. After all, she had no one in her life to love, until Harry came along. Unfortunately, he didn’t love her, and her future to find true love looked just as bleak.

When she heard Dumbledore state that Ginny was the only one who could revive Harry, the excruciating pain in her heart was sharper than any stab wound because deep down, she realized Dumbledore was right. Harry’s heart did belong to Ginny, not her. Her heart was telling her that she had no choice but to finally be honest with herself, especially after seeing what happened in the passageway.

She remembered vividly what happened in the passageway. She saw with her own very eyes, that all Harry cared about when all hope was seemingly lost was Ginny and her well-being, and how he selflessly shielded her from harm at all costs. He would die for her without hesitation. In his final moments, she was still the only person in his mind. All he cared about was to hear her laugh, and he said all those silly things just to make her happy.

If only there was someone that loved her the same way he loved Ginny, she thought to herself despairingly. Unfortunately, she finally realized she was defeated. She could no longer deny it. Her efforts to win his love were fruitless in the end. She would be alone like she had always been. Her memory of this experience would once again be classified as a painful one.

After closing the door, she turned and saw her empty classroom clad with mirrors that were filled with her abandoned reflections. There was no one by her side. She thought Harry was by her side for a period of time, but ultimately it was only an illusion that she wanted to see. She remembered holding his hand and guiding him to one of the mirrors to her world, where they shared that very special night together.

Tears finally erupted out of her eyes; she was finally able to unleash her pain and express her sorrow, because she was finally alone. Her knees buckled before she reached the mirror to her hideout world. Lying helplessly on the ground, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

“Professor… It’s Ginny. Are you there?” she knocked and opened the door before Aria was able to gather herself. Ginny had followed her to the classroom.

“Professor, are you okay?” she quickly hurried over to her and helped her get up when she saw her crying on the ground. She gently guided her to a chair.

“It’s… my feet. I was just… crying because of the pain…” she lied, quickly wiping her tears.

“I came… I… just want… Thank you for saving me and Harry…” Ginny stuttered but her lips quickly froze. As soon as she uttered Harry’s name, her strong outer appearance that she had been able to maintain in front of Ron and Hermione began to unravel.

“You don’t have to thank me. Any… professor would have done exactly the same thing,” she replied tentatively.

Then she breathed deeply and forced herself to say, “The Headmaster is right. What’s important now… is for you to stay strong… for Harry.

“Harry is very lucky… to have you in his life…” Aria continued painfully, and then quickly corrected herself. “You two are very lucky… to have each other. Both of you…

“Harry loves you very much…”

Those very words were knifing Aria savagely in the heart. She took another deep breath, trying to sniff back her tears and suppress the anguish caused by her own very words.

For some reason, hearing Harry’s name felt like nails scratching on the chalkboard for Ginny. It appeared that all the pent-up tears she didn’t shed the entire week exploded out of her eyes this very moment.

“Professor, Harry… doesn’t love me… he loves… someone else…” Ginny sobbed.

Aria was stunned by what Ginny had just said.

“Yes, there’s someone else! He was going to break up with me the day we were attacked! I knew it! I couldn’t tell Ron, Hermione, or anybody about this because I don’t want them to hate him, especially now…

“I was in the hospital the entire time with him because I love him too much… I know I have to let go but I can’t… I can’t stop myself from loving him… And he has no one else to care for him…

“I can’t cry in the hospital in front of Ron and Hermione! I have to control myself! I can’t let them know that Harry is going to leave me for someone else because my brother will kill him…

“But all this is killing me…

“I was anxiously waiting for the girl to show up at the hospital to know who she is. I thought she was bound to show up now after what happened to Harry… But she never did…”

Aria winced after having heard this.

Ginny continued blasting as her tears were rushing out of her eyes, “How can she not show up after what happened?”

“Hermione thinks I can save him with love like the last time! How can I do that when he doesn’t even love me anymore?”

Ginny’s frustrated voice was getting louder and louder. She sounded as if she was sick and tired of all the talk about love having all these magical abilities because she felt powerless to help him. At this point, she wished that if only she could pick up her wand and blast the demon that was haunting Harry; it would be so much easier.

“Ginny, you have to calm down. Please sit down,” Aria got up hesitantly and guided her to the chair.

“Professor, please tell me what to do! Please…” she pleaded helplessly and slammed her fists repeatedly against the desk. “Please… Tell me something I can do to save him…”

“Ginny, listen to me! LISTEN TO ME!” Aria kneeled down and grabbed her fists to stop her from hurting herself.

“PROFESSOR…” Ginny cried out helplessly as she sobbed and wrapped her arms around her, not realizing that the other girl was none other than Aria. Aria tentatively rested her hands on Ginny’s back to comfort her as she clenched her teeth tightly, trying very hard to keep her own cries silent.

The room was silent except for Ginny’s muffled cries. Aria’s mind was going crazy. She couldn’t pretend to like her anymore. After all, Ginny was the one obstacle between her and Harry. But after spotting Ginny’s hairpin, Aria finally realized what she had to do to set things right, for Harry’s sake.

“Ginny, go get some sleep. You must be exhausted,” Aria finally whimpered weakly.

Rubbing her eyes and clearing her hair off her face, she nodded and slowly pulled away.

“Thanks, Professor. I’m sorry. I… needed to get that out of me…” Ginny sighed and marched tiredly to the door.

The pain in Aria’s heart was unbearable, having just comforted the girl who was in love with the same boy as her. Aria managed a faint smile at Ginny when she turned back to look at her before leaving the room. Physically drained, she collapsed into the chair Ginny was just in and buried her painful face with her hands; she couldn’t move or talk anymore. She knew she didn’t deserve her gratitude, after what she did to her. After all, if it were not for her, none of this would have happened. If Harry had not been busy debating with Ginny about their relationship in the passageway, he would have seen the dark figure and be able to defend himself.

Aria finally realized that she had to do the right thing, for Harry’s sake. After everything that had happened, she could no longer lie to herself. Her heart finally told her that he never loved her. Despite this, she was determined to help him come back, because she loved him too much. After seeing Ginny and her hairpin, she understood what she had to do to rekindle his will to live.

She pulled out her wand and trudged wearily to the chalkboard. With her entire body shivering coldly, she waved her wand and words slowly flashed on the board:

While I see only you,
Your back is all I see.
I journey by your side,
Our shadows forever apart.

“This experience will once again be a painful memory of my past…” she whimpered despairingly as she closed her teary eyes.

“Goodbye… Harry Potter. I’m sorry.”

“I finally get to talk to you alone, PROFESSOR HANNIBAL!” a cold voice suddenly rushed nastily across the room. Startled, Aria dropped her wand and turned around to see Hermione standing by the doorway, staring viciously at her.

Chapter 22 The Love That Was Borrowed

“Professor, is this yours?” Hermione snapped coldly at Aria, waving a red handkerchief at her as she marched angrily inside the room and banged the door shut.

“Miss Granger, what…”

“I asked you a question. Please answer me. It’s yours. Isn’t it?” Hermione spat and narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.”

There was a moment of deafening silence as Hermione gaped at her with utter disgust and disbelief. Shaking her head profusely, her body was shivering uncontrollably from rage and she felt like her veins were going to pop out. She had finally discovered the identity of Harry’s other girl and she was standing right in front of her eyes, but she wasn’t just any other girl; she was a professor.

“You and Harry? It’s you? HOW CAN YOU??” Hermione finally broke the choking silence and roared on top of her lungs, her voice thundering across the room like a loose cannon. Hermione’s fiery expressions were greatly magnified by her reflections from the mirrors. Aria gasped, opened her mouth widely in shock, and took a few steps back.

