A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.



Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had returned to school two days after the attacks on Diagon Alley and the Ministry, at Mrs. Weasley's insistance. Mrs. Weasley herself, though weak as the the healer had predicted, had been discharged about five days later. She was staying at Grimmauld Place, where all five of her older children were spoiling her mercilessly. At Harry's request, Dumbledore had sent Dobby there, as well. The house elf had solemnly promised Harry that he would see that "Harry Potter's Weezy Mum" was taken proper care of. Harry hoped that she was enjoying the pampering, assuming she allowed it. Mrs. Weasley was, after all, just as strong-willed and stubborn as her children.

Halloween seemed to arrive before Harry knew it, and with it the first Hogsmede visit. He was looking forward to it as he never had before, because he knew that he would be going with Ginny. Though they had been going out since Harry's birthday, they had yet to have a real date. Aside from that, between quidditch, the D.A., classes, his training, meetings for Dumbledore's special project, and their continued animagus practice, not to mention the mountains of homework Ginny was dealing with for her OWL year, they had not had any time alone since before the battle at the Ministry.

Halloween morning, Harry awoke earlier than everyone else. He stretched, smiling, for the first night since the battles he had slept nightmare free. Getting out of bed he quietly grabbed his things and went to the showers, returning a short time later both clean and dressed. Harry eyed a snoring Ron with a mischievious grin, before flicking him with the end of his wet towel.

"Wake up, Ron! Hogsmede weekend! The girls are waiting," he said loudly.

"Harry! The sun isn't even up yet," Ron groaned. Harry laughed.

"Actually, it is. You'd know that if you'd open your eyes. Now get up before I sic Hermione on you," Harry said. Ron smiled, his eyes still closed.

"Hmmmm... Hermione in my bed... and this is supposed to motivate me to get up how?" Ron asked.

"Thanks for that mental image, Ron," Harry said, making a face. Ron, however, didn't see it as he had now covered up his head.

"Allright, Weasley. Remember you forced me into this," Harry said.

In a swift motion, he yanked all of the covers off of Ron, exposing him to the cool morning air. Ron sat up growling and sprang for a now laughing Harry. The two were soon rolling on the floor in mock combat. It wasn't long, before the whole room had awoken and joined in, making a great deal of noise. Harry had just managed to wriggle away from Seamus and put Ron in a headlock, when a bossy voice spoke from the door. The boys immediately froze.

"As much as I would hate to interrupt what, I am sure, is some sort of complicated male bonding ritual, Ginny and I are getting hungry. Were you two planning on coming down this century?" Hermione said. The expression on her face was somwhere between complete exasperation and laughter at the boys antics. Harry smiled and shot Ron an I told you so look.

"Ron was having a hard time waking up this morning, Hermione. I was just helping him," Harry said innocently. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Hrmmm...remind me to warn Ginny that you seem to think the proper way to wake a person up is to put them in a headlock," she said mischieviously, before leaving the room.

Harry and Ron followed her down a short time later, arguing over exactly who had won their tussle. Ginny and Hermione were sitting in chairs by the fire, waiting. Both of them looked uncommonly pretty this morning, although Harry had eyes only for Ginny.

"Morning," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Sorry we kept you waiting. Someone had a hard time waking up this morning." He gave Ron a very pointed look.

"I did not have a hard time waking up. I was just holding out for someone better looking than a scrawny midget with glasses to do the waking," Ron sniffed. Harry chuckled.

"Fine. Next time I'll ask Hagrid to do it," he said impishly. Taking Ginny's hand, he then led the way down to breakfast.

When they entered the Great Hall, it was filled with the chatter of happy, noisy students, for which Harry was very glad. The first few days after the attacks, things had been very subdued. Additionally, Harry had once again had to deal with the fallout from stories in The Daily Prophet, which was hailing him as some great hero, much to his annoyance. They had even gone so far as to put an artist's rendition of Harry fighting at the Ministry, as they had been unable to get pictures. That had finally died down, however. Harry was very relieved to see that things were getting back to normal now.

The four took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, and Ron and Hermoine were soon in one of their famous 'discussions' on where they should go first when they reached Hogsmede. Ginny and Harry exchanged an amused glance. The flutter of wings overhead, announcing the arrival of the mail, brought a stop to the argument. Harry was suprised to see, not only Hermes with Ron and Ginny's daily update on their Mum, but his own Hedwig land on the table. Frowning, he took the letter from her, feeding her his scraps of toast. Harry quickly opened it and began to read, his face becoming thunderous.

"What is it, mate?" Ron aksed tentatively. Harry sighed, clearly trying to collect himself.

"I'm to have a guard accompanying me in Hogsmede for my own protection. It's bloody ridiculous! I've taken care of myself my whole life. I just took on dementors and death eaters in not one, but two battles, and now, suddenly, I need to be watched over again. Why can't I just be normal for once?" he raged.

"Harry, maybe it won't be so bad. It'll probably be Tonks and Remus, anyway. It's not like we'll have Moody following us around hexing everything that moves," Hermione soothed.

"That's not the point, Hermione. I have no privacy... none. I wanted... "he broke off casting a look at Ginny and blushing slightly. Ginny returned his glance, and the blush. She too had been hoping for some time alone.

"It's ok, Harry," she said, taking his hand. Harry sighed.

"No, it's not, but I suppose we have no choice," he replied.

They finished their meal in silence, Harry's mood putting a damper on all of their spirits. When they were done, they made their way to the front gates where the escort was to meet them. Once there, they were greeted, much to their suprise, not by Remus and Tonks, but by Fred and George.

"Fred and George Weasley, bodyguards extraordinaire, reporting for duty," Fred said, saluting Harry smartly. Harry grinned, his mood lightening. Having Fred and George following them would be better than being watched over by adults, like they were children. Ginny, however, looked less then pleased.

"Wonderful! I get stuck with the trouble twins following me around on my date," she huffed. George and Fred grinned.

"Not to worry Gin-Gin. You won't even notice we're here," George promised.

"Unless loverboy gets too frisky," Fred added, only half teasingly.

"So, how'd you two end up with guard duty? Shouldn't you be watching the shop?" Ron asked.

"We volunteered and Lee is watching the shop," George answered.

"We felt it a bit stupid, honestly, as Harry had already kicked dementor and death eater arse, but we figured if they were going to insist on it, better us then Moody," Fred shrugged.

"Besides," George added," we're considering expanding to Hogsmede and wanted to scout out the possibilities."

"And then there is that package you needed delivered before the feast tonight," Fred said winking. George nodded his agreement.

"And now we have been invited to attend, so we won't miss the festivities like last time," he said.

"So you got them, then?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"Would we let our favorite little sister down?" Fred asked. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I suppose it would be wrong to point out that I am your only little sister?" Ginny muttered. George cast a significant glance at Ron, while fingering his wand.

"We could change that," he said innocently. Ron paled, and Hermione whirled on them, hands on her hips.

"Don't you dare!" she said. The twins laughed, throwing their hands up in mock surrender.

The rest of the trip to Hogsmede passed in jovial conversation and good humour. The twins, who were greeted as heros by the rest of the students for their spectacular exit the previous year, seemed to enjoy the attention they were receiving. They spent more time handing out business cards and free samples than actually guarding Harry, which was just fine with him. The management at Zonko's, however, did not seem to appreciate the competition, and glared the group out the door. The day went very quickly for Harry, and, before he knew it, it was time to return to the castle. Fred and George left them at the gates to go report to Dumbledore, while Ginny, Hermione, and Ron returned to Gryffindor Tower. Harry begged off under the excuse that he had lessons with Remus.

He watched until his friends were out of sight, and then grinned a very Marauder like grin. He was determined to get some time alone with Ginny. He knew just how he was going to get it, and just who to go to for help. Whistling quietly, he made straight for the whomping willow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About a half an hour before the feast, Harry entered the Gryffindor common room, very tired but with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"Good lesson I take it?" Ginny asked from her spot in one of the chairs before the fire. Harry nodded.

"The best," he said bending down and kissing her. "Where's Ron and Hermione?"

"The library," Ginny giggled. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Do they honestly think we believe that?" he asked. Ginny shrugged, her eyes twinkling mischieviously.

"You should have seen them when I volunteered to go with them," she said. Harry laughed, and scooped Ginny up, repositioning her onto his lap while they waited for Ron and Hermione to return. When they entered the common room a short time later holding hands, Harry and Ginny exchanged a knowing look.

"How was the library?" Harry asked innocently. Ron immediately went bright red, while Hermione looked away guiltily.

"Oh it was, ya know, very ummm... informative," Ron said lamely.

"Probably all of those books they keep there," Ginny dead-panned. Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

"We'd better head down to the Great Hall so no one takes our spot," Hermione said, seeking to change the subject. They others agreed, and they hurried to the quickly filling hall. Some first years were sitting in their usual spot, but a glare from Harry, along with a not so subtle "Move Midgets!" from Ron, and the seats were empty once more. Normally, they wouldn't have resorted to that, but it was imperative they have their spot for tonight's festivities.

The Great Hall was decked out in it's usual splendour for Halloween. Large glowing jack-o-lanterns floated above the house tables, and clouds of live bats flitted about the enchanted ceiling. Everyone chatted merrily about the day's Hogsmede visit, anticipating the start of the feast. Looking up at the staff table, Harry saw Fred and George talking animatedly with Professor Flitwick, who was examining one of the twins' newest products. He saw Fred, or possibly George, give him a wink. Harry nodded in return and, gently reaching his foot out, felt the object under the table which the twins had smuggled in for them. Across from him, he saw Ron do the same. They all exchanged slight nods, with barely contained enthusiasm, awaiting the prearranged signal. With a wave of Dumbledore's hand. the feast appeared on the table. Harry tensed, waiting until everyone was clearly absorbed with their meals, then coughed. At that signal, they all went into action.

Harry carefully pulled his invisibility cloak, which he had given to Fred and George earlier, off of the small crates which were under the table. Ron and Ginny, who had been holding their wands under the table, surreptiously flicked them at the crates opening them, sending the small piglets which had been inside scurrying out. Hermione meanwhile, under the guise of dropping her napkin, shrunk the crates and slipped them into a pocket of her robes. The four then sat back to wait. It didn't take long.

A low confused murmur began to arise from the Gryffindor table as the piglets sought their way out from under the maze of legs. One of the animals, apparently growing desperate, tried to force it's way out between Lavender Brown's feet. She stood up screeching, throwing the pudding she'd been holding, which, much to Hermione's delight, landed squarely on Pansy Parkinson's head. Not one to take that lightly, Pansy then hurled some mashed potatoes at the Gryffindor table, splattering Seamus in the face. Food was soon flying back and forth through the hall. Amidst the chaos, Mr. Filch had spotted the piglets, which were scurrying around the room squealing, and was trying, very unsuccessfully, to catch them.

Fred and George, nearly in tears with laughter, decided to bring the fight to the staff table, flinging a custard pie towards Remus and Tonks. Most unfortunately, they missed, hitting Professor McGonnagall with it. The twins' eyes widened in dismay. The professor, however, merely wiped the custard off, and sent them a steely glare before sending rolls magically pelting after them. Professor Snape, meanwhile, had left the staff table and was headed for Harry and the others with a determined glare.

"Uh-oh, we've been found out," Ginny exclaimed.

"Run!" Harry commanded.

They split up. Ron and Hermione headed one way, Harry and Ginny the other. Naturally, Snape chose to follow Harry. Harry and Ginny, hurriedly made for the doors, pausing only long enough to scoop up one of the pigs for phase two of their plan. Snape was in hot pursuit. He was almost upon them, and Harry thought for sure they was caught, when the professor was caught in the back of the head with a flying pudding thrown from the direction of the staff table. Snape whirled long enough to discern the source of the missle, allowing Harry to cover himself, Ginny, and the pig with the invisibility cloak, before slipping from the hall.

They raced through the corridors to the one-eyed witch passageway, slipping inside. Harry removed the cloak and slipped the pig into the small pen which they had set up earlier, before he and Ginny sunk to the floor, doubled up with helpless laughter.

"Did you see the look on Filch's face?" Ginny giggled.

"What about your brothers when they hit McGonnagall?" Harry laughed. The sound of the passageway opening up had Harry hastily recovering them, but when he saw it was only Ron and Hermione, he removed it once more.

"Another brilliantly executed plan Mr. Potter," Ron said grinning.

"Why thank you Mr. Weasley," Harry grinned back in return. "I believe we have done our forefathers proud with tonight's work."

"Most definately," Ron agreed.

"Oh yes, because it's not like Ginny and I came up with the plan or anything," Hermione said acidly.

"You're right. We could not have done it with out the awe inspiring brilliance of our resident geniuses," Harry said. "My dad would've been proud to call you Marauders, ladies." Hermione smiled, while Ginny sank into a mocking curtsey.

"We live to serve," she said sarcastically.

"So when do you think we should move into phase two?" Ron asked.

"I'd give them a few days to cool down, and for Filch to search," Harry said thoughtfully. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, I believe two days should be sufficient, and then we'll release Pansy near the charms classroom," she said.

"Pansy?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. Hermione grinned.

"Well she does kind of look like Parkinson, only cuter," Hermione said innocently, contemplating the pig. Harry shook his head chuckling.

"We should probably lay low for tonight. Snape is on the warpath, and I, personally would rather deal with McGonnagall tomorrow then Snape tonight." Harry said. The others nodded their agreement.

"Why don't we split up again. You two can go to the library, and I have the perfect place for Ginny and I to hide," he added. Ron shot Harry an overprotective big brother look, but a glare from the Hermione had him agreeing. Harry made a mental note to thank Hermione for that one. He pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and handed it to Ron.

"You guys can take that. Ginny and I will use the cloak," he said. After checking the map to make sure it was safe, the four slipped out of the passage and headed off in opposite directions.

"Where are we going?" Ginny whispered. Harry smiled at her.

"It's a suprise. Now shush before someone hears us," he said.

He stealthily lead Ginny out onto the grounds, and they made their way to Hagrid's cabin. Hagrid was, apparently, still up at the castle as the windows were dark. Removing the cloak and tucking it safely away in a pocket of his robes, Harry continued around the hut to the shed, Ginny following close behind.

"Alohomora!" he murmured. The shed's lock clicked and he opened the door. He smiled as he saw the motorcycle gleam faintly when the moonlight hit it. Ginny gasped.

"Oh Harry! Are we going for a ride?" she whispered with barely contained excitement.

"Now what do you think I spent all that time this afternoon learning to fly this thing for if I wasn't going to take you for a ride, love?" he teased. She hugged him enthusiastically.

"C'mon, help me wheel it out," he said softly. They wheeled it out to a fairly open area behind the cabin. Harry then showed her how to sit on it and where to put her feet, before sitting down in front of her.

"Hang on," he told her, and then started the powerful engine. As it roared to life, Harry felt a thrill at the surge of sheer power from the bike. Revving the engine, they took off across the grounds and were soon soaring through the moonlit skies. Harry wheeled out over the Forbidden Forest, just skimming the tops of the trees. Ginny tightened her grip around his waist, and leaned her head against his back. As first dates went, Harry reflected, he couldn't imagine one more perfect.

Down on the ground, near the Whomping Willow, Remus and Tonks kept a watchful eye on the headlight of the motorcycle. Remus smiled reminiscently.

"At least he's not quite the madman that Sirius was on that thing," he murmured. Tonks laughed.

"I remember the first time Sirius took me for a ride on it. I must've been four or five at the time. I thought Mum was going to have kittens," she grinned. Remus laughed.

"Knowing Andromeda, I'm surpised she let Sirius off with all of his parts intact," he said.

"Oh, you know how he was then. He could charm the pants off of anyone, even my Mum. You all could come to that," Tonks said. Remus looked away, sighing.

"I wish..." Remus said, pausing then and shaking his head.

"What love?" Tonks asked.

"I wish that Harry could've known them like I did. He's so very like James sometimes, and others, he's all Lily. He has quite alot of Sirius in him too, come to think of it," he said, looking once more at the motorcycle, which was now circling the North Tower.

"I see quite a bit of you in him too, you know," Tonks said softly. Remus smiled down at her gently.

"Thank you," he said softly, before chuckling. "I'm sure James and Sirius are bursting with pride at tonight's prank, wherever they are. I think it might've even topped some of ours."

"You miss them still, don't you?" Tonks asked. Remus nodded.

"Yes, and I probably always will," he agreed. She put an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. Glancing up at him, she began to laugh softly.

"What?" he asked, frowning.

"You have custard behind your ear," she grinned. Despite himself, Remus joined in her laughter.

"Who'd have thought Severus' aim was that good," he said. "Although, I suppose I did start it." Tonks laughed outright then.

"I believe that there is still quite a bit of Marauder in you, Professor," she said. Remus grinned, before bowing rakishly.

"Milady, I assure you that I am all Marauder," he said. Tonks smiled.

"Hrmmmm... and are those rumours I have heard about the reputation you Marauders have with sweet, delicate flowers such as myself true?"

"Alas, yes," Remus said dramatically. "We're rogues, the lot of us. That it, until we find our one true love, then it's undying loyalty and fidelity, I'm afraid."

"I see," she said, her eyes twinkling. "And have you found your one, true love Mr. Moony?"

"Yes, milady. I absolutely have," he said before taking her in his arms and kissing her gently under the stars, while the motorcycle roared overhead.

A/N: Awwww... I know... fluffy fluff, but I couldn't resist. Remus should get to be happy dangit. Thank yous go out, as always to Danielle for being my moderator, my son Will (whose eww gross reaction to the love scene told me I had gotten it just right) for being my beta, and all of you fantastically wonderful people for reading and reviewing. Next time, first quidditch match and a glimpse at the pig prank stage two.

A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.

Harry nervously paced the floor of the Gryffindor locker room, rubbing his scar. Today marked his first match as quidditch captain, and he was, quite honestly, a wreck. He’d spent hours going through strategy with Ron the night before, not going to bed until well after midnight. He hadn’t fallen asleep until a long while later, and even then, it was deeply troubled. He’d had nightmares which had blended the upcoming match with scenes from the battle in Diagon Alley, resulting in horrifying visions of himself incinerating Slytherin’s seeker for getting too close to the snitch. He’d finally risen just before dawn, coming down to the quidditch pitch.

“Harry! There you are. We’ve been looking all over for you. You alright?” Ron said from the doorway. Harry looked up, startled.

“Obviously he’s not, Ronald. Harry, you look horrible, and you missed breakfast,” Hermione, who was standing just behind Ron, said as she handed him several pieces of toast wrapped in a napkin.

“Thanks,” Harry said as he began to eat. Hermione shook her head.

“Do you remember your first quidditch match?” Hermione asked him. Harry and Ron both grinned happily at the memory.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “We flattened Slytherin. Wood was even more excited then I was, I think.”

“And Malfoy was so angry. One of my favorite moments,” Ron chortled gleefully.

“Exactly. You were just as nervous then as you are now,” Hermione said. Harry snorted.

“Thanks for that, Hermione. I really needed to be told that I’m a wreck,” he said. She rolled her eyes, and muttered something about thick-headed males, before continuing.

“My point is, Harry, that you have nothing to worry about. You’ll do fine, just like you did then,” she stated simply.

“Hermione is right, mate. We’re going to kick some snakey arse today. Our team is the best its been since third year,” Ron said, putting a supportive arm around his friend. Harry smiled then, a true, genuine smile.

“Thank you, guys,” he told them, meaning it this time. He felt the tension begin to ease somewhat, and he and Ron started to go over strategy once more. The rest of the team started to filter in then, so Hermione hugged Harry and kissed Ron, before departing to find a spot in the stands. Harry waited for everyone to get changed and settled, then took a deep breath to give the traditional pre-game speech.

“All right team, we’ve got a tough match ahead of us. Slytherin has us in both size and experience,” he said.

“They play very dirty, too,” Ron added unnecessarily. Harry nodded.

“Yes, they do. We play smarter, however. We’re also alot faster and much better fliers. Our strategy is to use that against them today. Kirke and Sloper, your job for this match is solely to keep the bludgers off of Ginny, Natalie, and Colin. Don’t worry about stopping Slytherin from scoring. Their chasers haven’t got anything that Ron can’t handle. They won’t get by him. Chasers, the most important thing for you to remember today is to keep the quaffle moving. Don’t give them the opportunity to zero in on it or you. Not one of their players will hesitate to smash you if you hold still long enough for them to do it. This team is beatable, as long as we use our heads, we’ll win. I know you guys can do it,” he said, eyeing the solemn faces before him. “Let’s go out there and show Slytherin who is going to win the House Cup again this year!”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the team rose and headed through the tunnel towards the pitch. As speeches go, he felt he could have done much worse. It was maybe not as inspiring as he would’ve liked, but at least he had been coherent. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and switched his thoughts from the speech to the match.

