Author's Note: This is a sequel to my first story "Legacy". If you want to understand what's going on, then I suggest you read that story first.

This is based off the works of J.K. Rowling. Characters are hers, except for the new additions which are my own creation. If anyone wishes to use them in any way, shape, or form, they must get permission from me first.

“Harry, breakfast!”

Young Harry Potter stirred in his bed, not wanting to leave it, but knowing that he would have to get up eventually. He reached for his glasses on the night table and slid them onto his face. He let his eyes adjust to the incoming sunlight before he dared to get to his feet.

When he was finally able to stand, he stretched out his arms and legs. Harry’s head turned to the owl cage sitting on his windowsill, and the owl asleep in it. “Good morning, Hedwig,” he whispered, not wanting to disturb his faithful friend.

Harry bounded down the stairs of Godric’s Hollow. He turned at the bottom and walked into the dining room. Though the hour was early, he noticed that he was not one of the first to rise this morning. Sara Hall was sitting near the head of the table, silently sipping a glass of milk. This young woman gently laid a hand on her belly, where her unborn child was resting peacefully. Harry had seen her becoming quite preoccupied with the child, as it was only a month or so away from being born.

His eyes shifted away from Sara and fell upon her younger sister, Lita. Lita was an Animagi, and a mystery to Harry personally. He knew that she had been trained by the Ministry of Magic specifically to fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort and his followers, but there was still a lot that he didn’t know about her. Harry wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea to ask about her past, so he kept his mouth shut.

As he sat at the table, the final occupant of Godric’s Hollow entered the dining room, carrying a tray of pastries. Kevin Hall, Sara’s husband, set the tray in the center of the table and sat beside his wife. Kevin was more a mystery then anyone Harry had ever known. Kevin was the, for lack of a better word, the son and heir of Voldemort. Though he denied any lineage with the evil wizard, he did acknowledge a common connection between the two of them. Voldemort had given Kevin a bit of his power when he was still in his mother’s womb, and this is why the Dark Lord feels that Kevin is his son.

Even though he didn’t know much about the people he was eating with, Harry trusted these three people more then he trusted most people. There are perhaps only a couple of people in the wizard world that Harry would trust more. “Good morning,” he said, when they were all seated.

Kevin poured himself a cup of coffee from a kettle. “Morning, Harry,” he answered. “No, I haven’t heard back from Arthur or Molly yet.”

Harry rolled his eyes. It was as though Kevin could read his mind. He never asked if Kevin was skilled at Legilimency, but he was pretty sure that he was. Harry had asked Kevin to write a letter to the Weasley family a week ago. In it, Kevin had asked if Ron and Ginny Weasley would be allowed to spend some time at Godric’s Hollow during the summer. Kevin had told him that Molly had made it clear over a month ago that she wanted her children to spend some time at home, but Kevin wrote the letter nonetheless. So far, there had been no response.
Harry wanted to see his best friend, but he wanted to see his girlfriend even more. Harry and Ginny had started dating earlier this year, but this had been the first time that the two had been apart for an extended period of time. It hurt Harry to be apart from her for so long, but put on a strong front nonetheless. It wasn’t as if he spent the days in his room pining for her and crying that he couldn’t be with her.

Kevin had done his best to keep Harry busy. Godric’s Hollow was by no means in perfect shape. The two had worked to paint the outsides and fix whatever was broken on the insides. Harry had, occasionally, helped Lita in planting a new garden in the front lawn. All of this had to be done without magical aid, though. They were all able wizards, but they did not live in a wizard village, so they had to be careful about what they did.

Kevin was not reckless, but Harry had seen him cast a spell here and there when no one was near the house. One time, Sara had been taking a short walk in the lawn and caught her husband using magic to pull up a few weeds that would not be pulled out of the ground by human hands. Harry remembered her scolding him for hours about the need for subtlety in this village.

Sara had gotten quite along with her pregnancy. She and Kevin had found out in early November that they were expecting, and Harry guessed the baby would be born some time in mid-July. Harry had heard horrible tales about pregnant women being demanding and their moods changing by the minute from Lita, but he soon realized that was not true of all women. Sara was quite pleasant, and he was more then willing to do what he could to help her, since it kept him out of the hot sun.

Though magic was to be used scarcely, Kevin did find time to help Harry practice his defensive spells and charms. Harry was a bit uneasy about using magic since he was still sixteen for another six weeks, but Kevin told him not to worry. The Ministry of Magic ruling council had passed new legislation that allowed underage wizards to practice magic if they were in the care of a capable adult wizard. Since both Kevin and Sara were teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Lita was a Ministry appointed Auror, Harry was indeed in the company of three capable wizards.

Kevin put Harry through rigorous training exercises. They had to be conducted indoors, so as not to rouse suspicion, but that hindrance limited what could be practiced. Kevin had wanted to do actual wizard duels to make sure Harry understood what he was going to be up against, but there was no room in the house large enough to accommodate the two wizards and their exploits. Kevin had tried rolling to avoid a stunning spell from Harry, but his shoulder hit the brick hearth of the fireplace. Likewise, Harry had tried leaping to his right and casting at the same time, but wasn’t paying attention to where he was and smashed in to the wall. Both men came away from that duel with significant injuries, though neither of them had landed a spell.

Harry’s days in Godric’s Hollow consisted of nothing more then a simple magic lesson every now and then, household repairs, and a venture into the village every few days for supplies. Harry felt safe in this village, maybe because it was an all-Muggle village, but he couldn’t be sure. He knew that part of his feelings had to do with the fact that Voldemort was powerless against him for the better part of next year.

The Dark Lord was helpless, except for the fact that no one could find him.

Voldemort had disappeared, and his Death Eaters along with him. Since the assault on Hogwarts a month ago, the dark wizards had not been seen. There had been no attacks, either on wizards or Muggles. Harry thought that there might actually be some peace in the world…for a while anyway.

As the weeks went on, he would find out that he was wrong.

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

It was early July when Harry was awoken one night. “Get up, Harry,” Lita was saying, as she shook him back to consciousness.

Harry stirred and thrust out an arm to push her away. “What’s wrong?”

Lita flipped on a desk lamp. “Sara just went into labor. Kevin’s gone to St. Mungo’s to fetch a healer, but we’re going to need your help.”

Harry was now fully awake. He rolled from his bed, put on his glasses and went over to his dresser to find some clothes.

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

Harry was raced up the stairs with a set of cool washcloths. He entered Sara’s room, walked over to her bed and placed one of the washcloths on her forehead. Sara looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, Harry.” She winced as she had another contraction. Lita was holding her hand and coaching her on breathing. “Where’s Kevin with the healer?”

A few moments later, her husband returned to the house with someone from St. Mungo’s. The healer, a woman by the name of Anna Hamil, rushed to Sara’s bedside. Harry slinked back into a corner, not wanting to be in the way. Kevin put a hand on the boys shoulder. “We should wait outside,” he said. They left the room.

Harry looked over at Kevin when they were in the hall. “Shouldn’t you be inside with Sara?”

Kevin shook his head. “Healer Hamil made it clear that I shouldn’t be anywhere near Sara during the birth, unless I wanted to hear how I was a horrible man who caused this pain on an innocent woman.” His lips curled into a smile. “I know that Sara wouldn’t actually mean any of those things, but it hurts to hear them.”

Harry chuckled a bit, but the smile quickly left his face when a scream from the bedroom forced his head to turn. Kevin’s face turned serious as well. “But truthfully, I wish I could be in there.”

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

It was sunrise, and Harry was being woken for the second time, although this time was a bit more gently. “Harry, wake up,” Lita was saying, keeping her voice soft. “You can come in the room now.”

Harry had been sitting against the wall in the hall, reclining against the wooden boards. He got to his feet and followed her into Kevin and Sara’s bedroom. Sara was exhausted. That much was evident in her face, but what was also clear to him was the small baby cradled in her arms. Kevin was seated beside his wife. Harry could see a smile bigger then any he had ever seen on the older wizard.

Kevin reached out a hand to stroke the baby’s forehead. He looked up at Harry, “Come over here Harry, and meet our daughter, Lilian.”

Harry walked over to the bedside. The baby was the smallest thing he had ever seen in his life. Her small hands were up near her eyes, both of which were shut. Lilian was cooing gently as she lay in her mother’s arms. “She beautiful,” Harry said.

Sara smiled at him. Kevin reached up a hand and patted Harry on the shoulder, never taking one eye of his little girl.

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

Harry was coming back up the stairs after getting a quick drink from the kitchen, when he heard two voices speaking.

“Thank you for coming, Anna,” Kevin was saying. “I know that St. Mungo’s has been busy lately with all the incidents, but I don’t think I could have handled this myself.”

“I was glad to leave the place for a while,” the healer replied. “Someday, I hope that the Ministry will see fit to build a maternity ward at St. Mungo’s so we don’t have to continue with these home-births. I feel so much better if there are more healers around in case something goes wrong.” She sighed, heavily. “But, still it wouldn’t be right to have birthing mothers around some of the jinxed patients that we get. Especially with what came in tonight, I would have been appalled to have your wife in the hospital.”

“Something big?” Kevin asked.

“A fight at the Leaky Cauldron,” Anna explained. “All kinds of curses and hexes being cast on everyone within spell range. It was enough of a commotion to alert the Muggles. Arthur Weasley has been trying to right the situation for hours.”
Kevin laughed. “Well, if anyone can handle it, then it would be Arthur. What started the fight?”

“No one knows. Everyone just started cursing. There was talk of someone using the Cruciatus Curse, but we haven’t been able to discover if it’s true or not…well, at least when I left we hadn’t found it. If these fights don’t stop, St. Mungo’s won’t be able to handle all the casualties.”

Harry heard footsteps walking away from him. Kevin and Anna must have been going back in to check on Sara. Quickly, he made his way to his room to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

Many people came to see young Lilian Hall after her birth. Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin dropped in with hearty congratulations for both mother and father. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall graced the house with their presence as well. They brought with them a vial of liquid that was supposed to help build up the babies immune system. Sara and Kevin were grateful for the gift.

Of all the visitors that came by the house, Harry was happiest to see Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The Weasley family had come to see the baby a couple of weeks after her birth, but the young students were more interested in speaking with each other. They went into the backyard to have some privacy. “It’s great to see you all again,” Harry said.

The others agreed. It had been difficult for anyone to see anyone at all this summer. After the events of last may, parents had become skittish about letting their children to be on their own. Even Hermione’s parents had expressed reservations about letting their daughter come so far from home. It took the gentle nudging of Arthur and Molly Weasley to convince them to let Hermione join them. Though they were happy to see one another, it soon became clear that Ron was more interested in Hermione, and Harry more interested in Ginny.

They soon split off from one another. Harry and Ginny walked into to town to get some time alone. Their hands were clasped together, neither of them wanting to let go of each other. Harry led her to a small café in the village. Kevin had often brought him here as a small treat for work done on the house, and the owners began to know him by association. A kind elderly woman showed the couple to a table in the corner. She quickly fetched them some tea and pastries, and then left them to themselves.

Harry reached across the table and gently stroked Ginny’s hand. “It’s good to see you again.”

Ginny turned her hand to clasp his. “I’m glad to see you, too, Harry. I’ve tried to get my parents to let me come to this village, but they wanted me to stay at the Burrow. Mum asked George and Fred to move back home, but after the first few days of dung bombs and trick wands being left around the house, she sent them back to their shop.” She wouldn’t let go of his hand. “How have you been?”

Harry looked into her eyes. “I’ve been ok. Kevin has kept me busy, though I think he was trying to keep himself busy as well. The weeks before the baby was born, he was a mess. He was always running around the house, looking for something to do that would keep him occupied for just a little while. I rarely had to do anything because the work would be slower and take longer if he did it by himself.”

Ginny took her hand from Harry’s, reached into her trouser pocket and pulled out an envelope. She laid it on the table, but didn’t open it. Harry looked down at the parchment. “What’s that?”

She lowered her eyes for a moment. “They’re my O.W.L results. I haven’t been able to open them yet. I was hoping that you could do it for me.”

Harry put his hand back over hers, which happened to be covering the envelope. “If you want me to, I’ll open it.” She nodded. He took the envelope from under her hand. Slowly, he opened the seal and pulled out the parchment inside. Harry was doing this deliberately because he could see the growing anticipation on Ginny’s face.

After taking a minute to unfold the parchment, Ginny hit the top of the table. “Hurry up, will you?”

Harry smiled. He read down the letter. “This is outstanding, Ginny. You got all A’s”

Ginny’s face suddenly formed an expression of horror as she snatched the letter from Harry. She quickly scanned the parchment. Her expression softened a bit, and then she took the letter and started hitting Harry with it. “How cruel can you be, Harry Potter? How can you make me think I had done badly on my exams?”

Harry raised his arms to defend himself. “I’m sorry, Ginny,” he said, between chuckles. “I just needed a good laugh.” She sat back down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. You really did a good job on your exams.”

In fact, Ginny had done exceptional on her exams. She had gotten ten Outstanding and two Exceeds Expectations, those two in Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Ginny read the letter three more times before she would accept that the words wouldn’t change. “I can’t believe I did this well. The exams were rushed last year, and I thought it would affect my concentration.”

“I knew you would do fine,” Harry said. He got up from the table, walked over to the counter of the café, and came back with two slices of cake. Setting one plate in front of Ginny, he said, “A little celebration in honor of your achievements.” Ginny looked up at him, and Harry would almost swear that he saw a tear in her eye.

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

Since they were already there, Arthur and Molly allowed Ginny and Ron to stay the night at Godric’s Hollow. A quick call to Hermione’s parents and she was staying as well. The girls stayed in Harry’s room that night, while Ron and Harry slept in the living room. The four of them stayed up late into the night talking and reminiscing, but the girls soon went upstairs.

Ron and Harry laid out their sleeping bags, but they didn’t go to sleep. Harry could sense that something was troubling Ron. “Everything all right, Ron?”

Ron didn’t say anything right away. He laid down, and took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about something for a while now.”

“What is it?”

Ron turned onto his belly and looked over at Harry. “We’re going to be starting our last year at Hogwarts soon. By this time next year, we’re supposed to be out in the real world.”

Harry nodded. “I know. It’s a bit scary to think that we won’t go back to Hogwarts after this year. But you shouldn’t worry about what’s going to happen to you out there, Ron. I’m sure you can find something your good at. Maybe you could tryout for a professional Quidditch team.”

Ron shook his head. “No, that’s not what I’m worried about. I’ve…” He sighed. “I’ve been wondering what’s going to happen to us after we leave school.”

“What?” Harry asked.

“Come on, Harry,” Ron replied. “You can’t tell me that you haven’t thought about what’s going to happen to our friendship after this year. We’ll be going our separate ways, Harry. We’ll be doing different things, probably in different parts of the world.” He laid his head down on his pillow. “And I’ve been wondering what’s going to happen between Hermione and me, also. No doubt she’ll go into the Ministry, probably working on something similar to S.P.E.W., which will take her away as well.”

“Ron,” Harry said. “You’re thinking about this a little too much. I can see where you’re coming from, but Hermione and I aren’t going to forget you. Sure, we’ll all probably be doing things that will keep us apart, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to grow apart.”

“Maybe,” Ron replied, not raising his head. “I hope you’re right, Harry.”

So do I, Harry thought.

Ginny and the others were only allowed to stay for a couple of days before they went home. Harry didn’t want them to leave, but knew that he would be seeing them in a few weeks in Diagon Alley. They all made arrangements to be in the alley at the same time to get their school supplies.

Harry didn’t realize it at the time, but they all agreed to meet on his birthday. With everything that had happened over the last few weeks, Harry had lost track of the days and forgot that it was his birthday until he saw the fireworks go off in Fred and George’s joke shop. Ron and Ginny had casually directed him over to that shop under the pretense that the twins had some new joke item to show him. The shop was closed for a few hours while they all had lunch and caught up on old times.

The meeting was everything Harry had hoped it would be. He managed to find a few minutes alone with Ginny, although it was in a very crowded Flourish and Blotts. They didn’t mind since Ron and Hermione had chosen this same opportunity to sneak off together. Their arms were soon filled with schoolbooks, particularly Ginny’s. She told Harry that she was taking a few extra courses next year. Harry was halfway through a Hermione reference before Ginny kicked him in the shin. He was quiet the rest of the time.

After twenty minutes, the couple left the bookstore and decided to grab a snack at the Leaky Cauldron. As they entered, Harry remembered the story he had overheard about this place. He looked around for signs of a fight, but couldn’t see anything that would suggest a struggle had happened. Given how long ago it was, he guessed that everything had been cleaned up.

Tom, the bartender, brought over two bottles of butterbeer and two bowls of ice cream for the couple. Ginny took a drink from her bottle. “So when are you going to take your apparation test?” she asked.

“Kevin said he would take me to the Ministry next week,” Harry answered. “Ron and Hermione are going to take the test on the same day. I don’t know why they waited so long, though. They both turned seventeen long before I did.”

Ginny smiled. “Ron said he felt better taking the test with you there. This way Hermione has someone else to pick at instead of just him.” She started giggling. “There was a weekend earlier this summer when Hermione came to the Burrow so she and Ron could practice for their apparition test. Hermione doesn’t need practice. She can do it perfectly, but Ron still has a few problems. Anyway, Hermione kept giving him “tips” to help improve. He didn’t take them well.”

“Can he at least apparate?”

“Oh yes,” Ginny replied. “He can do it fine if Hermione isn’t anywhere near him.” Ginny giggled again.

Harry had to smile, but felt bad for his friend’s dilemma. He knew all too well that Hermione could be abrasive, but she only had the best of intentions. Ron was lucky, though, that he would be taking the test without Hermione nearby. The administrators did not allow anyone else to be around when an applicant was taking the exam.

Harry and Ginny finished off their ice cream and butterbeer and were about to leave the building, when a wizard burst into the Leaky Cauldron. His head was gashed open and blood was spilling onto his face. He stumbled around from table to table. His speech was slurred and his eyes seemed to be glazed. Harry and Ginny moved out of the way of the wizard as he collapsed onto their table.