“HOW CAN YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? WITH A STUDENT? YOU ARE A TEACHER HERE! AND YOU KNOW HARRY IS WITH GINNY!!” Hermione pointed fiercely at her and continued barking as she marched furiously towards her.

“No, it’s not what you think. Let me explain. Let me__” Aria muttered fearfully, frantically waving her hands. But Hermione immediately cut her off and refused to listen. Her hands were in balls of fists. In her eyes, Aria was not a professor now; Aria was a backstabbing woman who had hurt her two very best friends. She really wanted to punch her, for all the anguish that Ginny had to cope with this semester.

“DON’T LIE! In the hospital wing… when I saw you and Harry’s jacket together in the same room, everything finally made sense to me! I finally… and unfortunately connected the dots…” Hermione cried furiously.

“That night… that night when it was raining, Harry stormed back to the common room… soaked to the bone. His glasses were broken and the buttons on his shirt were torn…

“I was waiting for Ron in the common room that night… because I wanted to apologize… for yelling at him in front of the whole class… AFTER YOUR STUPID FLOWER GAME!

“But I only saw Harry, and when he rushed in looking like a complete mess, I asked him what happened and he acted all weird on me… I’ve never seen him like that before…

“On that same night, I… I saw you drenched EXACTLY like Harry was and YOU WERE DRAPED IN HIS JACKET when you came to the common room with Ginny!

“No wonder the jacket looked so familiar to me! It’s because it’s Harry’s jacket! That’s why I was looking at you up and down, feeling very strange for some reason…

“You were together that night! WEREN’T YOU?”

Aria was standing motionless in shock, unsure of what to do because this was happening so suddenly. She wanted to respond but nothing was coming out. Already drained and overwhelmed by Ginny’s visit earlier, she wasn’t ready to deal with this type of confrontation.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM THAT NIGHT? DID YOU PLAY WITH HIS MIND? DID YOU RIP HIS SHIRT OFF THAT NIGHT? ANSWER ME!!”

“Please…” Aria begged and covered her ears. She had tried to suppress the memories of that rainy night because it was so painful. That was the night when Harry rejected her and abandoned her by the trees.

Seeing Aria covering her ears, Hermione screamed louder and marched closer to her again, making sure that every single word that was blasting out of her mouth was heard.

“I have been observing you this past week. I saw the way you look at Harry with those teary yearning eyes of yours! You… YOU…

“FLOOZY!”

“Please watch your__”

Hermione ignored her. She grabbed Aria’s arm and angrily tore it off her ear as she continued screaming on top of her lungs.

“And I recognized those red handkerchiefs that you’ve been using to wipe your face! YOUR TEARS! WHY? Were you crying because you can’t stand the sight of Ginny caring for Harry? Are those crocodile tears?”

“No! That’s not true…” Aria yelled, trying to break free of Hermione’s grip. But she refused to let go.

“Ron found it in Harry’s jacket when he came back one morning acting strange and smelling like flowers. It was in the same jacket you had that rainy night!” Hermione’s nails were sinking into Aria’s arm as she threw the handkerchief into Aria’s face.

Then Hermione suddenly gasped and froze in her steps in shock. Blinking very quickly, she had just remembered something more deplorable: the hickey on Harry’s neck.

“That day when you said you were going to resign… that same night… Harry never came back to his room and returned only the next day smelling like flowers…

“He lied about going to see Hagrid…” Hermione lowered her voice substantially and muttered very hesitantly, taking very deep controlled breaths because her entire body was shaking. She was hoping that what was piercing in her mind right now, images of Harry and Aria together, had not happened.

“But he never went to see Hagrid. He was… with you? Wasn’t he?” Hermione was choking on her words and asked very tentatively.

Her grip on Aria loosened and she unknowingly released her arm. But Aria did not back away or try to cover her ears again. She pulled her head down and tears were rushing out of her eyes.

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Him?” Hermione’s eyes were now flooded with tears, hoping Aria would say something to refute all the disgusting images that were playing in her mind right now. But Aria did not respond. She continued sobbing and she kept her head down.

Hermione waited anxiously for Aria to answer, hoping desperately she could refute her. But it was not to be. Stumbling back a few steps and swallowing very hard, her jaw dropped to the ground and her mouth was hanging open in shock. To her horror, what she thought happened between Harry and Aria that night had indeed happened.

In a thrust of utmost rage that she had never experienced before, Hermione leaped forward with all her might and punched Aria in the face, sending her crashing into the student tables.

“Hannibal, YOU TART! YOU BITCH! YOU DISGUST ME! HOW CAN YOU?” Hermione shrieked and raised her voice to the maximum again, stomping the floor heavily.

Tears were now flooding Hermione’s cheeks. The idea of Ginny finding out about this, the hurt and pain that her best friend would have to endure because of this, because of the woman in front of her eyes, was too much for Hermione to bear.

“You have no right to…” Aria whimpered weakly as she struggled to get up from the pile of tables. She shook her head violently, trying to clear her vision.

“And to think that Ginny actually likes you… thought of you as a friend… She said you are kind… and you… and you…

“YOU GO CRAWLING BEHIND HER BACK WITH HER BOYFRIEND???

“I never liked you! Not because you’re a telepath of anything like that! But something was always wicked about you…

“And I can’t even tell Ginny about this because… because Harry needs her now… I can’t get her upset at him… especially now…

“Well, for your information, Ginny is the one that Harry loves!! Ginny is the one! THE ONLY ONE!! DO YOU HEAR?”

“STOP…” Aria finally pulled herself out from the pile of tables and barked defiantly as she covered her bruised cheek.

“Harry doesn’t love you!! He never has and HE NEVER WILL!! He will never love someone as repulsive as you!”

“SHUT UP…” Aria shrieked fanatically.

“WHAT? DID I STRIKE A NERVE? DID I JUST UNCOVER ALL YOUR DIRTY SECRETS?

“HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS???

“YOU MUST HAVE MANIPULATED HIS MIND WITH YOUR MIND GAMES, DIDN’T YOU? YOU DISGUSTING MONSTER!! HARRY WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!” Hermione shakily picked up the handkerchief and raced out of the classroom.

“Where are you going?” Aria demanded furiously.

Hermione stopped her heated footsteps, took a deep breath, and glared angrily at her, “It’s time I put an end to this madness! I regret I didn’t catch up to your sick games sooner. This has gone too far! Too many people have gotten hurt because of you!

“I’M GOING TO TELL DUMBLEDORE AND HE’S GOING TO HAVE YOU FIRED! SO YOU’LL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO RUIN HARRY’S LIFE, GINNY’S LIFE, OR ANYONE ELSE’S! I’ll put an end to your games!”

“NO! PLEASE DON’T!” Aria roared with her arm outstretched. But Hermione ignored her and stormed towards the door.

In a moment of desperation, Aria grabbed her wand from the floor and aimed it at Hermione as a red beam of light shot towards her, hitting her in the back. Hermione let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.

Aria walked shakily towards the unconscious Hermione and kneeled down, rubbing her bruised cheek and the blood in the corner of her mouth.

“You don’t understand me, Hermione Granger,” she whimpered tearfully, her hands now in balls of fists.

“I’m sorry. But you’ve left me with no choice…

“You don’t understand me. No one understands me at all…

“I can’t leave now, not yet. I have to stay. I have to save him…

“I’m sorry…”

******

Ron suddenly bounced up from his bed when the hospital door slammed open in the middle of the night and all the lights were abruptly turned on.

“What’s happening? What happened to Ginny?” he yelled anxiously when he saw an unconscious Ginny being rushed in by McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. She was still wearing Harry’s jacket. They rested her on the bed next to Harry’s and were whispering nervously to one another.