“Everyone ready?” he asked. At the team’s determined nods, Harry led the way into the stadium. The roar of the crowd rose up as soon as they stepped into the sunlight.

“And here comes Gryffindor! Potter, Weasley, Weasley, Creevey, McDonald, Kirke, and Sloper,” said the voice of Seamus Finnegan, who had taken the job of announcing the matches, as Lee Jordan had graduated. “The team is led this year by Captain Harry Potter, who is returning from a completely unwarranted ban last season. Potter is a superb seeker, and was the youngest player to make a house team in nearly a century. Ron Weasley, Kirke, and Sloper are returning from last year as keeper and beaters, respectively. McDonald and Creevey are new additions to the team this year at chaser, while Ginny Weasley is moving over from the seeker spot, which she filled last year during Potter’s ban.”

The roar of the crowd turned to jeers from three-fourths of the stadium, as Slytherin made their entrance.

“And now, Slytherin. Montague, Warrington, Crabbe, Goyle, Bletchley, Pucey, and Parkinson. All of the Slytherin team from last year has returned, with the exception of their seeker Draco Malfoy, who is currently spending time in Ministry custody. Malfoy has been replaced with Marcus Parkinson, a rather unusual choice for seeker, who as they are traditionally small,” Seamus’ voice said over the loud speakers.

The two teams met in the middle of the pitch. Montague, the massive ape-like captain of the Slytherin team, glared at Harry, trying to intimidate him. Harry, having learned how to deal with brutes like him at a very young age, merely smirked at him.

“Captains, shake hands,” ordered Madame Hooch. Montague’s hand engulfed Harry’s, squeezing his fingers in a vice-like grip. Harry never allowed his gaze to falter, raising his eyebrow mockingly, in a very Sirius-like fashion, as the handshake’s pressure increased.

“Mount your brooms,” Madame Hooch said, placing her whistle in her mouth and blowing. The teams did as told, the balls were released, and all fourteen players shot into the air. Ron and Bletchley streaked off towards the goals, while Harry rose up, over the action and began to circle the pitch, scanning for the snitch.

“And Ginny Weasley has the quaffle, and she’s passed it to Creevey who ducks under Goyle and passes it to McDonald. McDonald streaks up the pitch, dodgeing a bludger from Goyle. That was a close one! McDonald passes it to Weasley. Weasley shoots, Slytherin’s keeper dives for it and... Gryffindor scores!!! Ten- Nil Gryffindor!” Seamus shouted.

“Slytherin now in possession. Pucey heads up the pitch and tosses it off to Warrington. Oh! Warrington hit by a bludger from Kirke, but he manages to hang on to the quaffle. Warrington passes it to Montague. Montague goes in for the score, and it’s blocked! Nice save by Weasley!” Seamus said over the score of the crowd, which had struck up the familiar chorus of Weasley is Our King upon Ron’s save.

Harry slowly circled the pitch, his eyes intent upon his search. Below him he saw Ginny racing up the field to score. Marcus Parkinson had apparently seen it too, as he abandoned his own search for the snitch to try and block her. Ginny merely feinted under him, before zooming up and over at the last second, scoring easily. It was then that Harry caught a faint glimmer of gold near the Gryffindor stands.

He sent his firebolt into a steep dive, racing for the snitch before Parkinson realized what his inattention had cost him. Ducking a bludger sent his way by Crabbe, Harry reached out to close his hand around the snitch right in front of a wildly cheering Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, and Hermione.

“And Potter catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins 170 - 0!!!” Seamus cheered.

“Way to go, Harry!!!” he heard Remus shout, as Tonks jumped up and down enthusiastically next to him.

“I told you that you’d win!” Hermione was screaming as she hugged Hagrid.

Harry was tackled in mid-air by his overjoyed team. They landed in a big huddle and were soon mobbed, as the stands emptied.

“Party in the Gryffindor common room!” Ron announced, as they were carried out of the stadium.

Several hours later, the party was still in full swing. Harry sat with his eyes closed in one of the armchairs near the fire. Ginny was snuggled comfortably in his lap. She was gently running her fingers through his hair, making him feel more relaxed than he had in a very long time.

“Harry?” she whispered, her voice slightly husky.

“Hmmmm?” he said, cracking open one eye.

“Do you think that they’d notice if we left?” she whispered, her breath gently tickling his ear.

“Left?” he murmured drowsily. “Where do you want to go?”

Ginny smiled mischieviously, and began to nibble on his ear. Harry came instantly awake. His eyes darted over to the corner where he had last seen Ron and Hermione. He was quite happy to notice that Hermione had Ron very thoroughly distracted.

“Ummm...yeah... I think we’re good,” he said. Ginny giggled, standing up, and pulled Harry along with her. They were most of the way to the protrait hole, when a familiar owl zoomed in through one of the Tower’s windows, coming to hover in front of Ginny.

“Hermes?” Ginny said, reaching out to remove the note attached to the owl’s leg. She opened it, quickly scanning it. She gasped, and Harry saw the color drain from her face.

“Ginny? What is it? It’s not your Mum is it?” he asked. Wordlessly, she handed him the note, her hands shaking. He read the message then wrapped her in a hug, gently rubbing her back.

“It’ll be ok, love,” he said softly. Ron and Hermione, having noticed, despite their distraction with each other, that something was amiss, came over with worried looks on their faces.

“Ginny, what’s wrong?” Ron asked. She mutely shook her head. Ron turned to Harry, a questioning look on his face. Harry could tell he was trying not to jump to conclusions.

“She just got a note from Percy. They’ve set Malfoy’s trial for next week. Ginny and I have to be there,” he said grimly. He felt Ginny begin to tremble in his arms, and he held her tighter.

“I’m sorry. I-I th-thought I was past this. The nightmares... they had stopped finally, but now I have to g-g-go tell people about it,” she murmured through chattering teeth. Her shivers were becoming more noticeable now, and the lightning bolt scar, that Malfoy had carved on her forehead, was angry and red.

“Come on, sis. Let’s get you to Madame Pomfrey,” Ron said gently to her. Hermione nodded her agreement.

“I’m sure she can get you a calming draught or something,” Hermione said. Ginny shook her head.

“N-n-n-n-o, I don’t want to be there,” she said, trying to speak through her chills.

“Then at least let’s get you up to bed,” Hermione said, her face full of concern and compassion for what her friend was going through. Ginny, however, shook her head once more, and looked up at Harry with pleading eyes.

“ Stay with me, please. I don’t want to be alone, and I couldn’t sleep,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Harry couldn’t have denied her, even if he’d wanted to. He looked around the room, noticing all the stares and whispers they had attracted. His green eyes hardened and all of his protective instincts kicked in. Looking over Ginny’s head at Ron, he saw that he was not the only one who had noticed, and disliked, all the attention that they were attracting.

“Of course I’ll stay with you, love,” Harry said gently. “but not here. Ron, could you get my cloak and the map? I’m going to take her to Moony’s. We’ll be safe there and it’s private.”

“We’re coming with you,” Ron said immediately.

“No, you’re not. I know she is your sister and you’re worried, but someone has to cover for us, mate,” Harry said.

“But...” Ron began to protest angrily, Hermione’s hand on his arm forestalled him, however.

“He’s right, Ron. Go get the cloak, quickly. I think Parvati and Lavender are working their nerve up to come over and be nosey,” she said. Ron nodded, bounding up the stairs, returning a minute later with the invisibility cloak and Marauder's map in hand.

“You had better take care of her, Harry. If anything happens to her...” Ron said,handing him his things. Harry knew he meant more than just tonight.

“I promise, Ron,” he said, gently leading her out of the portrait hole, before covering them both with the cloak. They made their way switftly and silently to the whomping willow. Harry poked the knot, which stilled the tree’s branches, with a long stick.

He led Ginny into the hidden passage, igniting his wand and holding it aloft to light their way. Thoughts of Sirius flooded his mind as they traversed the tunnel. He ruthlessly tamped them down, however. The pale and trembling girl beside him was his concern tonight.

They reached the entrance to the Shrieking Shack, and he carefully moved the wooden panel aside. Picking Ginny up, he gently carried her into the room. He reflected, as he had the last time he had been there, when Remus had taught him how to fly the motorcycle, how many changes had been made. The broken furniture, tattered hangings, cobwebs and dust were gone, replaced with warm, cheerful curtains, plump, oversized couches and chairs, and vases of fragrant wildflowers.

“Moony?” Harry called tentatively into the dark and silent house. He heard a thump overhead, followed by the sound of walking feet, before seeing a shirtless, barefoot, and thoroughly rumpled looking Remus descend the stairs, followed by a very sleepy looking Tonks.

“Harry? What are you doing here? And Ginny... Harry, what is going on?” his guardian asked.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I had to get Ginny out of there to someplace safe, and I didn’t know where else to go, and I thought, well, maybe... could we stay here tonight Moony?” Harry said, knowing he was rambling and not making much sense.

“Slow down, Harry. Why did you have to get her out of there? What has happened?” Remus said calmly, considering he’d been woken up in the middle of the night by his ward and had no idea why. Harry quickly explained about the letter from Percy and Ginny’s resultant panic.

“I had to get her out of there, Moony,” he repeated. “It’s where the attack happened, and she couldn’t feel safe there. Then everyone started staring at her, and I had to protect her. I love her, Remus,” he said softly, his green eyes pleading, as Ginny’s had been earlier.

Remus and Tonks exchanged a look, and Tonks nodded.

“Lay her down on the couch, Harry,” Tonks said. Once she was settled, Tonks kneeled down in front of the silent girl. “You just sit here, Ginny. Nothing is going to happen tonight. I’ll make us all some chocolate. Remus, you’d better let Dumbledore know where they are. Knowing him, it’s probably not necessary, but just in case.”

Remus nodded his agreement, and he and Tonks left the room. Harry sat down next to Ginny, wrapping his arms around her once more. She hadn’t spoken since they’d left the common room, and Harry was becoming very worried. Remus and Tonks returned a short time later. Tonks pressed a steaming mug of chocolate into Ginny’s hand, while Remus covered both of the teens up with a thick, though faded and worn, quilt.

“Drink up, Ginny. Remus insists that chocolate is a cure for pretty much everything. We always have some handy,” Tonks said, in her usual cheerful manner, although her eyes showed her concern. Ginny mechanically obeyed. Remus and Tonks sat down in the nearby chairs, talking to Harry about the quidditch match earlier in the day. Harry felt Ginny’s tremors cease, and she even interjected a few comments, before her eyelids began to droop and she drifted off to sleep. Tonks sighed.

“That poor kid. Percy should be smacked, telling her in a letter like that,” she growled.

“I’m not sure there would be a good way for her to hear that she has to relive that attack, love,” Remus said in his hoarse voice.

“Still,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m just glad we had that calming draught and dreamless sleep potion on hand. You should’ve taken her to Madame Pomfrey, Harry.” Harry hung his head.

“I know. I’m sorry to drag you guys into this, but she didn’t want to go to Madame Pomfrey, and I just couldn’t tell her no, Tonks, not then. Thank you both, for, you know, being here for me... for us,” he said quietly. He felt Remus put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Harry, when will you learn? We will always be here for you, as long as you need us. We love you,” he said simply. Harry smiled shyly.

“I love you guys, too,” Harry replied so softly that it was almost inaudible. Remus beamed at him, a smile of pure joy at how far Harry had come. A year ago, even a few months ago, Remus would never have expected those words from the young man. He sometimes felt that dealing with Harry’s emotions was like dealing with a wounded animal. Harry did not trust easily nor lightly, and he would rather push people away then acknowledge that he needed them. Tonks stood up, grinning and ruffling Harry’s hair before bending and placing a kiss on his forehead.

“ Glad we could help. Now, you need to get some sleep too. We’ll be upstairs if you need anything,” she said.

“She’s right. You get some rest, and try not to worry. I’m sure Ginny will feel better in the morning,” Remus said, standing and following Tonks up the stairs.

Harry lay his head against the back of the couch, silently watching Ginny sleep and feeling like he knew, for the first time that he could really remember, what it was like to have parents. With that thought in his head, he fell asleep, a contented smile upon his face despite his concern for Ginny.

A/N: Poor Ginny, she’s had an awful year, and I just felt like she was dealing with it entirely too well. It was about time she broke down a little. Anyway...

Thanks go out as always to Danielle for moderating, my son for beta-ing, and all of you guys for reading and reviewing. As soon as all of these evil log-in problems are resolved,
I will do my best to respond.

Next chapter... Malfoy’s trial.

A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.



"Harry? Harry, wake up," the hoarse voice of Remus Lupin penetrated the layers of Harry's sleep shrouded mind and he opened his eyes.

"Remus? What are you doing here?" he said blearily, then he felt the warmth of Ginny Weasley snuggled in his arms and reality came crashing back. "What time is it?"

"Well, I live here and its around seven," Remus said smiling slightly. "I'm sorry for waking you, Harry, but I have just gotten a message from the headmaster. He'd like us back up at the castle and in his office as soon as possible." Harry grimaced.

"We're in trouble aren't we?" he quietly asked, so as not to disturb the still sleeping Ginny.

"No, Harry. I don't think so. I believe he has something he wishes to speak with you about and would just rather do it before the whole castle wakes up. Now, I'm going to go wake Nymphadora. I'll leave Ginny to you," Remus said, conjuring a cup of what looked like strong black coffee.

"Tonks is not a morning person," he added, grinning, before heading up the stairs.

Harry looked down at the girl curled up in his arms, remembering how defenseless she had been the night before. His eyes hardened as they touched upon the jagged scar on her forehead. She should never have had to deal with all of this. He should never have allowed their relationship to develop. He should have pushed her away while he still could. It was too late now. She would not allow him to sever their bond, even if he'd been able to bring himself to do it. He sighed, mentally cursing his own weakness. He leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head.

"Ginny? C'mon, time to wake up," he said softly. Ginny's eyelids fluttered. She moaned a protest and burrowed herself deeper into his warmth. Harry stifled the urge to pull her still closer and very gently shook her. "Gin?"

"Mmmmmm... I'm not ready to get up yet, Mum," she murmured sleepily. Harry chuckled softly.

"I'm not your Mum. In fact, you should probably be glad I'm not. I doubt she'd be very happy with either of us right now," he said. He was fairly certain the Molly Weasley would be less then pleased to discover that her only had daughter had run away from school and spent the night with a boy, however innocent it might have been. Ginny's eyes flew open at Harry's words and she sat bolt upright, realizing she had been asleep in Harry's arms.

"Ummmm... Harry? Where are we? What exactly happened last night?" she said, eyeing him warily. Harry frowned.

"You don't remember?" he asked. Now it was Ginny's turn to frown.

"I remember we were in the common room and had decided to go... someplace more private," she said. Harry nodded.

"Do you remember getting the owl from Percy?" he asked. Ginny gasped as her memories of the previous night hit her. Harry pulled her gently back into his arms. "Are you all right?"

"I... yes. I think so. I'm sorry I broke down like that. I just... it was so unexpected," Ginny said, blushing.

"It's ok. You don't have to be strong all the time," Harry told her. Ginny smiled, with a trace of her normal fire.

"Of course I do. I'm Molly Weasley's daughter. We Weasley women are practically indestructable, Potter," she said.

"Glad to see you're feeling better this morning, Ginny," an extremely sleepy looking Tonks said, as she came down the stairs with Remus.

"Thanks for last night," Ginny said, looking somewhat embarassed. Tonks waved her off, and took another sip of her still steaming coffee.

"Don't even worry about it. We were glad we could help. Although, I hope you won't care if I give that brother of yours a piece of my mind. Now, we'd better get you two back up to the school, before they send out the search parties," Tonks grinned.

On the way back, conversation was kept light, mainly centered on the startlingly quick end to the quidditch match the day before. Harry did, however, let Ginny know that the headmaster wanted to see them and reassured her, as Remus had him, that they were not in trouble.

"Chocolate frogs," Remus said when they reached the entrance the headmaster's office. The gargoyle obligingly slid away, and they ascended the staircase. Dumbledore sat waiting for them behind his desk. Harry was startled, and a bit apprehensive, to see that the headmaster was not the only one in the room, however. Madam Pomfrey was there, as well as Percy Weasley. Percy sat rather stiffly in a chair near Dumbledore's desk, and his eyes flashed dangerously as they lit upon Harry.

"What do you mean by sneaking my sister out of the school in the middle of the night and taking her Merlin knows where? It's morning! You've been gone, with Ginny, all night. When I tell Mum...." Percy huffed. Harry took an involuntary step back. The overprotective Weasley brothers he could deal with, but Ginny's mum was an altogether different matter.

"I... umm... " he eloquently started to say, only to be interrupted by Tonks stepping protectively in front of him.

"Don't you dare yell at Harry, Percival Weasley! Ginny was a wreck last night, thanks to you! He was trying to protect her when he brought her to Remus and me, unlike you who sent her news like Malfoy's trial with a bloody owl and if you even think about telling your Mum, I will personally dredge up every last dirty little secret of yours and go to your Mum with them," she snarled, glaring at Percy like a mother wolf protecting her cub. Percy seemed to crumple in the face of Tonks' wrath, throwing his hands up in defeat. Remus beamed at her.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Harry. I was just worried. I didn't mean for all of this to be such a shock, Ginny. I wanted to tell you personally, but The Prophet has gotten a hold of the story somehow, and I thought an owl would be better than the morning edition in the middle of the Great Hall," Percy said.

"Now that we have all relieved our tension," an amused sounding Dumbledore said, "Shall we procede?" The headmaster conjured four more chairs and waved Tonks, Remus, Harry, and Ginny into them.

"Right, yes," Percy said, visibly collecting his thoughts and assuming his usual pompous air. "The trial is set for Wednesday. Harry, Ginny, Tonks, and Madame Pomfrey, you will all need to be there. You will each be called in to testify seperately. Once you've given your testimony, you will be allowed to remain in the courtroom, although you'll have to be in an anteroom until your turn," Percy paused here, while everyone nodded their understanding.

"As I said earlier, The Prophet has gotten a hold of the story somehow, and they are running with it. Young scion of a pureblood family accused of a heinous crime against the beautiful girlfriend of the Boy-Who-Lived," Percy read from the copy of the paper he had produced from the case at his feet. "Fortunately, Harry's popularity is very high right now because of the battles in the Ministry and Diagon Alley, so they are playing it in our favor." Harry grimaced. He hated publicity. He had simply been doing what he felt was right. Ginny, sensing his discomfort, took his hand and smiled comfortingly at him.

"Harry, I'd like for you to play up that image in court, as much as possible. People will respond to it, and we're going to need all of the help that we can get," Percy said.

"What do you mean 'all of the help that we can get'? You think Malfoy is going to get off don't you?" Ginny demanded, sounding slightly paniced. Harry gently squeezed her hand. There was no way he would let Malfoy get away with what he had done. Percy sighed.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Ginny. The Malfoys still wield some power, and they have alot of money at their fingertips. They've hired Julius Parkinson, and he is absolutely ruthless. He is going to come after you, and Harry as well. It won't be pleasant. I meant what I said though, I will do everything in my power to see Malfoy rot in Azkaban," Percy told her.

"We didn't expect this to be pleasant, Percy. How could it be?" Harry said, putting an arm around Ginny, who was now looking almost as bad as she had the night before. "If that's all you wanted to tell us, I'm taking Ginny back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Patience, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said gently. "I know that this is difficult for both you and Miss Weasley, however, Mr. Weasley is trying to help. I believe, Percy, that you wished to go through everyone's statements?" Percy nodded. They spent the next hour going over exactly what had happened that day. At the end of it, silent tears were trailing down Ginny's cheeks, despite Harry's best efforts at comforting her. As he walked her back to Gryffindor Tower and turned her over to Hermione to be tucked into bed, he silently vowed that he would do whatever it took to see that Draco Malfoy got exactly what he deserved.