Ginny put a hand over her mouth. “What happened to him?”

A group of wizards converged on the fallen man. They laid him on the floor, and Harry could see that he had similar gashes on his arms and torso. “He’s been attacked.”

“No, he hasn’t,” Tom the bartender said, behind Harry’s back. “He’s been in a fight. There’s a big scuffle going on in Flourish and Blotts.”

Harry and Ginny, along with a group of wizards from the Cauldron, ran into Diagon Alley. Tom had been right. A large group of adult wizards were fighting with one another in Diagon Alley. They were not using wands or spells, just their fists. Harry grabbed Ginny’s arm to pull her away from this ruckus. They started to go back into the Leaky Cauldron, but Harry soon found himself facedown on the concrete.

Someone was pummeling him on his head and back, but he couldn’t see who it was. Harry kept trying to turn over and see who was attacking him. The assailant was doing a good job keeping Harry pinned to the ground, though, and he couldn’t move an inch. The beating was bad enough, but Harry soon heard something that would turn his blood to ice.

Ginny suddenly screamed.

With every bit of strength, Harry pushed the attacker off of him. He reached for his wand and cast a stunning spell on the wizard. Turning his head from side to side, Harry looked for Ginny. She was a ways down the alley, lying on her back with her arms up over her face. A tall, burly wizard was standing over her with his hands balled in to fists. He looked ready to strike.

Harry jumped to his feet. He ran with all his will, but was soon tackled by another crazed man. His back impacted on the stone, knocking the wind from his lungs. Harry could only think of Ginny as his head lulled to one side, and he saw her face in terror.

The burly wizard never got a chance to strike.

Seemingly from nowhere, Kevin drove his shoulder into the man standing over Ginny. He pulled the wizard away, throwing fists into the abdomen and face of the assailant. Kevin moved behind the man, wrapped his arms around the attacking wizard’s waist and thrust him over his head. The attacker’s neck and upper back were driven into the stone.

Aurors were finally able to break up the fighting. Harry could hear stunning spells being cast all through Diagon Alley. Wizards began dropping one by one. Someone grabbed Harry’s arm and helped to his feet. He didn’t recognize the Auror, but his attention was focus across the street. Kevin was gently helping Ginny rise to a sitting position. Harry couldn’t tell if she was hurt or not, but he wanted to be there for her.

That was impossible, as the Auror started moving him out of the alley. His last image of Ginny was of Kevin lifting her onto his back to carry her. Harry felt completely helpless.

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

Harry was brought back to Godric’s Hollow after being checked by Medical Wizards from St. Mungo’s. He only had a few scrapes and bruises, but his spirit was wounded more then anything.

Ginny had been taken back to the Burrow. Harry had pleaded with the Medical Wizards to let him see her, but she had been left long before. Kevin soon came by to take him home. Harry reluctantly went.

Back at the village, Sara was waiting from them outside of the house. Lilian was silently sleeping in her mother’s arms, but awoke as she ran to her husband and Harry. Kevin took his daughter from her. Sara knelt down to look Harry over for any lingering injuries. Harry stood still as she ran her hands over his face and shoulders. He didn’t really care if he was still injured or not.

Once she was satisfied, Sara ushered them inside. She quickly made them something to eat, as Kevin explained what happened in Diagon Alley. Harry wasn’t paying much attention. From what he actually heard, someone in Flourish and Blotts had provoked someone else and the fight escalated from there. No one was sure who actually started it, and no one was sure why it grew as large as it did. Kevin tried to ask Harry if he knew the wizard that was attacking him. Harry said he didn’t.

After they ate, Harry went up to his room. Lying on his bed, he saw Hedwig sitting on his windowsill. He thought about writing a letter to Ginny, to make sure she was all right. His mind kept going back to that moment when he saw her on the ground and that burly wizard standing over her, ready to strike. It made him ill to think that she could have been seriously hurt, but what made it worse was…thinking back to the person who had saved her…when Kevin…

“Something bothering you?”

Harry turned to look at the door to his room. Kevin was standing in there, looking down on him. “What do you want?” he asked.

“I wanted to see if you were all right,” Kevin replied. “Physically, I know you’ll survive, but you have an interesting mentality. After something like this, you usually sink into a bit of depression and it takes days to get anything out of you. So, let’s cut out the song and dance and why don’t you just come right out and say what’s bothering you? Is it Voldemort, your upcoming apparition test, or the fact that your last year at Hogwarts is about to start? Or is it something completely different?”

Harry looked him straight in the eye. “It’s you.”

Kevin opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He opened it a few more times as he tied to find the right words. Finally, he said, “What?”

Harry sat up. “I said it’s you, or at least, what you did today.”

“You mean showing up to help out?”

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I mean that you helped Ginny. I should have been able to do something but I couldn’t.”

“Harry, you were pinned down by two-hundred pounds of enraged wizard,” Kevin said. “Everything was crazy. No one could have expected you to do much on your back.”

Harry shook his head again. “That’s never stopped you before. You always fight when the odds are against you. I should have been able to do the same.” He sat silent for a minute. “I should be able to do more.”

Kevin walked over to Harry. He sat on the bed beside him. “It sounds like you want to learn how to fight, and not with your magic.” Harry looked up at him. “You want to be able to defend yourself physically, not just magically.”

“Yeah,” he replied. “If I could do that, then I could…”

“Slow down, Harry. If you want to learn to fight, I’ll teach you, but don’t think that this is going to make your life easier. It’s admirable that you want to learn. Most wizards would do well with some physicality, but there is not a lot of call for the hands on touch.”

“But you will teach me?”

Kevin clasped a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I’d be glad to. We’ll start today.”

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

It soon became clear to Harry that he may have taken on something he wasn’t ready for. Kevin started with a simple regime of punches and kicks, but soon he moved on to holds and throws. “Fighting is more then a well placed punch,” he had said. “If you want to succeed, then you have to learn to unbalance your opponent. An arm lock, or a hip throw can give you time to do some real damage to your opponent.”

Over the next few days, Harry began to show promise in his fighting skills. Kevin put together a dummy for him to practice his offensive techniques, and Harry seemed to enjoy practicing quite a bit.

Kevin made sure that Harry did not neglect his magical training, though. Either before or after Harry trained with the dummy, or with Kevin himself if he was practicing holds or throws, Kevin put him through hours of rigorous magical training. The apparition test was only two days away. Kevin wanted Harry to be ready.

Before even Harry thought it was possible, the day arrived. He and Kevin left Godric’s Hollow one morning and made their way to the Ministry of Magic.

Kevin had woken Harry early that morning, even before the sun had risen. He put Harry through his apparition exercises one more time, before sitting him down to breakfast. Kevin had explained that apparition was more a mental spell then anything. It required concentration and focus to be done correctly. While a certain amount of magical ability was required, if a wizard’s mind wasn’t on the spell, then something could go horribly wrong.

Soon after the sun had risen, Kevin and Harry left for the Ministry of Magic. They traveled by floo powder to Diagon Alley, and then walked the rest of the way. When they had reached the phone booth that gave entry to the Ministry, Kevin punched in the code and they were allowed inside. After allowing their wands to be examined, the two wizards were shown to the sixth floor. This was the Department of Magical Transportation, where the Apparition test would be administered.

Kevin walked up to a middle-aged witch sitting behind a desk. “I have Harry Potter here, ready to take his Apparition test.”

The witch looked up at him, glanced back at Harry, and then met Kevin’s eyes. “You’ll have to wait a bit. The officiator, Charles Shunpike, is with someone at the moment.”

The name of the official shook Harry from his thoughts. Shunpike, he thought. He wondered if he was any relation to Stan Shunpike, the conductor of the Knight Bus. Harry didn’t have much time to think about it. Kevin laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder and led him to a waiting area. “Nervous?” he asked as they sat.

Harry shook his head. “Not really. Just…curious.”

“About what the exam is going to be like?” Kevin asked. Harry nodded. “Well, there really is no way to be fully prepared for this. It’s a hit-or-miss type thing. It may take a few tries, but Apparition is a skill that anyone can master.” He patted Harry’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I’ve taught you everything you need to know.”

They sat in silence for only a few minutes when a door at the back of the room opened. A tall, gray-haired wizard walked through followed by Ron Weasley. Harry got to his feet quickly as his friend walked by, but Ron neither said anything nor looked at him. Kevin stood as well. “No one who has taken the Apparition test can speak with someone who hasn’t about what actually goes on. Ron has to keep his mouth shut until you pass.” Harry’s eyes followed his friend as he left the room.

“Mr. Potter,” the witch behind the desk said. “Proctor Shunpike will see you now.”

After a final reassuring pat on his shoulder by Kevin, Harry followed the elderly wizard into the room that Ron had just been in. It was a simple room, with no lavish accommodations. All that Harry could see was two chairs and a large fire in the center of the room. Shunpike took a seat and motioned for Harry to do the same. Harry sat opposite the proctor. “Excuse me, sir,” Harry said, nervously, “but what exactly do I have to do to learn to Apparate?”

Shunpike reached into his robes and pulled out a small vile with black powder inside. Harry thought it looked suspiciously like floo powder. Shunpike opened the vile and poured the powder onto the fire. It glowed orange for a second before melting into a deep green. “Apparition, Harry, is just floo travel without the uncomfortable feelings. In order to learn how to Apparate, you must first learn to transcend the floo network. In a few moments, I will ask you to step into the fire. Don’t be alarmed, now. This fire is hooked up to the floo network, so you won’t need to worry about burning.

“Now, I am sure that you have been told that Apparition is a mental spell, which requires concentration and a clear mind, correct?” Harry nodded. “Well, when you step into the fire, you are going to have to think of a place that you would like to be. When you are ready, I want you to say that place very clearly. If your mind is focused, then you will Apparate. If it is not, then you will travel by floo, and you will need to travel back the same way.”

Harry didn’t quite understand what Shunpike was saying. His mind was anything but clear at the moment. “Sir, what if I think of a place that isn’t connected to the floo network?”

Shunpike cleared his throat. “In that case, the fire will eject you into the wall. So, I suggest you think of some place that you can get to by floo.”

Harry’s mind suddenly cleared in an instant. The prospect of flying into a solid wall was not appealing to him. Shunpike asked him to step into the fire. As he did so, Harry was a bit frightened that he would not be able to do this. Apparition was supposed to be one of the more difficult abilities for a wizard to learn, and Harry had always been a bit apprehensive about doing things that even some fully trained wizards couldn’t do.

The fire was warm, but not hot. It was like any other time he had traveled in the floo network, but he knew this time would be different. At all costs, he had to avoid using the floo network. Harry closed his eyes, and concentrated. Kevin had taught him to clear his mind of all things except the one he was supposed to focus on. It worked…a little too well.

Harry couldn’t think of anything. His mind was a complete blank.

He knew that Charles Shunpike was watching him, and he had to do something quick. Harry tried to think of a place he would like to be, but nothing seemed to come to his mind. Just then, a flash of red passed through his vision. He thought the fire was returning to normal, but another image flashed in his mind.

“The Burrow!” he shouted.

Harry had no idea exactly what had happened. He heard a familiar crack and he suddenly found himself somewhere other then the Ministry of Magic. He was in a room, a girl’s room. He could tell by the stuffed animals on the bed and the cosmetic products resting on a vanity desk. Harry was a bit stunned and wasn’t sure where he was.

It was only after he saw a photo sitting on a dresser that his mind was shaken back to reality. The photo showed nine red-haired people standing in front of a large Sphinx in Egypt. Harry remembered that the Weasley family had taken a trip to Egypt a few years back, and he suddenly remembered where he had wanted to end up.

The door to the roomed opened up and Ginny walked in. Harry’s breath caught in his throat when he saw that she was holding a towel around herself, and her hair was wet. She had obviously just gotten out of the shower. Ginny didn’t notice the other occupant in her room right away. She walked over to her vanity desk, which happened to have a mirror, and turned around quickly.

“Harry! What are you doing here?” she said, her hands clutching the towel tighter.

Harry wasn’t quite sure how to answer. He tried to tell her that he was in the middle of an Apparition test, but he wasn’t sure that she would believe him. Ginny had no idea what was supposed to take place during an Apparition test, and he knew he wasn’t supposed to tell her. He didn’t know what to say.

Just then, he heard a voice in his head. “Harry, come back to the Ministry.”

Wanting to leave before Ginny got angry with him, Harry closed his eyes again, heard the crack and was back in the room with Charles Shunpike. The older wizard started clapping his hands. “Well done, Harry. Well done.” He stood up and walked over to Harry. “Come now, step out of the fire.” Harry hadn’t even noticed that he was still standing in the fire pit. “I’m very impressed, Harry. Though I had hoped you would have picked a more appropriate Apparition point then a girl’s bedroom.” Shunpike’s brow narrowed a bit.

“It wasn’t like that,” Harry tried to explain. “I meant to Apparate in the living room and I just…”

“You Apparated exactly where you were thinking of,” Shunpike said. A slight smile crept onto his face. “Your intent did not follow your desire, but that’s all right. I’m sure whomever you intruded upon will understand. You just need to learn to control your intents and your desires. That is one thing that will make Apparition impossible for you in times of crisis.”

Shunpikes laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder, and lead him out of the room. Kevin was leaning against the wall in the outer room. “How did he do?”

Charles Shunpike smiled. “He needs a bit more work, but he passed the test.” Kevin clapped his hands together twice for Harry. “If you’ll take him down the hall, one of the wizards there will issue the Apparition license for him.” He shook Kevin’s hand.

Just before they left the room, Harry turned around. “Mr. Shunpike, if I may ask a question?” The older wizard nodded. “Do you have a son who works on the Knight Bus?”

Charles nodded. “Yes, my boy Stan. He wrote to me after he met you actually, telling me all about how the famous Harry Potter had just ridden on his bus. Good boy, my Stan, but not much ambition to him.” He shrugged. “Ah well, at least he’s doing something that makes him happy.”

Harry nodded, and walked with Kevin down the hall. Kevin did not ask Harry about what had went on, nor did he start giving him pointers on how to improve his Apparition. Instead, they walked in silence towards the office that Charles Shunpike had indicated. Just before they reached the office, a small gray owl fluttered over to them. Harry recognized this owl as Pigwidgeon, or Pig for short. It was Ron’s personal owl, but Harry had a feeling he knew who the sender of this letter was. Pig rested on Kevin’s shoulder, and he untied the note from the small owl’s leg. He opened it up and read it.

After a few moments, Kevin turned to Harry with a confused look on his face. “Harry,” he said. “Exactly, where did you Apparate to?”

Harry’s face was redder then ever.

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

Much to Harry’s surprise, after they left the Ministry of Magic, the first place they went was…

…the Burrow.

Mrs. Weasley had set up a lavish picnic to celebrate Harry, Ron and Hermione passing their Apparition test. Hermione, they had all found out, had taken the test the previous day without telling anyone. Her nervous feelings had gotten the better of her and she had scheduled to take her test before her friends.

After they left the Ministry, Kevin told Harry that they would be Apparate to the Burrow. Harry was worried that he would do the same thing he had done in his test and find himself in Ginny’s bedroom, but he kept himself focused this time. Kevin and Harry soon found themselves in the living room of the Weasley’s home.

Harry had only a moment to re-orient himself before he was drawn into the open arms of Molly Weasley. “Congratulations, Harry dear,” she said, excitedly. “We are all so proud of you.” Harry nearly lost his footing with the force of the embrace. Molly let go of him and turned her attention to Kevin, though with much less force.

She ushered them outside to the waiting feast. The entire Weasley family was setting up two large tables with food. Included among them were Hermione and her parents, who were shadowed by Arthur Weasley asking all sorts of questions about Muggles. Hermione seemed a bit grateful that her parents were as distracted as they were because it gave her a moment to slip away and find Ron.

Harry had only a moment to survey the set-up before he felt a hand lay on his arm. He turned his head and saw Ginny standing beside him. She had a stern expression on her face. Harry cringed a bit when he saw her. “I can explain,” he said, before she had a chance to berate him.

Holding onto his arm, Ginny led Harry back into the house. “Upstairs,” she said. “Everyone else is outside.” Harry followed with a bit of reluctance as she walked up the staircase. She led him into her bedroom, a location that Harry hadn’t anticipated. Ginny closed the door and turned to him. Her expression didn’t change as she put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Harry was caught completely off-guard by this sudden change in mood. Ginny pulled her lips apart from his, smiled and said, “Congratulations.”

Harry was speechless, but pleased. “So, you are not mad?” he asked.

Ginny ran a hand across his shoulder, traced it down his chest…and hit him in his sternum. “Of course I’m mad, Harry Potter. You appear in my room, out of nowhere, while I’m not dressed, and I’m not supposed to be mad.”

Harry took a step back before she decided another slap was in order. “I can explain. It was a mistake. I was trying to Apparate in the living room, and I got a little lost.”

Ginny’s face didn’t soften. “And they still gave you an Apparition license?” Harry shrugged. “Well, at least I know that the qualifications aren’t that strict, then.”

Harry moved in a bit closer to her. “Ginny, what’s wrong? I know I shouldn’t have been in your room, but you never been this angry with me.”

Ginny closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I’m sorry, Harry. I shouldn’t be cross with you.” She leaned in, laying her head on his chest. “I just…haven’t been feeling myself these days.”

Harry wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all right, Ginny. Have you been sleeping well?”

“No,” she answered. “I keep waking up, thinking someone else is in my room. When I turn on the light I don’t see anything, but I keep thinking…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“What else is bothering you, Ginny? Tell me, please?”

Ginny didn’t say anything else. Whether she couldn’t, or just wouldn’t, Harry never got the chance to figure out. From downstairs, he heard Mrs. Weasley call for everyone to come outside for lunch. Harry kept a firm grip on Ginny’s hand as they walked to the outside feast that awaited them. Everyone was already seated at the long table, and talking happily with one another.