“Professor, what happened to Ginny? What’s that on her head?” he dashed towards them.

There was a black slimy substance on her head that engulfed her red hair. Madam Pomfrey was trying to rip it away but it was gripping her head tightly.

“Please calm down, Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall gestured him to sit. But Ron continued to push forward.

“Where’s Hermione? Where’s everyone? Where’s Professor Hannibal?” Ron looked around the hospital wing worriedly but all the beds except Harry’s were empty.

No one answered. McGonagall hurriedly pointed her wand at the black substance. Suddenly, the substance turned into a black bat and it flew out the window, screeching loudly.

“Cursed objects?” McGonagall stared at it in disbelief as Madam Pomfrey ducked at the sight of the bat.

“Ginny Weasley…” Madam Pomfrey mumbled, shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her up. But her eyes remained closed.

“TELL ME WHAT’S HAPPENING!” Ron demanded. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY SISTER??”

“It appears she got herself a cursed object and somehow it did something and knocked her unconscious,” Madam Pomfrey replied worriedly.

“Cursed objects?” Ron asked blankly.

“Her roommates discovered her lying on the floor in the dorm. I don’t know how to reverse the curse unless I know what the cursed object is and where it comes from,” McGonagall added nervously.

“That pin… that butterfly pin… That’s it! That thing flutters its wings. I thought it was enchanted! She was wearing it all week!” Madam Pomfrey hollered loudly.

“Ron, do you know where your sister got that pin?” McGonagall pressed.

“Hermione told me Harry gave it to her. Where’s Hermione?”

“Harry gave her the pin?” McGonagall and Pomfrey both stared at him in disbelief. They couldn’t believe that Harry would give her something to hurt her.

“Do you know where Harry got it from?” McGonagall demanded. But Ron shook his head. In his mind, he was blaming himself for not paying more attention to Hermione because he was certain she did mention all the details to him.

“Hermione would know. Where is she? Where’s Dumbledore?” Ron asked in frustration. “Maybe Dumbledore can help!”

“I haven’t seen Miss Granger. After visiting Harry earlier, the Headmaster had just left for the night… to the Ministry to help with the investigation about the Hogsmeade attack. I must tell him to come back immediately. I sense something is terribly wrong!” McGonagall hurried out.

“I have to look for Hermione…” Ron snapped.

“Mr. Weasley, please… I don’t want to lose another student! Too many things have gone wrong lately! Stay here with Potter and your sister where you’ll be safe. I’ll ask Professor Snape and Hagrid to look for Miss Granger,” Pomfrey quickly ran out.

Seeing Ginny unconscious, Ron felt completely helpless without Harry and Hermione. He quickly approached Harry’s bedside, longing for him to wake up, but Harry was still lying motionless in his bed.

“Harry, please wake up. I need your help. Ginny is in trouble. Something awful has happened to her. I don’t know what to do…

“And Hermione is missing! They need your help. They’re in trouble,” Ron cried hopelessly.

Harry’s finger twitched but Ron did not notice.

“Harry, tell me where you got that stupid pin! It’s a cursed object and McGonagall thinks it put a curse on Ginny. Tell me so McGonagall can bring her back. Tell me please,” he pleaded but he realized it was fruitless because Harry wasn’t responding.

Ron unknowingly slammed his fists on Harry’s bed, sending Harry and his mattress shaking, but he had forgotten that his arm still wasn’t completely healed.

“AARGH…” he cried loudly, wincing in pain.

He got up in frustration and decided he couldn’t stand here and do nothing. He must look for Hermione to find out where Harry got the pin, before Pomfrey could come back to stop him, so he immediately rushed out, leaving Harry alone in the hospital with Ginny. When he banged the hospital door shut, Harry’s eyelids suddenly flickered as if they were struggling to open. His hand was starting to close on the doves that were resting on his chest. He was gripping them tighter and tighter as sweat was pouring out of his forehead continuously.

It was less than an hour before Madam Pomfrey returned to the hospital wing after having spoken to Snape and Hagrid about Hermione’s disappearance and Ginny’s strange condition, only to discover that the hospital wing was deserted, except for the doves on Harry’s empty bed.

Chapter 23 Let Me Touch You One More Night

Holding Ginny tightly in his arms, Harry dashed to Aria’s classroom, hoping he could find her so she could tell him about the cursed object to save Ginny. He had no time to wonder about what Aria’s intentions were with the pin. Panting heavily, he was running on adrenalin right now, after having just woken up from a week of unconsciousness.

During the entire week, he remembered being succumbed by a horrible nightmare that would never conclude. His mind was melting away and he had already let go and given up his fight, but he could feel the people around him and hear what they were saying, their encouragement and best wishes. However, he could not open his eyes because he was too tired and weak. He could feel Ginny caring for him the entire week, but he found himself unable to reach out to her; a dark voice kept telling him repeatedly to stop trying because he was not worthy of her.

Everything turned upside down in his fading mind when he heard Ron call for him, telling him Ginny was in trouble. A sense of determination was suddenly ignited in his mind. He dreamt that the doves were fluttering wildly on his chest and singing to him, their songs tingling continuously in his ear, and their tunes and lyrics somehow gave him the energy to fight his demons away, to fight and recover for Ginny, because she needed his help now.

When Harry entered the classroom, he noticed it was in complete disarray and the tables were piled up awkwardly. Peering around desperately, he spotted something on the chalkboard calling for him to come closer. Aria’s writing was flashing dimly on the chalkboard.

While I see only you,
Your back is all I see.
I journey by your side,
Our shadows forever apart.

He could sense that Aria wrote this to describe her unrequited love for him but he had no time to ponder about the implications because Ginny was in danger. Not wanting to waste more time lingering about it, he bolted to the mirror that led to Aria’s world. Without thinking, he immediately stepped in, holding Ginny tightly in his arms.

What used to be a beautiful and magical outdoor setting was now taken over by a storm of darkness. The skies were gray and dust clouds were swirling around them. Instead of butterflies and birds, hideous black bats filled the place, screeching loudly. All the trees were bare and there were no animals running about. The pond was dry and the grass was replaced with mud. Aria’s enchanting house was now an abandoned building with no roof. It looked like nuclear winter. All he could hear now were sounds of water coming from afar and the annoying screeching sounds.

“ARIA… WHERE ARE YOU?” Harry called out desperately into the dark skies. But all he could hear were echoes of his own voice, the screeching sounds, and the sounds of the waterfall. There was no answer.

As he stared at the ground, he noticed deep footsteps and they followed a trail up the hill. Wiping the cold sweat off his face, he gripped Ginny tighter in his arms and decided to follow them.

Panting heavily with Ginny in his arms as he marched up the mountain, he immediately stopped his hasty steps when he reached the top because he finally spotted Aria. She was sitting alone, drinking by a table against the dark haunting horizons and the waterfall not too far away. Her long blond hair was flowing eerily with the winds. There was a pitcher and a second glass on the table. Next to her was an empty chair.

Deep down, Harry had a very nasty feeling about all this, even though he was aware that Aria had saved him and Ginny in the passageway. He hadn’t spoken to her since that intimate night they shared together and he remembered he had said some cruel things to her at the time. However, he believed he had no choice. She was the only one who would know how to save Ginny. For her sake, he decided to march ahead.

Aria could hear his tentative footsteps because she quickly turned to him and met his gaze. A faint smile flashed across her face.

“Harry, it’s nice to see you awake again,” she muttered, her voice now sounding soulful again, exactly like it was at the beginning when Harry initially met her.

Suddenly, a chill pierced through Harry’s spine. He stumbled backwards because from the corner of his eye, he spotted Hermione, who was tied up and dangling from a tree not too far away. Her mouth was bounded with a red cloth. Hermoine’s eyes glowed at the sight of Harry and she started struggling to break free.