The days before the trial seemed to pass with agonizing slowness. Ginny, once over the initial shock, seemed to bounce back somewhat, although she avoided places like the Great Hall, where people would stare and whisper, discussing the stories that The Daily Prophet were running. Harry and the other Gryffindors also made sure that Ginny was never left alone, as the Slytherins seemed determined to make her life hell. This had all culminated when Dean Thomas had gotten two weeks of detention for cursing Marcus Parkinson so badly that he ended up in the hospital wing. Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy had cornered Ginny and Colin just outside the library and Harry hated to think what might have happened had Dean not happened along.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione did their best to keep Ginny's spirits up by executing Part B of the Great Pig Prank, as it had been dubbed. They took turns, everyday, releasing Pansy the Pig in crowded parts of the castle. As soon as Filch showed up, they'd grab the pig, wrap her in the invisibility cloak, and put her safely back in the pen in the secret passage. Filch was practically pulling his hair out in frustration at his inability to find the pig. Peeves, having picked up on this, had taken to following the caretaker around making random pig noises.

The morning of the trial found Harry in the Gryffindor boys' bathroom. He eyed himself critically in the mirror, smoothing out his best school robes, which he was wearing over an emerald green jumper Mrs. Weasley had knitted him. Ginny had told him the color brought out his eyes, which he supposed was true. He sighed and mussed his hair so that it looked the way his father's had in Snape's memory. He carefully checked to make sure his scar was still clearly visible. He muttered to himself. He could not believe he was actually following Percy's advice to "play up" his image. As much as he hated doing it though, he'd cheerfully wear a t-shirt with flashing neon letters proclaiming Boy-Who-Lived if there was any way it would help put Malfoy in Azkaban. This was for Ginny, for her, he would be put on display. He left the bathroom and entered the sixth year boys' dorm, where Ron was impatiently waiting.

"About time. I was starting to think that I'd have to come in after you. Wow!" said Ron, raising his eyebrows in surpise as he caught sight of Harry. "You know, for the first time since I've known you, you actually look the part."

"Thanks," Harry said sarcastically. "It was your bloody brother's idea. Now come on, let's get downstairs before I talk myself out of this."

Hermione and Ginny were waiting in the common room for them. Ginny was, once again, pale. Her brown eyes looked huge in her face. Harry could sense her nervousness from across the room. Nevertheless, she smiled when she saw Harry, and nodded approvingly.

"You look very nice, Harry," she said. Hermione nodded her agreement.

"She's right. The press is going to have kittens when they see you today," Hermione said. Harry grimaced.

"Are you trying to convince me to go back upstairs?" Harry said, nervously. Ginny frowned.

"Thank you, Harry. I know how much you hate all of the attention and, well, I know you're doing this for me," she said. Harry walked over to her and hugged her.

"Ginny, I would do this a hundred times over for you. Now quit worrying about me. How are you?" he said.

"I'll be fine," Ginny said straightening and determinedly squaring her shoulders.

Together, the four freinds left for the headmaster's office. After much arguing, resulting in Ron finally declaring he'd go steal a thestral if he had to, the adults had finally agreed, the night before, to let Ron and Hermione accompany them to the Ministry. They arrived at Dumbledore's office and, after giving the password, walked up the staircase. Remus, Tonks, and Madame Pomfrey were there waiting. Harry saw Remus' eyes widen when he entered.

"Merlin, Harry. Think you can warn me next time you decide to impersonate your father? I thought for a moment that James and Lily had come back to haunt me when I saw you and Ginny come in," Remus said. Despite his nervousness, Harry grinned.

"Sorry Moony. I didn't mean to give a person of your advanced years such a shock," he said innocently. Tonks chuckled.

"Shut it you," Remus said playfully poking her. Tonks just grinned. She once again had dark, shoulder length hair today. Her eyes were silvery grey, like Sirius' had been. Harry wondered if this was Tonks' true appearance, or if she just used it when she was trying to look professional. Personally, he preferred her usual, more relaxed, spiky bubblegum pink hair and violet eyes.

"Are we ready then?" the headmaster asked. At everyone's affirmative nods, he produced a large, purple hula-hoop.

Once they had all taken hold of it, he activated it and they were all swept off to the Ministry. As they landed, Harry nearly fell over. Ginny did, knocking into Ron and sending them both to the floor. Harry was helping them both up when he heard a familiar voice from across the room.

"There they are!"

Harry turned to see a horde of reporters advancing on them, with Rita Skeeter in the lead. Knowing that there was no escape, and trying to be mindful of the impression he was attempting to create, Harry straightened to his full height and put a protective arm around Ginny.

"Harry! Harry Potter!" Rita called. "Is this your girlfriend? Any truth to the rumors that you have secretly married?" Harry raised an eyebrow, doing his best to appear both relaxed and confident, despite the fact that he was feeling far from it.

"Hello Rita. Yes, Ginny is my girlfriend, and no, we are not married. I'll be happy to talk with you when all of this is over with, but right now we really need to get inside. Excuse us, please," he said elbowing his way through the crowd of reporters to a door across the room where Percy was frantically beckoning. Whether it was because, Harry had promised to talk to them later or, from sheer shock that he had answered their questions, they gave way and allowed the group through.

Percy ushered them through the door, and Harry found himself in a red carpeted room with several stiff backed, lightly upholstered chairs. Across from the door they had entered, stood another one guarded by two aurors. Tonks went directly to them and carried on a brief whispered conversation. One of the men, disappeared through the door through which Harry and the others had just come, presumably to deal with the press. Tonks came over shaking her head.

"Shoddy work. No excuse for that. If I have my way, someone is going to get in trouble over that one," Tonks huffed. "The press is allowed in the courtroom, but they're not supposed to be allowed down here." Percy nodded his agreement.

"That woman is a pest of the first order. You handled it very well though, Harry. Headmaster, I believe the rest of the wizengamot are already in there. Ron, Hermione, and Professor Lupin, if you go through that door, Mum, Dad, and the rest of the family have saved you seats," he said, indicating the door which was being guarded by the auror.

Ron and Hermione hugged both Harry and Ginny, wishing them luck, before heading into the courtroom to take their seats. Dumbledore gave them both an assessing look.

"Remember, the truth will prevail in the end. If you go in with it as your weapon, you cannot fail," Dumbledore said, before he too parted.

"Just tell them exactly what happened, as best you can, and try not to worry." Remus said. He put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and gave him a small smile, before pecking Tonks on the cheek and entering the courtroom.

"It's time," Percy said, checking his watch. "Ginny, you'll go in with me. The rest of you will be called when it's your turn."

Ginny wrapped Harry in a fierce hug, clinging to him as though her life depended upon it. She then took a deep steadying breath, squared her shoulders, and followed her brother determinedly from the room. Harry threw himself into one of the chairs, burrying his head in his hands. Tonks sat down next to him, talking quietly in an effort to calm him.

Ginny entered the courtroom just after Percy, her head held high. She looked around, taking in the grey stone walls, dimly lit by torches. Benches rose on either side of her, filled to capacity. Many of the people present, Ginny did not recognize, however some of them were familiar to her. Her entire family, including her Mum, who still looked wan from her injury, were there. She also saw several Order members. Mad-Eye Moody winked at her from his spot behind the twins.

In front of her, another set of high stone benches rose, filled with the members of the Wizengamot. Ginny recognized Professor Dumbeldore, of course. She saw Madame Bones and Kingsley Shacklebolt, as well as several other aquaintances of her father. Glancing to her left, Ginny finally saw him... Darco Malfoy. Suppressing a shiver, she took a moment to study him. Despite the fact that he was skinnier and even more pale than she remembered, he still held himself with his normal inbred arrogance. Standing next to him, was a rather tall man, whose marked resemblance to both Marcus and Pansy, left very little doubt that he must be Julius Parkinson, their father. Draco must have sensed Ginny's stare, because he looked over at her and smirked confidently.

"It would appear that everyone is here, so let us begin," Madame Bones said. "We are gathered for the criminal trial of Draco Phineas Malfoy. Prosecutor for the Ministry;Percival Ignatius Weasley, Defense for the Accused; Julius Archibald Parkinson, Presided over by Minister of Magic Amelia Susan Bones, court scribe; Penelope Tallulah Clearwater. Mr Malfoy, you are accused of the assault and torture of Ginevra Molly Weasley and violation of the laws prohibiting the use of the unforgiviables. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, Minister," Malfoy said haughtily.

"Naturally," Madame Bones murmured. "Very well Weasley, you may begin."

"Thank you, Minister," Percy said in his most pompous voice. "The Ministry intends to prove that on the afternoon of September 2, Draco Malfoy did knowingly, and of his own free will, attack and torture one Ginevra Molly Weasley. In the course of said attack, he used the cruciatus curse. Moreover, we shall present evidence that the attack was orchestrated under the express orders of You-Know-Who, and that Mr. Malfoy is, indeed, a death eater." Ginny saw the members of the Wizengamot shift and murmur in their seats. Behind her, she could hear the scratch of quill upon parchment as the reporters frantically tried to catch every word being said.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Madame Bones said. "Parkinson?"

"Thank you, Minister. It is our intention to prove that, not only is Draco Malfoy not guilty of the horrible crimes of which he has been accused, but that the attack was, in fact staged by Miss Weasley and her boyfirend, Harry James Potter. Potter, along with Miss Weasley, her brothers, and another of their friends, Miss Hermione Granger, have terrorized young Mr. Malfoy for the last six years. Their bullying finally culminating in these shocking allegations," Mr. Parkinson said. Ginny gasped in outrage. It was all she could do to not stand up and smack the smirk off of Malfoy's face. Behind her, Mrs. Weasley was being gently, but frimly restrained by Mr. Weasley, while Hermione whispered furiously to Ron. Remus, visibly angry himself, had all he could do to keep the twins quiet. This left Moody, to deal with Bill and Charlie, who only settled down when they were given a very stern look from Professor Dumbledore in the Wizengamot box.

"Thank you, Mr. Parkinson," Madame Bones said, somewhat stiffly. "Mr. Weasley, you may call your first witness."

"Thank you, ma'am. The Ministry calls Ginevra Molly Weasley," Percy said. Ginny walked to the witness stand, doing her best to stay calm.

"Miss Weasley, can you please tell us in your own words, what happened the afternoon of Septemeber 2nd?" Percy said. Ginny nodded.

" I was headed to the Great Hall after Potions. I was late to meet my boyfriend, Harry Potter, for lunch. The corridors were empty because I had been held after to clean up a spilt potion. I wasn't really paying much attention to where I was going, when... when I felt someone grab me from behind," Ginny said in a choked voice. She felt the terror of the moment arise anew within her, and shivered, closing her eyes.

"Th-there were three of them. They all wore robes and masks. I tried to fight them off, but they were so strong and I had dropped my wand. One of them told me to stop struggling, a-a-and called me a blood traitor. Then, he said he had a message for Harry from You-know-who. He said that he knew that I would make sure that Harry got it. Suddenly, they let me go. I started to run, but they hit me with silencio and a cruciatus curse," she said, her voice breaking as tears started to run silently down her cheeks.

"It felt like I was on fire, and there was so much pressure and pain. I could feel my arms and ribs cracking, and I couldn't breath," Ginny said. She swiped at her tears with a shaking hand. There was total silence amongst those observing Ginny's testimony, aside form the occassional horrified gasp, and the quiet sobbing of Mrs. Weasley.

"Just when I thought that I couldn't take it anymore, they released it. I tried to get up... to get away, but I couldn't. They said... they said that they weren't through with me yet. One of them put me in a full body bind. The leader, the one who had been doing all of the talking, come over to me. He.. he..." Ginny took a great, shuddering breath, trying to calm herself enough to talk.

"He knelt down next to me, and told me to tell Harry that no one near him was safe. He said to tell him that the Dark Lord would take away everyone Harry cared about," Ginny began to sob in earnest now. She felt Percy press a handkerchief into her hand.

"Go on please, Miss Weasley," she heard him say in a choked voice, as though he too was having a difficult time with his emotions. She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly several times, before she was able to get the words out.

"He used a knife to carve this into my head," She said, barely above a whisper, as she brushed her hair back, revealing the jagged lightning bolt shape on her forehead. A collective gasp went up in the courtroom.

"Miss Weasley were you able to identify who had done this to you?" Percy asked. Ginny nodded.

"I saw his eyes, through the mask. He was enjoying it," she said shivering.

"And whose eyes did you see through the mask?"

"Draco Malfoy's," she said, pointing a shaky finger at Malfoy.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," Percy said. "Your witness, Parkinson."

"Touching story, Miss Weasley," Parkinson said mockingly. "Isn't it true that your family and the Malfoys have never gotten along."

"Yes sir, we try to avoid associating with death eaters," Ginny said, raising her chin defiantly.

"And are you aware that your brother Ronald, Mr. Harry Potter, and a Miss Hermione Granger have, on several occassions, been involved in confrontations with Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes, I am. Draco is a bullying git. He's always saying things abo..." Ginny said. Parkinson interrupted her.

"Just answer the question, Miss Weasley. The day before the supposed attack on you, there was a confrontation on the school train which resulted in Draco being injured by Mr. Potter, isn't that true?"

"Yes, but..." Ginny said.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," Mr. Parkinson said, smiling an oily smile.

"Permission to redirect?" Percy asked. Madam Bones nodded her agreement.

"Miss Weasley, will you tell us exactly what happened aboard the Hogwart's Express on September the first?"

"Yes, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and myself were sitting in our train car talking when Draco showed up. He said some foul things about myself and Hermione. He also said some things about Harry's godfather. Harry asked him to leave. When he wouldn't, Harry kicked him out, and Draco bit his tongue," Ginny answered.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," Percy said.

"I know this was difficult for you, Ginny. Thank you for your testimony. You may step down. Next witness," Madame Bones said. Ginny steped down, and went to sit next to her mum, who wrapped her immediately in one of her famous hugs.

"The Ministry calls Harry James Potter," Percy said. An excited murmur rose in the courtroom, as people strained to get a view of the famous Boy-Who-Lived. The door to the side of the room opened, and Harry entered, walked to the witness stand, and sat down, trying to not think about the fact that this was the very same courtroom used for his disciplinary hearing the year before. Harry's eyes flicked to Ginny and saw her pale, tear stained face before sending a steely glare at Malfoy, who, in turn, reatced with his usual sneering smirk.

"Mr. Potter, it was you who found Miss Weasley after the attack?" Percy asked.

"Yes, it was," Harry said, confidently.

"Could you tell us, please, how that came about?" Percy questioned. Harry acknowledged him with a nod.

"Ginny and I had agreed to meet for lunch. When she was late, I became concerned. I asked another student in her year, Colin Creevey, if he'd seen her. He said that she'd had to stay after in potions."

"And did his explanation relieve your mind?" Percy asked.

"No, it didn't. For some reason I just had a feeling that something was not right, so I went outside the doors to wait for her. When she still didn't show up after a while, I became very worried and was just goign to go look for her, when I heard someone coming up the corridor."

"And do you know who it was?" Percy inquired. Harry nodded.

"It was Malfoy, and his two friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle," Harry said.

"I see, and what happened next?"

"When Malfoy saw me he laughed, and asked where Ginny was. He said that he hoped that the "littlest weasel hadn't met with an accident." That's what he calls Ginny. When he said that, I knew why I'd been feeling so uneasy and I went to look for her," Harry said.

"And did you find her, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir. I saw her hair sticking out from underneath one of the tapestries near the dungeons," Harry answered.

"And what condition was she in when you found her?" Percy asked. Harry's green eyes filled with pain, as he saw her laying there helpless in his mind's eye.

"She was still unconscious. There was blood everywhere. I thought.... I thought she was dead at first. I thought I'd lost her, but then I saw her breathe. She still had a full body bind on her, so I took it off and carried her to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing," he said softly. He was dimly aware of someone snapping a picture, and reporters scrambling to get down his every word. His eyes sought Ginny's again, and he felt better, knowing that she was ok.

"Were you present when she awoke later that evening?" Percy questioned.

"Yes, I was, along with Professor Dumbledore."

"And what did she say at that time?"

"She told us what had happened. Then she said that it was Draco who had attacked her. She said she had seen his eyes through the mask he was wearing," Harry answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Your witness, Parkinson," Percy said.

"Mr. Potter, how would you characterize your relationship with Draco Malfoy?" Parkinson asked. Harry frowned.

"We don't get along,"he said.

"Don't get along? Isn't that a bit of an understatement, Mr. Potter?"

"Perhaps," Harry conceded.

"Isn't it true that you and Draco Malfoy hate each other, and that there have been several confrontations between you?"

"Yes sir, there have been."

"Can you tell us, Mr. Potter,what happened last June in the Department of Mysteries, here at the Ministry?" Parkinson said. Harry visibly paled, and Percy stood up indignantly.

"Minister, I fail to see what that has to do with this proceeding," Percy said.

"I intend to show that Mr. Potter has motive to falsely accuse Mr. Malfoy, ma'am," Parkinson said. Madam Bones frowned. She was clearly unhappy with this line of questioning, but was forced to be impartial.

"Very well, Parkinson, but this had better prove to be pertinent," she said at last.

"Mr. Potter, the events of last June?" Parkinson sneered. Harry tried to control the anger, sorrow, and guilt discussing that day always brought.

"I was lured to the Ministry by Voldemort. I had been led to believe that my godfather, Sirius Black was in danger. When I arrived, there were death eaters waiting. Sirius had never been there. My friends, who had come with me, and I did our best to fight them off, but... Sirius and some others showed up, after finding out where we had gone. He was killed in the ensuing battle," Harry managed to choke out, as he fiercly blinked back tears.

"And were Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black LeStrange amongst the alleged death eaters present?"

"Yes," Harry said tersely.

"Wasn't it Draco's aunt, Bellatrix LeStrange who killed your beloved godfather?"

"Yes," Harry snapped. "It was."

"Don't you in fact hold Draco Malfoy's family responsible for the death of Sirius Black?"

"No," Harry said firmly. "I don't." Parkinson's eyes widened in momentary suprise, then turned mocking.

"Come now, Mr. Potter. If not them, then who?" Parkinson said tauntingly.

"Myself," he answered quietly. "I was fooled, tricked by Voldemort. Sirius never should have been there. My friends never should have been there. It was my fault." A murmur went once more around the courtroom. The frantic scratching of quills was beginning to get on Harry's rapidly fraying nerves, almost as much as the bored smirk upon Malfoy's face.

"How touching," Parkinson sneered. "Do you honestly expect us to believe that?" Harry shrugged.

"I can only state the truth. I can not control what people believe," Harry said. Parkinson narrowed his eyes, obviously unhappy that Harry was able to turn his questioning so easily back on him.

"Mr. Potter, you said that after you found Miss Weasley, you took her to the hospital wing. Did you stay with her the entire time?"

"No," Harry admitted. "I didn't."

"Why did you leave? You stated that you were so concerned, that you thought that you had lost her," Parkinson inquired.

"I went looking for Malfoy," Harry said defiantly, beginning to lose the battle with his temper.

"I see, and did you find him?"

"Yes, I did," Harry ground out.

"Why did you go looking for him, Mr. Potter?" Parkinson said smoothly, a small, triumphant smile on his face.

"Because I knew, from what he'd said earlier that it was him who had hurt Ginny," Harry said.

"So, before Miss Weasley named her attacker, you took it upon yourself to find Draco Malfoy, whom you blamed becuase of an innocent statement on his part. Didn't you then attack him, Mr. Potter? "

"Yes," Harry growled. "I did." Harry heard gasps from those observing, and saw Remus and Moody exchange a nervous glance. Parkinson smiled a slow, satisfied smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. Nothing further."

"Redirect!" Percy said, rising. Madame Bones nodded.

"Harry, has Draco Malfoy ever attacked either yourself or your friends before, in a less serious manner?"

"Yes, frequently. He thinks its great sport," Harry said.

"In the last two years, how many people that you know have been attacked or killed?" Percy asked quietly. Harry's eyes widened, and he wordlessly shook his head. His mind reeled away from the enormity of what Percy was asking of him. He saw Remus start to rise, and be restrained by Moody and the twins.

"Answer the question, Mr. Potter," Madame Bones said, gently. Harry turned to the Wizengamot, and saw Dumbledore look sadly at him, before nodding slightly. Harry took a deep shuddering, breath.

"My godfather, my Uncle Vernon, my cousin Dudley, and my friend Cedric Diggory have all died. They were murdered by Voldemort and his agents. My Aunt Petunia is in St. Mungo's. She was tortured into insanity by the cruciatus this summer when death eaters attacked our house. That's when my uncle and cousin were killed, as well. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have both nearly been killed. My guardian, Remus Lupin, has been attacked. My best friends were injured when Voldemort lured me to the Ministry in June when Sirius died. Then Ginny was attacked," he managed to choke out. People throughout the courtroom wore expressions of mingled pity and horror at what the handsome young man before them had suffered in the last two years.