Harry noticed that Sara had joined the group, along with Lilian who was in her father’s arms. Kevin was gently rocking his daughter in his right arm, while trying to eat with his left. This proved a bit difficult until Sara saw the plight of her husband and waved her wand over the food in front of him. In an instant, the ham slices floated in front of Kevin and were gently placed into his mouth.

The entire table was in a joyous mood. Bill and Charlie Weasley, both of which had been on assignment in Portugal, told stories of successful raids on Death Eater strongholds. Molly had tried to keep talk of the war out of her house, but as Fred and George had pointed out, they were not in her house at the moment. She had quickly boxed both of their ears for their sarcastic comment. Arthur calmed his wife by saying, “Molly dear, it’s good for us all to hear that things are going in our favor. We need to keep our spirits up.”

But high spirits were soon to be dashed.

A brown tawny owl swooped down on the table and landed in front of Kevin. He took the letter presented to him. After a moment of looking it over, he handed Lilian to Sara and got to his feet. “Arthur, we have to go. Bill and Charlie too.”

The eldest wizard stood. “What’s happened?”

“Another riot,” Kevin answered. “This time in Muggle London. Ministry Aurors are already containing the situation, but they need every hand available.”

Harry and the others watched as the four wizards Disapparated before their eyes. Whatever happy feelings everyone had been feeling before had slipped away from them. After lunch was finished, Harry started gathering plates and carrying them into the house. As he walked into the kitchen, he could see Mrs. Weasley vigorously cleaning dishes and muttering, “When will it end? When will it all end?”

The first of September was soon upon the students of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The London train station was overrun by eager young children, all trying desperately to make onto Platform 9 and ¾ before the train left for school. It was difficult as this was supposed to be done in secret. The Muggles that were catching trains as well could not know anything about the journey some children had to make to get onto their particular platform.

The trick to getting onto Platform 9 and ¾ was that a student had to run at the stone pillar that separated Platforms 9 and 10. It would be a problem if a Muggle noticed a child disappearing into solid rock. To this day, however, very few Muggles had actually seen a student make this transition through the stone pillar, but they had been dealt with quickly by trained Ministry wizards. They were not harmed, just their memories altered to make them forget what they had seen.

On this day, Harry and his friends were being ushered quickly along the platforms by Mrs. Weasley and Kevin. Four large dogs flanked the group on either side. These animals were actually Animagi, wizards and witches that could assume animal form. They were Kevin’s most trusted friends, and a diversion for getting the students onto Platform 9 and ¾. They came to Platform 9. Kevin turned to the others, “See you all at school.” He put his fingertips to his forehead in a mild salute.

At that moment, all four dogs started barking and running wildly. All eyes followed the four-legged beasts and Kevin, who was attempting to gain some control over his animals. No one seemed to notice the people he was just with slip into solid rock. They came out onto Platform 9 and ¾, where the Hogwarts Express was waiting for them. After handing over their trunks to one of the conductors for storing, and a quick hug and kiss from Mrs. Weasley, they all boarded the train.

They all found an empty compartment, and settled into a seat. Ginny laid her head down on Harry’s shoulder. She still had been having trouble sleeping. Harry hoped that being at Hogwarts might make her feel a bit more comfortable. As for Ron and Hermione, they hadn’t said much for the past couple of days. Harry knew why, and it was starting to annoy him. “Will you two just accept it? Dumbledore made the decision and there is no way out of it.”

“But…,” Ron started to say.

“He made us…” Hermione stammered.

“Head Boy and Girl,” Ginny finished for them both. She was just as annoyed at their stunned silence. It wouldn’t have been so bad except that it seemed like they were too good to speak with her and Harry now that they had new titles at Hogwarts. She knew that this wasn’t the truth, but it bugged her nonetheless.

“Hermione, I can understand,” Ron said, “but me? What have I ever done to deserve being Head Boy?”
“No one knows how Professor Dumbledore chooses Head Boy and Girl,” Hermione responded. “So, it’s possible that you’ve done something that they were looking for and you didn’t even know it.”

Harry leaned in close to whisper in Ginny’s ear. “Or they could just choose names out of the Sorting Hat,” he whispered. Ginny couldn’t hide her laugh, and Ron had overheard what his friend had said.

“That’s mean, Harry,” Ron said. “I probably did something really spectacular and I don’t even know what it is.” Ron’s eyes suddenly glazed over as he tried to understand his own statement.

“I’m sorry Ron,” Harry said, amongst a fit of giggles. “You have done some great things over the past two years. You were a great help in the Department of Mysteries and in the Battle of Hogsmeade. You deserve that title as much as anyone else.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts, Ron,” Hermione cut him off. “You are Head Boy, and you have to live up to it.” She got to her feet. “Now, we have to get to the Prefect’s compartment.” She extended her hand to Ron. He took it and stood as well. “Ginny, are you coming?” It wasn’t so much a question of if, but when.

“In a moment,” Ginny answered. She was in no real hurry to get up. Ron and Hermione left the compartment.

Harry slipped an arm around her waist. “You want to talk about it?” he asked.

She didn’t look at him. “Talk about what?”

He tightened his arm. “About what has been bothering you. Ron tells me that you haven’t been getting a full nights rest in a while. He’s heard you pacing in the hallways late at night.”

“And what was he doing up that late?” she asked, trying to shift the subject off of herself.

Harry, forcefully, turned her to look at him. “Ginny, what has been going on? Please, talk to me.”

Ginny lowered her head. “It’s nothing, Harry. I just haven’t been sleeping. It’s…it’s probably because I know that this is the last train ride to Hogwarts that we will take together.” She, slightly, raised her head to look at him. “I just keep thinking that you are going to go off on your own after this year. And…and…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“What?”
“I keep thinking what’s going to happen to you when Voldemort gets his powers back.” Tears started filling her eyes. “I keep thinking how he is going to come after you, and all the horrible things that could happen to you.”

Harry cradled her in his arms. “Ginny, please don’t cry.” She continued to sob. “I can’t say anything that is going to make you feel any better, and I wish with all my heart that I could.” That much was true. No matter what he actually said, it wouldn’t be enough to alleviate her fears. She would know that he was just saying pretty words to make her feel good about the situation and she would see right through them.

Harry wasn’t going to lie anymore. “Ginny, I can’t say what is going to happen for certain, but you have to believe me when I say that I will be ready for anything that happens. Whatever I face in the next year, I am going to be prepared.” He turned her eyes to his. “And I won’t do this alone. You are going to be right there beside me.” He leaned in to kiss her.

Ginny let herself be drawn towards him. In one part of her mind, that was what she had wanted to hear. Harry wasn’t going to go into anything without her, nor was he going to rush off into something he wasn’t prepared for.

But something else was troubling her, and it scared her more then anything else on the outside. She was scared of the one person that she had professed to trust more then anyone.

She was scared of Harry Potter.

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

The train arrived at Hogsmeade station near Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The students filed out onto the train platform. A familiar voice was soon greeting them all in his usual fashion. “First Years, This Way! First Years. Follow Me!”

Harry quickly turned to see Rubeus Hagrid bellowing at the top of his lungs to be heard over all the noise of the students. The large groundskeeper/professor waved one his enormous hands as soon as he saw Harry. “All right there, Harry?” he called out to him.

Harry nodded his head and waved back. He soon found himself getting into one of the carriages which would carry him and the other students up to the castle. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all found him quickly and joined him in the carriage. They rode in silence as the Thestrals, large winged creatures that could only be seen by someone who had witnessed death, pulled the carriages along the road up to the castle.

Everyone entered the entry hall and made their way to the Great Hall. There, they took seats at one of the four large tables in the hall. Each table was meant for students of one of the four different houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Harry and the others took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Bright golden plates and goblets were placed before them. Though they were empty now, in a matter of time they would be filled with food and drink as the start of year feast would begin. However, before the feast could commence, the first year students had to be inducted into their houses.

The doors to the Great Hall opened up and Hagrid was seen leading a long train of students down the middle of the tables. Normally, he was alone in this endeavor. However this year he had company. Four wizards that Harry knew well were walking on either side of the train of students. These wizards were the Animagi Wizards that had watched over the castle last year in their animal forms. No one knew that those “housedogs” were actually wizards, which made for quite the shocker when the truth was revealed.

As Harry watched them advance towards the front of the room, he noticed that they looked less like wizards and more like…warriors. Each person was dressed in animal skinned tunics with flowing capes behind them. They carried a different weapon in their possession. Chris had a broadsword sheathed to his back. Stacy was sporting a long staff with curved blades at each end. Shawn held a large battle axe in both of his hands, and Lita had a crossbow dangling from her belt and a quiver of arrows strapped over her shoulder. There was no mistaking these wizards for anything except medieval warriors ready for battle.

As the students reached the front of the hall, the four warrior-wizards branched off from the group and took up positions along the wall. Hagrid went to his usual seat at the teacher’s table. Professor McGonagall brought forward a three legged stool with a tall, pointed wizard’s hat sitting on it. This was the sorting hat, which would tell each new student which house they were meant for.

The new students looked up at the old hat with a mixed feeling of fear and excitement. The old hat suddenly split at the brim, as if a mouth were forming. It broke into song.


From days gone by
From years since past
Long have I been entrusted with
This important task
To tell young wizards
Who are confused
Where would be the best place
They might be used
To one of the houses
Will you be sent
And there you will find
A sort of merriment
For in these houses
Will people be
Who treat you just like family
(Just wait and you will see)
In those I sense a longing
For adventures and excitement
Gryffindor is best for you
They have always loved incitement
To those of mind that’s strong
And willing to face a test
To Ravenclaw you shall go
For at those they are the best
And those who I find loyal
Dependable and true
I will give to Hufflepuff
And there your growth will ensue
To those who have ambition
And take the risks ahead
Nobel Slytherin is best for you
“They find glory everywhere”
At least that’s what has been said
I always know the best place for you
Though your mind may be divided
Never fear for my wisdom is great
And people wonder where I hide it
I always have the best ideas
Even though my mouth is but a hem
So it be your wish
LET THE SORTING NOW BEGIN!!

The Great Hall was soon filled with cheers and hollering as the Sorting Hat finished its illustrious song. This would be the last one that a lot of the students would ever hear, and it weighed on their hearts a bit. The hat made no movements as it was placed on each of the new students head. Once around their ears, the hat would be silent for a moment before shouting the name of a house. Whenever the name was shouted, the house table would applaud for the new student.

Gryffindor was graced with thirteen new students that year, the lowest that Harry had ever known them to receive. Once they were all seated, Professor Dumbledore stood. The whole hall went silent. The old headmaster raised his hands. “Tuck in,” he said. The plates were suddenly filled with all varieties of meat, vegetables and drinks to tempt the stomach. The students rushed to take some of the delicious food before others had had a chance to horde it all for themselves.

Harry had filled his plate with generous portions of beef and potatoes when he noticed that Ginny wasn’t taking any of the food. As he looked over at her, he noticed that her head was actually drooping and her eyes were half closed. “Ginny,” he said, gently nudging her with his elbow. “Are you all right?”
Ginny snapped back to reality. “Yes, I’m fine,” she answered. A smile, though a small one, crept onto her face. “I just dozed off a bit.” She started to grab food for her own plate, but considerably less then the others around her.

Harry watched her closely as they ate. Ginny looked, if it was possible, even worse then she had on the train. Her eyelids kept falling and rising, her head was lulling to one side and she was not eating that much. Once the feast had concluded, Harry placed an arm around her waist and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Normally, she would have objected to this, but Ginny had no fight left in her.

Professor Dumbledore stood once again to speak. “Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts. Before we retire you to your beds for the evening, a few start of year announcements are needed. As always, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has a notice of items that are banned in the castle. You may find them on your common room bulletin board and on his office door. No one is to be out of bed after hours. New security measures are being put into place to ensure that we have no adventurers in our midst.” Harry glanced over at Kevin, who seemed to be thumbing an old piece of parchment. He caught Harry’s eye and nodded, with a sly grin. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was holding the Marauder’s Map, something that could track anyone in the castle at any time. Harry had hated handing over that particular treasure last year, but it was for the greater good.

Dumbledore continued, “The Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden. No one is to go into it for any reason. With the success of last year’s series of balls to brighten the student’s spirit, we are doing them again this year.” The hall was suddenly filled with excited chatter. The balls had been such a huge success, especially for Harry. He glanced over at Ginny to see her reaction, but found her eyes closed. “Yes, yes we are all excited,” Dumbledore said. “However, we are forced to limit ourselves to only two this year, one just before Christmas break and another at the end of the year.” Where there had been happy chatter, there was now crestfallen murmuring.

“I don’t know what they are all unhappy about,” Hermione said. “We only had three last year. The end of year ball was never held given what happened.” She glanced over at Ginny. “Is she all right?”

Harry shrugged with the shoulder that Ginny wasn’t resting on. “Don’t know. She won’t talk.” Dumbledore dismissed the students to their dormitories. With a gentle nudge, Harry managed to rouse Ginny from her slumber.

Her eyes lightly opened. “What’s going on?” she asked, her voice not much higher then a whisper.

“It’s time to go up to the dormitory,” Harry whispered back. Even through all the shuffling of feet and robes, they could still hear one another as close as they were. “We have to go to bed.”

“Want to stay here,” Ginny said. Her arm came around and placed itself on his other shoulder. “Want to be with you. Don’t want to be hurt…” Her voice trailed off as she drifted back to sleep.

Harry wasn’t sure how he was going to get up to Gryffindor tower with Ginny asleep on him. He could have carried her, but that would look suspicious, not to mention odd, and any teacher that saw him would think she had taken ill. Ginny would be rushed off to the hospital wing in an instant.

What Harry didn’t realize was that was exactly where she was meant to go.

Sara Hall walked over to the table. “I think she had better come with me,” she said. “Molly wanted Ginny to be looked over by Madam Pomfrey as soon as the feast was over.” Kevin walked over to his wife’s side.

“What’s wrong with her?” Harry asked, hoping he would finally get an answer.

“Nothing, hopefully,” Sara answered. “But we were asked to look after her for the night. Don’t worry, Harry. She should be back for breakfast.” Kevin leaned down and gently placed Ginny onto his back. He hooked his arms under her kneecaps and let her arms flop over his shoulders.

As Harry watched the elder wizards carry his girlfriend out, Ron and Hermione stood on either side of him. “She’ll be all right, Harry,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, mate,” Ron added. “When it comes down to it, my sister is tougher then she looks.”

In Harry’s mind, though, she was the most fragile thing in the world. He knew what it was like to lose her once.

He would never lose her again.

A/N: Whatever happened in HBP happened in HBP and not in my stories. Nothing is going to affect how I write the rest of this story. I know that all my loyal readers will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Here we go.

Harry did not sleep much that night.

He kept thinking about what he would find out about Ginny the next morning. Had she just come down with a common virus, or could it be something more serious? Was there anything that he could do? He reached over to the nightstand and picked up his wand. Without his glasses, it just appeared as a blurred piece of wood. What use is this thing if it can’t even help the woman I love?

He stared at it for another moment, and suddenly reached over for his glasses. Putting them on, he held the wand up again. It looked so much different then what he was used to over the past six years. After the battle of Hogsmeade, the thing had been blown into pieces. His and Ginny’s had been forged together with Kevin’s in order to conjure the spell that had stripped Voldemort of his power. Kevin had said he had sent them off to Olivander’s to have them repaired, but this one didn’t look or feel like his old wand.

It seemed…different.

Harry had wondered if Mr. Olivander had simply replaced the broken wands for new ones. Perhaps there was no way to fix the others and they had to be disposed of. But, surely Kevin would have told them if their wands had been replaced, wouldn’t he? He hadn’t thought to question Kevin on this, what with Lilian’s birth and the Apparition practicing. Now though, it might be all right.

He turned the wand over in his hand, and suddenly felt a slight surge in his hand. Without thinking, he flicked the wand into thin air. A slight silver smoke tried to escape it, but it soon dissipated. He wondered what the smoke was trying to become. He had seen such a thing before, and it frightened him a bit.

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

Ginny was at the Gryffindor table the next morning, before Harry and the others got there. Harry ran to her side and threw his arms around her, placing a kiss on her cheek. She returned the embrace. “I’m all right, Harry,” she said. “I just needed a night with a sleeping potion.”

Harry released her. “What was wrong?”

Ginny shrugged. “Madam Pomfrey gave me some sleeping draught to drink and I was asleep all night. No waking up in the middle of the night or anything.” Harry took a seat beside her. “I’m fine, really.”

Harry had to believe her. The Great Hall was soon filled with the students, much as it had been last night. Professor McGonagall was soon walking amongst the tables passing out schedules to the students. Harry scanned down his list. “Potions first, then Herbology,” he said to himself. “After lunch, Muggle History and Care of Magical Creatures.” Harry did not mind that he had Potions first thing in the morning. Since Kevin had taken over as teacher for the upper level students, it had become an enjoyable subject and one that Harry was improving in. Professor Snape usually taught it, but he had been relegated to teaching the younger students only. Harry had never had a particular fondness for Severus Snape, nor did the professor for Harry. The two had been at odds since the moment Harry had come to Hogwarts. The lack of a class with him made it much easier to avoid him.

The bell soon rang and the hall emptied as students made their way to the first class of the day. Letting Ginny out of his sight was the last thing on Harry’s mind, but he had no choice. After a comforting word and a quick kiss, they parted ways.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down into the dungeon where the potions class would be held. The queue outside the door was a bit smaller then Harry would have thought. Apparently, some students had chosen not to continue with the study of potions. The door opened to the dungeon and Kevin ushered them all in. As they took their seats, Kevin went up to the front of the room. “Welcome to your final year of Potions,” he said as he turned to face the students. “As this is your seventh year, we will be delving into some of the most complicated concoctions that I am allowed to teach you.”