He stared at Aria and muttered shakily, “What’s going on? Why are you doing this to Hermione?”

He immediately raced towards Hermione and pulled out his wand, wanting to break the strings that were bounding her. But nothing was shooting out of it. His magic wasn’t working. Instead, his abrupt movements caused some of the bats to suddenly swarm her. Staring at her hopelessly, he could hear Hermione’s muffled cries piercing through the screeching sounds of the bats.

“Harry, do you suspect me?” Aria asked in a very echoing tone.

“What?” he hollered distractingly, turning to face her, as a sense of grave desperation emerged inside of him. He really wanted to save Hermione from the bats but he couldn’t let Ginny out of his arms. He didn’t know what to do.

“Do you suspect that I’ll intentionally harm Ginny? That I purposely gave you a cursed object to hurt her?”

Harry did not reply because his mind was twisting with all the conflicting events that had happened in such a short period of time. Of course he suspected that she would intentionally hurt her, he thought to himself. After all, Aria was the one who gave the cursed object to him to give Ginny that night after the feast. In addition, seeing Hermione tied up by Aria in her imaginary world reinforced the idea that she was capable of many things. His perception of her as a good person was quickly unraveling.

“Let go of Hermione now!” Harry demanded, his eyes blazing with anger. “Why are you doing this to her?”

“Come. Sit down. Have a drink with me first,” Aria said hauntingly as the bats suddenly disappeared into the horizons.

He shook his head, thinking this was no time to drink. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hermione shaking her head profusely.

“You think it’s poisonous?” she asked painfully. Hermione could be seen nodding her head aggressively.

“No,” Harry grunted dejectedly.

“Is it no, you don’t think it’s poisonous, or no, you don’t want to have a drink with me?” she asked in a very distant tone.

“Please! Let Hermione go and tell me about the wretched cursed object to save Ginny!” he demanded again in frustration.

“Harry, you must be exhausted with Ginny in your arms and running all the way up here. Why don’t you set her down?”

“NO!” he shot back defiantly, taking a few more steps back and gripping her even tighter in his arms, even though Aria was right. His arms were in great pain and his legs felt very weak.

“Have a drink and I’ll tell you how to save Ginny,” she sang eerily.

Despite seeing Hermione still violently shaking her head, Harry felt he had no choice but to comply. He stared at Aria as he marched towards the table, rested Ginny carefully on the empty chair, and without hesitation, drank the entire glass in one gulp. Harry could hear Hermione’s muffled screams from under the cloth, but he ignored her protests. He threw the glass to the ground furiously, rubbed his face, and quickly held Ginny in his arms again. Hermione was in tears now.

“THERE! HAPPY NOW? Now tell me__”

“Once again, you are willing to do anything for Ginny, even though you believe the beer was poisonous,” Aria sighed disappointingly.

“Dance with me… just like that night…” she requested calmly.

“NO! Just let__” he snapped.

“Harry, all I want is for you to give me a beautiful memory to take with me to cherish, of us… together. This will be our final night together. Tomorrow I’ll be no more…” she gazed at him tiredly.

“What are you talking about?” Harry shot back nastily.

“It doesn’t matter what tomorrow is, it could be a mystery. What I care about is tonight with you…

“I know I can’t have you because you don’t love me. I’ve learned… to accept this fact...

“But at least grant me this wish. At least… let me have a memory… an endearing one… of us… tonight, so I can cherish with me…”

“There is no us…” Harry explained. “Why are you doing this?”

Aria poured herself another glass of beer and drank it in one gulp. Setting the glass gently on the table, she stared blankly into the dark skies.

“The beer gives me solace… very good beer indeed…” she said frostily. “But I should not offer you any… After all, you blamed the beer for what happened that intimate night we shared together…”

Ginny’s body twitched slightly. Harry winced and did not reply as he continued to hold her closely in his arms.

“Remember how you felt when you believed you lost Ginny? The hopelessness and despair… You couldn’t face the fact of losing her… it was so traumatic you didn’t want to live anymore…

“It’s because your life was empty until you discovered her…

“She helped you discover love, how beautiful it is… made your life so much happier, you forgot all the pain from your past when you’re with her…

“That’s why you can’t bear the fact of living without her… going back to the way you were…

“Being alone… silence…

“There’s one thing you and I definitely agree on… and it’s this…

“It is one thing to have never had something so wonderful, but once you experienced it, you couldn’t imagine yourself losing it and going back to not having it…

“That’s why you wanted to die…

“Harry, our lives are so similar. We are so similar. You are to me what Ginny is to you. My losing you is like you losing Ginny…

“That’s why now I want to die too…” Aria cried despairingly.

“I…I… “ he stuttered.

“Harry, I can never hurt Ginny. I know she’s more precious to you than your own life. If I hurt her, I know you’ll never forgive me…

“You’ll hate me forever…

“If I truly wanted to hurt her, why did I wait until now? I could have gotten rid of her from the beginning, manipulated your mind to love me, and I’ll have all I want. But what good is living in a world of lies?

“I wanted you to really love me…

“I just… wanted… All I want… is…

“Someone to love me the way you love her…

“I’m not a saint. The idea to hurt her did cross my mind… like the morning you left me… But I could never do it because deep down… I guess it doesn’t matter at this point now…

“Harry, I blame myself for everything that has happened. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Ginny, or anyone…

“I know you lost the will to live while you were unconscious. Dumbledore was right. Ginny is the key to inspire you to recover. I devised a plan to help you…

“But Hermione Granger was about to stop me. So I brought her here to buy me some time…

“I activated the cursed object and rendered Ginny unconscious…”

Aria stared at Hermione, “You may once again call my methods stupid… or dramatic… but as I can see… my tactics have worked again…”

She turned to Harry again, “I know you very well because you are so similar to me. You’ll never let her go… you’ll always be there for her, to save her…

“Just like I will if you are in danger…

“And once again, you don’t disappoint. You have come to save her.”

Aria slowly poured herself another glass of beer and drank it in one gulp again. She brushed her hair off her face from the swirling winds that were getting stronger.

“I ask myself everyday, why we have to cross paths at the Leaky Cauldron? That night I wanted to waste away… drown myself… with all the beer in the world…

“I thought I should be used to feeling lonely… but then…

“I heard laughter… and giggles… from your table… The four of you… two couples… having so much fun…

“Your laughter… the sounds somehow made me smile… and cry…

“I quickly salvaged myself and left the bar before I lost control of my tears…

“I was crying when you bumped into me at the entrance. You couldn’t see behind your water-stained glasses…

“We talked… and you were so caring towards me… genuinely worried about me and my safety… wanted to give me an umbrella and walk me home. I never had anyone care about me like that…

“I had to run… my tears were losing control… because I could hear your heartbeat warming up to me… I was so moved by your genuine kindness…

“At the feast, I paid all my attention to you because you were the only kind face that didn’t judge me. I scanned the entire hall but you were the only face with no prejudice, no discrimination… you like me for who I am…

“Harry, I remember that night at the feast… all you thought about was Ginny and worrying about what to give her to impress her. I was very impressed by you… a boy so young… yet possessed so much heart and maturity… so much love and loyalty towards his girl that is unmatched even by people ten times older...

“I became fond of you… I wished I was Ginny…

“You agreed to be friends with me. As a friend, I decided to help you with Ginny.

“I went inside your mind that night, to make sure you said all the right things, the sweet things a girl would want to hear when you gave her that pin… so you won’t botch things up with her.