"Aside from Ginny, do you hold Draco Malfoy or his family repsonsible for any of these attacks?"

"No, I do not," Harry said firmly.

"Mr. Potter, why did you attack Draco Malfoy that day?"

"It was the scar," Harry said hollowly. "When I saw that Ginny had been marked like that, like me, I had to do it. I had to protect her. I couldn't let her go through the things I have. I couldn't let her deal with that pain. This damn scar is the symbol of all of it, and now she had one too. I guess... I guess I lost control. I went to the Great Hall, and I levitated him up to the ceiling and pinned him there. As much as I wanted to hurt him though, as much as I hated him at that moment, I didn't do it. I put him back down and I went back to Ginny.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter. I know that some of these things were very difficult for you to talk about," Percy said, giving him a small smile. Harry nodded.

"You may step down, Harry. Next witness," Madam Bones said.

Harry went dierectly to Ginny, who hugged him tightly to her, crying.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," she said, softly.

"Shhhh," he soothed. "It's not your fault. I'd go through it all again to make sure your safe." Ginny kissed him, oblivious to the reporters who were once again snapping pictures, and pulled him down to sit between her and Remus.

By the time they were settled, Madam Pomfrey had taken the stand. Her testimony went much quicker than either Harry's or Ginny's had. She gave a brief overview of Ginny's condition after the attack and confirmed that she had, in fact been placed under the cruciatus. Mr. Parkinson chose not to cross examine her, and she was allowed to sit down.

"The Ministry calls Auror Nymphadora Tonks," Percy said. Tonks entered, tripping as she came through the door. Blushing brightly, she hastily took the stand.

"Auror Tonks, you were the officer who took Miss Weasley's statement, is that correct?" Percy asked.

"Yes, it is," Tonks replied.

"And what evidence, if any, did you collect at that time?"

"At that time, the only evidence I collected was Miss Weasley's statement. I then contacted the Ministry, who sent a team of aurors to Hogwarts. When they arrived, Mr. Malfoy was taken in to custody and searched. We aslo checked his wand for evidence of priori incantatem. It was during our search, that the dark mark was discovered upon his forearm. Additionally, the priori incantatem indicated that one of the last spells his wand had performed was the cruciatus curse," Tonks said.

"Thank you, Auror. Mr. Parkinson, your witness." Parkinson rose, smiling nastily at Tonks.

"Auror Tonks, how did you come to be at Hogwarts at the time of Miss Weasley's attack?" Parkinson asked.

"I'm on loan from the Ministry, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts," Tonks answered.

"I see. Miss Tonks, is it true you and Harry Potter have a... personal relationship?" Parkinson said, smirking. Harry felt Remus tense beside him at the implication. The reporters in the room began to whisper excitedly amongst themselves.

"I'm not sure what you mean. He is one of my students, yes," Tonks said frowning. Parkinson raised his eyebrow.

"Your relationship goes a little beyond that doesn't it?" he sneered. Tonks flushed, glaring.

"Not in the way you seem to be implying," Tonks growled.

"Oh? Then please explain, Auror," Parkinson said. Tonks bit her lip, her eyes flicking to Remus, who was growling softly, deep in his throat. Harry put a restraining hand on his guardian,as did Moody.

"I'm in a relationship with Harry's guardian, Remus Lupin," she said, raising her chin defiantly, in much the same way Ginny had earlier.

"Aren't you in fact living with Mr. Potter's werewolf guardian," Parkinson asked. Tonks' eyes flashed dangerously at Parkinson.

"No, Mr. Parkinson. I am living with the man who happens to be Harry's guardian," Tonks snapped.

"Interesting that the one auror at Hogwarts, just happens to be living with Potter's werewolf guardian Auror, can you tell the court who found Mr. Malfoy's wand?"

"I did," Tonks said glaring. Harry watched in growing concern, as he noticed that Remus' eyes were beginning to take on a faint golden hue in his anger, as they did on full moon days. He saw his guardian's fists clench in his lap, and noticed he was taking slow, deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"Interesting," Mr Parkinson repeated with a smirk. "I have nothing further."

Percy rose to redirect, as Parkinson sat down by a maliciously grinning Malfoy.

"Auror, at anytime from his arrest until the search was concluded, were you alone with Mr. Malfoy?"

"No, I was not. Its Ministry policy that at least two people be with a suspect at all times," said Tonks.

"I see. Mr. Parkinson was so kind as to illuminate us about your relationship to Harry Potter, but you have a relationship to the defendent as well, isn't that correct?"

"Yes." Tonks smirked. "He's my cousin. My mother and his are sisters."

"Thank you, Auror. You may step down. The Minsitry has no further witnesses at this time," Percy said, as Tonks left the stand and came to sit by Remus, speaking softly and soothingly to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Parkinson, do you have any witnesses to present?" Madame Bones asked.

"Yes, Minister. The defense calls Draco Phineas Malfoy," Parkinson said. Ginny tensed, and clenched Harry's hand. Draco stood and, as arrogantly as ever, strode to the witness stand.

"Mr. Malfoy, could you please tell us exactly what you remember of the events surrounding Miss Weasley's attack?"

"Certainly. I'd had class all morning, along with the rest of my house. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, really. The first I heard of the attack was in the Great Hall. I'd been eating lunch with my friends, when I saw Potter come in. He was all covered in this green fire and he hollered something about me touching his little girlfriend. Next thing I know, I'm dangling from the ceiling," Draco said, putting his hand dramatically to his chest.

"That must've been quite traumatizing for you, Mr. Malfoy," Parkinson sympathized.

"It was horrible," Draco said with a delicate shiver that made Harry long to get up and punch him.

"I know how awful this has all been for you, but could you please tell us what happened next."

"Dumbledore forced Potter to put me down, and then they all swept him off to the hospital wing. I was locked in my common room with my head of house, Professor Snape. I stayed there until the aurors came. I wasn't even sure why I was in trouble," Draco said piteously.

"So did you attack Ginevra Weasley, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Absolutely not," Draco said, looking Ginny staright in the eye. Harry clenched his jaw, and used every occlumency technique he could think of to keep from slamming Malfoy into the ceiling again.

"Tell us about your relationship with Harry Potter." Parkinson said. Draco sighed, shaking his head.

"I tried to be his friend, to teach him who the right sort of people to associate with were, but those Weasleys got their claws into him first, and fed him a bunch of lies about me. He's hated me from the first. He's always talking down to me, and he and his friends bully me. It's been terrible."

"Oh please," Ron muttered, before Hermione shushed him.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Your witness, Weasley."

"Mr. Malfoy, it is your testimony that you did not attack Ginevra Weasley?" Percy asked.

"No, I didn't," Draco said haughtily. Percy nodded.

"So, how do you explain the fact that your wand was used to cast the cruciatus curse the day of Miss Weasley's attack?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. I would assume someone must've tampered with it," Draco replied, shooting a pointed glance towards Tonks. Percy smiled mockingly.

"Of course, it was tampered with. What about the dark mark on your arm, Mr. Malfoy? Was your arm tampered with as well?"

"No," Draco sneered. "My father put it there. It's a bit of a family tradition." Harry stifled a triumphant grin, as Draco's facade as the injured party slipped.

"Mr. Malfoy, how many times have you been given detention by professors at Hogwarts for the bullying of other students?"

"The staff is biased. They all love Potter and the Weasleys," Draco said.

"Answer the question, Mr. Malfoy," Percy said softly.

"I don't know," Draco hissed. Percy smiled.

"Fortunately, I have a copy of your record. In the five years you completed at the school, you have received over fifty detentions. At least half of them have bullying listed as the reason," Percy told him. Draco merely smirked at him, raising an arrogant eyebrow.

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. That's all," Percy said, returning to his seat.

"Mr. Parkinson, do you wish to redirect?" Madam Bones asked.

"No, Minister. The defense rests," Mr. Parkinson said.

"Very well," Madam Bones said. "I call for a vote."

"All those in favor of a finding of guilty," the deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt rumbled. A large majority of the Wizengamot members raised their hands.

"Those opposed?" Shacklebolt said. A handful of Wizengamot members, very imperiously raised their hands. Harry noticed that Dumbledore had abstained. Madam Bones held a brief whispered converstaion with Kingsley and a few others, then turned back to face Malfoy.

"Draco Phineas Malfoy, you have been found guilty of attacking and torturing Ginevra Molly Weasley. Furthermore, we find that you have, indeed, violated the laws prohibiting the use of unforgivable curses by the use of the cruciatus curse. Custom and law demands that you be sent to Azkaban," Madam Bones proclaimed.

Harry had kept his attention focused on Malfoy the entire time. The Slytherin was smirking broadly. Harry frowned. Something was not right. His eyes narrowed, as he saw the witch behind Draco reach out and covertly place something in his hands.

"Remus!" Harry hissed, but it was too late. Malfoy stood up, blew a mocking kiss at Ginny, and disappeared as the portkey activated. A collective gasp of outrage rose from those assembled.

"Bloody hell, someone has broken the wards around the courtrooms," Tonks cursed, as Harry struggled to get through the crowd to the witch who'd hand the portkey to Malfoy.

"Awww... little baby Potter. Are you coming to see me? Sad that my sweet nephew got away from you?" an all too familiar voice mocked as the courtroom filled with aurors. Laughing mockingly, Bellatrix ended the spell disguising her and disapperated.

A/N: I owe you all a HUGE apology for this chapter taking so long. I've gone back to college after being out for...well a really long time. I had two projects, three papers, and a test this week, so unfortunately, the story had to take the back burner. To make it up to you, I made it extra long. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Many thanks go out to Danielle for moderating, my son for telling me to just quit re-writing the courtroom scenes already, and all of you for reading and giving me such nice reviews.

Next chapter, fallout from the trial and it's Christmas! Yay!

All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.



Chaos reigned in the courtroom following Draco and Bellatrix's disappearance. As Harry struggled to get back through the crowd to Ginny and the others, he noticed the aurors ushering the press and members of the Wizengamot out. He saw Moody stop a group of aurors nearest him and point at Julius Parkinson, who was immediately taken into custody.

"Bloody Hell!" Tonks cursed again as Harry forced his way past Rita, who was demanding her promised interview. He paid no attention to her, however, as he was focused completely on Ginny. She was once again pale, and her hands shook slightly, but Harry was relieved to see that she did not have the lost expression she had worn when she'd received news of the trial. He had just reached her side when white hot pain shot through his scar, and he clutched his forehead. He quickly slammed his mental shields in place, but not before he got a glimpse into Voldemort's mind.

"Professor!" he heard Ginny shout, as he fought the wave of nausea and dizziness that always accompanied these mental breaches. Dumbledore, who had seen Harry clutch his forehead, was already making his way to where Harry and the others stood. He felt Remus and Ginny supporting him, as he clenched his teeth to keep from vomitting.

"What is it, Harry?" Remus aksed urgently. "What did you see?"

"It was more than just Malfoy," Harry choked out. " He managed to get all of the prisoners out of the Ministry, and Azkaban too, I think. Voldemort was there, and he was very happy."

"You heard?" Remus asked, as Dumbledore, Madam Bones, and Kingsley came up. Dumbledore nodded tersely, while Kingsley ordered a cadre of aurors to the detention block.

"Are they still in the Ministry, Harry?" Dumbledore asked. Harry concentrated on the image he'd gotten, frowning.

"No, I don't think so. I think..." his eyes widened. "The last attack... It wasn't to get the prisoners out, not then. It was to get information in to them. Their plan was to take the wards down all along so that people could just apparate out. Malfoy can't apparate. That's why Bellatrix had to get him the portkey," Harry said.

"Minister," an auror said, as he rushed up to Madam Bones. "The detention block has been emptied. We've received word from Azkaban, as well. They've been attacked by dementors and a sizable group of death eaters. You-know-who was with them. The few surviving aurors were forced to abandon it, ma'am."

"Thank you, Jamison," Madam Bones said, dismissing him. She turned back to Dumbledore. "What now, Albus?"

"Now, we do what we can to calm public fears, and prepare for the battle to start in earnest," Dumbledore said quietly. Madame Bones nodded, sighing.

"Weasley?" she said.

"Yes?" chorused Percy and Mr. Weasley.

"Percy," she clarified. "Public relations is your forte. Get all those reporters to the atrium for a press conference. We might as well take advantage of them, since they are here. Albus, Arthur, Alastor, and Kingsley... I'd like you there to back me up." Percy nodded and practically flew to obey, happy to be back in the good graces of those in power. Her eyes lit upon Harry then.

"Young Mr. Potter, also I think," she added.

"Me?" Harry almost squeaked. "I'm really not good at this sort of thing, Minister."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but the public has a great deal of faith in you. Anything I say with you and Albus behind me, suddenly carries alot more weight," she told him.

"But...I..." Harry stuttered. "Shouldn't I get back to school?"

"Harry, I will not allow you to be forced to do this, however, you and I both know that Voldemort thrives on fear. People need re-assurance right now. You can give them that, Harry," Dumbledore said.

"I... ," he said uncertainly. He felt Ginny's small hand slip into his, and looked down at her. Though she still did not look her normal self, there was a grim determination in her face.

"It's time for you to step into the role you were born for, Harry. They need you, and I know that you can do it," she said. Her words hit Harry with the force of a sledge hammer. He knew that she was right. He knew that he could not let people give up just as the battle was starting. Reluctantly, he nodded.

"Remus, Nymphadora... please accompany Poppy and the other children back to school. If you could also inform Minerva and Severus of the happenings here, I will want to see them both when I return," Dumbledore said.

"Your pardon, Headmaster," Hermione said determinedly. "We'd like to stay with, Harry." Dumbledore smiled, gently at her, despite the circumstances.

"I know that you would, Miss Granger. I would not wish to subject Miss Weasley, or Harry's private life, to further scrutiny today, however." Dumbledore said, once more, producing the purple hula hoop and handing it to Remus. Lupin took it, turning to Harry.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. Harry allowed himself a small smile.

"Want to? No. Need to? Yes, I'm sure," he said. Remus nodded.

"When you get back, if you need to talk or anything, you know where to find us," Remus said. Harry hugged the older man.

"Thank you, Moony," he said. Remus smiled, and held out the portkey for them all to take hold of. Ginny was the last to take hold of it, her eyes locked with Harry's.

"I love you," she said, as they faded out. Taking a deep breath, Harry turned back to the Headmaster and the others.

"No, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley was saying. "I should be here for this. Harry may need me afterwards."

"Molly, you need to go home and rest," Mr. Weasley said with uncharacteristic firmness.

"Mrs. Weasley, I'll be fine. Please, go home and rest. I would never forgive myself if you overdid it because of me," Harry said pleadingly. Mrs. Weasley's eyes softened.

"Oh allright, dear," she conceded. "If you're sure.' Harry nodded, and Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry before leaving with Bill, Charlie, and the twins. He couldn't help but notice that her hug was not quite as hard as normal and realized, despite how much improved she appeared, she was not yet fully recovered.

"Minister," Percy panted, as he rushed into the room. "They're all assembled."

"Thank you, Weasley," she acknowledged. "Shall we gentlemen?"

Harry and Dumbledore followed Madame Bones through the Ministry, accompanied by Mr. Weasley, Moody, Percy, and Kingsley, who was receiving updates via flying memo as they walked. They arrived in the Atrium to find it packed with people. Harry's eyes widened, and he swallowed nervously. Madam Bones, after a brief whispered conversation with Kingsley, walked up to the podium. Dumbledore and Harry moved to stand behind and to either side of her, the latter trying desperately to not look as nervous as he felt.

"Sometime this afternoon," Madam Bones began. "In a move that we believe to have been orchestrated by You-Know-Who and his followers, the protective wards around the Ministry were breached. All thirty of the maximum security prisoners held here have escaped. The wards have been restored, and we do not expect further incident at the Ministry today. We now believe that the previous attack on the Ministry was to test the efficiency of the wards, and also to alert those held here." She paused to allow this information to sink in.

"Additionally, a second attack was unleashed by You-Know-Who upon Azkaban Prison. The Ministry was forced to abandon the prison, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named currently has his dementors and death eaters in control of it." A low murmur went around the room at this latest information.

"The Ministry urges the public to stay calm. We are using every resource at our disposal to recapture the prisoners and hope to have them back in custody soon. Questions?" Madam Bones asked.

A cacophony of sound immediately rose from the assembled reporters as they fired questions. Most were directed at the Minister, however, Dumbledore and Kingsley answered their fair share also. Finally, what Harry dreaded happened. Someone directed a question at him. Naturally, it was Rita Skeeter.

"Harry, what are your feelings on the incidents today and their impact upon you, personally, with the escape of both Draco Mlafoy and Peter Pettigrew?" she asked.

Harry warily stepped up to the podium, carefully considering his answer. He looked nervously at Professor Dumbledore, who gave him an encouraging nod. Clearing his throat, Harry did his best to give an intelligent answer.

" I have every confidence that the Ministry is doing the best that they can to deal with these incidents. As far as the escape of Pettigrew and Malfoy..." Harry took a deep breath, trying to reign in his emotions.

"Let me ask you Rita, how would you feel if you were me? How would you feel if the person responsible for the murder of your parents and the unjust incarceration of your godfather escaped? How would you feel if the person who brutally attacked the one that you love escaped before any justice could be found? I'm angry, but not at the Ministry. I lay the blame solely at Voldemort's feet, where it belongs." A gasp had gone up at Harry's use of the dreaded V word.

"That's the second time today that you have said his name, Harry. I would think you, of all people, would be reluctant to say it." Rita said, her eyes wide. Harry smiled, shaking his head. Finally, he would get a chance to spread the word about something that had been a constant annoyance to him.

"Voldemort wins with fear. If we can't even say his name, how can we possibly defeat him?" Harry said.

"Do you honestly believe that's a possibility, Harry?" the reporter asked. "Do you honestly think he can be defeated?"

"Yes, I do," Harry said quietly, realizing that it was true. He did believe it. He had to believe it. He wanted to have a future. He wanted something more than the life he had now, not just for him, but for Ginny and Ron and Hermione, and all of those he loved. He would do whatever it took to make sure that dream became reality. He stepped back from the podium.

"Thank you for coming," Madam Bones said. "That is all of the questions that we will be taking."

She and Dumbledore then ushered Harry into a nearby fireplace, directing him to floo to the Minister's office. They followed, as did Kingsley, Moody, Mr. Weasley, and Percy. Once they were all there, Madame Bones offered them all seats and sat down herself. Taking a decanter of firewhiskey, she poured drinks for them all, including Harry.

"Ummm... Minister, I'm underage," Harry said, startled. The Minister grinned.

"One of the benefits of being Minister, I hereby declare that you can drink. You've more than earned it today, young man," she said. Harry glanced at the headmaster, whose blue eyes were twinkling mischieviously.

"Who am I to contradict the Minister of Magic herself," Dumbledore said. Harry picked up the glass and took a tentative sip.

"That went off much better than I expected. My compliments, gentlemen," Madame Bones said, raising her glass. "And you, Mr. Potter, I may have to bring you to all of my press conferences." At Harry's suddenly pale face and faintly nauseous expression, she laughed.

"Publicity not your cup of tea, Potter?" she said. Harry frantically shook his head.

"No, Minister," he said. She nodded.

"I dislike it myself. When I first became head of magical law enforcement, I'd get sick everytime I had to do one of those."

"I'd keep an eye on this one, Amelia. It wouldn't suprise me if he's head of Magical Law Enforcement himself someday. He's even taking auror training at Hogwarts," Moody said, with a hint of pride in Harry's abilities.

"He completed the equivalent of two years battle training in lessons this summer with Tonks, Moody, and I," Kingsley added. "He has a gift." Harry found himself blushing deeply at their praise.

"Well Mr. Potter, it would seem that you're following in your father's footsteps. I never thought that I would see another auror like James Potter. That boy was absolutely uncanny at times," she said fondly.

"You knew my dad?" Harry asked. She nodded.

"Alastor and I trained him," she said pointing at Moody with her glass. Quirking an eyebrow at the grizzled old auror she asked, "Is he as good as James was?"

"He may well be better, Amelia," Moody said. Madam Bones raised a startled eyebrow.