Everyone reached into their bags for their Potions book as Kevin instructed them to. They all opened them to the page he had indicated and, suddenly, everyone went silent. Kevin realized what page they had opened up to. “Veritaserum,” he said, with a mild grin. “I know what some of you are thinking.” He glanced in Hermione’s direction. “This substance is controlled very closely by the Ministry of Magic. However, I was able to obtain permission, with some significant help from Professor Dumbledore mind you, from the Ministry Council to brew this particular potion as part of the curriculum. Now, this will take one month to brew correctly. Therefore, I expect you all to be here for every class and on time.

“Also, this potion is to be carefully watched.” He took out his wand and waved it across the room. Almost a dozen empty vials and flasks flew from various bags of students and settled themselves on Kevin’s desk. “You will only use the flasks that I provide to store this potion at the end of each class. This potion is not to leave this room. Even if it is taken before it is completed, it could still be dangerous. There are some who would figure out how to brew this potion on their own, and I gave my word that I would not let that happen.” Once again, his gaze seemed to lay itself on Hermione. She had also noticed this and turned red in her cheeks.

He instructed the student on how to begin and they set off on their first steps in the potion process. Harry was determined not to let his focus wander at all this year, but he found it difficult. Kevin must know why Ginny was taken to the hospital wing last night, and he wanted to ask him that. Every time, though, that he tried to get the Potion Master’s attention, he was helping some other student with their potion. The entire class went by without Harry ever getting to speak with Kevin. When the bell finally sounded to end class, Harry tried to catch him but Kevin quickly sent off to his next class. “If she wanted you to know, Harry,” he said. “Then she would have told you.”

As Harry walked off towards his next class, he noticed Ron and Hermione were talking with one another, but in tones so low that he couldn’t hear them. He wasn’t about to interrupt his best friends intimate talk. Quickening his pace, he caught up with Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. The two boys nodded at him as he caught up along side him. “Hey Harry,” Seamus said.

“Hey guys,” he said. “How have you two kept up on your Quidditch skills?”

“Pretty well,” Dean answered. “We found a group of kids that started a small Quidditch league in Dublin and started playing with them. It was pretty bad though. We couldn’t use real bludgers without the Ministry coming down on us.”

“And the Snitch we used was so old it could barely fly,” Seamus added. “Games were over faster then they began. We had to make the rules ‘First Seeker to catch the Snitch ten times’ wins.”

Harry grinned, thinking about a Golden Snitch that was slow enough that he could catch it without problem. “If you didn’t have real bludgers, what did you two do?”

“We had to use Quaffles,” Seamus explained. “Instead of them flying around, we had to hurl them in the air and hit them with the clubs. It was a nightmare, because the chasers kept confusing those with the real Quaffle. We actually had a game where a point was scored on both goals at the same time, because nobody knew which one the actual Quaffle was.”

Harry tried to imagine what the boys were telling him in his mind, but it was so outlandish that he hadn’t a clue how to picture it. “Well, you won’t have to worry about playing with Quaffles anymore. I hope to have the Quidditch team back together in the next few weeks for practice. This is our last year, and I intend to go out with the Cup.” The two boys grinned as they imagined playing real Quidditch again.

They walked out onto the grounds, headed for the greenhouses for their Herbology class.

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

Kevin left his classroom quickly and headed up the stairway to Dumbledore’s office. As he approached the stone gargoyle blocking the entranceway, he said, “Chocolate Buttons,” and the statue moved to one side. He bounded up the staircase and entered the office without waiting for an invitation. He had expected the headmaster to be waiting for him, but to his surprise, Sara and Lilian were there as well. Kevin slowed his pace so as not to knock his wife and daughter over. “What are you doing here?” he asked, with a slight smile. “I thought you were resting and Madam Pomfrey was watching the baby.”

Madam Pomfrey had, graciously, allowed herself to be named as a temporary nanny whenever the need arose and she was not busy with patients. “I know,” Sara said. “But I was feeling better and I wanted to see my little girl.”

Professor Dumbledore ran a hand over the young child’s forehead. “Sara has just been entertaining me with stories of this one choosing to remain awake in the late hours. It would seem that, at any age, children wish to remain alert at all times.”

“Except now,” Kevin replied, as he realized his daughter was asleep. “She wants to sleep in the day and be awake in the night. We thought about sleep charms, but it’s better if she learns to sleep on her own.” He looked up at the headmaster. “Did Olivander send a report on last night?”

Dumbledore nodded. “Yes, and I sent him our thanks for his quick work in examining Miss Weasley’s wand. If it had not arrived just after sun-up, there would have been some uncomfortable questions to answer.” He handed a piece of parchment over to Kevin. “I think that you will find his comments most enlightening.”

Kevin read over the parchment quickly. “What does he mean, ‘Unusual activity’?”

“From when I was able to talk with him,” Dumbledore answered. “He said that the wand emitted an odd silver smoke that seemed to take form for a moment. He couldn’t tell what the form was becoming, but it was most definitely a person.”

“So you were right, Albus,” Kevin said. “Even though he has their spirits trapped…”

“…a part of them remains to help the fight.”

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

Ginny was sitting in the common room late that night. While everyone else had already gone upstairs to bed, she was still working on an essay for her History of Magic class. It seemed criminal that she should have homework her first day back, but she knew that this was the easy part of the year. She pulled a book out of her bag, opened it up, and started glancing over it. The words seemed to jumble themselves together as she tried to understand what had been written.

Rubbing her eyes, Ginny looked again down at the page. It didn’t help. The words were blurred and impossible to make out. She was concentrating on the book so hard that it escaped her notice when someone else entered the common room. It wasn’t until the cushions beside her moved that she realized that she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Harry,” she said, putting the book down. “What are you doing down here? I thought you had gone up to bed.”

Harry didn’t say a word. He reached over and took her hand in his. Bringing it up to his lips, he gently brushed it with a kiss. Ginny’s cheeks reddened with the gesture of affection. She tried to ask the question again, but was stopped by a sudden pounding in her head. Her vision suddenly started wavering. She could feel herself becoming dizzy. The pain spread from her head to her neck, then to her chest. She couldn’t breathe, or call for help. Harry was right there but didn’t do anything to help her.

Suddenly, Ginny collapsed.

With cold sweat dripping down her face, Ginny was roused back to consciousness. It had been a dream, nothing but a dream.

But it had been so real, she thought. The pain had felt real enough that she actually thought she was being choked. Taking out a handkerchief, she wiped her brow and tried to remember what she had been doing. She was still in the common room, and she did have a History of Magic book open as if she had been reading it. Of course, she thought. She had been working on a History of Magic essay, just like in her dreams.

This frightened her.

The way everything felt so real was because it had been real, to a point. Ginny quickly turned her head around to see if Harry was anywhere in the room. She was alone. Ginny breathed a bit easier. This was real, not a dream.

Ginny decided that it would be best if she went upstairs, though sleep was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment. As she put her books into her bag, she suddenly heard voices from outside the portrait hole. “I’m sorry, but unless you have the password I cannot allow you into the Gryffindor common room.”

Ginny smiled for a moment, thinking Neville had forgotten the password the first day of term. However, it was not Neville’s voice that answered the Fat Lady. “But, please I have to see someone. It’s urgent.”

Ginny ran to the portrait hole and pushed it open. The portrait swung on its hinges with the protests of the Fat Lady ringing from the other side. A tall, blonde haired boy was outside. “Robert,” Ginny said. “What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Sorry to be calling so late, Ginny,” Robert answered. “But I need that book that I loaned you for my Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Professor Hall gave us a really challenging topic.”

“Come inside,” Ginny said. “Keep your voice down though. I don’t want anyone knowing that I let a Hufflepuff into Gryffindor tower.” They walked inside with the muffled squawking of the Fat Lady behind them. “It’s over here.” Ginny reached into her bag and pulled out a thick book with Unforgivables: The Worst of all Curses printed on the cover. “Thanks for loaning it to me.”

“Not at all,” Robert answered. “Why did you want to borrow this anyway?”

Ginny shrugged. “Well, I knew that we would be studying them more in-depth this year, and we’d learn better how to defend against them, so I thought I should brush up on them. Then, I remembered that your dad…”

“Went to Durmstrang,” Robert finished. “And if anyone would have a book on Dark Magic, it would be me.” He smiled a bit. “I’m flattered that you remembered that much about me. Thought you would have put it out of your mind.” He stared at her for a moment, before lifting his hand to brush a strand of hair away from her face.

Ginny blushed for a moment, and then stepped back quickly. “Robert, don’t. You know that I’m seeing…”

“Harry Potter, yes I know,” he said, though he didn’t take his eyes off of her. “Sometimes, I wish that I could go back in time and change some mistakes.” He stared at her for another moment before turning around and exiting through the portrait hole.

Ginny stood still for what seemed like forever, before grabbing her bag and hurrying up to her dormitory.

“As this is your last year at Hogwarts, and I’m sure many other teachers have told you the same thing,” Kevin said, as he addressed his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. “We will be delving into some of the most advanced magic that I can teach you. One thing that I hope we can finish working on is the counter-curse to the Avada Kedavra curse that I started to teach you last year. As I explained, that spell is just a variation on the Patronus Charm that we were starting to work on. Everyone stand up.”

The student rose from their seats as Kevin waved his wand over the classroom. The desks flung themselves towards the walls and piled up, leaving the center of the room clear. “Now, spread out so you have enough room to cast properly.” Everyone did as they were told. “On the count of three, cast your Patronus, One-Two-Three.”

“Expecto Patronum!”

The room was suddenly filled with bright smoke, some taking the forms of animals while others remained as incoherent clouds. Kevin looked over the various forms. “Not bad,” he said. “Some of these are coming along very nicely. There are still some of you who need a bit of work, but we can work with it.” He waved his wand and the smoke dissipated. “Now, one question that I’m sure is on all of your minds is how do I use this to deflect the most powerful curse? Good question. On the count of three, I want each of you to cast a jinx or curse at me.” Each of the students seemed a bit nervous at the thought of cursing their own teacher. “It sounds odd, but I’ll be fine. All right, One-Two-Three.”

The entire class waved their wands and sent a spell flying directly at Kevin.

“Eradico Patronum!”

From the tip of his wand, a giant bird flew into the air. It spread its wings out wide as the spells impacted onto it. Not a single curse made it through the magical emanation. The bird faded away. “Now, that is what I will be teaching you.”

Hermione’s hand shot into the air. “But sir, that could have just been a simple shield charm.”

Kevin’s eyes focused on her. “Quite right, Miss Granger, but have you ever known a shield charm to be strong enough to deflect a large series of curses, like the ones that I just deflected?”

Hermione thought for a moment. “Yes sir, I have. It was the summer before last when your home in America was under attack. You cast a shield charm over the manor that held off the Death Eaters for some time.”

Kevin smiled. “Trying to stump you is like trying to pick up water with a fork, but you are incorrect in that it was I who cast the spell. It was in fact, six wizards holding up that particular spell: myself, Sara, and the four Animagi all had a hand in that.” He started pacing. “But let’s put Miss Granger’s theory to the test. Do you feel that your Patronus is strong enough to deflect an Unforgivable Curse, Hermione?” In her eyes, he could tell that she did not believe so. “We’ll start with something simple. Try and deflect an Impediment jinx with your Patronus.” He raised his wand and she did likewise. “Impedimenta!”

“Eradico Patronum!”

Hermione’s Patronus, an Otter, formed in front of her. It leapt to deflect the spell, but faded as soon as the Impediment jinx touched it. The spell continued to move forward and struck Hermione directly in her chest. She was thrown backwards, falling onto her back. The class quickly gathered around her. Kevin pushed through them. “She’ll be all right. That wasn’t even a fully powered spell.” As he leaned over her body, he waved his wand. “Ennervate!”

Hermione’s eyes flicked open. Kevin placed an arm under her shoulders and helped her to her feet. He waved his wand and the desks were placed back in their original positions. Keeping a firm grip on Hermione, he gently placed her into a seat. “Everyone back to their desks,” he said. The students moved quickly. “Can anyone tell me the point of that exercise?”

Harry raised his hand. “To teach us that this isn’t an ordinary shield spell?”

“Right,” Kevin answered. “Contrary to Hermione’s original statement, this isn’t an ordinary shield charm. It is a variation on the original spell. The Patronus forms a shell that takes the place of the wizard, but when it takes corporeal form it becomes something that can think and move for as long as the wizard needs it. In the case of what happened when I jinxed Hermione, it was simply not able to handle the force of the spell. This is not because she was not able to handle it, but because she has never had to use her Patronus to block spells before.

“No doubt that when we start using the Patronus charms as shields, there will be a few of you who cannot handle the strain of the spell but don’t worry, this will take time. As we go through the year, we will be experimenting with more and more powerful spells. I’ll tell you now that part of your N.E.W.T. exam for this class is to be able to block the most powerful curse that can be cast against you: the Cruciatus Curse.”

The room did not make another noise for the rest of the period. Kevin kept telling them about the importance of training their Patronus forms to take punishment. This was the only way that the spell would become powerful enough to handle the more powerful spells. Kevin told them that he would be holding practice sessions outside of class for the students who were not confident in their own abilities and wanted a bit more help.

When the bell sounded, the class filed out of the room. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked together down the corridor. “He can’t really cast that spell on us, can he?” Ron asked. “It’s illegal to use an Unforgivable Curse.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if either he or Professor Dumbledore got permission from the Ministry of Magic to add that to our exam,” Harry said. “This means that we better know what we are doing.”

“I think it’s good that we’re going to be tested on such a difficult spell,” Hermione interjected. She had fully recovered from the Impediment jinx. “It’s useful and can save our lives in the real world.”

Ron shook his head. “She gets knocked out and told she was wrong in the same class, and still defends the teacher.”

Harry could only smile. In spite of the disturbing news they had just received about his N.E.W.T. exams, his friends could still act as if nothing had happened in the last hour.

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

“And Miss Weasley will be with…Mr. Harmen,” Professor Sprout said.

Ginny looked across the greenhouse and met eyes with Robert. They had just been made partners for the remainder of the term for the various projects and essays that the Sixth Year Herbology class. He winked, causing Ginny to turn her head quickly before he noticed her blushing cheeks. Professor sprout continued speaking. “Now, the first thing that I want each partnership to do is complete an essay detailing the proper way to make a plant hybrid, using the list of plants that I have specified in your text. I expect the work to done equally and if I find that one partner is not holding up their end of the work, then I will fail them.”

Ginny rested her chin in her hands. She knew that Robert preferred working in the late evenings, and she would have like to spend that time with Harry. She chanced a look in Robert’s direction and found that he was still staring at her.

The bell finally sounded. Ginny grabbed her things quickly, but it was not fast enough. “Hi, Ginny,” Robert said. His bag was already over his shoulder and he was standing next to her. Ginny chanced a guess that he had started putting his things together before the bell sounded, so as to get to her before she had a chance to leave.

“Hi, Robert,” she said back. She didn’t want to be rude. “Well, I guess it’s you and me again.” That was not the phrase she had wanted to use, but it was the only thing she could think of. “I mean…you and me…together…for the term…” She rambled for another few seconds.

Robert cut her off. “I know what you mean. So, when do you want to get together and start on the essay?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, not looking at him directly. She busied herself in her bag while she spoke. “I’m not sure when Quidditch practice will start, and I’ve got a lot of other work in other classes, so I’m not sure when…” She looked up and came eye to eye with him. For a moment, she couldn’t speak. They just stared at each other, and then, “I’ll have to let you know.”

She grabbed her bag and hurried out of the greenhouse.

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

Dumbledore raced down the halls of the Ministry of Magic with Kevin close at his heels. Both men looked frantic to those that they passed. They did not stop to exchange words with anyone; their faces told people that this was not the time for words.

Soon, they came to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Arthur Weasley was waiting for them in the front office. He seemed to have aged a good ten years since they had last met. He turned to the two teachers as they approached. “Thank you both for coming so quickly.”

“You said you had some information,” Dumbledore said. “Something to explain all these attacks and riots.”

Arthur shook his head. “I’m not sure if you could call it information, but one of the rioters came out of his coma and has some interesting stories to tell.”

“Who?” Kevin asked.

“Kingsley Shacklebolt.”

Shacklebolt, a loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix, had been involved in the London riots that had injured a number of Muggles. He had been quickly subdued, but due to injuries sustained before his capture he had been unconscious for the past few weeks. It troubled a few of the Healers at St. Mungo’s that he could not be revived. Some speculated that he had been hit with a powerful curse, while others believed he had done this to himself to avoid punishment for his actions.

Whatever the reasons, Kingsley was now awake and would have to answer some questions. Arthur led the other men to a back room. It was small, only enough space for a small table, which had been clearly designed for two to sit at. Kingsley was sitting on one side with his hands bound and his head cast downward. Dumbledore sat opposite him, while Kevin moved behind Shacklebolt and Arthur stood behind the headmaster.

Dumbledore folded his hands on the tabletop. “Kingsley, can you hear me?” Kingsley’s head did not move. “It’s Albus. I’ve come to see if I can help you.”

The other man lifted his eyes slightly. There was fear evident in them. “No one can help me now,” he said. “He’s been inside my head. I felt his anger, his hatred. I could feel him guiding my movements.”

“Who, Kingsley?” Dumbledore asked. “Who are you talking about?”

Kingsley’s head lifted even more and his eyes locked with Dumbledore. His lips curved upwards into a sinister smile. “My new master, Lord Voldemort.” He suddenly leapt from his chair and lunged at Dumbledore.

Kevin quickly grabbed the crazed man by his shoulders and forced him down onto the table. Kingsley’s hands were still bound together, but he managed to struggle free of Kevin’s grip. Arthur quickly pulled out his wand and cast a stunning spell against Kingsley. The man collapsed to the floor.

The others vacated the room as Ministry Aurors moved in to take Kingsley to a cell. He would most likely be taken to Azkaban sooner or later. Arthur led Kevin and Dumbledore down the hallway to an office. They locked the door behind them. “I never would have thought that Kingsley Shacklebolt of all people would betray us. If I hadn’t heard it from his own mouth…”

Kevin folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “Albus, what did you sense from him when you looked into his eyes?”