“But during the process, I lost myself in you. I lost control of my telepathic powers and they intertwined with my emotions… I lost my sense of self…

“I suddenly found myself longing for those very words that were coming out of your lips. I found myself wishing you were saying those things to me… That your eyes will only see me… That nothing I do is going to drive you away…

“When I was inside you, seeing you and Ginny so happy in love together, that was the first time I tasted what pure love truly is. It is indeed the most beautiful experience in the world, to love and be loved by someone…

“I never experienced anything like it before…

“I found myself wanting more…

“I guided you to kiss her forehead instead of her lips that night because I became jealous of her. But when she turned back and kissed your lips, I couldn’t handle it. I was so jealous I had to get out…

“I was so attracted to your kindness and love, but going near it became very painful… because your love was meant for someone else…

“So I told myself I will never go inside your mind again… I didn’t want to lose control of my telepathic powers again and risk hurting you…

“That’s why the next day I had to say it. I had to hear myself tell you that I will never invade your mind, because I had to stop myself from falling for you, because it’s wrong and I knew it, but…

“But when I saw you wandering in the halls, I found myself longing to touch your love… to feel your kindness again… I couldn’t control myself from wanting to be with you…

“I unknowingly fell in love with you that night at the feast. And I wanted you to love me the way you love Ginny. In the process, I broke all the rules in the book to pursue the only thing that I wanted…

“Harry, I am truly very sorry,” Aria buried her face with her hands.

Harry was as confused as ever. He felt sorry for Aria but at the same time he was also very angry.

He slowly walked closer to her and pleaded shakily, “Aria, of all people, I am the expert of lonely feelings but… Ginny and Hermione are not to blame. They shouldn’t be hurt because…”

Aria got up wearily and extended her hand to him, “I promise you. Hermione and Ginny are safe. I will never hurt them because I love you too much. I know what these girls mean to you.

“All I want is… to dance with you… one last time.”

Harry stared at her apprehensively because he was still wary of her intentions. He turned to look at Hermione, who continued to shake her head, her eyes filled with tears but they were blazing with rage. Then he gazed at the unconscious Ginny, holding her as tight as he could, wanting to protect her as if she was fine porcelain. His eyes began to water when he noticed a droplet of tear sparkling across Ginny’s cheek.

Aria limped closer to him and gazed deeply into his downcast green eyes. She placed her hand tenderly on Ginny’s shoulder. Harry could now notice her feet were bleeding profusely and one of her cheeks was bruised.

“Tomorrow I’ll be out of your lives… I promise you… by dawn, Ginny will wake up, and I’ll be out of your lives forever,” she whimpered tearfully.

“Dance with me. Please… Spare me one final beautiful and endearing memory of us… for me to cherish, for me to hold on to…”

Chapter 24 For The Future Memories

Despite everything that Aria had said, Harry couldn’t bring himself to fulfill Aria’s request, not after everything that had happened. Deep down, he felt sorry for Aria. He could identify with her struggles because she was right; they were very similar people. However, even though her request appeared simple on the surface, he believed it possessed a much deeper meaning, and agreeing with her somehow felt like he was betraying Ginny all over again. He wouldn’t permit himself to let Ginny down once again, so he was trying desperately to think of any possible reason to refuse her request.

“Your feet… they’re bleeding… you shouldn’t dance like that…” he stared at them hesitantly.

“I don’t feel any pain…” she replied gloomily.

“And you know… I don’t like to dance…” he tried again, his tone as controlled as ever, not wanting to upset her. He was adamant with his decision, but unfortunately he realized he had run out of excuses.

“But you’re a natural. That night you were so good…” she mumbled disappointingly. She seemed to know that he was not going through with her request.

“I repeat! There is no us! I’m sorry. Don’t waste your time!” Harry steadied Ginny in his grips and barked forcefully, shaking his head and staring at Aria coldly with a look of determination.

To his surprise, a faint smile appeared on her face. She didn’t seem upset at all. Instead, she gazed at him satisfyingly.

“Once again, I am never wrong when it comes to people. The minute I saw you, I knew you are special, a person of honor, loyalty, and values. Your love and dedication for Ginny is clearly unmatched. She’s indeed very lucky to have you,” she nodded and sighed breathlessly.

As he continued to stare at her coldly with his determined eyes, refusing to let Ginny out of his grips, he suddenly felt dizzy and weak. His knees felt like they were about to collapse. Clenching his teeth, cold sweat was breaking out all over his face.

“I already expected that… you wouldn’t spare me one final memory of us, that’s why… I had to do it…

“I’m sorry. I have to be selfish about this, Harry… But… I just can’t live without it… not anymore…”

“What are you talking about?” he asked nervously, sensing that something unexpected was about to happen. He was trying desperately to maintain his balance with Ginny in his arms, but his head was now spinning wildly.

“I’m sorry, Harry...

“What you drank earlier… it was… it was a memory potion,” Aria whimpered, slowly backing away towards the edge of the cliff as tears burst out of her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Harry. But… I just want something… to hold on to…

“I can’t have you… But… at least I’ll have your love for Ginny… it will now be mine… a part of my memories…

“I’m sorry…”

Harry gasped and took a few steps back in shock as Aria gave a final tearful stare at him with her green eyes that were now flashing a vicious silver light. At the sight of this, Harry’s eyes felt like they were on fire. He suddenly felt like his head was being squished by two solid pieces of cold metal closing in on him. Despite all the pain, he refused to let go of Ginny.

A bright veil of light suddenly exploded behind him, knocking him to the side and he collapsed to the ground. During the fall, Ginny finally fell out of his arms. The light continued to sparkle, slowly forming the shape of a bright white bird fluttering its wings. As the bird flapped its wings and became airborne, it tore off from Harry and flew towards Aria, slowly merging itself with her.

Hazy images suddenly started to appear in front of Harry’s blazing eyes. In front of his eyes was him kissing Ginny passionately under the mistletoe by the staircase, with Ron and Hermione hiding under the invisibility cloak, watching and giggling from behind.

Another image emerged. Ginny was now trimming his hair and he was admiring their reflections smiling brightly at them. He could hear their giggles.

The image and the giggles disappeared.

“NO!” he roared painfully with his arm outstretched, trying desperately to reach into the air, trying to grab the images that had faded away.

His own sounds of laughter accompanied a third image. He saw himself rolling in Ginny's bed, laughing hysterically, as she tickled him nonstop.

Then he saw himself riding a bike with Ginny behind him, crying and holding him in her arms.

He spotted the two of them hugging each other by the lakeside, tangled together by the hammock. There were paper planes sailing in the background as both were sobbing in each other’s embrace. He could hear his muffled cries.

The images and the cries vanished.

He quickly wrapped his arms tightly around his head, as if he was trying to prevent all his memories of Ginny from leaking out of his head. But it was fruitless.

Another image appeared in front of his teary eyes, and this one was him kneeling by Ginny’s bedside in the hospital on New Year’s Day, clutching the doves tightly against his chest. Hermione and the others were standing behind him, watching him tearfully. He could hear himself crying and whisper to her ear, “I love you, Ginny Weasley…”

In addition to the images, he could now hear their dialogue. He could hear his own voice and Ginny’s voice, and they were echoing faintly in his ears, all the words that they said to each other, all those endearing words, all those goodnight kisses, all those I love you’s… But they were fading away.

“PLEASE… NO! STOP!” Harry cried helplessly, wrapping his head as tightly as possible with his arms. But the images and their words continued to slip away.

His memories of Ginny continued to flash in front of his burning eyes, and the next image was them in the church, with Ginny on top of him, holding his shivering naked body, as two angels stood guard. He could hear Ginny mutter, “I love you, Harry Potter…”

Harry continued to grab frantically at his head and he was rolling on the ground uncontrollably because he was in great agony. It was as if his insides were being yanked out.

Then the final image appeared. He saw himself dying in the passageway, holding Ginny’s hand.