"Now that is a complement. Merlin knows we're going to need all the help we can get now," she sighed. "I suppose we have allowed ourselves all the respite we're likely to get in the next few days, gentlemen. Time to get to work."

"Your pardon, Amelia," Dumbledore said. "I do need to get Harry back to Hogwarts, however."

"Of course, Albus," she said. "Shall I come by the school tomorrow?" Dumbledore nodded.

"We should have some new information by then," he said.

"All right then. Harry, it was a pleasure getting to know you, and thank you for all of your assistance today," the Minister said.

"Your welcome, Minister," Harry said, giving her a small smile. He bid the Weasleys, Kingsley, and Moody good-bye, then took hold of the portkey which Dumbledore offered. As it activated, he couldn't help but think how different this Minister of Magic was from the last.

They arrived back at the headmaster's office with a jolt. Dumbledore walked to his desk to sit down, pausing to give Fawkes an affectionate scratch. Harry sank into the chair the headmaster indicated with a sigh, happy to be back on familiar ground. Dumbledore seemed to sense this and his eyes began to twinkle.

"You took an important first step today, Harry. You handled it very well," the headmaster said smiling.

"Thank you, sir. I'm not sure I would've been able to do it without Ginny's encouragement though," he said. The headmaster nodded, regarding the young man with an amused expression.

"Wise beyond her years, our Miss Weasley. I believe that you'll find her in the Gryffindor common room," the professor told him. Harry smiled sheepishly.

"That obvious am I?" he asked.

"Only to those who know you well, Harry," Dumbledore said. Still smiling, Harry bid his mentor good-bye and left in search of Ginny. He entered the Gryffindor common room to find Ginny, Ron, and Hermione in their usual places by the fire, waiting on him.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, getting up and hurrying over to him. She wrapped him in a hug, before pulling him over to the fire with the others.

"So, what's going on, mate? Have they caught the git yet?" Ron demanded. Harry quickly explained everything that had happened in the press conference and afterwards in the Ministers office.

"I can't believe you got to drink firewhiskey and in front of Dumbledore, the Minister, and the head of Magical Law Enforcement, not to mention my dad," Ron said astonished. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Ronald! All that Harry just told us, and you're worried about firewhiskey," she said.

"Oh c'mon, Hermione. He didn't tell us anything we didn't already know," Ron defended himself.

"Oh really? What about that bit about "new information tomorrow"? Do you know what that means?" she asked.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe it means that they'll know more tomorrow?" Ron said sarcastically. Hermione sighed.

"Obviously they're going to be sending Snape on a mission tonight," Hermione said with a significant look.

"Dumbledore did say he wanted to see McGonnagall and Snape when he got back," Ginny added thoughtfully.

"Exactly," Hermione said. Harry reached his hands under his galsses and tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"If Snape's going on a mission, there will probably be an Order meeting in the next couple of days. We should get the group together and see if anyone has anything to report," he said. The others nodded their agreement.

"We had better hold it in the room of requirement. I'd bet money that Harry's going to be on the front page of The Prophet tomorrow and he'll have every girl in the castle making cow eyes at him," Ron said.

"I'm trying not to think about that. Thanks," Harry said grimacing.

"Don't worry, love. I'll protect you," Ginny said, giggling. Harry smiled, laying back tiredly against the couch. Ginny snuggled up to him. The others continued talking softly, as Harry let his mind wander and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He awoke in the grey hours before dawn with Ginny still snuggled up to him. He realized, as he looked blearily around, that someone had removed his glasses and covered them up with a blanket. Trying not to wake Ginny, he located his glasses on a nearby table and put them on. He smiled when he saw Ron and Hermione sleeping in the chairs where they had sat last night.

"Good Morning," Ginny said sleepily.

"You know, I'm starting to get used to this," Harry whispered, not wanting Ron and Hermione to wake just yet. Ginny laughed huskily.

"It's not a bad way to wake up at all," she said softly.

"Thank you for yesterday," he said her after a while. "You were right. It was important for me to do that."

"I think part of me has always known what you were destined for, Harry, even before I knew about the prophecy. You're destined for more than just what it asks of you, you know. You're destined to lead all the rest of us," she said simply.

"How can you have so much faith in me?" he asked in wonder.

"Because I love you," she said simply. Harry smiled, his heart in his eyes.

"I love you too," he said. Ginny lifted her face and gently kissed him. They broke apart as they heard a discrete cough and the sound of someone coming, very noisily down the stairs.

"So Nev, did you get that essay done for Snape?" Seamus asked loudly.

"Yes, Seamus. I did. What about you, Dean? Did you get yours done?" Neville almost shouted.

"Why yes I did," Dean said loudly. Then more quietly, "Think they heard us?"

"Yes, we did," Harry said laughing. The three boys came the rest of the way down the steps with innocent looks upon their faces. Ron and Hermione had woken up from the commotion and were sitting up looking blearily around.

"Morning," Seamus grinned. "You four down here celebrating, Malfoy's downfall last night?" Harry protectively put an arm around Ginny, who tensed at the sound of the name. Seeing that, the boys frowned.

"They didn't let the bloody git off did they?" Dean demanded.

"No, Dean. They found him guilty," Ginny said softly.

"Then what happened?" Neville asked.

"He escaped after the trial, with Bellatrix and every other prisoner at the Ministry. Azkaban fell too," Ron said.

"Bellatrix was there?" Neville said, his eyes hardening.

"Briefly. It'll all be in The Prophet this morning, I'm sure," Harry said. "We better get changed. We'll see you down at breakfast."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were changed and walking into the Great Hall within about thirty minutes. As soon as he entered the Great Hall, Harry knew that the paper had yet to be delivered as people were eating normally and not whispering about him. Looking up at the head table, he saw Remus and Tonks chatting and laughing. They took their usual spots at the Gryffindor table.

"Maybe if we eat fast enough we can get out before the mail is delivered," Harry joked. Just then the woosh of wings overhead announced the arrival of the owls.

"So much for that," Ron said, as a copy of The Daily Prophet was dropped in front of Hermione. She immediately opened it and began reading. Ginny and Ron moved to look over her shoulder, while Seamus and Neville peered at Dean's copy. Harry meanwhile, tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. The whispers and stares began almost at once.

"Well?" he said after a while. "How bad is it?" Wordlessly, Hermione handed him the paper. There on the front cover, was a picture of him from the press conference. Dumbledore and the Minister stood to either side of him, while Kingsley, Moody, Percy, and Mr. Weasley stood protectively in the background. The headline read Boy-Who-Lived Offers Hope in the Face of Darkness.

"Bloody hell," Harry said. Dean, Seamus, and Neville were looking at Harry in wonder, as were most of the students in the hall.

"Its really very complimentary, Harry," Hermione said. "Even the bits about the trial say that Julius Parkinson attempted to 'stamp out the light of truth'."

"Did you really say that, Harry? About... V-v-voldemort?" Seamus asked. "Do you really think we can win this war?"

"Yeah, Seamus. I do," Harry said quietly.

That was just the first of hundreds of questions he would be asked over the next few weeks. Shy by nature, Harry despised the constant scrutiny he was under. He found himself, more and more often sneaking off under his dad's invisibility cloak just for some peace and quiet. Ginny often accompanied him on these adventures, and they became closer than ever.

Despite his even more pronounced celebrity status, life was going very well for Harry and the others. Part B of the Great Pig Prank was still in full swing, and all of Gryffindor, as well as a few Ravenclaws, had joined in on it. They didn't even have to let Pansy the pig out of her pen for a "pig sighting" to occur. Otherwise serious students were regularly reporting seeing the pig wandering the school. Mr. Filch had taken to walking the halls muttering "Heeeeere piggy piggy piggy!" under his breath. Harry had even heard rumors that the man had developed a sudden allergy to all pork products.

With the escape of the death eaters, Harry had stepped up the DA's training. Virtually all of the older group could produce a patronus, allowing Harry to move on to other defensive spells. As there were almost daily attacks by the death eaters and dementors being reported, Harry was very relieved by this progress.

Harry and the others were continuing their work on becoming animagus, as well. The week before Christmas, Ron, the last one to be able to do it, had successfully completed a full body transformation. The four had decided that they would reveal their suprise to Moony on Christmas Eve, after they had returned to Grimmauld Place.

The morning of the last Hogsmede visit before Christmas, Harry and the others were sitting down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Ginny and Ron, who shared an equal enthusiasm for the holiday, were doing their best to trick Harry and Hermione into telling them what they were getting them for Christmas. Hermione's strategy was simple. She refused to answer any questions. Harry on the other hand, needed no strategy as he didn't have the faintest idea what he was getting either of them.

"Oh come on Hermione. Just give me a little hint. Please?" Ron pleaded. Hermione smiled benignly over her book, and continued to read.

"Is it bigger than a snitch?" Ginny asked Harry. Harry grinned.

"It might be," he said. Ginny smiled in triumph. "Then again, it might not."

"You two are no fun what-so-ever," she pouted. Harry laughed.

"I don't know. I'm rather enjoying myself. How 'bout you, Hermione?" Harry said. Hermione looked up from her books.

"Absolutely. I'm having a splendid time," Hermione said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Remus and Tonks stopped by their table then.

"Morning you four. Looking forward to Hogsmede?" Remus asked.

"Morning Moony," Harry said. "You two on guard duty today then?"

"Yep," Tonks answered. "I need to do some Christmas shopping today, anyway."

As, the foursome were pretty much done with breakfast at that point, they rose and walked with Remus and Tonks to the entrance hall to await the trip. Almost immediately, Ron and Hermione began to argue about where they were going to go first. Harry and Ginny just rolled their eyes at them. These arguments were something of a Hogsmede weekend tradition. Remus, whom Harry noticed seemed to be a bit on edge this morning, finally settled the dispute for them.

"Harry, Ron, and I will go to the quidditch shop. You girls can go to Scrivenshafts. We'll meet up in The Three Broomsticks for lunch," he said firmly.

The boys headed for the quidditch shop, while Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks meandered down the street looking in shop windows and giggling. Remus kept casting nervous looks over his shoulder at the girls, which Harry and Ron couldn't help but notice.

"Moony? Is there something going on that we should know about?" Harry asked, visions of dementors and death eaters flashing in his head.

"Hrmm? What?" Remus asked, still watching the girls who were disappearing into a nearby shop. As soon as they were gone, he pulled the boys across the street into a nearby store front.

"Moony, what is going on?" Harry demanded. Remus nervously ran his fingers through his graying hair.

"I... um... sort of need your help with something," Remus said.

"Ok," Ron said, exchanging a puzzled look with Harry. "What do you need help with?"

"Well you see," Remus said running his hand through his hair again. "I need your help picking out something for Tonks. Something very, very special." Harry frowned not sure why he needed their help, until he realized what shop they were standing in.

Muhahaha! I thought a nice cliffy was in order. Thanks go out as always to the wonderful Danielle, my moderator and my son Will, my beta. Many, many thanks as well to all of my faithful readers and reviewers. Next chapter... Christmas!

A/N: All of the characters contained herein belong to Ms. Rowling.

"Does this mean what I think it does, Moony?" Harry asked, a smile lighting his face. His guardian's awkward blush was all the answer he needed.

"Does what mean what you think it does?" Ron asked, still puzzled. Harry shook his head.

"Hermione's right. You are thick. Look where we're standing, Ron," Harry said. Ron looked around, taking in the rings, necklaces, and other baubles glittering in the display window's cases. Comprehension dawned at last.

"Ohhh," Ron said. "Well what're we waiting for? Let's go." He ushered both Harry and Remus into the small shop. At the sound of the small, tinkling bell announcing their entrance, a tiny whirlwind of a witch bustled up to them.

"Good day, gentlemen. What can I help you with this beautiful winter's morning?" she said smiling.

"Hello, Madame Tiffany. How've you been?" Remus said. The tiny witch looked at him a moment with narrowed eyes, then gasped, and threw her arms around him, hugging him.

"Remus Lupin! Its about time you came back in here. When I think of the number of times you and your friends came in here... So very sad about poor James and Sirius. They were such nice boys. Of course, I never could bring myself to believe that Sirius would do what they said he did. I even refused to put those horrible wanted posters up in my store when he escaped. Oh, but listen to me go on. The ramblings of old age I'm afraid," she said smiling. "What brings you here today, Remus?"

"I.. um... need to purchase a ring, Madame," Remus said a trifle nervously. The witch beamed at him.

"A ring? A very special ring?" she asked. Remus blushed yet again, feeling once more like the almost painfully shy school boy she'd known. She laughed gaily. "I remember when you boys came in here with James for the very same reason. Come this way," she told him.

"This is where my dad bought Mum's ring?" Harry asked.

"Among other things. He dragged us in here every Hogsmede weekend to get something for Lily. Usually she threw it back in his face, until they actually started dating of course. Your dad was a nervous wreck when we came in for the ring, though," Remus said.

"Remus, this is James and Lily's son?" Madame Tiffany asked. At Lupin's nod, she clapped her hands in delight. "Oh my dear boy! I'd hoped you'd come in here some day. You look just like James, which I'm sure you've heard a thousand times. Remus, the rings are right there. We have a few that are very unique. I'll be right back."

The witch bustled into the back of the shop, while Harry and Ron watched with wide eyes. Remus chuckled at the looks on their faces.

"Believe it or not, she's slowed down some with age," he said drily as he began to study the rings in the case Madame Tiffany had indicated. Harry and Ron moved to stand on either side of him and peered down at them, as well. Harry quickly realized that the tiny witch was right. There were some truly amazing rings here.

"Well I know where to come when I'm ready to get Hermione a ring," Ron said without thinking. His face immediately took on a bright red hue, as soon as he realized what he had said. Harry grinned.

"Trying to tell us something, mate?" Harry asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Shut up, Harry. What about that one, Moony?" Ron asked, pointing to a gold band with a heartshaped pink diamond set into it. Harry had to admit, it was beautiful.

"It's nice, but..." Remus shrugged. "I'll know it when I see it."

"Not finding anything?" MadameTiffany asked, as she flitted back into the room.

"No, Madame. Tonks is a very, very unique and special woman. Her ring has to be just as unique and special," Remus said. Madame Tiffany paused a moment, as if thinking, then her eyes began to twinkle.

"I have just the thing!" she exclaimed and once more disappeared into the back of her shop. She returned moments later, handing Remus a box. He opened it and smiled.

"It's perfect," he said.

Harry and Ron leaned in for a look and couldn't help but agree. Nestled in a simple white gold band was a large fire opal. Shades of pink, red, yellow, and blue seemed to whirl and shift under the stone's surface making it appear to change colors at will. Harry had never seen anything like it and was certain that Tonks would love it.

While Remus paid, Harry and Ron wandered through the store trying to find gifts for Ginny and Hermione. After a brief search, Ron found a charm bracelet for Hermione, but Harry was having no luck finding something for Ginny.

"I'm sure she'll like whatever you get her, Harry,"Remus said.

"I know. I just want to find something that says how much she means to me," Harry replied. He was rather aimlessly browsing the various displays, when a glimmer from a case near the back of the store caught his eye. He walked over to the small display of necklaces and smiled. It was just what he wanted.

"Madam?" Harry called. She came over to assist him and he indicated his choice.

"Ahh... you have your father's excellent taste, I see," she said, lifting the necklace and holding it out to him. Suspended from a fine gold chain hung a crystalline sphere. Harry watched as tiny lights flickered and danced in it's depths, as if the light of a thousand stars were mirrored there. Harry reached out and touched it, feeling a curious sensation of warmth.

"I'll take it," he said decisively. Madame Tiffany beamed at him.

"I should have known," she said. "The witch I bought this from told me that this crystal was special. She insisted that it was a protective talisman and that it would find it's rightful owner. I thought it was a load of poppycock myself, but here it has sat for almost 17 years."

Harry and Ron paid for their purchases, and left the store, promising to come back again. Quick trips to Madame Malkins, Quality Quidditch Supplies, Scrivenshafts, and Honeydukes allowed the three to finish their shopping. Harry even picked up a pair of thick blue socks for Professor Dumbledore. They were just in time to meet the girls for lunch at The Three Broomsticks, after which they returned to the castle.

Remus and Tonks left them at the gates, while the foursome continued on to Gryffindor Tower. Much to Harry's delight, the rest of the day was spent in the common room talking and munching on chocolate frogs. Harry was lounging on the couch, with Ginny snuggled up in his arms, when Neville approached them with a frown upon his face.

"Harry, do you think I can get some help with this defense homework?" he said. Harry lazily opened one eye. He was not pleased with the interruption, as snuggling on the couch with Ginny had become his favorite pastime of late, surpassing even quidditch. Nevertheless, Neville didn't ask for help often, and he was one of Harry's closest friends.

"Is it something that can wait, Nev?"he asked. Neville shook his head, giving Harry a significant look. Harry frowned and nudged Ginny, who moved, allowing him to sit up. Bending down, Neville showed Harry a page in their defense book. A note had been scrawled there in Neville's untidy hand.

"Luna and I saw something today in Hogsmede. We need a meeting."

Harry's frown deepened, as he pretended to consider what was in the book.

"I think this is something I can demonstrate better than explain, Neville. Why don't we take this to the room of requirement?" Harry said. "You guys coming?"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, not really knowing what was happening, but sensing that something was afoot, rose and followed.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, as soon as they were out of the portrait hole.

"Not here," Harry said. He took out his coin and activated it. Using the Marauder's Map, which, after Malfoy's escape, Harry had begun to keep with him at all times, they stealthily made their way to the room of requirement. It wasn't past curfew yet, but Harry did not particularly want to answer any unnecessary questions. He waited until the entire group had arrived before sealing the door. Hermione then put a silencing charm on it.

"What's this all about, Harry?" Padma Patil asked. It was Neville who answered, however.

"I asked for the meeting. Luna and I saw something in Hogsmede. It may be nothing, but..." Neville shrugged.

"Go on, Neville," Harry encouraged.

"We were just coming out of Dervish and Banges when we saw a big group of Slytherins go by," Neville said.

"That's nothing unusual," Justin said. "They always move in packs like that."

"True, but what they said was unusual. They were talking about how they were late for their meeting. Luna and I sort of casually followed them. They went to a cave outside of town. We took down the names of everyone we recognized," Neville said handing Harry a piece of parchment.

"It wasn't just Slytherins either. There were Ravenclaws, a Hufflepuff, and a Gryffindor there also," Luna said, her voice much harder than it's usual dreamy tone. Padma Patil gasped.

"It was Pavarti wasn't it?" she asked. "She was supposed to meet Lavender and I for lunch and she didn't show up. She's not been acting herslef lately either. She's been forgetting things and has even skived off Divination." Padma bit her lip, her concern for her twin evident in her face.

"I'm sorry, Padma," Hermione said, putting an arm about the other girl. "We don't know how deep she's in or if she's even involved of her own free will. She could be under the imperius."

"Were you able to hear anything that was said?" Harry asked.

"Not much. We didn't want to get too close and get caught. Luna did think she heard them say something about the Hogwarts Express though," Neville said. Harry's eyes widened at the implications of that.

"You don't think they're going to attack the train do you, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know, Ginny. I definitely think that I need to get this infromation to the headmaster, though. Does anyone have anything else we need to know?" he asked. They all shook their heads.

"All right then. Everyone get back to your common rooms. I need to go get myself thrown in detention," Harry said grimly.

People left in twos and threes. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left last, after trying to convince Harry to let them join him. Once they were gone, he went in search of the person most likely to give him detention, Professor Snape. Harry took the Marauder's Map from his pocket and quickly located the potions master near the astronomy tower. He swiftly headed in that direction, carefully watching Snape's dot on the map. Positioning himself around the corner from the corridor the professor was coming down, he began to enchant one of the statues there to insult anyone who happened by. He finished just in time.

"Go wash your hair, you big nosed git!" the statue of a beautiful witch shouted as Snape approached. Harry saw the potions master stiffen and turn, heading directly for the statue.

"Legilimens," Harry whispered, hoping this worked.

"Professor! Over here!" Harry projected, praying desperately that Snape picked up his thoughts. "I have information for Professor Dumbledore. Give me detention."

"Lumos!" Snape hissed, illuminating the corner where Harry hid. "Well, well, well, Potter. Caught in the act, I see. Enchanting valuable statues? Really, Potter. Even your father had more finesse than that. The headmaster will want to see you. Come along."

Snape grabbed Harry, propelling him firmly along to Dumbledore's office. Harry did his best to appear outraged, and even attempted to pull his arm out of Snape's grip when they passed a group of whispering Hufflepuffs.