Dumbledore took a seat in an armchair that he conjured. “I could not read that he was lying, but nor was he telling the truth. He seemed to be of two minds.”

“Could he be under the Imperius Curse?” Arthur asked.

Kevin shrugged. “It’s possible, but he wasn’t exhibiting the usual signs that that spell leaves on a person. A person is usually blank, showing no real emotion at all. If what Albus says is true and he was of two minds, than his real one should have broken through. The goal of the Imperius Curse is to suppress your original will. If there is any hint of a person’s mind still left, then it can usually break through.”

“So, what does this mean? Could Voldemort be using another method of control?”

Kevin shook his head. “Not a chance. He would have no way of doing anything without his powers. He’s stripped of his magical abilities for at least another eight months.”

Dumbledore raised his eyes. “Perhaps one of his followers? Perhaps one of his sons?”

“Possible,” Kevin said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if those four were fighting amongst themselves right now. Those four right now are the most powerful Death Eaters, and they would like nothing more then to take over the whole operation. For a while now, those four will be at odds with one another so I’m not sure if they’d have the brains to pull off something like this.” He started pacing. “I don’t know. Something about all of this doesn’t seem right. Kingsley has no reason to go over to the other side. If he isn’t under the Imperius Curse, then something else has to be affecting him. Whatever it is, it’s something that we have not seen before.”
“An experimental curse?” Dumbledore asked.

“Again, possible,” Kevin answered. “This doesn’t make any sense. All of these riots started by people that are law-abiding citizens and have been all of their lives. It’s strange.”

Dumbledore looked over at the Mr. Weasley. “Arthur, have any of the other rioters exhibited similar symptoms as Kingsley?”

Arthur shrugged. “I haven’t spoken with any of the others that we have in custody. I can have the files pulled for you.”

Dumbledore stood. “Thank you. Please have them sent to Hogwarts. Kevin and I must be getting back before we are missed.”

As the two teachers started to leave the office, Arthur stopped them. “Wait a moment.” The others turned to him. “Have you noticed anything else wrong with Ginny?”

Kevin shook his head. “She hasn’t shown any other signs that something is bothering her. We’ve been keeping an eye on her, but she seems to be all right. If anything happens we will let you and Molly know about it.”

Arthur shook both of their hands. “Thank you.”

Author's Note: I want to say that i am very sorry to all of my loyal readers that i have not updated in so long. I am entering my final year of college and it is taking its toll on me and my time. Also, some personal issues have worked their way into my life and that has hindered my writing. I really want to finish this story for all of you out there and i hope that i have not lost any loyal readers. More will come. I promise.

Quidditch practice began for the Gryffindor team. Harry reformed his main team and had brought a reserve team to the practice. He decided that, instead of a normal practice, that a mock game would be more beneficial to establish strategy. The reserves flew remarkably well, especially for not having much actual playing time. It was clear that the team would be in good hands after this year.

Harry was also looking for a replacement captain to suggest to Professor McGonagall for next year’s team. Whoever was made captain next year was going to have a time picking players to replace him, Ron, Seamus and Dean after each of them left the school. Ginny would be the most likely candidate. Harry had made it a silent effort to include her in practice planning strategies and to give her pointers in becoming a good captain. She would have his full support, though the final decision would be up to Professor McGonagall.

The practice went well for everyone involved. Harry had made mental notes on some things to be worked on. The Chasers needed some new offensive flying techniques if they were going to get around the other teams and score points. This would be just another opportunity for him to train her up a bit more to be captain. It also allowed him a few moments alone with her.

The couple had stolen every free moment to be with one another. Harry had wanted to be with her, not just to be with her, but to make sure she was staying healthy. There had been a few days when she didn’t seem to be eating well, and she looked restless. There were days when she skipped meals to catch a bit extra sleep. Ginny insisted that she was fine, but Harry had his doubts.

When they were together, it seemed as if she was being overly affectionate towards him. Harry did not mind in the slightest the times when she ran her hand through his hair, or held a kiss a bit longer then he could but he wondered where these new feeling had come from. Every time he asked her, she just said that she loved him and wanted to show it.

Practice ended after a few hours. As the team was changing out of their robes, Harry noticed Ginny fumbling with a piece of parchment. She was engulfed in what was written on it, that she didn’t notice Harry walk up right behind her. “Something interesting?” he said.

Ginny nearly leapt out of her shoes. She stuffed the parchment into her pocket. “What are you doing? Don’t read my private notes.”

Harry backed away from her and held up his hands in defense. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

Ginny’s eyes softened. She shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I’m sorry.” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I just got scared for a minute. I thought you might be Ron trying to pry into my life again.” Ron, who was in earshot, narrowed his eyes at his sister.
Harry returned the embrace. He rubbed her back, gently in between her shoulder blades. “Gin, are you okay?”

She lifted her head to look at him. “I’m fine. I just have had a lot on my mind the past week. Herbology and my…” She shut her mouth quickly before she mentioned Robert. He was one of the things on her mind, and she didn’t want Harry to know about him.

For the past three nights, Harry had wanted them to spend some time together in some of the more secluded parts of the castle, but each time she had had to brush him off to meet Robert in the library. She didn’t want to tell him what she was doing because he might ask some uncomfortable questions that she didn’t want to answer. Whether he knew about the past between Robert and Ginny, either by Ron or some other source, she would have rather not call attention to it.

She pulled away from him. “Listen, sorry to have to do this but I need to go to the library for a bit.”

“Can I come with you?”

“No,” she said, a bit too quickly and sharply. Harry looked hurt. “No, that’s not what I meant,” Ginny tried to explain. “It’s just…I won’t be able to get any work done if you’re with me.” She slipped a hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a kiss. Though he leaned into her, Ginny could feel tension between them. It hurt her not to be able to tell Harry what was going on with her, but something in her heart told her that she had to keep this to herself.

She pulled back, smiled at Harry and left through the portrait hole. Moving quickly through the corridors, Ginny soon found herself at the entrance to the library. She hesitated a moment before entering. The note from Robert had said to come as soon as possible, but did not specify why. She found the Hufflepuff boy sitting at a table near a window. It was a secluded area, much the same as all of the meeting places that he had chosen. He had a number of books spread out in front of him, which told Ginny that he was focused on work tonight.

Ginny sat down beside him. His eyes gently roamed over her body from head to waist, before he turned back to the books in front of him.

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

An announcement proclaiming the first Defense Against the Dark Arts practice session was pinned to the Gryffindor message board the next morning. For Harry, though, such sessions would be a bit more difficult.

“You want me to help you teach?”

Kevin waved his wand a pile of stones and levitated them to the far end of the courtyard. “You have experience in this sort of thing, and you are the only student to have extensive practice in the Patronus Charm. You probably have the best chance of anyone here to block the more powerful curses. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to impress some of the visiting Aurors.”

At the mention of Aurors, Harry stood open mouthed on the spot. “Aurors are going to be here?”

“Well, they are still patrolling the castle,” Kevin said. “And they have to make sure things are on the up and up when handling spells and curses this powerful. Ministry still has their suspicions about me.” He set a pile of rocks along a low stone wall. “Even after everything I’ve done, some of them still don’t trust me.”

Harry still was in awe. It was true that his ambition in life was to become an Auror, but it had never occurred to him that he would show his skill to actual Aurors so early in his life; probably in the next year or two, but not as early as next week. Still, the prospect intrigued him. “All right, I’ll do it,” he said.

“Good,” Kevin replied with a nod. “You’ll be working with Professor Snape and the younger students.” He saw Harry’s face turn from an expression of excitement to one of horror. “You didn’t think you would be teaching those in your year, did you?”

Harry wasn’t sure what to say. “Well, I have taught some in my year…and older.”

Kevin nodded. “Yes, Dumbledore told me about the DA club you formed in your fifth year, which is why I want your help. However, I’d feel better if you taught the younger students and helped them learn these spells faster. Now, you do have to work along side Professor Snape, but he knows better then to make trouble for you while I’m around.” He flicked his wand one more time and the courtyard was cleared of all stones. “If you want to help, come by my office tomorrow evening and I’ll give you all the information you need.”

As the professor walked out of the courtyard, Harry could only feel his heart lower in his chest. It was another evening away from Ginny. He hadn’t had anything special planned, just the two of them together in the common room. Still, he wanted to impress the Aurors, and what better way then to prove to them that he could do some of the more complex spells.

It was a difficult choice that Harry was faced with. He couldn’t understand why he was feeling like such a prat for every day that he wasn’t with Ginny. He knew that they both had responsibilities and that they would have all the time in the world together after they left school.

But something was troubling him. Ever since she had started acting oddly, Harry had wanted to keep a watch on her. Actually, he wanted her to tell him what was wrong, but she wouldn’t say anything. Harry felt a small pang of guilt now that he knew what being kept in the dark was like. He had done it for so long to so many people that it only felt right he now knew what they were feeling.

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

Her airway became constricted. All breath was leaving her, and she couldn’t take in any more. She could feel a pair of hands on her throat, squeezing it crushing her windpipe.

Ginny’s eyes started to focus again and she tried to look at the person attacking her. She couldn’t see anything definite, except a mane of dark hair. It was Harry, with his arms outstretched. His hands were placed on something…in front of her. He was trying to stop whoever was hurting her, but it wasn’t enough. The attacker was too strong. Her focus started to waver again until…

Ginny bolted out of her sleep to find that she was still in the library. Her textbooks were strewn across the table along with a few pieces of parchment and a quill or two. She looked around and found that she wasn’t alone. Robert was still seated at the same table. Though his head was bent over and open book, Ginny could have sworn that he noticed his head turned towards her before she looked at him. “How long have I been asleep?” she asked.

Robert raised his head, looking as if he had just noticed she was there. “Oh, about an hour.”

Ginny’s eyes widened. “Why did you let me sleep that long?”

He shrugged. “Thought you could use it. You did seem a bit tired when you showed up. I guessed that Quidditch practice drained your energy and you could use some rest.”

Ginny brushed some hair out of her face. “Well, maybe I could, but I should go back to Gryffindor tower to get it.” She got to her feet and started walking out of the library.

“Wait,” Robert said. “When can I see you…when can we get together again to work on this?”

Ginny halted her steps, but didn’t turn around. “I don’t know. Maybe in a couple of days.” She quickly left before he could say another word. She had to mentally remind herself every few seconds not to run back to Gryffindor tower. It would look suspicious and she was in no mood to answer any questions. As she got to the portrait hole, she stopped. The thought that Harry could be waiting inside for her suddenly leapt into her mind.

Though she wanted to see him, now was not the best of times. Of course, if she stayed in the corridor much longer, another Gryffindor would come by and ask why she was still waiting outside. Taking a chance, she gave the password to the Fat Lady and entered the common room. It did have some people sitting near the fire or by the window, but Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Ginny quickly ran up the girl’s staircase to her dormitory. Once inside, and making sure that there was no one else around, she flung herself to her bed and released the tears that she had been holding back. It was a feeling of guilt and fear that poured from her eyes. Guilt that she allowed herself to regress to that little girl of twelve that had been so taken with a dashing blonde boy, while harboring a secret love for a dark-haired mystery of a person. Now that she had her dream boy, she had thought that all others would fall short…

…except that this one never had.

She was afraid what would happen if anyone ever found out. She had been so secretive to not let anyone know about these feelings, but they were there nonetheless. She had felt nothing but guilt in her heart as she thought she was betraying the one she had given her heart to…

…and fear at what would happen if he ever found out.

I dedicate this story, and all those that came before it and after it, to the athletes in the world of Professional Wrestling that have lost their lives to their passion. We remember your heart and your desire, and we remember your love for those you entertained.

To Owen Hart...to Chris Candido...to Michael Lockhard...to Eddie Guerrero...and to all that have fallen...

Your fans love you and miss you. Via Con Dios.

Morning came far too soon for Ginny. She had tossed in her bed for most of the night, not wanting to sleep for fear of her nightmares haunting her once again. She also couldn’t stop thinking about last night and the feelings she was having towards someone that she thought she had put out of her life four years ago.

Ginny rolled onto her side, her mind regressing into the past…

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

The start of her second year at Hogwarts had just begun. Her classes were not that difficult, and she was sure that she would be able to pick up on the rest if given enough time. Despite all of that, Ginny Weasley had a bit of uneasiness as she walked along the corridors of the school. After the events at the end of last year, she couldn’t help but feel as though all eyes seemed to bore into the back of her skull when she wasn’t looking, and then turning away quickly.

Though there had been no “official” announcement of the events in the Chamber of Secrets, the rumors flew faster around Hogwarts then a Golden Snitch. Her name had been whispered more then a few times. Ginny walked quickly without stopping to meet anyone’s eye. No one would understand what had happened to her. How could they?

Her parents had tried to talk with her after the incident, but all they could do was make her feel weak and helpless about the whole deal. Oh Ginny dear, there is no need to feel bad about this. Stronger wizards then you have been put under those spells. No matter what her mother and father said it never made a difference.

The only person that she could possibly talk with was Harry. She knew, though, that that was impossible. Ginny could never put two words together when he was around. She was always stumbling over herself to seem calm and composed. Besides, he wouldn’t know anything more about her condition then anyone else. After all, a dark wizard had never possessed him. He wouldn’t be any more help then her own parents.

But then…when everything seemed as though it was against her, someone walked into her life that seemed to make things better. A tall, blonde haired boy had come up to her one day and introduced himself. Robert was his name, and it was a name that she would never forget. He was kind and his voice made Ginny feel safe. She wasn’t afraid to talk about the Chamber or Riddle’s diary with him. Something in his eyes seemed to radiate peace around her.

Ginny never told her brothers about Robert. She knew they would just tease her. It was a bit of an adventure for her, sneaking around with her secret boyfriend. Even with Sirius Black at large and the Dementors roaming the castle grounds, when Robert was around nothing else mattered.

If she had wanted, those feelings could have lasted forever. Robert had never given her a reason to want to leave him, and she had never made up a reason. No, the reason she left him was already there. It always had been.

Harry Potter.

Ginny could not get the dark-haired boy out of her thoughts. He was always there and nothing she could do could get him out. Eventually, Ginny told Robert that she couldn’t see him anymore. He wasn’t angry, jealous or hateful. He simply smiled. Robert had always just wanted her to be happy. He had never asked anything else except that she be happy.

Ginny remembered him bending down to kiss her hand…and then walk away.

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

That was what infuriated Ginny most about Robert. He could be charming even when he was being dumped.

Ginny had never forgotten her time with him, but she also never forgot that she had feelings for another. Harry had made her happier then she had been, except for the time she had been with Robert. She placed her hands over her eyes. It was all so confusing to her. She didn’t love Robert the way she loved Harry, but something was there; something that she couldn’t explain, and therefore couldn’t fight against.

She threw the covers off of her and got to her feet. Something about this day didn’t seem right to her. Ginny dragged off her nightdress and changed into a set of clean robes. As it was Saturday, there was no physical reason for her to leave her room. However, sooner or later someone would want to know why she was keeping herself upstairs. Ginny trudged down the steps towards the common room.

There were a number of Gryffindors still in the tower, but Harry was not among them. She spotted Hermione sitting near the fire, Crookshanks in her lap and a book in her hands. Ginny started walking towards the portrait hole, but Hermione’s voice stopped her. “Ginny, wait.” Ginny stopped in her tracks. She shut her eyes for a minute, then opened them and turned to her friend. “Harry wanted to talk to you, but he ran out of here in a hurry about ten minutes ago.”

Ginny tried to hide her disappointed expression. Harry was not someone she wanted to speak to right now. “Thanks, Hermione,” she said without turning. “I’ll go and find him.” She left the common room.

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

“But professor,” Harry said, his hands flat on Dumbledore’s desk. “I know I saw some kind of smoky figure come out of my wand.”
Dumbledore turned Harry’s wand over in his hands. Gazing at it through his half-moon spectacles, he examined it. “Harry, I have no doubt that you are sure of what you saw. However, we must wait for someone who has specialty in this matter.”

The door to Dumbledore’s office opened. Harry turned to the occupant who had just entered, and his heart fell. He had expected Kevin to be on the other side of the door, but it was Snape instead. The dark-haired professor nodded to Dumbledore as he entered and gave Harry a snide smirk. “You summoned me, Headmaster?” he said.

Dumbledore passed Harry’s wand to Snape. “It seems as though some peculiar activity has been occurring with Mr. Potter’s wand as of late, Professor Snape. I was hoping you could give us some answers.”

Snape looked over the wand. “What sort of “peculiar activity” are you referring to?”

Dumbledore nodded to Harry, indicating that he should explain. Harry took a deep breath. “Well, for a bit, my wand has been letting off some strange silver smoke, but today I could have sworn that it looked like a person.”

Snape did not look at Harry. “Anyone you might know?”

“No,” Harry said. “Should I have?”

“Do not get cheek with me, Potter,” Snape said. “I am still a teacher, even if you are not in any of my classes.”

“Now, now,” Dumbledore interjected. “Harry, Professor Snape must still be shown the respect that you would give me.” He turned to Snape. “And you, Severus, should keep your temper. Now, can you tell us anything about Harry’s wand?”

Snape looked over the wand once more. “I’m afraid, Headmaster, that something of this nature is quite uncommon. In fact, the only instance that I can recall happened around two and a half years ago, when the Dark Lord returned.”

Harry was stunned for a moment. He remembered that night in the graveyard at the end of his fourth year. Voldemort had been resurrected and had challenged Harry to a duel to the death. The two had locked wands and the spirits of Voldemort’s victims had materialized from his wand. But that would mean…

“However,” Snape continued. “Unless Mr. Potter has been using an illegal curse without anyone knowing, I would find it difficult that such an occurrence could repeat itself.” He handed the wand to Harry.

Dumbledore nodded. “I see. Then we have a mystery on our hands. Perhaps when Professor Hall returns, we can have a second opinion on this matter. Until then, Harry, I suggest that you keep a close eye on your wand and report any other odd behavior to Professor Snape.” Harry left the office.