”You always get me in trouble…” Ginny said to him tearfully.

”I’m so bad for you…” Harry replied to her in the image.

“Forgive me…”

“Forgive me…” his voice echoed again as he saw himself letting go of her hand.

As the final image disappeared, Harry unknowingly crashed into the motionless Ginny. Wincing in pain, he refused to let himself roll away from her, so he desperately reached for her hand and held it tightly to his face as he closed his teary eyes. But he knew it was all over. His memories of her and them together were dissipating in front of his very eyes. All that they had accomplished as a couple were no more.

“NO…” Harry cried out helplessly as he gripped Ginny’s hand tightly against his face.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, Aria opened her palm and gazed at it tearfully. She was holding a butterfly pin and it was fluttering its wings. As she tossed it onto the ground, shattering it into a thousand pieces, Ginny’s eyes suddenly popped open, only to find herself in a sea of Harry’s cries. She immediately bolted up and saw him lying next to her, wincing in pain and holding her hand against his teary face.

“HARRY! ARE YOU OKAY? SAY SOMETHING!” Ginny shrieked.

Harry couldn’t talk. He managed to flash only a faint smile at her. Deep inside, he felt better because he could see she had regained her consciousness. He could see she was okay.

Aria continued to back away towards the cliff and stared at them hauntingly, with a cold smile on her face.

“Goodbye, Harry Potter.”

Aria’s backward steps were swift and sad. They were her last steps. She continued to stare at them hauntingly, with her cold smile, as she fell off the cliff.

Hermione’s strings immediately became undone and she crashed to the muddy ground. She quickly ripped the cloth away from her mouth and immediately ran to Harry, who was now curled up motionless in a fetal position.

“Open your eyes!” Hermione demanded as she quickly lifted him up.

“Ginny…” he whimpered faintly.

Harry lost consciousness.

“HARRY! HARRY!”

A deep rumbling sound suddenly roared through the dark horizons. As they looked up, they could see the skies and everything else appeared to be collapsing, folding itself like a piece of paper.

“Hurry, we have to get out of here!” Hermione and Ginny shrieked, pulling Harry up and dragging him along down the mountain. Aria was nowhere to be seen. But it appeared that her imaginary world was imploding inside out, being swallowed by the darkness, the dark border of which was racing towards the three of them.

“Ginny, we have to head to those mirrors down there! She brought me here through those mirrors!” Hermione pointed frantically.

“Hermione, save yourself! We won’t make it with Harry on our shoulders! Forget about us! Just run! I’ll pull Harry!” Ginny panted.

Hermione froze her steps and stared at Ginny, “Are you crazy? You can’t pull Harry all by yourself!”

“It doesn’t matter, Hermione. It doesn’t matter anymore…” Ginny cried despairingly. She stopped her steps and carefully rested Harry’s body on the ground. In her heart, she knew Hermione was right. Harry was too heavy to pull by herself. She could remember when they were in the passageway, how difficult it was bringing him back to the castle with Aria.

Gazing at him hopelessly, she snapped at him tearfully, “You’re such a jerk! Why are you always unconscious when you’re with me this year? Why am I always the one having to drag you to places? Are you too lazy to run with your own two feet?”

She suddenly sank all ten fingers into his abdomen and tickled him. This maneuver of hers had never failed before. He would always explode into uncontrollable laughter. But this time he remained motionless. He couldn’t feel her touch. He wasn’t laughing.

Ginny thumped her fist against his chest and yelled at him tearfully, “HARRY POTTER! CAN YOU HEAR ME? I HATE YOU! YOU ALWAYS GET ME IN TROUBLE!!

“YOU are… so bad for me…

“You always… you…” her words were finally drowned out by her sobs.

Ginny wanted to die with him, just like that night at the church. She loved him too much to let go. At least they’ll be together this way. This way they’ll never be apart again, she thought to herself.

“GINNY! SNAP OUT OF IT! PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!” Hermione pleaded desperately, anxiously watching the dark border that was merely inches away from them. But Ginny ignored her protests.

She gently removed his glasses and stroked his hair tenderly, “Harry… I… love__”

Before she could finish her sentence, the dark border had reached the three of them and swallowed them violently. All three tumbled into the darkness with the rest of the world.

Suddenly, they found themselves rolling into Aria’s classroom. Hermione pounded into the desks and Ginny and Harry crashed into the middle of the room.

“What just happened?” Hermione pulled herself up awkwardly and saw Ginny doing the same. “Ginny, are you okay? How’s Harry?”

Before she could answer, the mirrors that surrounded the classroom suddenly shattered all at the same time. The sounds of broken glass erupted across the room as the debris exploded violently. Hermione immediately dived to the floor, her arms covering her head, while Ginny wrapped herself around Harry. As the sounds of the shattering glass faded, they both looked up tiredly, trying to catch their breaths. The mirrors were no more. Instead there were walls surrounding them. There were no more reflections. It was all over.

Ginny gazed at the unconscious Harry with her tear-filled eyes. He was still unconscious, resting next to her, with his back facing her.

“Ginny, we have to get Harry to the hospital,” Hermione trudged nervously towards her, wondering whether she was aware of what had happened. “Harry… Erm… What happened is… It’s definitely not Harry’s fault, that’s what you have to know…”

Ginny shook her head despairingly. She had heard everything while she was unconscious in Harry’s arms, everything that was said between him and Aria the entire time. She understood what had happened to him and what Aria did to him. Aria was the other girl, and she had stolen from him, his memories of Ginny. Stone faced, she glanced at the chalkboard, only to see Aria’s writing still flashing faintly on it, as if it was deliberately holding onto its last breath, purposely preserving itself, and mockingly waiting for her to read it before it finally disappeared. Her words were ironic but true; what was supposed to describe Aria’s unrequited feelings for Harry would now be fittingly describing Ginny’s. She couldn’t help but smile sardonically as she stroked his hair, “While I see only you, your back is all I see. I journey by your side, our shadows forever apart...”

Chapter 25 Message In A Paper Plane (Conclusion)

Dumbledore abruptly returned to the castle after receiving an emergency owl from McGonagall informing him of the recent events. Thinking he was coming back to treat Ginny, he was surprised to learn that it was Harry who needed his help again. Harry had recovered from his coma to save Ginny while Dumbledore was away, only to have Aria hurt him in the process.

Dumbledore was currently busy tending to him in the hospital wing as Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were anxiously waiting outside, standing by the wall. It was dawn already. Aria did upheld her promise to Harry; Hermione was unhurt and Ginny did wake up by daybreak.

“I’m going to kill him for this!” Ron snapped.

“Ron, please. It’s not Harry’s fault,” Hermione whispered softly, eyeing Ginny nervously, aware that she had heard everything from last night.

“Harry could not have possibly done these things on his own. Hannibal must have manipulated him the entire time. I believe Harry. I saw him when we were in that wretched world. He loves Ginny.”

“He cheated on my sister! How can I let him get away with this?” Ron clenched his teeth and muttered in a very controlled tone, trying to keep his anger under control.

“Ron, you and I know what kind of person Harry is. He is not a cheat,” Hermione raised her voice assertively.

“Yeah, sure! You can say those things because Ginny’s not your sister!” Ron pointed at Ginny and barked loudly.

“RON, HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? I WAS THERE! I SAW IN FRONT OF MY VERY EYES HOW MUCH HARRY LOVES GINNY__”

“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!” Ginny shrieked.