"Fainting Fancies," Snape said, and the gargoyles leapt aside. He and Harry ascended the staircase and found Dumbledore seated behind his desk, as if he had been waiting on them.

"Ahhh... Severus... and Harry! What brings you here this evening?" he asked.

"Potter wished to speak with you, Headmaster," Snape said. "He seems to think he has something you should know."

Dumbledore turned his questioning gaze towards Harry, who quickly relayed Neville's information. When he finished, he handed the headmaster the list Neville and Luna had compiled. Dumbledore frowned, shaking his head sadly. Snape leaned over the professors shoulder to study the list, as well.

"Headmaster, I've noticed Ms. Patil has been... different recently. Her potion making has not been what it normally is and she spends less time talking with Ms. Brown. I suspect that she may not be acting of her own volition," Snape said.

"Padma seemed to think the same thing, sir," Harry offered.

"I shall alert the staff to keep a close eye on her," Dumbledore said. "We'll need to make other arrangements to return the students home for the holidays, as well. I should think that I can arrange for portkeys from Hogsmede with the Minister. Thank you, Harry. Thank Mr. Longbottom and Miss Lovegood, as well." Harry nodded and, sensing his dismissal, returned to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry tried not to dwell on the knowledge that Neville had provided as the final few days before Christmas passed. He suprised himself by how excited he was about the upcoming holiday. He was actually looking forward to returning to Grimmauld Place. When the morning before Christmas finally dawned, Harry was one of the first ones up. He immediately roused Ron so that they could finish their packing. Both boys then went down to the common room to meet Hermione and Ginny. Together, they made their way to Dumbledore's office, dragging their trunks behind them.

Unlike most of the students, who, thanks to the warning Neville and Luna were able to give, would be taking portkeys, Harry and the others would be flooing to Grimmauld Place. When they entered Dumbledore's office, Tonks and Remus were already there waiting on them.

"Wotcher all! You lot ready then?" Tonks asked cheerily. She wore her hair in a long braid of interwoven red and green today. In place of her usual Wierd Sisters t-shirt, she wore a white shirt emblazoned with a Christmas tree. The lights on it twinkled and a silver star winked at its top. Harry couldn't help but grin at Tonks' display of holiday spirit.

"I think we've got everything," he answered for the group. "Merlin knows Ginny's trunk is heavy enough." Ginny stuck her tongue out at him playfully. Tonks giggled.

"All right then, we'd better get going before poor Harry strains his back," she said, her eyes twinkling.

They each took turns entering the floo. Harry was the last of the foursome through. Stepping out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place, he found himself wrapped immediately in Mrs. Weasley's motherly embrace.

"Oh Harry dear, welcome home," she told him.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. It's good to be home," he said, suprising himself. He could never recall this feeling of home associated with anyplace but Hogwarts. While he was pondering this new emotion, he was nearly knocked to the ground as something or, more specifically, someone hurtled themselves at his legs.

"Harry Potter, sir! You is home! Dobby has worked hard on Harry Potter's home. Dobby and Mrs. Weezy has made it cheerful for Christmas," the elf said enthusiastically. Looking down Harry couldn't help but chuckle. Dobby was wearing his very own Weasley sweater. It even had a letter "D" knitted onto its chest. On his feet he wore his usual mismatched socks, most incongruous of all, however, was the bright red Christmas ornament he had affixed to the stack of hats piled precariously upon his head. Harry smiled down at him.

"Happy Christmas, Dobby. Are you enjoying your stay here?" he asked the elf.

"Oh yes, Harry Potter. Dobby loves it here. Mrs. Weezy is knitting Dobby his very own sweater, and Dobby has a family to care for again. Dobby never wants to leave," Dobby replied.

"Wouldn't you miss Hogwarts though?" Harry asked.

"There is lots and lots of elves at Hogwarts, Harry Potter. Dobby misses having his own family," the elf admitted. Harry stared at Dobby for a moment considering. He had felt, for quite a while, that he had been imposing on Mrs. Weasley, asking her to care for Grimmauld Place. This could solve everyone's problems.

"Dobby, would you like to stay here and work for me like you do for Professor Dumbledore?" he asked. Dobby hurtled himself at Harry's legs once more, clearly delighted at the idea.

"Oh Harry Potter sir! Dobby would be so happy," Dobby squeaked. Harry smiled.

"I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore tomorrow. You'll have to accept pay though, Dobby, just like at Hogwarts," Harry said. Dobby nodded, his ears flopping.

"Children, why don't you take your things to your rooms while Dobby and I get lunch started. The rest of the family should be here any minute," Mrs. Weasley said. The four obediently did as Mrs. Weasley said.

"Couldn't have gotten Dobby to do this could you, mate?" Ron huffed as he dragged Hermione's trunk up the stairs.

"Ronald! Dobby shouldn't have to haul our luggage around," Hermione said indignantly, flouncing past them. Ron and Harry exchanged grins. Ron loved igniting Hermione's temper almost as much as he loved Hermione. As soon as the trunks were stowed safely in the appropriate rooms, they returned to the kitchen.

They entered to find it filled with people. Bill, Fleur, Percy, and Penelope were sitting at one end of the table talking with Tonks, who was happily sitting in Remus' lap. Charlie, the twins, and 'Dung were in the corner sharing a story, which, judging by their snickers, Mrs. Weasley would not have approved of. Mr. Weasley, Moody, and Kingsely were having a serious discussion about who would win the next quidditch cup, which Ron eagerly joined. Ginny and Hermione went to assist Mrs. Weasley and Dobby who were piling dish after dish upon the already laden table.

Harry looked around the room, so filled with life and love, and couldn't help but wish Sirius could have been there. A part of Harry wanted to retreat then, to go to his room and hide, but as he turned to go, he was stopped by the memory of Sirius. He could see his godfather last Christmas laughing and singing at the top of his lungs. Sirius would've loved this. He would have been right in the thick of the merrymaking, and he'd have wanted Harry there with him. Harry took a deep breath, blinked back his tears, and went to sit next to Remus and Tonks.

"All right you lot, eat up," Mrs. Weasley said. "We have a lot to do if we're to make this a proper Weasley Christmas."

"Aww Mum, you're not going to pull out all of those ornaments we made when we were kids, are you?" Bill asked warily.

"Well of course I am, dear. It wouldn't be Christmas without them. I had Dobby pop over to the Burrow yesterday and get them," she said, beaming. Bill groaned, Ginny giggled, and the twins exchanged mischievious looks.

"I'm missing something aren't I?" Harry whispered to Ginny. She smiled, nodding.

"Bill's not exactly umm... artistic," she said. "All of his ornaments are quite unique." Harry grinned, noticing that Ron was also looking rather alarmed.

"What about Ron's?" he asked. Ginny's eyes twinkled with barely contained mirth.

"Orange. Ron has a definite fondness for orange," she giggled, then turned to her mother. "Mum, I think we should make new ones for this year. After all, Harry, Hermione, Penelope, and Fleur should all have one. Remus and Tonks too."

"I've already thought of that Ginny, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied. "Dobby is getting everything set up for after lunch." Ron, Bill, and Charlie immediately began to protest.

"Mum, I really think that I'm too old for this," Bill said.

"Errr... shouldn't one of us be patrolling or something?" Charlie said.

"Homework! I've got loads of homework. Right Hermione?" Ron said hopefully.

"No, Ronald. You don't, besides, its a very nice tradition," she responded. Fleur, meanwhile, was pouting prettily at Bill.

"But Bill, tradition iz very important. Don't you want to share your family's customs wiz me?" she said, looking up at him with luminous eyes. Bill sighed.

"OK Mum. I'm in," he said, looking less then pleased. Fleur beamed at him. Charlie put his hands behind his head, grinning.

"And that, brothers dear, is why this Weasley is still firmly unattached," Charlie smirked. Mrs. Weasley snorted.

"Yes, well, it wouldn't kill you to find a nice girl and settle down Charlie Weasley! Out galivanting after dragons of all things! One thing! One thing I ask of you, at Christmas..." she said rising and putting her hands on her hips.

"You win, Mum. I'll make an ornament," Charlie said, putting his hands up in surrender before she really got going. Mrs. Weasley smiled at him.

"I knew you would, dear," she told him.

As soon as lunch was over, they retreated to the drawing room. Garlands of evergreen swathed the ceiling, tied with bright red ribbons. A huge tree stood in the center of the room, waiting to be decorated. Boxes of ornaments were stacked on the floor, each labeled with the name of a different Weasley. A large table had been set up near the tree. It was covered with pots of paint, bottles of glitter and glue, brightly colored bits of paper, ribbon, and cloth, as well as a small box full of glass balls.

"C'mon Harry," Ginny said, leading him over to the table.

The rest of the afternoon passed with a great deal of laughter and merriment. Harry soon found out that Ginny's assesment had been right. Bill was definitely not artistic. Fleur didn't seem to mind, however. Harry had to stifle a laugh when Ron immediately reached for the orange paint. He was not sure what exactly his best friend was painting, but it was very, very orange. Harry had been unable to resist teasing Ginny when he discovered that the majority of her ornaments seemed to feature angels, with messy black hair and bright green eyes. The twins, as usual, outdid themselves by making ornaments depicting everyone in the rather extended family group. Like the paintings at Hogwarts, each ornament held a little bit of their subject's personality. Much to Harry's amusement, the Ron and Hermione ornaments had to be separated when they wouldn't stop arguing with each other.

After all of the ornaments were made, they were carefully hung on the tree, along with those of years past. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Harry were then set to work making garlands of popcorn and berries. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fleur, and Penelope, meanwhile, enchanted sparkling faerie lights to twinkle amongst the tree's branches. The twins, after holding a supsiciously long whispered conversation, tossed a small white ball up in the air. It promptly exploded, causing snow to gently fall from the drawing room's ceiling.

"Boys! Do you have any idea of the mess that is going to make? It will melt all over the carpet," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, her eyes flashing. The twins beamed angelically at her.

"Not to worry, Mum," Fred said.

"It won't make any mess at all," George told her.

"Disappears altogether about fifteen minutes after it's fallen," Fred said.

"It's our newest product... Weasley's Winter Wonderland," George added. Mr. Weasley laughed in delight.

"Brilliant boys. It's sure to be a best seller, " he told them.

As the afternoon melted into evening, Order members filtered in and out, dropping off gifts and wishing everyone a happy Christmas. Dobby brought in sandwiches and several different types of biscuits for everyone, as well as steaming mugs of chocolate, much to Remus' delight. Harry took a bit of good natured teasing from the Weasley brothers when Ginny, out of habit, snuggled up to him on the couch. He didn't mind it at all, however, and, rather bravely, informed them that they should get used to it.

Before he knew it, Mrs. Weasley was ushering them up to bed. He and Ron walked Ginny and Hermione up to their room. Smiling down at Ginny, he gave her a gentle kiss and wished her goodnight. He then had to drag a very reluctant Ron away from Hermione and up to their room.

The two boys quickly readied themselves for bed. Ron was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Harry, on the other hand, found himself unaccountably restless. He tossed and turned as he thought about how much his life had changed since his last Christmas. He still missed Sirius everyday, but he was happy with his life. Ginny meant more to him then he had ever thought possible, and he'd found some sense of family with Remus and Tonks. There was the prophecy to worry about, of course, but he refused to dwell on it tonight.

Finally deciding that sleep was futile, Harry rose and quietly exited the room. He tiptoed through the sleeping house and into the kitchen. Rumaging through the cabinets, he located some of the biscuits from earlier. Snatching a handful and pouring himself a cold glass of milk, he decided to take his midnight snack into the drawing room. He loved the tree set up there and thought it was even more beautiful than the ones at Hogwarts. When he got to the door, however, he was stopped by a low murmur of voices from within. Silently, he opened the door a crack and peered in. Remus and Tonks sat on one of the couches watching the enchanted snow fall and talking quietly.

"Are you sure you don't mind going out for a little while tomorrow to see my mum and dad?" Tonks asked.

"Of course not, love. I've known Andromeda and Ted forever. They're good people. I was wondering though, what would you think of bringing Harry with us? I think he'd like to meet your Mum," Remus replied. Tonks grinned.

"Shame on you, using Harry as a distraction," she teased him. "Seriously though, I think Mum would like that. She thought the world of James and Merlin knows she never gave up on Sirius. She fought tooth and nail for him when he was in Azkaban. It broke her heart when he died. She knows how close Harry and Sirius were. It will probably help them both." Remus nodded, his eyes distant. Tonks sighed.

"You miss him still don't you?" she softly queried. Remus gave her a sad smile.

"Yes, I miss them all. I probably always will. When James and Lily died..." Remus paused and his eyes filled with pain. "When they died, I thought I had lost everyone I had ever cared about, everyone who had ever cared about me. James, Lily, Peter, Sirius, and Harry... I'd lost them all in one fell swoop. It was the darkest time in my life. I shut myself off completely, moving around aimlessly doing whatever odd jobs I could get. When Dumbledore offered me the Defense job, it was a second chance for me. I got to know Harry and found out the truth about Sirius and Peter. It was like the morning after a twelve year long full moon. There was still pain, but I knew everythig was going to be all right again."

"Oh Remus," Tonks said, gently reaching out and touching the side of his face. "That must have been so hard for you." Remus gave her a lopsided smile, covering her hand with his own and nuzzling into it.

"I survived it. I got my best friend back, and Harry," he said.

"And then you lost Sirius again," Tonks murmured.

"And then I lost Sirius again, but not before I found you," Remus said. " You literally stumbled back into my life so full of light and laughter. After having gone through so much darkness, I was fascinated by you. I fought it. I used every argument I could think of. I was entirely too old for you, a poor outcast werewolf. I was set in my ways and had nothing to offer someone so young and so beautiful. I'd changed your nappies for Merlins' sake. Padfoot though, knew that I'd fallen for you and he wouldn't let me off the hook so easily. He found excuse after excuse to throw us together."

"That sneak!" Tonks exclaimed. "I'd wondered why he kept volunteering us for things together. Not that I was complaining. I fell in love with you when I was five years old and you gave me a chocolate frog," she grinned unrepentently. Remus chuckled softly.

"I thank him everyday for helping me to get you Nymphadora. When Padfoot died and Harry shut himself off the way he did, I don't think I could have made it through again without you. You became my strength. You were what kept me living, and gave me what I needed to reach, Harry." Remus rose then, and knelt before Tonks. Reaching into a pocket of his robes, he pulled out a small box.

"It's not a chocolate frog,but..." he said, opening it up and revealing the beautiful ring inside. Tonks gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, as her eyes filled with tears. "Nymphadora Tonks, I love you, from the tips of those tripping toes to the top of that bubblegum pink hair. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Struck completely speechless, Tonks could only nod before throwing herself at Remus and kissing him. Smiling, Remus pulled away.

"Is that a yes?" he asked. Tonks giggled.

"Absolutely, Moony-mine. Yes, yes, yes! You're stuck with me now," she declared, pulling him back to her and kissing him once more.

Silently closing the door behind him, a widely grinning Harry returned to the kitchen to finish his milk and biscuits. The drawing room was obviously going to be occupied for a while.


A/N: Yay! Another chapter down. I hope you enjoyed it. Many, many thanks go out to Danielle for moderating, my son Will for being my beta, and all of my wonderful, wonderful readers for your reviews. I'll have the next chappie up ASAP. It is the long awaited animagus chapter at last.

All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.



"Come on, Harry! Presents! Up and at 'em!" Ron hollered, ripping the blankets off Harry, who groaned and rolled over onto his stomach.

"How is it that everyday but Christmas you'll sleep until noon, but on Christmas you're up and cheerful at the bloody crack of dawn?" Harry groggily asked. Ron grinned.

"Presents are a powerful motivator, mate," he said. Harry chuckled.

"Good point. Let's go wake the girls," Harry said, rising and throwing on his robe.

"You're joking right? Ginny's probably been downstairs for half an hour. She enjoys Christmas even more than I do," Ron said. "Now hurry up. I want to get downstairs before Fred and George do something to our presents."

The boys thundered down the stairs and into the drawing room. As it turned out, Ron was correct. Ginny and a very sleepy looking Hermione were sitting on one of the sofas. Ginny smiled and scooted over making room for the boys between them.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," she said smiling.

"Happy Christmas to you too, love. So why aren't you two opening your presents yet?" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Weasley tradition," she said.

"Mum won't let us start opening them until everyone is up," Ron elaborated. "So who are we still waiting on?"

"Bill, Fleur, Remus and Tonks," Hermione answered, stifling a yawn.

"So where is everyone else then?" Harry asked puzzled.

"Percy, Penelope, Mum and Dad are in the kitchen. Charlie and the twins went to wake Bill and Fleur," Ginny replied. Just then an outraged squeal sounded fom upstairs, Ginny giggled.

"I'd say they're up," Ron laughed.

"Sounds like it," Harry agreed.

"Do you think one of us should go wake up Remus and Tonks before the twins decide to?" Hermione asked.

A series of loud thumps followed by the sudden apparation of a slightly shocked looking Fred and George into the room, forestalled the need to answer. A grinning Remus and Tonks strolled in a short time later, hand in hand.

"Never ever think you can get the jump on a Marauder boys,"Remus said.

"Happy Christmas Remus, Tonks," Harry said smiling.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Remus replied.

"It's certainly been a great one for me so far," Tonks said flashing her ring. Hermione and Ginny squealed and went over to her , hugging her enthusiastically. At the sound, the rest of the family rushed into the room. Once Mrs. Weasley, Fleur, and Penelope realized the cause of the younger girls' excitement, they too joined in, and an excited feminine chatter quickly filled the air.

"That's a bit scary, that is," Ron said from where he and Harry watched on the couch. Harry grinned at his friend.

"You better be glad Hermione didn't hear you say that," he said.

"Like I'd say that in front of her. I may be thick, but even I'm not that thick," Ron chuckled. Dobby appeared then, with steaming mugs of chocolate for everyone.

"Congratulations Remus and Tonks," Mr. Weasley said, raising his cup. "Marriage is a wonderful thing for a man."

"Thank you, Arthur," Remus said. "I only hope our marriage will be as good as yours and Molly's has been."

"Can we open presents now?" Ron said hopefully.

"Ronald!" Hermione and Mrs. Weasley chorused in exasperation. Harry rolled his eyes at his friend. As mature as they got, in some ways, Ron would never change.

As the youngest Weasley, it was traditionally Ginny's job to hand out the presents. Once the enormous pile of gifts had been sorted through and passed out, the opening began in a frenzy of ripped paper, scattered ribbons, and choruses of thank yous. Harry smiled as he watched his friends' and family's delight at the gifts which had been given to them.

Mrs. Weasley was thrilled with the new self kntting needles that Harry had given her, while Mr. Weasley was excitedly skimming through the do-it-yourself books Harry had purchased for him. The books had seemed the perfect gift, as they gave thorough instructions on rewiring various muggle appliances. Harry smiled as he saw Ron blush bright crimson at Hermione's rather enthusiastic thank you for the charm bracelet he had given her. He'd had to bite his lip to stop the laughter when Remus winked at him after donning the sweater his new fiancee had made. His guardian had very gentlemanly ignored the fact that one sleeve was about two inches shorter than the other, and proclaimed it a perfect fit.

"Oh Harry! It's beautiful," Ginny said, throwing herself at him after opening her present. "Put it on me?"

"I'm glad you like it. Madame Tiffany said it was a protective talisman," he told her as he fastened the clasp. As the star-filled orb touched Ginny's skin, it glowed briefly then returned back to normal. Ginny looked at the crystal in amazement.

"I can feel it protecting me. It's like... being wrapped in a cozy blanket," she said. Hermione came over for a closer look and gasped.

"Wherever did you get it, Harry? True protective talismans are rare because it requires really strong magic to make one. They suposedly protect the wearer from all but the very strongest of curses, " she said in the awed tone of voice she normally reserved for books. Harry explained how he'd found it in Madame Tiffany's shop and how it had been there for almost seventeen years.

"I think we should tell Dumbledore about this," Hermione said worriedly. Ron rolled his eyes.

"And I think Harry should open his presents. Go on, mate. You haven't even opened one yet," Ron urged. Harry grinned and began to tear into his presents.