Snape stood in front of the desk for a moment. Dumbledore glanced over at him. “Something on your mind, Severus?”

“Well, professor,” he started to say. “I have the distinct impression that you are keeping something from both me and Potter. I realize that it is not my place to question you, but I would hope that you would have some trust in me after all of these years.”

Dumbledore merely smiled. “Severus, as I have told many people time and time again, you have my full confidence. However, at this moment, there are some things that must be kept secret. I assure you that I will not keep anything from you unless absolutely necessary. I hope that this will satisfy you for now.”

Snape nodded his head, but it was clear from his expression that he was not satisfied.

The afternoon sun shone light down upon the Hogwarts grounds. Ginny walked quickly along them. She didn’t care where she went, only that she was going. Other students were dispersed throughout the grassy area, small groups of differing years huddled together in conversation with one another. Ginny walked past them all and headed down towards the lake. Finding a shaded area below a tree, she sat down and put her face into her hands.

So much was happening to her so fast that it was becoming overwhelming. She tried to remember the dreams she had been having in the hopes that she could make some sense of them. Try as she might, though, nothing was coming to her. It was all such a blur in her mind. Ginny had worked so hard to forget these awful visions, and now it was working against her.

Ginny was so lost in her own thoughts that she did not hear someone walking along the grass towards her. She didn’t see a tall shadow glaze over her.

“Ginny, are you all right?”

Ginny’s head shot up and she saw Harry standing beside her. Her vision was a bit blurred as her eyes were filled with tears that she didn’t even know she had cried. She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her robes. “Harry…umm, yes I’m fine. I just wanted some fresh air.”

Harry knelt down. “Ginny, you’ve been crying. What’s the matter?”

Ginny wanted to shake her head and tell him that nothing was wrong. She wanted to just get up and walk away, but her legs seemed to fail her. All she could do was lean into Harry and cry. He wrapped his arms around her, not quite sure what to do at the moment. Harry drew her body in close to his, so that she was practically sitting in his lap. “Ginny,” he whispered. “Please, talk to me.”

She cried into his chest for another few moments. “Harry, I’m scared.”

He gently stroked her hair. “Scared of what?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Something keeps coming to me in my dreams…and it keeps…” She couldn’t finish her sentence. Harry’s arms tightened around her torso. She felt warm and safe in his embrace, something that she had not felt in some time. Her arms wrapped themselves around Harry’s waist. “I’m just so scared.”

Harry was beginning to understand why Ginny had been so restless these past weeks. “Ginny, are these dreams or something more real?”

Ginny shook her head. “I can’t tell anymore.”

Harry kissed the top of her head. He knew all too well about dreams that seemed real. If Ginny was having a similar experience, then he knew that he needed to be here for her now more then ever. “Ginny, have you told anyone about these dreams?” She shook her head. “Do you think that you should?” There was no response. “Ginny, I know how it feels to have these kinds of dreams, and I also know that you can’t keep them bottled up inside of you. I’m glad that you told me, but you need to speak with someone else about this. Professor Dumbledore is always a good person to speak with.”

Ginny looked up at him. Apprehension was deep in her eyes. It had taken all the courage she possessed to tell Harry about the dreams. If she had to speak to someone else about it…she wasn’t sure she could do it. “Harry, I want to know what’s going on, but I’m not sure anyone else would believe me. These dreams are so ridiculous that they might just say I need to lay off the treacle pudding at dinner. I…”

Harry placed a finger to her lips. “All right. I know how you feel. I didn’t like telling people about my dreams. We’ll keep this quiet for now, but if they keep happening I want you to tell me and we will go see Professor Dumbledore together. Promise?” Ginny nodded.

They both got to their feet. Harry took Ginny’s hand and started to lead her back up to the castle, but she stood still. Harry looked back at her. “Something wrong?”

Ginny looked like she wanted to cry again. “Harry, if there were something in my past that I never told you, would you be angry with me?”

Harry turned to her. “What?”

Her lip started to quiver. “If there were something in my past that I never told you about, would you be angry with me? Would you still love me?”

Harry placed a hand under her chin to stop her shaking lip. “Ginny, I love you more then I have ever loved anyone in my life. No matter what you have to tell me, I will not be angry with you.”

Ginny leaned in and embraced him. Harry closed his arms around her once again. He held her close to him and kissed the top of her head again. As he held her though, a feeling of hatred rose to his eyes.

She’s keeping something from me. I don’t like when people keep things from me.

As quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

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

Kevin sloshed through a mound of parchment. Reports from the Ministry of Magic about the individuals that had pledged allegiance to Voldemort had come in a few days ago. Kevin was eager to look through them, but it was a daunting task for one man. He wasn’t alone though. “Filius, I can’t thank you enough for helping me look over all these reports.”

Professor Flitwick was looking over some pieces of parchment. “Think nothing of it my boy,” he said. “I am as anxious as you to resolve this mystery.”

Kevin picked up a folder and looked inside. “Have you seen any reports about the prisoners from about two weeks after they were caught?” Flitwick hopped off the stool he was sitting on and walked over to another stack of parchment. He grabbed two sheets and handed them to Kevin. “These say they recanted their confessions after a while. How come no one said anything about this?” He was talking more to himself then to Flitwick.

Flitwick looked at another folder. “But each person did say that they acted under the orders of You-Know-Who. The Ministry seems more inclined to believe their first story.”

Kevin sat at his desk. “It could mean that they were under some form of coercion that we don’t know about. Are there any charms other then the Imperius Curse that could make someone act against their will?”

The Charms Professor thought for a moment. “None that could act on this scale. There are more then fifty wizards and witches that have said they acted under his orders. Only the Imperius Curse could affect that many people.”

Kevin rubbed his hand over his eyes. They had been looking over the files since early morning. Fatigue was starting to set in. He would have kept his eyes closed, except that a high-pitched squeal pierced the silence. Kevin jumped to his feet and ran over to a cabinet. He reached inside and pulled out a large cylindrical crystal. Inside it was a bright red gas. The crystal was vibrating, causing the high-pitched squeal. Kevin passed his wand over it and it quieted down.

Professor Flitwick took his hands from his ears. “What is that?”

Kevin looked over the crystal. “Something new from the Magical Law Enforcement department. It’s an interesting little thing. They tell me that it can detect malicious intent in a certain area around it.” He handed it to the Flitwick. “I think that it just likes to make noise.” He stuffed it back into the cabinet. “It tells me it’s there but it doesn’t say where it is.”

“Would you let me take a look at it?” Professor Flitwick asked. “Perhaps I can make some improvements on it. I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with magical objects.” Kevin grabbed the crystal and tossed it to him. “Thank you. If you no longer need me here, I would like to look it over right away.”

Kevin nodded and Professor Flitwick left the room quickly, eager to begin his work. He left in such a hurry that he nearly ran right into the Animagus, Chris. Flitwick darted around his legs and scurried down the hall. Chris chuckled a bit. “Like a dog with a bone. I see you let him have that “dark-emotion” crystal of yours.”

Kevin walked over and hugged his friend. “If he can make it work, more power to him.” He stepped back. “I’m glad you stopped by. Filius and I may have found some information that the Ministry Council will want to know about. I don’t know how long I will be gone, so I was hoping that you could teach my Defense Against the Dark Arts class while I’m there. Stacy already agreed to cover Potions for me.”

Chris nodded. “Sure, I’ll be glad to do that. When do you leave?”

“As soon as I can.”

“Then I take it that I’ll be covering your Dark Arts refresher courses as well,” Chris said. “Unless you want Severus to handle it by himself.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, I don’t think I’ll subject the students to that torture. If you can handle that too, I’d appreciate it. I’ve asked some of the students to lend a hand. Just make sure no one tries anything too advanced. I want this new program to go through. The last thing any of us needs is some accident to destroy this whole thing.”

Chris nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your students alive for you.”

They clasped hands.

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

Nighttime at Hogwarts was tight as far as security went. Students who normally decided to test the rules by roaming the halls had learned that such activity was futile. The ghosts of Hogwarts had been drafted into wandering the corridors and alerting any Auror or teacher that an intruder was present. Dumbledore had placed charms and spells along the grounds and at every entrance that would stop anyone trying to get into the castle.

Despite all of that, one person managed to slip past all of that.

A hooded figure walked silently through the stone corridors. His foot falls barely audible in the silent halls. He used no light, but was somehow able to walk unhindered. His long cloak was wrapped tightly around his body. He wanted to take no chances that he might be seen.

Soon, he found himself at his destination. A large wooden door was before him, a door he had only seen briefly but knew well. He reached out his hand and gently pushed it open. The hinges squeaked a small bit, but no one was nearby to hear them. He walked into the room and pulled out a small slip of parchment from his robes. Gently setting it on a desk, he turned to leave, but found that the door had closed behind him. Fear began to grip him as he realized that he had been caught.

A low growl came from the darkness. He drew a wand from inside his robes and readied it to strike. He was too late as he heard four distinct voices say, “Lumos.” Four streams of light shone around him, momentarily blinding his vision. He raised his arms to shield his eyes. “Who are you?” he asked.

The lights dimmed a bit. “Now surely you know us,” one of the voices said. The hooded figure was able to see who was holding the lights. The four Animagi stood around him, each holding their wand at chest level. The earlier speaker turned out to be Shawn, who was standing right in front of him. “Now, perhaps you can tell us why you are in our friend’s office.”

“I have news to deliver, and Kevin was the best person to deliver it to,” the figure said. His hand, which still held his wand, flicked slightly.

“Expelliarmus!”

Lita cast a disarming spell, which made the wand fly into the air. Stacy reached out her hand and caught it. Shawn gently shook his head. “Bad idea to try any magic with us around. Four against one aren’t good odds.”

“But I have come here as a friend.”

“And you are a servant of Voldemort,” Chris responded. “Despite the information you’ve managed to provide us with, you still serve him.”

“If I openly renounced the Dark Lord, he would have me killed and then you would have no informant.”

“Why did you come here?” Stacy asked. “All of your other messages have come by owl.”

“Because I knew that this news might require a face-to-face conversation. You may not believe it otherwise.”

Shawn nodded at Chris. “Grab the note and read it.” Chris took the parchment from Kevin’s desk. He unfolded it, and his face turned to shock. Shawn took the note and read it himself. “Durmstrang,” he said. “Why there?”

“You know what he wanted the students of Hogwarts for months ago.” The Animagi nodded. “Well, he believes that the students of Durmstrang will be a bit more open to his offer. Though, force may be necessary.”

The Animagi looked from one to the other. This was disturbing news and the Ministry would have to be alerted as soon as possible. “You’re lucky that we did find you. Kevin is gone for now, and there is no telling when he’ll be back. No one else has a reason to be in here, so it could have been a week before we found this note. Next time, use a method that is foolproof.” The Animagi lowered their wands.

Stacy held out the hooded figure’s wand, which he took. “So, I am free to go, then?”

Shawn raised his wand again. “For now, but if this turns out to be a trap, or we ever find out you are trying to mislead us, we will not hesitate to find you deal with you ourselves.”

“Or we can do something really cruel and blow the whistle on you to Voldemort,” Lita said. “I’m sure he can’t be too happy that you’ve been doing this for almost six months. So, you’d better be on your best behavior.”

The figure strode from the office into the darkened hallway. He quickly made his way out of the castle and Apparated off the grounds.

Lessons the following week had an ominous feeling to them. Teachers seemed on edge and irritable, which put students off as well. Minor scuffles had broken out amongst students, but were put down quickly. Kevin’s departure from Hogwarts was soon noticed by his students when they arrived for class and found Stacy teaching Potions and Chris teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. It started a host of rumors that eventually formed into a story about him defecting to Voldemort’s side. Harry was quick to put down any of those stories that he heard before they got out of hand. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were also quick to defend him. They did not want a repeat of what had happened last year when a story broke in the Daily Prophet about Kevin being a loyal Death Eater.

Halloween was now upon the students and Harry was also concerned with keeping an eye on Ginny. After she had told him about her dreams, he became afraid for her. Dreams had a way of coming true in the wizard world and Harry could testify to that. She hadn’t been clear what the dreams were, but Harry was sure they seemed real enough to Ginny. They got to the point that they made Ginny afraid to be around Harry.

He couldn’t help remembering the feeling of anger back at the lake when he felt Ginny was keeping something from him. It frightened Harry that he had felt this way when he held her, but more so that he felt that way towards her. Harry had felt hate before. He had first felt it when he thought that Sirius had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. He had been willing to go so far as to kill Sirius himself. The next time he had felt it was in his fifth year, when Voldemort had been trying to possess his mind and find out any information he could on the prophecy. Every time that Harry had met eyes with Professor Dumbledore, he felt intense anger and loathing.

Harry, who had been lying in bed at the time, bolted upright. This was almost exactly the same as when his mind was being invaded by Voldemort. The anger and hatred he had felt at the lake was the same as in his fifth year. Harry quickly got out of bed and changed. He had to speak with someone about this…but he stopped. Kevin had not yet returned from wherever he had gone, and he didn’t know Chris that well to go and speak to him about this. Snape was out of the question.

Of course, there was always Professor Dumbledore.

Harry had gone to the headmaster on more then one occasion about something like this. He could surely go to him again. Harry left Gryffindor tower as the other students were starting to wake up and made his way down the stairs. As he walked through the corridors, he thought about what he would say to Dumbledore when he got there. The first thing he would say was that he thought Voldemort was trying to possess him again…and that made him stop.

It suddenly dawned on Harry that this was impossible. The spell that Kevin had used on him months ago had stripped the Dark Lord of his powers. There was no possible way that Voldemort could have gotten his powers back so soon. Though Harry did recall that Kevin had said the spell might not work for the full year, but so soon? Harry knew that Dumbledore would not dismiss his thoughts right out as some other teachers might have, but it would raise a few interesting questions.

He quickened his pace, eager to get this over with. Just as he turned a corner, he thought he saw a flash of red from the end of the corridor. Harry stopped for a moment. Surely Ginny wasn’t awake this early, unless she had been having nightmares again. He had said that she should speak with Dumbledore as well, and he did not like the idea of telling the headmaster about his anger towards her while she was in the same room. He ran down the hall in the hopes that he could catch her and stop her, but as he turned the corner he saw only stone floors and paintings hanging on the wall.

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

Ginny walked up a secret staircase that no student had walked for some time. She stopped at a large wooden door. Apprehension struck her, but she knew she had to go through this door. She reached out a hand and knocked. A voice from within said, “Come in.”

The door swung open and Ginny walked into a large sitting area that reminded Ginny a bit of the Gryffindor common room. A large stone fireplace was on the opposite wall with a fire roaring inside of it. Plush armchairs and an extravagant sofa were sitting in front of it, where almost six people could have sat comfortably. Off to the side was a wooden desk with parchment spilling off the sides. No doubt that both Kevin and Sara shared this desk to do their work and grade student’s essays.

Sara was sitting behind the desk now, her head leaning over a copy of the Daily Prophet. She looked up at Ginny, smiling. “Good morning, Ginny.”

Ginny walked over to her. “Good morning,” she said. “I hope that this isn’t too early to speak with you, but I wanted to make sure no one could overhear.”

Sara dismissed Ginny’s concerns. “Not too early at all. With Kevin away, I have to be up this early to take care of this one.” She waved her hand to indicate the bassinet that rested beside the desk. Lilian was lying inside, gently kicking with her small arms and legs and cooing softly. Sara reached inside and scooped her daughter into her arms. “Let’s sit down to talk while I feed Lily.”

The two women took seats beside one another on the sofa. Sara, who was still in her nightgown, pushed aside part of the fabric to let Lilian nurse from her breast. Ginny watched with minor wonder at the small infant. “So, you’re calling her ‘Lily’ now?”

Sara gently adjusted the baby. “Just a nickname, thought it would be a small tribute Lily Potter. Something to remember them for what they did for Kevin and me. We discussed that if we ever had a boy that we would name him James, but thought that honor should go to Harry if he has a son.”

The mention of Harry silenced Ginny for a moment. She had seen him only briefly in the corridor before she entered the secret stairway to the Hall’s room. It had seemed that he had seen her as well and was trying to catch her. It hurt her a bit that she still had a secret from him, but that was the reason that she was here with Sara.

“I’ve been wrestling with a problem for some time now,” Ginny said. “I’ve tried to work this out myself, but I can’t seem to come up with any solution that makes sense.”

Sara nodded. “And what would this problem be?”

Ginny shifted on the sofa. She had to word this carefully. “Well…I love Harry, more then anyone I’ve ever loved except for my family.” Sara nodded again. “Well, I never told him that I had these same feelings for another boy some years ago.”

“Someone at Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” Ginny replied. “Robert Harmen.”

“Ah,” Sara said. “He’s a blonde boy from Hufflepuff, right?” Ginny nodded. “He’s a handsome young man, though a bit arrogant at times. When I was teaching him in his fifth year, we were discussing Ancient Rome and he kept trying to interrupt me with random facts that had nothing to do with what I was teaching. I finally had to put a silencing charm on him to get through a lesson.” Ginny laughed at the thought of Robert trying to speak and nothing coming out of his mouth. “Oh, I wasn’t the first to try it, mind you. I had some Slytherins in the class as well. They tried hexing his book to hit him every time he opened his mouth. I put a stop to that quickly, but only after he got the message.” Sara smiled. “I know as a teacher I should be above that, but it just reminds me of when I was in school.”

“I didn’t realize he had such a quirk,” Ginny said. “It was probably those mysteries that drew me to him in my second year.” She inhaled deeply. “I’m sure that you heard about the Chamber of Secrets and how I was possessed? Well, the following year, I felt as though people were watching me and talking behind my back. People seemed to lower their voices when I walked near them. I wasn’t making many friends…until Robert came into my life.” She inhaled again. “He was kind and gentle…and made me feel safe. I wasn’t concerned about what other people were saying as long as he was near.”

“What changed?” Sara asked.