It was an unfamiliar sight. She had never screamed at Ron and Hermione like that. But she was just not herself at the present moment; she was still in shock over what happened. Surprisingly for her, it wasn’t as painful as she had expected it to be. Perhaps the pain would kick in later or maybe she was just too numb to feel anything. She couldn’t cry anymore because her eyes ran out of tears. She couldn’t feel the pain in her heart because it didn’t feel like hers anymore. What happened last night just kept replaying itself constantly in her mind, the things that Harry said, the things that Aria said he did. In her heart, she had no doubt that Harry loved her, but how could she get past the fact that he had betrayed her, she thought to herself. She would be burdened with this for the rest of her life.

She didn’t know what to say of how to feel. She could feel her veins were ready to burst and she believed that it could be due to anger. She was angry at Harry understandably. But she knew she couldn’t vent her anger at him. After all, his memory of them as a couple may be lost. Everything they had accomplished together would now only be a part of her memory alone, residing in her wounded heart. She would go back to being his little sister again, and her having a crush on him, just like all those years prior to all this. However, this time was different, because they shared a past that only she could remember. That very boy she would have a crush on did returned her love at one point; that very boy had sacrificed his life for her, and they shared all those endearing and memorable moments together, as well as the near death experiences where they both were willing to die for each other. How could she go back to the time that was, she thought to herself.

She was angry at Aria because she trusted her and saw her as a friend. She confided in her. But ultimately, she was the one that turned out to be the other girl. However, at the end of all this, she was most angry at herself, for the fool that she was the entire time.

Dumbledore slowly came out wearily from the hospital wing. Ron and Hermione immediately dashed toward him but Ginny stood frozen by the wall.

“Professor,” Hermione muttered as she peered inside the hospital. She could see Harry was asleep. Seeing him like this, Hermione’s eyes began to tear up.

“Harry is asleep. Physically he’s fine.”

“What about his memory? What Hannibal did with the memory potion…” Hermione cried.

“Will he remember…” Ron interrupted and glanced at Ginny’s direction.

Dumbledore didn’t reply. He solemnly made his way to Ginny and gently embraced her. But Ginny remained motionless, unresponsive to his hug, her arms dangling by her side. She was too numb and heartbroken to feel anything.

“Ginny, based on what Hermione described as to what she saw, and based on what I felt when I cast my healing spells on Harry, I’m afraid…”Dumbledore gazed deeply into her brown eyes and clutched her shoulders firmly.

Ginny didn’t respond.

“I am not an expert on the topic of love. But I am an expert on the topic of Harry… Harry as a person, his character, his values… I know him better than he knows himself.

“I am not trying to defend him for what he did, and how much he hurt you… I just want you to understand.

“Telepaths like Aria Hannibal are misunderstood individuals. Everyone seems to think that they can read everybody’s minds if they just have to come close enough to them or something… like strangers in the streets... But that’s certainly not the case…” Dumbledore released Ginny’s shoulders and gestured Ron and Hermione to come closer.

“Imagine how a person would be if he or she can hear everyone’s thoughts all the time. I don’t know about you but I would certainly go crazy,” he chuckled.

“Telepaths can only hear the thoughts of those who are important in their lives… perhaps co-workers, friends, certainly family members, lovers…

“The more important the person is to the telepath, the deeper the mental link...”

“Professor, what are you saying?” Hermione widened her teary eyes and asked eagerly, with a triumphant look on her face.

“I can’t say for sure whether Aria was controlling Harry the entire time. But I understand why she was drawn to him, and chose him to fall in love with.

“Ginny, Harry may not be the best boyfriend but he is a young man of extraordinary character and honor. Aria was drawn to him because of these admirable qualities. He was the only one who possessed the genuine and unconditional kindness to win her trust, so she faithfully opened herself to him.

“Unfortunately, it is ironic that it would be his commendable qualities that have led to all these events.”

He placed his hands on Ginny’s shoulders again and gazed at her, “We all know Harry loves you very much. What you shared together was so pure and strong that even a powerful wizard like Voldemort was overcome by it.

“None of us could really quantify the strength of his love for you. But Aria can. She felt the full impact of it when she was in his mind, and she couldn’t pull herself away, because it was so pure and true…

“One never loses something that was never had. The more priceless is that was lost, the greater the pain as a result…

“What you shared with Harry was special. It may be no more, but at least… you are one of the lucky few chosen in this world to be blessed with having a beautiful, memorable, and true love to grace your life… even if it was for such a seemingly brief period of time…

“You experienced true love and everything that accompanied it, its sweetness, sourness, spiciness, and…

“Its bitterness…

“Ginny, please don’t hate Harry. Please don’t give up on him. Let the passage of time heal the pain, and give him a chance to__”

Ginny burst into tears. She abruptly broke out of Dumbledore’s grips and stormed away.

“Ginny!” Ron wanted to chase after her but Dumbledore held him back.

“Mr. Weasley. No. Give her time. Give her some time,” Dumbledore sighed tiredly. “No one will ever understand what or how she’s feeling right now. No one will ever know how to help her. It’s best she be left alone.”

“What’s going to happen with Harry?”

“I’ve cast a memory charm on Harry so he’ll forget about everything related to Aria Hannibal. He will remember her as a professor but not all the events that had happened between the two of them. It would be too painful for him if he were to know the truth.

“To protect him, only the four of us will be burdened with his secret relationship with Aria Hannibal. No one is to tell anyone else about this.

“Harry’s memories of everything else are intact. But his memories of Ginny, his love for her… I could no longer sense them inside him anymore…”

Dumbledore pulled out the pair of doves from his sleeve and gazed at them wearily, “Love can be truly magnificent, but it can also be so cruel… the deeper the love, the deeper the hurt and pain as a result…”

Harry was out of the hospital in a week and was physically good as new. Dumbledore had informed him about the attack at Hogsmeade, and that he was in the hospital because he was injured during the attack and he fell into a coma for an extended period of time. Harry truly believed he was at Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione and he was now convinced that the Deatheaters were responsible for the attack. The events of the passageway and what happened in Aria’s world seemed to have been forgotten by him. Sometimes he would wonder why he couldn’t remember what caused his injuries, and how he could be in a coma for such a long time. But Dumbledore had explained to him that he suffered some brain trauma from his injuries. As a result, details of the attack were lost due to memory loss from the trauma. However, because of the surprise attack, Voldemort and the Deatheaters were the only things in his mind right now.

Dumbledore had announced to the school that Aria Hannibal resigned under the pressure of endless complaints from angry parents. Most students and some staff were thrilled by the news. For Harry, it was very clear that he had forgotten all that had happened between him and Aria, judging by his mild reaction to the news. His only comment about this was that he would have one less exam to worry about. He felt sorry for her but he was more worried about Hagrid, since he also received his share of complaints. Because his relationship with Aria this past semester was so secretive and was only known by Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Dumbledore, it was easy to shield the truth from him.

Harry soon resumed his regular routines, which consisted of his classes, detentions with a variety of teachers, and Quidditch practices. He wanted to give Ron and Hermione more time for themselves because he felt like the third-wheel when he was with them. In fact, he was practicing more than necessary because he was trying very hard to not barge in on them. Deep down, he felt very lonely, constantly wishing that he would have a normal life and live just like other teenagers around him.

“Hi guys,” Harry smiled faintly as he marched into the common room, holding his Firebolt. He had just come back from his lengthy and lonely Quidditch practices again. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting by the fireplace.

“Hi Harry,” Ron and Hermione greeted him.

Ginny gathered up her belongings and got up, keeping her head down, “Listen, I have a lot of homework. I’m going to head up. Goodnight all.”

She quickly walked by Harry without acknowledging him and bolted towards the stairs as Hermione and Ron watched her attentively.

“Hermione. Ron,” Harry repeated.

“What?” Both were still occupied, gazing worriedly at Ginny, who had now disappeared.