As usual, he'd gotten the traditional Weasley sweater. This one was black with a phoenix stiched into the chest. Ron had provided him with his favorite chocolate frogs, and Hermione had, of course, given him a book on ancient magic. Bill had given him a new wallet. It had several secret compartments in it for Harry to hide money. Charlie had given both he and Ron very dangerous looking pocket knives with engraved dragon fang handles. From the ever practical Percy, he, Ron, and Hermione had gotten The Official Ministry Approved Guide to Apparition. The twins had supplied him with all of the newest products in their Marauders line. His favorite one was Snivelling Snaps which emitted a loud crying sound when they exploded.

"Wicked!" he exclaimed upon opening Remus and Tonks' gift to him. It was a set of black dragon skin clothing, complete with pants, vest, boots, duster coat, and gloves. Privately, Harry wasn't sure how he'd look in it, but he liked them nevertheless.

"I picked them out," Tonks said.

"We thought those might come in handy when you're on the motorbike. Sirius used to have a very similar set," Remus told him.

"Thanks Remus. Thanks Tonks," Harry said, shyly giving them both a hug.

"Here, Harry. I guess mine is last," Ginny said, nervously biting her lip. "I made it myself." She handed Harry a long flat package. Smiling at her, he ripped the paper away and gasped. There, in a simple wooden frame, was a charcoal drawing of Harry surrounded by his Mum, Dad, Sirius, and Remus.

"Ginny, it's..." Harry said, finding himself too choked up to speak. She'd given him the one thing he never thought he'd have... a picture with his family as it should have been.

"I borrowed one of your photos of your Mum and Dad so I could get them right," she said softly.

"Thank you, Ginny. It's perfect, absolutely perfect," he said, kissing her gently.

"Enough of that, Potter. It's too early for you to be snogging my sister," Charlie called from across the room.

"Yeah, we'd rather not have to hex you on Christmas," Bill added.

"You'd better not even think about it, Bill Weasley," Ginny threatened.

"All right you lot, leave Harry and Ginny be," Mrs. Weasley ordered.

"But Mum, it's our duty, as Ginny's older brothers, to make sure that she is treated properly," Fred said.

"We've actually gone rather easy on Harry because we like him, unlike Ginny's previous boyfriends. Remember that rash we gave Corner?" George chortled. Both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley visibly puffed up in anger, while Harry silently thanked his lucky stars that they liked him.

"You what!" Mrs. Weasley screeched.

"Now Mum," George said, backing up slightly. Fortunately for the twins, the fireplace flared and Professor Dumbledore stepped out.

"Happy Christmas, Professor!" the twins chorused. Dumbledore smiled at them with his eyes twinkling, as if he knew exactly how timely his entrance had been.

"Happy Christmas to you as well boys. I trust everyone has enjoyed their holidays thus far?" he said.

"Yes, Albus. It has been wonderful having everyone together this year. You're just in time for breakfast. Won't you stay?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Dumbledore smiled, but shook his head.

"Thank you Molly, but no. I've already breakfasted at the castle. I actually just popped in for a moment to wish everyone merry and to have a word with Harry, Remus, and Nymphadora, if I might," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Of course, Albus," Mrs. Weasley said. She began to usher the rest of her brood into the kitchen, like the mother hen that she was. Dumbledore waited until everyone was gone, then turned to Harry.

"Firstly Mr. Potter, I wish to thank you for the most excellent gift," the headmaster beamed, lifting the hem of his robes to display the thick blue socks Harry had given him. "They keep my feet quite cozy."

"You're very welcome, sir. I'm glad you like them," Harry said.

"Secondly, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that all of the Hogwarts's students made it safely home for the holidays via portkey. I shudder to think what might have happened without the information you, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Lovegood provided," Dumbledore said, smiling.

"It was really all Neville and Luna, but I'm very glad that everything went well," Harry replied.

"Now then, Remus and Nymphadora, I received your owl this morning. I could not be more pleased for the both of you. As such, I have a gift for you," he said. His eyes twinkling as he handed an official looking scroll to the two of them. Remus opened it with a frown and immediately began shaking his head.

"Albus, we can't possibly accept this," Remus said. Dumbledore, however, put up a hand, silencing him.

"Dear boy, the Shrieking Shack has always been yours, whether your name was on the deed or not. I do have to admit, however, to ulterior motives in this. I will feel much safer if I know that the secret passage there is secure. With Pettigrew on the loose, I intend to take measures to insure the safety of all of the castle's passages. I also believe that it is a comfort to young Mr. Potter to have you both close at hand." Harry nodded his emphatic agreement. Remus looked down at Tonks who smiled reassuringly at him.

"Thank you, Albus," he said at last, shaking the headmaster's hand.

"You are most welcome... both of you. As to your request regarding Harry, I have arranged a portkey which is set to activate in approximately one hour," Dumbledore said, handing Remus a candycane. "I do ask that if you sense any trouble you return immediately."

"Thank you again, Professor," Tonks said. "I think this will be good for both of them." Dumbledore nodded his acknowledgement.

"No problem at all Nymphadora, and I quite agree. Well, I've kept you from your breakfast quite long enough, and I promised Professor McGonnagall a game of chess. I believe it's my turn to win," the professor said merrily.

"Professor," Harry said, suddenly remembering his promise to Dobby. "Can I ask you a favor, sir?"

"Yes, of course Harry. What is it?" Dumbledore said, frowning. Harry so infrequently made requests of anyone, the headmaster was, understandably, concerned.

"It's Dobby, sir. He seems to be really happy here, and, well, I sort of feel like I've been imposing on Mrs. Weasley with all of the cleaning and things. I was wondering, if you don't mind that is, if it would be all right for me to hire Dobby to work for me and take care of Grimmauld Place," Harry said nervously. Dumbledore, relieved at Harry's simple request, smiled.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Harry. It would, however, be entirely up to Dobby himself. He is a free elf, after all," he said. Harry nodded.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said. Dumbledore patted him gently on the shoulder, then strode to the fireplace.

"I shall see you all in a few days. Enjoy the rest of your holidays," he said. Grabbing a handful of floo powder, he tossed it into the fire and returned to the school.

"So what's all that about the portkey?" Harry asked, remembering to not give away that he had overheard Remus and Tonks the night before.

"We're going to Tonks' parents' house today. We thought you might like to come with us and meet Andromeda," Remus told him.

"I'd love to come, if you're sure your parents won't mind Tonks," Harry said.

"Mum and Sirius were very close. She's been wanting to meet you for a long time, Harry. Trust me, she'll be thrilled. As for Dad, if Mum is happy, then my Dad is," Tonks said. "We'd better get a move on though, or we're going to show up in our pyjamas."

"See... she's bossing me around all ready. She'll make the perfect wife," Remus said, winking at Harry. Tonks glared threateningly at the unrepentantly grinning pair.

"Too right I am. You'd both be lost without me, and you know it. Now get a move on," she said. With that, she grabbed Remus with one hand and Harry with the other and dragged them both towards the kitchen for a quick breakfast.

Almost an hour later, Harry, dressed in his new Weasley sweater, waited nervously with Remus and Tonks for the portkey to activate. Remus had dressed with obvious care, wearing one of the new robes he'd purchased during the summer. It was a deep midnight blue and Harry thought his guardian looked very nice in it. Tonks was looking quite pretty, as well. Her hair was a wavy honey blonde and her eyes silvery gray. Foregoing her usual ripped jeans and Wierd Sisters t-shirt, she instead wore robes of simple black. Remus looked at his watch.

"Here we go. Three... two... one," he said.

The portkey activated, and Harry felt the familiar jerk behind his navel. He landed unsteadily in a somewhat untidy living room. Looking around, he couldn't help but be reminded of the Burrow. While the furnishings were obviously more expensive than those in the Weasley household, the place had the same homey, lived in feel.

"Mum? Dad? We're here!" Tonks called. A loud crash from behind a nearby door had Tonks laughing. "That'll be Dad."

"Ted! Honestly, that's the third plate you've broken this week," said an exasperated voice. "Scourgify!"

"And that would be Mum," she grinned. Beckoning them to follow her, she pushed open the door and they entered a warm, cozy looking kitchen.

"Happy Christmas, Mum and Dad!" Tonks cried, throwing her arms arouns a robust, if somewhat scruffy looking, man with thick sandy hair and warm brown eyes. Harry assumed this to be Ted Tonks, Tonks' father.

"Happy Christmas, poppet," Ted said, returning her hug before extending a hand to Remus. "Wotcher, Remus!"

"Nymphadora, dear!" Andromeda said warmly, hugging her daughter. "And Moony, it has been entirely too long."

"Yes, it certainly has Andromeda. Happy Christmas to you both," Remus said.

"Who is this now?" Ted asked, eyeing Harry.

"I'm Harry, sir. Harry Potter," Harry said quietly, his eyes locked helplessly on Andromeda. He'd have known exactly who she was even without the introduction, for she looked exactly like Sirius, though obviously more feminine. Her long, dark hair fell carelessly into her eyes, in the same way that Sirius' had. Her eyes were the same silvery gray. Her smile, when she'd greeted Tonks had the same mischievious tilt. He felt Remus put a steadying hand on his shoulder as he saw Andromeda put a trembling hand to her mouth.

"Sirius said that you looked exactly like James, but I..." she shook her head to clear it. "I'm Andromeda Tonks, dear. Sirius is... was my cousin."

"I know, ma'am. Sirius told me about you. He said you were his favorite cousin," Harry said. Andromeda laughed, a deep rich sound.

"Well I should hope so. I mean, look at the competition," she said, grinning. Having met Sirius' other cousins, Harry could not help but agree.

"Could we please not bring up those hags today. Just the thought of them gives me indegestion," Ted said with a mock shiver.

"I agree, Dad. Besides, we have more important things to discuss," Tonks said, holding out her left hand and wiggling her fingers to show off her ring. With a squeal much like Ginny and Hermione had issued at Grimmauld Place, Andromeda grabbed her daughter and wrapped her in another hug. Ted, in the meantime, had thumped Remus on the back and given him a firm handshake. Harry, feeling somewhat left out in this family moment, backed quietly out of the kitchen.

Not really sure what to do with himself, Harry idly wandered the living room, stopping to examine some pictures which sat on a shelf. Most were of Tonks in various stages of growing up, but there were three that tore at Harry's heart. All were of Sirius. The first one was of a teenaged Andromeda, her hands resting protectively on Sirius' shoulders. He looked to be about nine years old, and was looking into the camera with a sort of defiant mischieviousness. The second one was a picture of a teenaged Remus, Sirius, and James. They were wearing their school robes. Sirius was standing in the middle and had his arms around the other two, sneakily giving them bunny ears as he winked at the camera. Harry chuckled as his dad playfully punched Sirius when he noticed, while Remus merely rolled his eyes tolerantly. The last picture was of Sirius on his motorbike. The wind was blowing through his long dark hair and he looked so alive and free. Harry reached out and gently touched the picture, tears filling his eyes.

"That one is my favorite too," said a quiet voice behind him. Harry whirled to see a solemn Andromeda watching him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop. I just..." Harry began. Andromeda waved him off, smiling gently.

"It's perfectly all right, Harry. Believe me, if anyone understands what you're feeling, it's me. Sirius was..." she sighed. "Come, sit." She sat on the couch, indicating that Harry should do the same. She looked at him quietly for a moment before speaking.

"What do you know about Sirius' childhood?" she asked.

"Not much," Harry admitted. "He didn't like to talk about it. He mostly told me about school and things he did with my dad."

"That doesn't suprise me. He and James had a very special bond. They'd have willingly died for each other. Remus too," she sighed. "So he told you nothing about his childhood, about growing up in Grimmauld Place?"

"Just that it was fairly horrid," he said. Andromeda chuckled mirthlessly.

"That's a bit of an understatement," she said. "My sisters and I moved in with Aunt Helena and Uncle Orion when Sirius was just a baby. Our parents had died and, as we were constantly reminded, it was damn good of them to take us in. I was nine at the time." Harry gave an involuntary start as her words so uncannily echoed the words he'd grown up his whole life hearing.

"Aunt Helena," she said, with a far away look on her face," was never exactly maternal, and Uncle Orion could be downright cruel. So there was poor baby Sirius, in this great, cold vault of a house left to the care of that nasty little house elf of Auntie's. I loved him from the second I saw him. He was, in so many ways, my baby. I did the best I could to make sure he knew that someone loved him. I tried to teach him what was right rather than that pureblood nonsense his parents spouted."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, stricken. "It's my fault. It's my fault that he is dead."

"Oh Harry," Andromeda said, hugging him. "Nymphadora told me the whole story. You are not responsible for what happened. Sirius hated that place. It was only a matter of time before he bolted from it. He loved you, you know. Sirius would do anything to protect those he loved. He used to take responsibilty for things Regulus had done to keep him from being punished. I healed him from beating after beating for that. When Uncle Orion kicked me out for seeing Ted, Sirius stepped between us to protect me from a cruciatus. He was ten years old. He would not have been himself if he hadn't come to save you. That's who he was, Harry. A hero from birth."

"Thank you," Harry said softly, feeling so close to this woman who had shaped the person that Sirius had been. She smiled, Sirius' smile.

"No, Harry. Thank you. You made Sirius so happy after he escaped from that place. He was so proud of you. He'd send me pages and pages of letters about things that you'd done. When he talked abut you, the shadows left his eyes and he became my baby again," she said, tears running down her cheeks. Impulsively, Harry hugged her. She froze, startled for a moment, then she too returned the hug, laughing wetly.

"Just look at us. Sirius is probably laughing his arse off at our blubbering and sharing a bottle of firewhiskey with your Dad to toast Moony and Nymphadora's engagement. C'mon now, let's get back in the kitchen. This should be a day of celebration," she said. Rising she pulled Harry to his feet. They both carefully wiped their tears, and rejoined the others.

The next few hours were spent discussing wedding plans, reminiscing about Tonks' childhood, and browsing through old photo albums. Harry quickly discovered that, while Tonks got most of her rather quirky personality traits from her Dad, her mischieveious sense of humor was all Andromeda. They were looking through pictures of Sirius' Hogwarts days when Andromeda grinned evilly and plucked a photo from the book to show Harry and Tonks before a blushing Remus could stop her.

"Oh come on, Andromeda. Do you have to show them that one?" Remus said mortified.

"She does now," Harry grinned, leaning in for a closer look. Harry and Tonks burst into laughter. There, in moving black and white, were all four of the original Marauders. They were dressed in girls' school uniforms, complete with make-up and long wigs which appeared to match their real hair color. The photo Remus and Peter looked rather embarrassed. The photo James and Sirius, on the other hand, were grinning and blowing kisses at the camera.

"Something you need to tell us, love?" Tonks asked, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"It was a bet with Lily. We lost," he muttered, disgruntled.

"Tell them what the bet was, Moony," Andromeda ordered.

"Oh come on, Andromeda. The picture isn't bad enough?" Remus complained.

"Come on, Moony. It wouldn't do to displease your future mum in law," Harry grinned. Remus rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Chocolate... Sirius bet your Mum that I could go longer without chocolate than she could. We both were notorius for our sweet tooths. I lost, but it was James' fault. I swear he sabotaged me to get on Lily's good side. He left an entire box of chocolate frogs sitting on my bed," Remus said. Harry and Tonks burst into helpless laughter. Remus had been pressing chocolate on Harry as the cure for all evil for as long as he'd known him.

Well before Harry was ready to go, Remus announced that it was time for them to leave if they were going to make it back for lunch, as they had promised to. Andromeda and Ted hugged them all. Harry found himself having a difficult time saying good-bye to this new found link to Sirius.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Tonks," Harry said. "I've had a great time." Andromeda put a gentle hand to the side of his face, smiling although tears sparkled in her eyes.

"It's Ted and Andromeda dear, and it's been our pleasure. Come back when you can. We'll talk some more," she said, hugging him once again. As she stepped back, Harry reached out, putting a hand on the portkey Remus extended, and returned to Grimmauld Place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much later that night, Harry stealthily made his way through the halls of Grimmauld Place, wrapped securely in his invisibility cloak. Pausing before one of the doors which lined the second floor corridor, he listened to make sure the room's occupants were asleep before opening it and tiptoeing inside. He carefully made his way to the bed, blushing as he saw the expanse of bare shoulder which peeped out of the blankets as Tonks lay sprawled across Remus' chest. Harry reached out a hand and gently prodded his guardian's shoulder.

"Moony," he whispered. "Moony, wake up."

Remus' eyes slowly opened and he looked around, disoriented. A frown formed on his face.

"Moony," Harry said again.

"Harry?" Remus said. "What is it? What's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm wearing the invisibility cloak. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to you. Not here though. We'll wake up Tonks."

"All right. I'll...umm.. need a second though. Meet me outside the door," Remus said.

"Ok, but hurry," Harry said, exiting the room. Remus appeared a moment later. He'd thrown on one of his familiar, shabby robes and was frowning.

"What's all this about Harry?" he asked.

"Shhh," Harry whispered, rearranging the invisibility cloak so it covered them both. He quickly led Remus through the sleeping house and into his room. Once inside, Harry removed the invisibility cloak.

"Come on Moony, in here. I'll explain everything," Harry said, opening the door to his room of requirement and practically pushed a confused Remus inside. They stepped in and found themselves in what appeared to be a small, moonlit forest glade. Harry stepped over to the waiting Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and grinned.

"Colloportus! Silencio!" Harry said, casting charms upon the room to ensure their privacy. They had checked earlier to make sure that no underage magic would be detected here, as well. Remus crossed his arms across his chest and gave them a look so stern that it could've given Professor McGonnagall a run for her money.

"Harry James Potter, I've seen that look on your father's face enough times to know that it means trouble for me. I have been dragged out of a very warm bed in the middle of the night, and been very patient. Now what is going on?" he demanded.

"Well," Harry said, taking a deep breath, "since last summer, when you, Sirius, and Dad made Ron and I Marauders, we've taken our duty very seriously. We even recruited two new members." He paused, smiling at Ginny and Hermione.

"Go on," Remus said, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"There is one thing, however, that my Dad and Sirius, achieved that we hadn't, until now," Harry said. Moony's eyes widened in comprehension.

"You didn't. Please tell me that you didn't. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" Remus said. It was the closest Harry had heard him come to shouting since he'd discoverd Harry with the Marauders Map in third year.

"Remus, we couldn't let you be alone anymore. Every full moon we stand and we listen to your pain, and we watch how, even with the wolfsbane, you look so lost as you go to transform alone. We couldn't let you do that anymore," Harry said.

"I never thought," Remus began, his voice unsteady. "I never believed that I would be so lucky to have this happen once in my life, let alone twice. Still Harry, all of you, there are a thousand things which could've gone wrong."

"We were very careful," Ginny said.

"We found this book," Hermione said, holding it up.

"It was dead helpful," Ron added. Despite himself, Remus began to laugh.

"I should've known. I suppose you found it in the library here?" he said.

"Yes," Harry said. "It was in the books Sirius left Hermione." Remus laughed again.

"That sneaky old dog. He planned for this to happen," he said. Bringing Out the Animal in You: The Animagus Handbook by Professor James Peresi... James, PEter, REmus, SIrius. We wrote the book... literally. Of course, we only had four copies made up. That one, I'd wager, is Sirius' copy."

"Only four? You really should have tried for a full printing. It's quite instructive, you know," Hermione said. Remus ran his hands through his hair once more.

"Obviously. It only took you five months to do what it takes most wizards years to do," Remus said.

"Four actually," Ron muttered. Remus sighed.

"I suppose it's too late to do anything about it now. Show me what you've achieved," he said. Grinning, the foursome exchanged a relieved look and transformed.

Moony watched, in some trepidation, as a stag, lion, otter, and cat appeared where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had been. He reached out a trembling hand to touch the stag's face.

"Prongs," he breathed. Harry bowed his antlered head and stomped his hoof in acknowledgement. Remus smiled, briefly lost in his memories at the sight of Harry's animagus form. Harry nudged him slightly, and the older wizard seemed to snap out of it.

"Well, I suppose it falls to me to name you, although Prongs came up with the originals," he said. He gave each of them an assessing look.

"Ginny, you're the easiest, with those white paws of yours. I hearby dub you Boots," Remus said. The newly named Boots meowed loudly, then began to unconcernedly lick her paw in a very cat-like fashion.

"I'll assume that means you approve. Hrmmm... Ron. Let's see... I could really use a little divine inspiration here," Moony muttered, looking heavenward. "All right, well, the lion is the king of beasts, and then there is that whole Weasley is our king business, we might as well make it official. You shall be King." King gave a low contented roar, and began to prowl the confines of the 'glade'.