“Nothing,” Ginny said. It’s just…I still had feelings for someone else, for Harry.” She lay back against the armrest. “At the time it felt like a schoolgirl crush, but it was strong enough that I thought about Harry as much as I thought about Robert. I had to choose, and I chose Harry.”

Lilian had finished feeding and Sara shifted her again, making sure to cover herself. “Did the two of you part on good terms?”
Ginny nodded. “I told him that I was interested in someone else, and he understood. After that, we hardly spoke to one another. Though, I did notice him staring at me from time to time over the years.”

“So, what’s changed?”

“I don’t know,” Ginny said, shrugging. “When I got back to school this year, I noticed that he took an even greater interest in me. He’s been talking to me differently, finding innocent reasons to touch me and picking unusual places for us to work on our Herbology project together. He tried to suggest the Quidditch Pitch, but he wanted to meet at 11 o’clock at night. I told him no, but part of me wanted to say yes. I’m afraid that I’m cheating on Harry by having these feelings.”

Sara sat silent as she patted her young daughter. She was thinking over what Ginny had just told her. “I don’t think that you’re cheating on Harry by having these feelings. Simply put, you are never going to stop having feelings for cute boys, Ginny. What sets those feelings apart is how you act on them. If they just stay in your heart, then you have nothing to feel guilty about. It’s only if you take action, like kissing him or sneaking around the castle with him that would make you cheat on Harry. You and Robert shared something wonderful years ago and nothing can make that go away. What you have to understand is that that was in the past and you are moving on to the future. Robert has to understand that too, and you might have to make him understand.”

Ginny sighed. “I’m not sure I can.”

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

Harry was sitting in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Even though this was his favorite subject, Harry could not concentrate. He had made it to Professor Dumbledore’s office after he gave up trying to find Ginny in the corridors. The headmaster had listened intently to what he had to say, thanked Harry for bringing it to his attention and dismissed him.

Harry was not satisfied, though, with the response Dumbledore had given him. It was lackluster compared to his previous experiences. Harry began to wonder if Dumbledore already knew about this possibility and was just humoring Harry with his information. He remembered times when the headmaster was aware of the things that Harry was saying to him, but he had always been straight about it. This time, he had seemed obscure.

Chris eventually broke the class into groups to work on honing their Patronus charms. The class was progressing well in their ability to strengthen the charm, though they all still had a long way to go before they could repel the stronger curses. Harry’s Patronus was by far the strongest of any, so it came as quite a surprise when Ron’s Impediment Jinx broke through and immobilized him.

“What happened back there Harry?” Hermione asked after lessons had ended. It was a shock to everyone in the class that Harry had been jinxed. “Why did your Patronus fail?”

“I don’t know,” he said, sharply. “I just had my mind elsewhere.”

“Well, you better get it back on your charms,” Ron said. “Or else people are going to start jinxing you left and right.”

Harry quickened his pace a bit, leaving his friends to watch in mild shock that he was avoiding them. He walked down to the entrance hall and into a side corridor. It was secluded. No one would see him unless they were looking for him.

One person, however, was looking for him. “Harry.”

Harry had his face in his hands up to this moment, but looked up when he heard his name. He saw Ginny standing in front of him. She had a worried look in her eyes. Reaching a hand up, she gently touched his face. “Are you all right?”

He placed a hand over hers. “Yeah, I just had a bit of trouble in class today.”

She moved into him. “Are you feeling ill?”

He shook his head. “No…but I am feeling a bit better now that you’re here.” He put his free hand around onto her back and pulled her into a kiss. Ginny was caught off-guard for a moment, and then relaxed into it. She brought her free hand up to Harry’s neck, gently massaging it. They weren’t concerned about being caught by a passing teacher or student, or that they might be late for dinner. All that seemed to matter to the two lovers at the moment was each other.

As the two lovers spent a joyful moment together, something began to feel different to Ginny. Harry’s kiss started to become a bit more forceful. His hand that rested on her back started to rub harder and harder, and it was beginning to hurt her. “Harry,” she said, breaking the kiss. “Stop, that hurts.”

Harry had an odd look in his eyes. The hand that was covering hers squeezed harder as well. “I don’t want to stop, and I don’t think you want me to stop either.” He pushed his lips back onto hers and kept a firm grip around her torso.

Ginny pushed back with all her strength, but it wasn’t enough to break free from Harry’s grasp. She still had one hand free. She used to reach into her robes and pull out her wand. Pulling back for a moment, she said, “Stupefy!”

Harry was repelled back into the wall. Ginny, horrified at what had just happened, looked on Harry with disgust. Tears started to form in her eyes as she turned and ran from him. Harry could only stand with his back to the wall, amazement suddenly dawning upon him.

What did I just do?

Hermione closed the book she was reading in the school’s library and replaced it on the shelf. It was getting late and Madam Pince would be closing soon. Hermione grabbed her bag and walked into the halls. She headed towards Gryffindor tower, but stopped off in the girl’s bathroom on her way. Just in case Ron is waiting for me, she thought. I might as well be sure my hair looks all right.

She stood in front of a mirror and gently ran her hand through her brown locks. A few stray hairs were put back into their proper place. As she started to leave, a muffled sob stopped her in her tracks. At first, she thought it might have been Moaning Myrtle, crying in one of the stalls as she usually did. Hermione listened for another moment. It didn’t sound like Myrtle at all. It sounded…human.

Hermione walked along the stalls until she found the one that the crying was coming from. She gently knocked. “Hello?” she said. “Are you all right in there?”

The sobs quieted a bit. “Hermione?” a voice said.

“Ginny?” Hermione pushed open the stall door. Ginny was sitting inside, her eyes red from crying. Hermione knelt down in front of her. “What are you crying about?”

Ginny wiped her eyes on her robes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Hermione reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Now, don’t start that. I’m not letting you out of this stall until you tell me what happened.”

Ginny raised her wand, which had been in her hand the whole time, and pointed it at Hermione. “I’ve already stunned one person today, Hermione. I’ll do it again.”

“Ginny,” Hermione said. She stood up and started backing away. Ginny stood as well and followed her friend out of the stall. Hermione’s arms rested by her side and then shot up, her wand in her right hand. “Expelliarmus!” Ginny’s want flew from her hand. Hermione reached up and grabbed it.

“Hermione!” Ginny exclaimed. “Give me back my wand!”

Ginny advanced on Hermione, but the older girl sidestepped and ran back over to the sinks. She pointed her wand at the door to the bathroom. “Colloportus!” The door locked. “Now you can’t leave.”

Ginny looked horrorstruck that her friend would steal her wand and lock her in a bathroom. However, Ginny had cast a spell at Harry earlier so… The thought of that brought a flood of tears back to Ginny’s eyes. She sunk back to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

Hermione rushed to her friend. “Ginny, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just want to help you.” She threw her arms around Ginny’s shoulders.
“It’s not you, Hermione,” Ginny said, through sobs. “It’s…Harry.”

Hermione straightened up a bit. “Harry? What happened with Harry?”

Ginny cried a little more. “He got a…little rough with me…today.”

“What do you mean?”

Ginny’s sobs became harder and louder. Hermione tightened her hold on her friend. She held onto Ginny for another few minutes before Ginny could talk again. “We were alone together…and he got a little rough with me. When I asked him to stop, he wouldn’t, so I stunned him a bit.” She started to cry again, but it was under control this time. “He wouldn’t let me go.”

Hermione could not believe what she was hearing. Harry was a sweet boy and would never try to force Ginny into anything. “Ginny,” she said. “Did he…touch you anywhere?”

Ginny shook her head. “No, and I don’t think he wanted to. He just didn’t want me to leave him.”

“Leave him?”

“Be apart from him,” she explained. “I tried to just move away and then he got really physical.”

Hermione slipped Ginny’s wand back into her hand. “I’m sorry, Ginny. Do you want me to do anything?”

Ginny looked up at Hermione. “Just don’t tell Ron.”

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

Ron, as it turned out, had detention that night that he had managed to keep secret from Hermione. Fred and George had sent him an experimental Skiving Snack box that would cause massive hic-ups, and they wanted Ron to try them out. Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall had found them when his bag had spilled and given him detention.

Ginny was able to get up to her room without incident. Harry was no-where to be found in the common room. Hermione, though, knew where to look for him.

“How could you, Harry Potter?” Hermione snarled at him.

Harry was hanging from the ceiling by a rope that was tied around his feet. Hermione had taken his wand and was glaring up at him. “How could you do such a thing to Ginny?”

Harry’s hands dangled, trying to grab something that he could use to pull himself down. “Hermione please let me down. I’m getting dizzy.”

The other bunkmates had been run out of the room when Hermione had stormed in and hung Harry from the ceiling. Seamus, Dean and Neville knew not to ask questions from the look she had given them all. Harry was friendless at the moment. “Not until I get an answer from you.”

Harry stopped flailing. “I don’t know why I did it,” he said. “Something just came over me.”

Hermione waved her wand. Two birds flew out and started pecking at his arms and chest. “Not good enough, Harry,” she said. “Was it not enough that she is going out with you? Did you need to force her into something else? How far would you have gone?”

Harry covered his head and face. “I wouldn’t have done anything. I just didn’t want her to walk away from me.”

Hermione dispelled the birds. “She was scared, Harry. She thought you were going to hurt her.” She waved her wand and the roped disappeared. Harry fell to the ground with a thud. Hermione dropped his wand. “How could you, Harry?”

She started to walk out of the room. Harry felt a surge of anger as he watched her leave. He grabbed his wand and raised it at her. Hermione heard him get to her feet. She saw the wand in his hand. “Imperio!”

Hermione ducked and the spell shot over her head. “Petrificus Totalus!”

Harry’s arms and legs locked themselves to his side and he fell over. Hermione’s breathing became labored as she realized what had just happened. Harry Potter had just used an Unforgivable Curse against her.

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

Kevin and Arthur sat opposite a haggard-looking Kingsley Shacklebolt. Kingsley’s hands were bound and his head was lowered. Arthur leaned in. “Kingsley, the warden said you had something to tell us. We’re here now, so you can talk.”

Kevin gently fingered his wand, ready for anything that might happen. It had been late last night when a message came from Azkaban prison that Shacklebolt wanted to talk to someone about what has been happening over the past months. He had been brought to the Ministry of Magic to speak with Arthur and Kevin.

Kingsley raised his head to look at the two other men. “I had to tell someone,” he said, quietly. “I didn’t mean to hurt those people. I was forced to do it.”

“By who?” Kevin asked.

“Voldemort,” Kingsley whispered. “I heard his voice in my head. I couldn’t stop myself.” Tears started to roll down his cheek. “I didn’t want to hurt anybody.” He laid his forehead down on the table.

Arthur got to his feet and rushed to his friend’s side. He wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “It’s all right, Kingsley. We believe you.”

Kevin got to his feet as well, though he stayed on his side of the table. “Kingsley, how did Voldemort talk to you?”

Kingsley composed himself. “It was like a voice in the wind. It told me to do things that I didn’t want to do. I knew what my body was doing, but I couldn’t stop it.”

“But you told us that you were loyal to Voldemort.”

“I…” Kingsley’s eyes clouded over. “I did?” he asked. It seemed that he was trying to remember.

“Yes, you did,” Arthur said.

Kingsley shook his head. “I don’t remember saying that.”

Kevin beckoned Arthur to follow him out of the room. Once they were safely outside, Kevin turned to him. “I believe him,” he said. “I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Well, of course he is,” Arthur said. “He’s a Order member.”

Kevin shook his head. “Not just that. He remembered the attacks, but not the loyalty to Voldemort that he told us about. Why leave that part out?”

Arthur thought for a moment. “During the first war, people claimed that they remembered what they did, but denied being loyal to You-Know-Who to escape Azkaban. Could this be the same thing?”

“No, because those people were under the Imperius Curse,” Kevin said. “And we’ve already ruled out that Curse. This is something that has to affect a lot of people at the same time. You saw the people in Diagon Alley and in London. They didn’t have the looks of people under a curse. They were hateful, angry and wanted to kill. The Imperius Curse doesn’t transfer emotion.” A glazed look came across Kevin’s face. “Arthur,” he said, his voice a bit quieter. “How much do you know about power transfer?”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders. “A little, but not much.”

Kevin started walking. “We need to find out more.”

“Harry,” a voice said. “Harry, wake up.”

He knew that voice, but Harry couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. There was nothing but darkness as far as Harry could tell. He tried to move his head and soon found that moving was not something his body was ready to do. “Who’s there?” he called out.

A hand touched his head. As quick as the snap of a finger, Harry’s vision cleared and he no longer felt pain in his head. He managed to open his eyes. Harry saw that he was lying on his back on a couch in some dark room, which was lit by a small fire at the far end. Harry looked up, and immediately wished he was unconscious again.

Professor Dumbledore stood over him. His eyes peered over his half-mooned spectacles down at the boy lying before him. “Good evening, Harry,” he said, his voice low and calm. “Please, sit up. We have much to discuss.”

Harry managed to sit upright. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The room had no discernable furniture except for the couch and a chair that Professor Dumbledore sat in. The walls were dark and featureless, without any pictures that would give away where he was. Dumbledore noticed his confusion. “You have been brought to the Room of Requirement, Harry. It is one of the few places where we can talk undisturbed.” He folded his hands in his lap. “I am afraid that I have heard some rather disturbing news as of late from Miss Granger.”

Harry lowered his eyes. What had she told him? he thought.

Dumbledore noticed his change in mood. “Yes, I see that you understand what I am talking about. Now tell me, Harry. Why did you see fit to cast the Imperious Curse against Miss Granger?”

Harry raised his head. “What? I never did that.”

Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed. “I beg your pardon, Harry. I was told that you attempted to curse your friend with the Imperious Curse. Are you telling me that she was lying?”

Harry shook his head. “Well, no. Hermione wouldn’t lie, but I didn’t…” He lowered his eyes again. “I don’t remember doing something like that.”

“What is the last thing you do remember?”

Harry searched his memory. “I was talking with Hermione,” he said, omitting the topic of conversation. “And then she left. I can’t remember anything after that.”

The headmaster’s eyes focused on Harry’s. “And what were you talking about?”

Harry didn’t want to say. He was embarrassed, but knew that Dumbledore would get the truth out of him eventually. “We were talking about…me and…Ginny.” He said the last word softly. Dumbledore leaned in closer. Harry could feel his gaze on him and knew he had to repeat his last word. “Ginny, sir.”

“Ah,” Dumbledore said, sitting back. “Miss Weasley. Harry, I do not wish to pry into the relationships of my students, so I will not ask of the circumstances. I must, however, ask why you felt the need to try and curse a fellow student.”

Harry shook his head again. “I don’t remember cursing her, sir. She has to be mistaken.”

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, touched it to his temple and pulled a long strand of silver smoke from his temple. “Harry, she could not have been mistaken. I have seen her memories through my pensive, with her permission of course. I saw what you did.” He put the strand back into his temple. “But, I do not believe that you are lying to me.”

Harry breathed in relief. “Then why am I here?”

“Because you attacked a fellow student.”

Harry got to his feet. “No I didn’t!” he shouted.

Dumbledore did not rise. “Shouting will not help you, Harry.” Harry’s face softened and he sat back down. “Thank you. Now, we have a dilemma among us. We have some evidence that you did, in fact, attempt to curse Miss Granger. However, you have no memory of such an event. Therefore, the only conclusion that we can reach is that your memory has been altered to some degree.”

“Altered?” Harry asked.

“Yes,” Dumbledore answered. “It is the only conclusion that makes sense with all the evidence that we have. Think back, Harry. Have there been any other times that you have experiences a loss of events? Perhaps, your friends talking about a time that you were present, but cannot recall the events?”

Harry shook his head. “No.”

Dumbledore lowered his gaze. “Then we seem to have an enigma, and not one that is uncommon among the students recently.”

Harry looked puzzled. “Other people have had memory losses?” he asked.

Dumbledore nodded. “And all have experienced the loss after attacking fellow students.”

“Who…when?”

“I’m sorry, Harry, but I cannot reveal the other student’s identities,” Dumbledore replied. “As I will not reveal yours.” He looked up. “All the attacks to date have been among a small number of students, and I have asked each student involved to remain quiet about this. I do not believe that anyone meant what they intended, and I will not seek sanctions against them until I can determine the cause behind these actions.”

“Students are attacking other students?” Harry said. “I can’t believe that.”

“Nor can I,” Dumbledore replied. “And I will not believe it true until I have heard back from Mr. Weasley and Professor Hall from the Ministry of Magic. I have heard some encouraging reports from them that may explain what has been going on.”

“Sir,” Harry said. “I don’t understand.”

Dumbledore smiled. “And you shouldn’t. We are still trying to piece together this mystery, Harry. Until the final piece is put into place, we will not see the whole puzzle.” Dumbledore folded his hands. “And until the puzzle is finished, we must be on out guard. That means, Harry, you must learn to control your emotions and feelings. You cannot allow yourself to be overrun with irrational thoughts and anger. Be assured that if I hear of another incident like this, I may be forced to seek action against you, Harry.”

Harry looked into the eyes of the headmaster. He saw the gentle eyes that normally were found on his face, but behind them was a fury that told Harry that another slip up on his part could cost him everything that he had worked for these past years at Hogwarts.

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

“I think we’re done, Ginny,” Robert said, finishing a sentence on a roll of parchment. “Professor Sprout will be very impressed with this report.”

Ginny looked over what he had written and nodded. “You write very well. I’m sure that it will be fine.” She grabbed her bag and stood up. “Well, it’s getting late. I should get back to Gryffindor tower.”

Robert stood as well. “Ginny, wait.” She turned back to him. “I just wanted to say, that I have really enjoyed working with you. We haven’t really talked to each other since we stopped going out, and…well, I missed you.”

Ginny had to blush a bit. “Well, you always were a good friend, Robert. I’ve had fun also.” He reached out his hand to touch hers, but she pulled away. “I’ve got to go.” She hurried out of the library. When she got to the hallway, she found a dark corner to slink into for a moment.