“Why has Dumbledore still not lifted the curfews regarding Hogsmeade? I don’t think Voldemort__”

“Would you stop saying his name like it’s some kind of ice-cream flavor?” Ron barked as he grabbed Ginny’s wand from the empty chair that she had accidentally left there.

“Sis, you forgot your wand!” Ron got up angrily and marched up the stairs to chase after her.

Ron was still upset at Harry even though Hermione had tried endlessly to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. But having just seen his sister storming upstairs at the sight of him, his rage came rushing back.

“What’s wrong with him?” Harry sneered.

“Erm… Nothing. Forget about him. Harry, listen. I want to ask you something. Come sit down with me,” Hermione mumbled hesitantly.

“What’s up?” Harry set his broomstick on the table and sat down lazily across her.

“It’s about Ginny. Hmm… Tell me… tell me what you know about her!” Hermione widened her eyes and gazed deeply at Harry.

Harry looked puzzled and smirked sarcastically, thinking this was some kind of game, “What I know about Ginny… Hmm…Let’s see…”

“I know something!” Harry snapped his fingers smartly.

Hermione opened her mouth in awe and gazed at him hopefully.

“Ginny’s a girl!” he joked.

Disappointed, Hermione glared at him angrily. It was like someone had just let the air out of her face. Seeing this, Harry quickly cleared his throat and restarted again.

“She’s Ron’s sister… Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s daughter, Luna’s friend…” Harry recited tentatively, scratching his head. He was unsure whether this was what Hermione was looking for but he was running out of things to say about her.

“And… Anything else?” Hermione raised her voice and asked eagerly. “What about you saving her in the Chamber? What does it mean to you?”

“What about that? That was a long time ago. Why are you bringing this up?” he yawned and removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

“What did that event mean to you?” she pressed.

“Erm… I had to save her. Ron was trapped because of all those rocks, no thanks to Lockhart, your favorite teacher that you had a crush on if I remember correctly?”

His mentioning about her having a crush on a teacher made her squirm because his relationship with Aria was still fresh in her mind. Of all people, Harry was the last one to have the right to make fun of her about that, but Hermione decided to let it pass.

“What about the dream curse? Do you remember?” she became agitated; she raised her voice further and asked boldly.

“What’s that?” he snorted flatly.

“YOU DON’T REMEMBER THE DREAM CURSE THIS PAST NEW YEAR’S?” she jumped out of her chair wildly and yelled hysterically, accidentally knocking the broomstick to the ground.

Harry shook his head and stared up at her blankly, “Hermione, are you okay?”

The broomstick rolled underneath the coffee table. He slowly reached down to retrieve it.

“Erm… Yes… Yes, I’m fine… Harry, watch your head. Don’t bump your head against the table. It’s late. Go to bed,” Hermione stuttered and lowered her voice substantially. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Ginny standing by the staircase, watching them tearfully. She had heard everything that was said. She abruptly stormed out of the common room before Harry got up from underneath the table.

********

********

“Miss… you forgot something!” a little girl pointed at a portrait left on the sand and called out to a blond haired woman who was slowly wandering towards the waves, holding a bottle and two glasses with one hand, and her shoes with the other.

“Miss… MISS…” she continued to call out to her. But the woman suddenly disappeared.

The little girl’s eyes followed the footprints and wondered how the woman could have just disappeared without a trace. Afraid that the incoming waves would engulf the painting, she quickly picked it up from the sand. She carefully brushed the sand off the surface as she admired the portrait. It was of a man with jet-black hair, holding an umbrella and passionately kissing a beautiful blond haired woman against a background of butterflies.

“What a pretty picture,” the little girl said as she gently rubbed the forehead of the man curiously with her finger. “Oh no. I hope this isn’t a scratch.”

********

********

It was a beautiful day at the lakeside; the sunshine, the breeze, and the blue skies felt exactly like the last time they were here together, when he brought her here with his bicycle and surprised her with a picnic. The hammock was also untouched on the grass, resting messily in the exact spot where they had left it, when it tied them together stubbornly in a knot, refusing to let them part ways.

She had hoped to see snow. Seeing snow would at least give her the comfort that they were together for one full year. But it was not to be. They had parted ways before they even reached their first anniversary as lovers. There would be no celebrations.

As she was sitting alone writing her story, the tip of the quill suddenly snapped in two pieces. She must be pressing too hard because every letter was carved deeply in the parchment. Nevertheless, she could not finish her final sentence; it was too painful to continue. She could write no more. Gazing at her writing one final time, she carefully folded the parchment into a paper plane and tossed it towards the lake, just like the way she watched him do it the last time.

She watched the paper plane sail peacefully across the skies until it vanished into the horizons. Watching it disappear felt like watching her own elusive dreams and wishes.

“Harry…” she called out to the trail of the paper plane. There was no answer.

“Harry…” she screamed louder, her hands in balls of fists. But the only thing that came back to her were solemn echoes of her own voice.

“HHHAAARRRRRRYYY........................”

She lunged forward and shrieked as loud as she could. But it was no use. He couldn’t hear her. Her voice could no longer touch him. Her guardian angel was not going to come to her anymore.

Her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the grass, her shoulders heaved with sobs, because she found herself in the same spot where they shared their final heartfelt embrace together. Gripping the grass tightly with her hands, her face was drowning in tears. She realized she was right; the only thing that she was left with that was his after the picnic was his jacket.

“Harry…”

********

********

“Hedwig, what are you doing? It’s the middle of the night. What’s that you got there for me?” Harry whispered curiously as he got up from his bed, rubbing his heavy eyes. He couldn’t sleep after having been awakened by another nightmare. He noticed Hedwig was clutching what appeared to be a folded piece of parchment. It looked nothing like a letter envelope. The snowy owl dropped it eagerly on his bed and flew to his shoulder, frantically nipping at his ear.

“What is this, Hedwig? You got me a paper plane?”

He grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, unfolded the parchment, and noticed that some kind of story was written on it. There were patches of ink that appeared to have been smudged by droplets of water. Peering in the dark, he slowly read it.

“Again last night,
Alone without you.
To the moonlight,
I made a wish.
That one night,
I rewrite our story.

Turn back time,
To days we hold hands,
Journey side by side,
Under sparkling stars,
That took turns,
Shining on us.

Remember that night?
You and I,
It was paradise.

Please lead me the way.
Guide me with your hand.
So I can be by your side.

Please come back to me.
Please try. Come back.
So I…”

“What a weird poem. It doesn’t even rhyme. So sad though…” he mumbled to himself as he examined the parchment carefully, trying to figure out whose handwriting it belonged to.

“I wonder who wrote it?”

Hedwig immediately flew and landed on the shelf next to the pair of doves. Her wings gently brushed against the doves and made them wobble.

“Shhh… you don’t want to break that and wake up the others.” Harry flared his arms wildly at her.

He read the ending again, “I think it’s missing a sentence.”

He gazed at the parchment and reread the story, this time more attentively, without realizing Hedwig was now sitting on his shoulder and nuzzling to him. For some reason he could feel the words, and they were crying in his heart. He smiled and quietly reached for a quill from the nightstand; he had figured out what he had to do to make the story complete:

“I will always be by your side...”


The End.

---

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and giving me such wonderful reviews throughout. Everyone who reviewed wanted a happy ending, so I hope you’re not disappointed with the ending. Please be sure to let me know what you think.

Please check out the very emotional sequel, "The Boy Next Door," a story selected by readers as the favorite in the series. Understand what exactly is the human emotion of love, the ability to love someone and the feeling of being loved by someone. Is it really a blessing or just a punishment in disguise?

Explore love through the eyes of four people. They all come from different backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common. They are the lucky chosen few in the realm of love, and despite all the sacrifices and pain, they will never regret being selected…