"Hermione next. You guys didn't make this easy on me, did you? Whiskers? No, not very flattering for a young lady to be called," Remus rubbed his chin in thought. Hermione held up one of her small webbed paws and chattered excitedly at him. Remus chuckled. "Webfoot it is then Miss Granger." Finally, he turned to Harry.

"I know that it's not a new name, Harry, but in my mind I could never look at you this way and think of you as anything else. You shall be Prongs, just as your father was before you," he said. "Boots, Webfoot, King, and Prongs." The four younger Marauders returned then to their normal forms, quite pleased with their new names.

"Now, I think we should all go back to bed, before 'Dora realizes I'm gone and comes looking for me," Remus said.

They all filed out of the room of requirement. The girls bid them goodnight, and, as quietly as possible, returned to their room. Ron flopped down on the couch, while Harry walked Remus to the door.

"Good night Moony," he said. Remus smiled.

"Good night, Prongs, and thank you," he said, turning and walking down the hallway to where Tonks slept, waiting.

A/N: I think this was the hardest chapter I've had to write so far. The naming scene killed me. I rewrote it, and rewrote it, and rewrote it. I hope you all like it.

Thanks go out, as always to Danielle for moderating, my son Will for being my beta and sounding board for discarded names, and all of you for reading and reviewing.
Next chapter, back to school and a certain ferret may rear his ugly head, yet again.

A/N: All of the characters contained herein are the property of Ms. Rowling.



Harry shifted his dinner around on his plate, not really eating anything. Tomorrow was the last day before returning to Hogwarts for the rest of the school year. It was not this thought, however, which left Harry's stomach churning and his thoughts a chaotic whirl. It was what he had been putting off, what he had been trying not to think about since the beginning of break. Tomorrow he would go visit Aunt Petunia.

He wasn't sure exactly why he felt obligated to go on these visits. It wasn't as if it was pleasant for him. It wasn't as if there was any real bond of affection between them. He was certain that none of the people whose opinions would matter to him would think any less of him if he didn't go and just left her to the healers' care, but somehow he couldn't do that. Perhaps it was because she was the last tie he had to his Mum, or maybe it was all those years it had been drilled into his head that he should be "damn greatful," for all the Dursleys had done for him. He supposed it could be the burden of guilt he carried, as well. Petunia Dursley would not be in St. Mungo's if weren't for him. Uncle Vernon and Dudley would still be alive. It was yet another tragedy that had been wrought in his young life by Voldemort and his followers. Harry sighed, throwing his napkin on his plate and giving up any pretense of eating.

"Harry, you've barely touched your food. You need to eat," Mrs. Weasley said, her voice full of motherly concern.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley. I'm just not very hungry tonight," Harry said. Mrs. Weasley nodded her understanding.

"All right, dear. Perhaps you'll feel like eating later. I'll have Dobby save it for you," she said sympathetically.

"Thank you," Harry told her giving her a half-hearted smile. "Remus, what time will we be leaving for the hospital in the morning?" Remus looked up from the quiet conversation he had been having with Tonks.

"Moody should be here about 9:30, then we'll take the Knight bus," Remus told him. Harry nodded.

"Good. That should give us plenty of time to eat breakfast before we leave in the morning," Ginny said brightly. Harry turned to face his girlfriend.

"We?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. We. I'm going with you tomorrow," Ginny replied matter-of-factly, before calmly eating another bite of the shepherd's pie which Mrs. Weasley had prepared for dinner.

"No," Harry said. "You're not." He was dimly aware of the sudden silence in the room as the others watched their exchange. His attention, however, was completely on Ginny who very carefully set down her fork.

"Yes," she said, looking him straight in the eyes," I am."

"No, you're not," Harry said, clenching his jaw to hold back his building anger. Ginny threw her napkin down and stood, eyes blazing.

"Yes, I am. I will not spend another day watching you come home from that place and lock yourself in your room. I sat outside your door after every one of your visits this summer and listened to you blow things up to try and deal with your pain. Let me help you, you stupid git," Ginny shouted at him.

"Do you honestly think putting you through it with me will make it better, Gin?" Harry yelled, getting to his feet. "It's painful and horrible to be there. I talk to her until I'm hoarse, while she just sits there and stares at nothing. Most of the time she doesn't even know that I'm there, but it's better than when she does notice me. Do you know what she does then? She smiles at me. I've waited my whole cursed life for some sign, any sign, that she cared about me, even a little. I never got it, never. It took her being tortured into insanity before I even got a smile from her. Do you know how that feels? I sit there and I remember all those special moments with my aunt like being locked in my cupboard for two weeks when I was six because I threw up on the carpet. Then there is my personal favorite memory, the time I tried to call her Mum when I was three or four and she slapped me and told me that she would never be a mother to a freak like me. Oh, and here's the best part, I can't hate her. I've tried. It'd be easier if I did, but I can't. Every time I go there, I feel like that scared, helpless little boy locked in the dark and not understanding why. I don't want you to see that, Ginny. I don't want anyone to see that."

Turning, he fled the kitchen. Without any conscious thought, he made his way to his bedroom slamming the door behind him. Remus found him there a short time later. Harry was sitting on the floor near one of the 'windows'. He had his knees pulled up to his chest was staring sightlessly out at the image of the Hogwarts' grounds. Remus sat down next to his ward, waiting for him to make the first move.

"I can't believe that I yelled at her like that, in front of the whole family. I really screwed up this time didn't I?" Harry muttered after a while.

"Not your finest moment, no, but I think she understands, Harry," Remus said quietly. "She's worried about you. We all are."

"I know," Harry said, still not willing to talk about the pain he knew he'd be facing at St. Mungo's in the morning.. "How do I fix this, Remus?"

"You start by going down stairs and apologizing, then you listen to her," he said. "A little chocolate might not hurt either." Despite himself, Harry chuckled.

"I don't suppose you have any?" he asked wryly. Wordlessly, Remus produced a bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate from inside a pocket of his robes and handed it to him with a grin. He then pulled Harry to his feet and they walked back down the stairs together. Remus steered him into the drawing room where the whole family was sitting. All conversation stopped the minute they entered the room. Ginny was sitting on the couch with Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Hermione. Harry thought she'd been crying. He knew for sure that she had been when he saw the glares he was receiving from Ron and the twins. He was just glad Percy, Bill, and Charlie were all on dates.

"I.. err.." Harry said, looking to Remus for reassurance. Remus gave him an encouraging nod. "Could I talk to you for a minute Ginny... alone."

"No, Harry. You didn't seem to have a hard time talking to me in front of everyone earlier," Ginny said icily. Inwardly, Harry cringed. She was not going to make this easy on him, not that he blamed her.

"I'm sorry that I yelled at you like that, Ginny. I shouldn't have, especially not in front of everyone else. You took me by suprise, I guess. I love you. I don't mean to shut you out, any of you. I'm just sort of used to dealing with the Dursleys on my own. I don't want you to have to see that part of my life," Harry said.

"Mate, it's too late. We've already seen it. It was there for us to see every time you had to go back to that place for the summer. Do you think we couldn't tell how much you hated it there?" Ron asked.

"Did you forget we're the ones who pulled those bars off your windows in your second year?" George asked.

"Or that we've seen the locks on that hole under the stairs they used to make you live in?" Fred added.

"Or that we've spent the last five summers doing our best to answer all those desperate How soon am I getting out of here? letters?" Hermione murmured.

"Or that we've seen you come back half-starved and far too pale?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Harry, you've seen me at my very worst, in the Chamber with Tom. Nothing I could see between you and your aunt at St. Mungo's is going to scare me away. You have nothing to be ashamed of. It's not your fault that they treated you the way they did. I love you. You have always been there to help me through things. Are you going to let me help you deal with this or not?" Ginny said, getting up and walking over to him.

"If you're sure you want to Gin, then I'd really appreciate it if you came with me," Harry told her. He then smiled his most charming smile, and even threw in his own version of Sirius' puppy dog eyes. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"That depends. Is that chocolate you're holding for me?" she asked with an impish grin. Harry smiled, and handed her the candy bar. Ginny threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly, in front of her parents, brothers, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks.

"Remind me to stock up on chocolate the next time I mess up with Angelina," Fred told George.

"Works everytime," Remus grinned, winking at the twins.

They arrived at St. Mungo's a little after ten the next morning after a typically stomach churning ride on the knight bus. Harry, as he always did, made a quick stop by the gift shop to purchase flowers for his aunt, before continuing on to the ward where Petunia Dursley was. One of the healers, seeing him enter, smiled and walked over to them.

"Mr. Potter, it's good to see you again," she said.

"Hello Healer McDougall. How's my aunt been?" Harry asked. The healer shook her head sadly.

"There's been no real change. She's calm most of the time, and she seems to brighten somewhat whenever she gets the flowers you arranged for her to get every week. We've been reading the articles about you in The Prophet to her also. One of the nurses said she smiled when she saw your picture on the front page," the healer told him. Harry nodded.

"Thank you. Is it all right to go in now?" Harry asked.

"Yes, of course," she told him, leading him over to the curtained area in which his aunt now resided. Harry took a deep breath, gathering himself to see the woman who had raised him. He felt Ginny's small hand slip into his and squeeze. He smiled greatfully at her, before parting the curtains and entering.

Petunia Dursley was sitting in a chair near her bed rocking slightly back and forth. Her hair while neat, was far from the immaculate coif she had worn it in throughout Harry's childhood, and was now liberally streaked with gray. Her skin had that translucent paleness that one only saw in those who had suffered from the effects of a long term illness. Her eyes stared sightlessly forward, devoid of any thought or emotion.

"Good morning, Aunt Petunia," Harry said quietly, walking over and gently placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I've brought you flowers." She looked up at him and smiled an empty smile. Harry flinched as he placed the flowers in a nearby vase. He walked over and set in one of the chairs across from her. Ginny sat in the other. Remus and Moody had stayed outside the curtained area to insure their privacy.

"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you in a while. I've been away at my school. I brought someone to meet you. This is Ginny Weasley. She's my girlfriend," Harry told her quietly.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Dursley," Ginny said softly, smiling gently at Harry's aunt. Petunia just continued to rock, as if she hadn't spoken.

"I'm quidditch captain this year. We won our first game. It was against Slytherin. Ginny was brilliant. She's one of our chasers. She scored two goals," Harry said, searching his mind for something else to say.

"Harry caught the snitch. He's only missed it once, and that was only because of the dementors. He's the best seeker Hogwarts has ever seen," Ginny added. Harry couldn't help the blush that crept up his cheeks at Ginny's praise.

"I'm umm... staying at Sirius' house for the holidays. It's not the same with him gone, but the Weasleys and Remus are there too so they're taking care of me. Speaking of Remus, he's getting married to Tonks. Remember I told you about her this summer? I'm really happy for them," Harry told her.

Harry continued talking to her for the hour he was there. Ginny filled in the gaps in the one sided conversation, where Harry became too emotional to speak or could think of nothing to say. He'd never been more appreciative of her support. Finally, Remus stuck his head in through curtain.

"Time to go, Harry," he said. Harry nodded in acknowledgement.

"I have to go Aunt Petunia. I'm going back to school tomorrow, so I won't be back to see you for a while. The healers know to make sure and let me know if you need anything," he said, once more placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. She smiled up at him again, the same empty smile. Harry closed his eyes, shutting it out. Ginny put an arm around him, offering her silent support.

"It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Dursley," Ginny told her. "I hope to see you again sometime."

They left the room hand in hand and silently followed Remus and Mad-Eye out of the hospital. Catching the knight bus, they returned to Grimmauld Place. Ginny walked Harry up to his room, pushing him gently onto the couch, where she snuggled up to him as they had countless times in the Gryffindor common room. She felt him take a deep shuddering breath and watched as he fought to keep his memories at bay.

By the time they returned to Hogwarts the next morning, Harry was mostly back to his normal self. He threw himself into his classes and training with a renewed zeal. Both Remus and Dumbledore told him that he was making great progress, however, he still felt like he was no where near being able to defeat Voldemort. Quidditch was going well also. Gryffindor had soundly defeated Hufflepuff in their match, sending them into first place in the race for the house cup, just ahead of Ravenclaw who had destroyed Slytherin when they faced each other.

Since the visit to St. Mungo's, Harry and Ginny had gotten even closer. While both were extraordinarily busy, Harry with all his extra training and Ginny with OWLs, they made time for each other every Friday. Usually they went to the astronomy tower or some other quiet spot. A few times, when there had been breaks in the weather, they had gone for rides on Harry's motorbike.

As January rolled into February, another Hogsmede weekend approached. Harry and the others were to be accompanied, once again by Fred and George. The twins met them at the castle gates, wearing their usual mischievious grins.

"Ahh... young Harry! Fancy meeting you here," George said.

"Care to accompany us to Hogsmede?" Fred grinned.

"I can't believe that they let you two be our minders again. The last time Filch nearly had kittens at all of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes that suddenly showed up in school," Ginny grinned.

"Professor Dumbledore is a man who understands the importance of a good joke in these trouble times little sister," George said.

"Besides, Tonks is dragging Remus shopping for wedding stuff and we were available," Fred grinned.

"Poor Moony," said Ron, earning him a playful punch from Hermione.

They made their way to Hogsmede, laughing at stories of the twins latest antics. They had apparently aroused the wrath of Mrs. Weasley, and their two oldest brothers, by testing their latest product on them. Both of the elder Weasley boys had somehow ended up sprouting bright blue beards, which grew back within ten minutes of shaving them off. Unfortunately, the antidote had not quite been perfected yet and as a result, they'd been forced to wear the beards for a week.

The group spent the morning browsing through the shops in Hogsmede. Harry, following Remus' advice that chocolate is always good, had brought a large heart-shaped box of Honeydukes best chocolates for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday. He also dragged Ron and George into Madame Tiffany's again, where he purchased a bracelet with a tiny cat charm on it. Ron, meanwhile, also made a purchase for Hermione which he was being very secretive about. Harry suspected that this was due to George's presence, but he couldn't be sure. They hurried out of the shop and down the street towards The Three Broomsticks, where they were meeting the girls and Fred for lunch. Scanning the crowded avenue, Harry spotted them coming out of Scrivenshafts. He grinned, raising his hand to wave, when a series of loud pops filled the air.

"Bloody hell!" George said, grabbing Harry and Ron and pulling them behind some barrels which stood in front of the pub. He immediately held his wand aloft, sending forth a silvery mist which sped towards Hogwarts.

"Do you see the others?" Ron asked, franitcally. "I can't see the girls."

Harry peered over the nearest barrel scanning the crowd. He muttered a choice oath which would have earned him a scolding from Mrs. Weasley. He didn't see the girls anywhere, but he did see a group of third years pinned down by a cluster of death eaters near Honeydukes.

"We've got to help them. Most of them are in the D.A. so they can last a while, but not nearly long enough. George, can you create a distraction?" Harry said urgently. George shot him an evil grin.

"Did you forget who you were talking to, mate?" he asked. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry grinned back.

"I'll take that as a yes. Ron, we're gonna make a run for those third years. Just stay close to me and stun as many death eaters as you can. Got it?" Harry asked. Ron gave him a terse nod.

"Ready?" George asked. Not waiting for Harry's response, he began tossing a series of brightly colored balls into the center of the death eater's ranks which exploded emitting great clouds of colored smoke and sparks. Harry and Ron sped from the cover of the barrels diving into the nearst doorway, where they found Seamus and Dean huddled.

"Harry!" Seamus said, sounding relieved. "What do we do?"

"Follow us. Shoot stunners and anything else you think will be helpful at them. Keep them busy and keep your heads down. We have got to get to those third years over there before they get slaughtered," Harry ordered. Dean and Seamus nodded looking frightened, but determined.

Harry and Ron once more darted out of their cover, with Seamus and Dean in their wake, dodging spells sent at them by the death eaters. As they dove into the next doorway, Harry saw George across the street. It appeared he had been reunited with Fred. They were now flinging what Harry suspected were dark bombs at knots of death eaters. Harry and Ron continued down the street, organizing D.A. members as they found them. They saw no sign of either Hermione or Ginny, and had to hope that they were with the twins. At last, they made it to Honeydukes. Neville and Luna were hudled in the doorway, doing their best to defend the panicing third years.

"Harry! Shouldn't help be arriving by now?" Neville asked. He had a long gash down one side of his face and Luna was sporting a black eye as she calmly fired spells from behind the cover that the door way offered. Harry frowned. Neville had a point. Where was the Order?

"I dunno. Looks like we're on our own for now, though. Listen to me, there is a tunnel down in the basement of the store. Neville and Luna, I want you to take the third years and lead them back to the castle. Alert the professors. The rest of us will stay here and keep them occupied. No heroics, just keep them occupied. Got it?" Harry said to the group of D.A. members gathered around. They all nodded, looking pale and scared.

"Good luck, Harry," Neville said solemnly. He and Luna then gathered up the frightened third years and lead them down to the basement.

"Anyone seen Hermione and Ginny?" Ron asked desperately, as he shot spells at the advancing death eaters.

"I think they were across the street in Scrivenshafts," Lavender Brown said. "I know I saw them there when the battle started."

The death eaters were continuing to advance. Harry saw Seamus fall to a stunner, but didn't have time to check and see if he was ok. Peering across the street, Harry saw another group of D.A. members with Fred and George. He didn't see Hermione or Ginny with them and fought down his rising panic at not knowing where they were. He leaned out from his cover once more to hurl a spell at Voldemort's forces, and saw Colin Creevey get blasted off his feet by a jet of purplish light and flung against the wall behind him like a rag doll. He did not get up. Another series of loud pops filled the air then, and Harry realized the Order had arrived, at last.

"Ron, get everybody out of here. I'm going out to help the Order," Harry called.

"No way, mate. Ginny and Hermione are out there somewhere. I'm staying here," Ron shouted back, as he fired another spell at the death eaters.

"Justin, Padma," Harry said. "Get everyone down the tunnels. Ron and I are going out to help."

"Be careful," Padma told him, as she and Justin motioned everyone inside Honeydukes. They paused to help Lavender and Dean drag a still unconscious Seamus with them, then disappeared inside the sweet shop. Harry turned to Ron.

"Ready, King?" he asked.

"Let's go, Prongs," Ron grinned.

Charging out of the cover of the store front, Ron and Harry made a bee-line for the knot of Order members which were driving the death eaters down the street. Two red heads stood clearly out in the crowd.

"What the hell are you two doing here?' Bill Weasley shouted at them as he took a death eater down.

"Ginny and Hermione. We can't find them," Ron said to his older brother. He then shot a reducto curse at a death eater, who was firing curses at Charlie.

"What! What do you mean you can't find them? Remus! Moody! The girls are missing," Bill called. "Where are the twins?"

"Dunno, they were across the street from us with a bunch of D.A. members," Harry answered. Yet a third series of pops echoed down the street as the aurors, led by Kingsley Shacklebolt, arrived.

"Retreat!" one of the death eaters ordered, shooting the dark mark into the clear blue sky over Hogsmede. Voldemort's followers began to disapperate with loud pops. Of the thirty that had started the battle, almost half were down in the street, fallen to the D.A. and Order.

"Not a good day for Voldemort," Moody said, grinning malisciously. "Nice job, Potter. You trained your people well."

"Harry! Ron!" Ginny called from down the street. Harry turned, letting out a sigh of relief. Ginny and Hermione were running down the street toward he and Ron, leaving the cover of Scrivenshafts, where they had rode out the battle protecting a second group of third years. Harry's relief, turned suddenly to panic as he saw a dark figure step out from the shadows of one of the shops.

"Crucio!" the figure hissed. Hermione was struck from behind, writhing on the ground in pain.

"Hermione no!" Ginny said, turning and running back to her friend. Time seemed to slow, for Harry as he saw the dark figure release the spell on Hermione, only to grab Ginny. Wrapping an arm around her, he held his wand to her throat. Tossing his head, the hood which covered his face fell back to reveal the pale blonde hair and cold silver eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Miss me, Potty?" he asked smirking evilly.

That's right boys and girls, time for the return of the evil cliffy. Hope you all liked this one. Thanks go out as always to Danielle for moderating, my son for beta-ing, and all of you fantastic people for your reviews. This one was, I think, even more difficult to write than the last one, which explains why it took so long for me to post. The confrontation between Ginny and Harry went through at least five different versions.
Next chapter, more fun with Malfoy and a full moon frolic.