She put her back to the wall and slid down into a sitting position. The hallways were empty and the hour was late, so there was little chance of her being discovered unless one of the ghosts happened by or the teachers were doing patrols. It was possible that Professor Flitwick might be roaming the corridors, as she remembered seeing him set up odd-looking light fixtures high along the stone walls. They were funny looking glass crystals, but they did not seem to give off light. Ginny couldn’t think what they might be for.

Ginny rested her head back against the stone. Her earlier encounter with Harry, and then her confession to Hermione had caused her pain and embarrassment that she never thought she would have to deal with. She couldn’t understand why Harry had acted the way he had. He had never seemed the type of guy to behave in the way he had behaved. It scared her to think that it might happen again.

She placed her head in her hands. I wonder if Hermione talked to him yet, she thought. If she did, how did he take it? Was he mad? Ginny had a lot of questions that would only be solved if she left this shadowy corner and went back to Gryffindor tower. She would have stayed up there all night if she hadn’t had to finish up the Herbology project with Robert.

Ginny got to her feet. There was no point in moping around here. She had to face Harry and soon. Better to do it now then later. She left the shadows and walked along the corridors towards the stairs that led to Gryffindor Tower. Ginny turned a corner and ran right into the one person that she had intended to see, Harry.

The force of the collision caused Ginny to lose her balance, so Harry reached out and wrapped his arms around her till she got her footing back. Even after she was balanced, Harry still kept his arms around her. He felt good with her in his arms, her sensual scent wafting up to his nostrils. She didn’t seem to object to his embrace, either.

She looked up at him, sheepishly. “Sorry, Harry,” she said. “I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Harry pulled back a bit, but kept his hands on her arms. He wasn’t holding them, just touching. He looked into her eyes. She looked beautiful standing there. Harry didn’t want to bring up terrible memories about earlier. He decided to steer clear of that subject. “What are you doing out so late? You could get caught and get detention.”

Ginny shrugged. “I had some work to finish up some work for Herbology.”

Harry knew that he wasn’t going to get much more of an answer form her. “Well, is it anything that I can help you with?” He wanted to talk about anything except what happened earlier.

She shook her head. “No, I finished it already, but I appreciate the offer.” She smiled at him.

Harry felt himself melt into her gaze. Her eyes always had an effect on him. He moved in a bit closer, but saw her flinch. There was no way he could avoid this forever. “Ginny,” he said in a soft voice. “About what happened earlier…I just wanted to say…”

Ginny reached a hand up and placed two fingers on his lips. “Harry, I don’t know what got into you, but I know that was not the real you. You are gentle and caring. Whatever happened is in the past, and I don’t want to think on it anymore.” She gave him another smile. “But it is nice to know that you feel sorry it.”

Harry smiled back at her. “I do, Ginny. I never want to hurt you. I hate to see you cry and it hurts me to think that you hate me. I love you, Ginny.”

Ginny leaned in. “And I love you.” She kissed him.

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

Kevin snuck through the shadowed alleys of London, his cloak pulled up over his face. The city was alive even in the late hours of the night, but Kevin managed to move without detection. He darted down a final back way and jumped a chain fence into an abandoned construction zone. He pulled out his wand. “Lumos!” A jet of light shot from the tip of his wand. He turned in all directions, searching for anyone else.

The light feel upon a black robed figure, crouched under a large cloak. He hid his face. “Put out that light. I don’t need to go blind tonight.”

Kevin extinguished the light. “You gave us information that saved the students of Durmstrang, so I‘ll give you some time to talk.”

“Even after all the plans that I have passed onto you, you still do not trust me,” the figure said. “Perhaps you still have some qualities that the Dark Lord would find impressive.” Kevin raised his wand again. The figure raised his arms. “I meant nothing by it,” he said, quickly. “Please, I did not come to quarrel.”

“Then talk,” Kevin said, not lowering his wand.

The figure straightened up. “I need your help. The Death Eaters are becoming troublesome and paranoid. They know that there is a traitor, and they are fighting amongst themselves to find him. Soon enough, they will turn their attention to me.”

Kevin smirked. “Rats eating their own, eh? No wonder we haven’t had much trouble from you, lately. The Durmstrang attack was the first real offensive you pulled off, and even that was poorly done.” He lowered his wand. “What do you want?”

“Assurance that I will be protected,” the figure said. “I may have to flee, and I want your word that you will help me.”

Kevin thought it over. “All right, but on one condition. You don’t duck out till the last possible moment. The more information you can give, the faster we can end this war.”

The figure scoffed. “You want me to stay even when all hell breaks loose? That’s madness.”

Kevin shrugged. “Then give us something that we can use to topple Voldemort. He’s powerless right now. We should be able to bring him and his Death Eaters down once and for all, but we can’t find where he is hiding.”

“I told you that I can’t give you that information,” the reply came. “I am not the Secret-Keeper and am unable to show you his location.”

Kevin shook his head. He had learned that Voldemort was using the Fidelius Charm to conceal his location, which made it almost impossible to find the Dark Lord if he did not want to be found. “Then tell me this; does he have his powers back?”

“No,” the figure said. “He is as weak as I have ever seen him. Were it not for Griff and his brothers, the Dark Lord would be dead by now.”

“Are any of the Death Eaters trying to manipulate wizard’s minds to control them?”

The figure smiled. “Ah, you are talking about the random attacks, aren’t you?” Kevin nodded. “I can only say this. The Dark Lord has a hand in it, but it is not by his own will that it happens. What is more, ones who have been touched by the Dark Lord’s hand will feel the effects more so then any other.” He slinked back a little. “I will do as you ask and stay in the Dark Lord’s confidence, but do not forget your promise to me.” He was swallowed by the shadows.

Kevin stood alone for a moment. I knew it, he thought. It is his doing, but what could the second part mean? He left the construction zone and made his way back to the Ministry of Magic, all the while thinking that he should be back at Hogwarts right now.

The first term at Hogwarts was quickly coming to a close. This was good because it meant that the Christmas was just around the corner, but it also meant that classes were getting tougher. The professors were determined to see that the students had as much work as possible before they went on holiday.

For the seventh-years, it was horrible. Chris ended every Defense against the Dark Arts lesson by performing an advanced curse against the students and seeing if their Patronus charms could hold it off. So far, most had been able to ward it off, but there were a few days when their charms were not enough. The curse never did any harm; it just gave the students an incentive to try harder.

Harry was eating lunch in the Great Hall, by himself for a change. Hermione and Ron had been called to Professor McGonagall’s office, and Ginny had been kept over in Professor Hall’s class to discuss some work that she had not turned in. Harry finished his plate of beef and mashed potatoes and started to fill another plate with treacle pudding. He felt a slight tap on his left shoulder. He turned, but there was no one there. As he turned back, he came eye to eye with Ginny.

“Boo,” she said, quietly. Harry jumped in mild surprise. “Did I startle you?” she asked, a mischievous grin on her lips.

“A little,” Harry said, and then gave her a quick kiss. She sat down beside him. “What took you so long?”

Ginny started to make herself a plate for lunch. “I had to talk with Sara about that Herbology project. I wanted her advice.” She started eating.

Harry draped an arm over her shoulder. “You know, I could give you some help if you wanted.”

She smiled at him. “I know, but you have so much work already. I didn’t want to burden you with mine too.”

He gave her another kiss on her cheek. “Wait,” he said, his face scrunching, slightly. “I thought that you said you finished that project the other night.”

Ginny tensed. “I did finish…for that night. I’m doing the work a little at a time so I don’t overload myself. This is a big grade and I want to do well.” She quickly put a spoon full of mashed potatoes in her mouth to halt conversation.

Harry wanted to keep talking, but his other friends, both of whom seemed to be in a foul mood, interrupted him. “Ron, there is nothing you can do to change it,” Hermione was saying. “The decision is final.”

“Bull, there is nothing I can do,” Ron shot back. “I’m an adult now and I can do what I want, and if I don’t want to stay here over the holidays I won’t.”
They both sat down and started picking food onto their own plates. Harry and Ginny just looked at them, waiting for an explanation. Ginny, knowing they would be waiting a long time, decided to speak. “All right, is one of you going to tell us what’s going on?”

Ron turned his head to his plate. Hermione spoke. “Professor McGonagall called us into her office to tell us that we would all be staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. Your mother, along with members of the Order decided that we should stay here. No one may be around to watch after us.”

“And that is a load,” Ron said, his mouth full of beef. He swallowed before continuing. “We are all of age now, except her,” he said, pointing his fork at Ginny. She stuck her tongue out at him, but Ron didn’t notice. “And we should be able to look after ourselves.” He kept eating.

Harry shook his head. “Well, I wish that we could go back to Godric’s Hollow, but I don’t really have a problem with staying here. It won’t have been the first time.”

Ron gawked at his friend. “So you’re all right with still being treated like a child, even though you’re seventeen?”

“Ron,” Harry said. “We are not being treated like children. Don’t forget that there is a war on right now. Older wizards know what is best.”

Ron huffed and started shoveling food into his mouth. Hermione ate with a bit more grace then her boyfriend, but Harry noticed that she kept glancing in his direction. He had told her about his talk with Dumbledore and then his run-in with Ginny last night. While Hermione seemed satisfied that the headmaster thought Harry did not deserve any disciplinary action, but she kept her guard up when around him.

Ginny, however, seemed to have forgotten the whole incident. She sat close to Harry and kept giving him smiles and coy winks. The young Weasley was comfortable around Harry again, and that was good enough for Hermione.

The school bell rang, ending lunch. The students got up from the table and started filing into the hallway. Harry felt Ginny slip her hand into his as they walked towards their next class. The couple eventually had to separate, Ginny on her way to Potions and Harry to History of Magic. They had not moved ten feet from one another when Harry noticed that the torches along the walls had suddenly turned a deep red. He heard a loud BANG from behind him.

He turned quickly and two students, a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, with their wands out glaring at one another. They started trying to hex one another. Other members of the respective houses began joining in the fray. Spells and shouts soon filled the halls. Harry lost sight of Ginny in the scuffle.

The halls were utter chaos. Those in the fight dove and cast spells, while bystanders searched for cover behind statues and in classrooms. Harry saw Ron and Hermione helping some second-years avoid the flying curses. The attacking students started using more powerful curses against one another. Those still standing had menacing glares. In all the clutter, Harry could hear the distinct incantation, “Crucio!”

Out of instinct from all the practice, Harry pulled out his wand. He aimed it in the direction he had heard the curse. “Eradico Patronum!” A silver white shield shot from his wand. It spread through the hall, absorbing as many curses as it could. The shield soon started to waver and disappeared.

A gang of Slytherins stopped casting curses wildly. They looked over at Harry. Grins formed on each of their lips. Harry still had his wand out. He was ready for whatever they could throw at him, but he didn’t need to worry.

“Stupefy!”

A wide barrage of stunning spells shot from somewhere Harry couldn’t see. They whole gang of Slytherins fell under the force of the spell. From thin air, wizards began Apparating into the hallway. They had wands drawn and subdued any remaining students that were still casting. Harry looked around him, trying to get some sense if what was going on. His eyes fell on a very familiar face and he smiled.

Kevin rushed into the hall, wand out and shouting orders. The other wizards began rounding up students. Any that were still standing had their wands taken and their hands bound. Teachers and other students helped revive unconscious students and move them to the hospital wing. Kevin was moving fast among the crowd, still calling orders. “Get them into a class room and don’t leave them alone. Any student that is not critical, take them to into the Great Hall. Everyone else, back to your dormitory. Classes are cancelled for now. Victor, get every wizard you can up to the hospital wing to help Madam Pomfrey.”

Harry squinted his eyes. Through the crowd, he could just make out the face of Victor Krum. Harry saw that all the unfamiliar wizards resembled students from Durmstrang, a wizarding school in the north. Teachers hurried from adjoining hallways and directed traffic. Harry saw Ron and Hermione helping out as well. He had never seen Ron so composed. He seemed in total control of the situation, and Hermione was fifteen feet away from him.

He suddenly remembered that he had not seen Ginny yet. His eyes scanned the halls quickly, searching for any glimmer of her fiery hair. He felt his heart beat faster when he could not see her. Students and teachers cluttered his view, but he managed to find her across the hall. She was sitting, leaning against a wall. He saw a trickle of blood running down her cheek. Ginny had been hurt.

Harry wanted to rush to her, but felt someone hold onto his arm. He looked up and saw Kevin. The older wizard had a firm grip on Harry. “Let me go,” Harry said, struggling to get free.

Kevin held his grasp. “No, back up to Gryffindor tower. Now.”

Harry was about to protest more until he saw someone over by Ginny. He was a blonde haired boy that was about Ginny’s age. His robes had the crest of Hufflepuff house on them. He was concerned about her injury. She gave him her arm and he helped her to her feet, and then in the direction of the hospital wing.

Kevin pulled Harry towards the stairs. “Harry, go now. I have to clean up here.” Harry followed the large group of students that were filing up the stairs. He glanced back to see if Ginny was all right. What he saw made his face turn red with anger. She was no longer leaning on the blonde boy for support. Instead, he had lifted he into his arms. Professor McGonagall rushed over to them to check on Ginny.

Harry felt his fists clench.


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

“This is unacceptable!” Professor Dumbledore bellowed.

All the teachers were gathered into his office after they had controlled the situation downstairs. The Durmstrang students were in charge of patrolling the halls while the teachers were in conference. The situation earlier had shaken them all to their souls. There had not been a disturbance like this at Hogwarts in all the time that any of them could remember. Sure, Fred and George Weasley had caused their share of riots, but nothing so malicious had ever happened because of it.

Professor Dumbledore was in a mood that he never showed to the students. His face was flushed with rage and he could not sit still. The headmaster paced around his office, the other teachers not moving. “I cannot believe that something like this could have happened at our school.”

“But Albus,” Professor McGonagall said. “We’ve known about this behavior in our students for months. You said yourself that Potter was the latest victim.”

“Yes I did,” Dumbledore said, his voice returning to a normal volume. “But we didn’t plan for the possibility that this problem would reach this scale.” After the third time around his office, Dumbledore sat behind his desk. “We must deal with this situation very carefully. Sara, is Kevin joining us?”

The red-haired teacher folded her arms. “Yes. He is just giving some last minute information to Krum and the rest of the Durmstrang wizards.”

At that moment, Kevin entered the office. He was supposed to be alone, but Victor Krum was close at his heels. The teachers turned their eyes towards the new arrivals. “Sorry I’m late. I asked Victor to come with me. He should hear what has been going on as well.”
Dumbledore nodded. “I hear that you have become a leading role at your old school since your headmaster passed on, Mister Krum.” Victor nodded, but said nothing. “Then you should be included.” He turned his head to Kevin. “What have you uncovered?”

Kevin stood by his wife. “Arthur Weasley and I interviewed numerous witches and wizards these past months. They all started out as loyal followers of Voldemort, declaring their allegiance. A few weeks after, though, they renounced him. They claimed that they heard his voice, and then their bodies acted without their consent.”

“Is this a form of the Imperius Curse?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“We thought that,” Kevin replied. “But even the Imperius Curse can’t work on this scale. Besides, our informant denied that they had been using that curse and I believe him.”

“Is this the same informant that sent us information earlier this year?” Professor Snape asked. Kevin nodded. “Who is he?”

“Can’t tell you,” Kevin said. “I swore to keep his secret. We need him to keep passing us information and the chance of his identity being revealed is too great. Only the Animagi and I know who he is.” He saw Snape’s eyes narrow in annoyance. “Don’t look so upset, Severus. He’s reliable. If it weren’t for him, Victor and the others would be working for Voldemort right now.”

Dumbledore nodded at this information. “Mister Krum, as I stated earlier, Hogwarts would be pleased to offer you and your comrades shelter until a new school can be found.” Victor nodded his appreciation. “Continue, Kevin.”

Kevin folded his arms. “We have an idea how this is happening. The spell I used to drain Voldemort’s powers may have had an effect that I didn’t realize. I had never used the spell before so I wasn’t sure what would happen. I think that Voldemort’s powers are floating around the world. They only affect wizards, but they affect them hard.”

“How?” Dumbledore asked.

Kevin shrugged. “Arthur and I could find no documentation of anything like this ever happening. As much as we could figure is that their minds get invaded, and then they lose all rational thought. They have no memory at what they do, and they think they are loyal to Voldemort. We all know that the Death Eaters draw some power from him. Remember Hogsmeade after I drained him?” Heads nodded. “The place nearly imploded on itself. The Death Eaters had no connection to them.

“And listen to this,” he added, his lips curling into a smile. “The informant told me that the structure of the Death Eaters is breaking down. The Durmstrang attack was the first concentrated attack that they could muster.”

“And that was a joke,” Krum said, finally breaking his silence.

Kevin laughed. “Tell me about it. They had no organization, no leader. Not even the brothers were there.”

“So then we have the advantage,” Dumbledore said. “But we can’t find their base.”

“They have it unplottable,” Kevin said “No way to find it, and the informant can’t give us the location either. The only thing that we can look forward to is that there will be no Death Eater attacks for at least three more months. After that time, Voldemort may get his powers back.”

Dumbledore folded his hands. “And until then, we must take the risk that our students will become violent again.” He took a deep breath. “What can we do to avoid this incident again?”

“We have one thing going for us on this,” Kevin said. “Filius has modified a dark magic detector that I got from the Ministry and placed them all around the castle. They picked up the feelings of anger and reacted to it. Now that we have Durmstrang’s help, they can patrol the halls. If the detectors pick anything up, they will act.”

Dumbledore nodded. “We must all be on our guard from this point on. The coming days will be trying for us all. The holidays will soon be on us. Our students will be returning home, all with stories about what has happened here. We must be ready for what may come. For now, we should go back to our students and give them some comfort.”

The teachers nodded and started filing out of the office. “Oh, and Kevin,” Dumbledore said. Kevin turned around. “Welcome back.”