Chapter 10 Entrust With You
Currently traveling by the Knight Bus to Hogwarts, Harry was sitting next to Lupin in front of Ginny, chatting casually. She kept quiet with what she witnessed yesterday; it was a private moment he obviously didn’t want anyone to see. But she would never forget what she saw, the image of him slouched against the trunk, sobbing quietly but profusely, and clutching the very mirror Ron had once mentioned to her. She had never seen him more vulnerable, and judging by the way he was, pouring his heart out so sorrowfully and thunderously, it was evident he truly missed his godfather.
In contrast, the boy sitting in front of her now was a completely different person. She realized that the entire time at the Burrow, he had been masking his anguish quite successfully, maintaining a strong front, just like now, even though deep inside, his heart was dying under the weight of Sirius’ death. This was partly the reason why she had almost forgotten about his deep pain he harbored until yesterday, when she got to experience it in full view in front of her eyes.
Ginny could relate to Harry’s struggles to appear strong, to live in a lie, and always running away, because she too, had been doing the same thing, busily putting up a strong image in front of her friends and family. Perhaps it was sympathy or empathy, but without knowing it, she had grown less cold towards him after yesterday. Quietly and discreetly, she found herself once again admiring his messy hair. He needed a trim, she mused again, scrutinizing the uneven layers of his mane from the back. She wanted to trim him again.
“What’s happening? Can’t this blasted box go any faster?” Tonks, sitting next to Ginny, screamed to the front, cutting through Ginny’s starry thoughts, because for some reason, the bus suddenly came to a screeching halt.
It was as if the Knight Bus was playing a cruel joke on them. Of all days, it had to break down today when it was transporting them to Hogwarts. After exchanging a few angry words with the driver, who kicked everyone out rudely, Lupin finally stepped out as the bus vanished.
“We can’t be far from Hogwarts! Look! I can see the castle from here!” Ron pointed at the darkening horizons.
“We can just complete the rest of the trip with our brooms!” suggested Hermione.
“I haven’t got mine with me,” Lupin glanced over at Tonks, who shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
“I promised Dumbledore we’ll take you to the castle… not leave you halfway in the middle of nowhere, wherever this is!” Lupin yelled frantically, pacing around in circles.
Tonks laughed mockingly, getting rather amused by Lupin’s panic behavior, “You should worry more about Molly! You promised her too! Werewolf or not, she’ll personally skin you alive if she finds out__”
“Then we better think of something, Tonks! It’s getting late!” he looked at his watch anxiously. “The last thing we need is Dumbledore and Molly getting worried about four missing children!
“We have no choice! Tonks, take Ginny’s broom and lead the way! I’ll take Ron’s broom and take care of the backend. Ron will ride with Harry on his!”
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thanking Lupin for not asking her to fly with Harry. But before she even began her celebrations…
“Two boys on the same broom? Isn’t that too heavy of a load?” Hermione schemed wickedly and eyed Ginny and Harry nastily. “Wouldn’t it be more balanced when it’s… like a boy and a girl__”
“Harry’s got a Firebolt!” Lupin cut in exasperatingly, spit flying out of his mouth. “I’m sure it can handle the load of a pigfarm__”
“But it’s__”
“WHO CARES HERMIONE! Oh, whatever…” Lupin gave up. “There’s no time to ponder…
“Ginny, go with Harry then! Ron! Fly with Hermione on hers! Just make sure you wrap your arms around her mouth instead of her waist!”
“What about all our stuff?” asked Harry as he quickly retrieved his Firebolt from the box.
“Don’t worry about them! I’ll cast a spell to make them follow us! Just hurry! And try to stay tight in the middle!”
Seeing Lupin’s sweat rolling down his forehead and his patience clearly running thin no thanks to Hermione’s badgering, Ginny decided to swallow her protests and begrudgingly accepted his plan.
”I’ll get her for this!” a little voice sounded in Ginny’s head when she spotted Hermione’s triumphant smirk.
“Come on, Gin! Hop onboard!” Harry smiled eagerly, waving his arm at her.
Those were the last words she wanted to hear as she reluctantly and stoically climbed on his broom, determined to not let the fire in her heart re-ignite, and not let those endearing memories and promises resurface in her mind.
“Ginny,” Harry muttered lovingly from the front.
“Uh?”
“Hold me.”
“What?”
“Put your arms around me.”
“You heard the man…” Hermione suddenly appeared next to her, giggling and flashing her two big front teeth, “Put your arms around him…” She immediately sailed away with Ron before Ginny could respond.
Ginny couldn’t be more angry at the moment and found herself wanting to punch her as blood was clogging her fiery cheeks. She was blaming Hermione for this. After all, she was in this awkward position because of her. But before she knew it, Harry gently reached for her arms and wrapped them around him.
“Hold me tight, Ginny. And don’t worry. I’ll take care of you,” he caressed her hands softly, rested them on his belly, and spun gracefully toward the rippling sunset clouds.
The feeling right now was exactly like what Oliver had said to her when he brought up his team flying competition idea. Harry and her were indeed an elegant couple in the air. She was absorbing all of it as his beating heart and glowing warmth slowly defrosted her icy walls, at least temporarily.
“Granger, you’re forgiven… this time…” her little voice echoed again. However, this time it sounded much more sweet as Ginny tightened her grip on him and closed her eyes, while at the same time, slowly fantasizing about actually pairing with him and participating in Oliver’s upcoming team flying competition where together, they would win the ultimate top prize and he would congratulate her by kissing her, resulting in roaring excitement from the crowds. Her reckless imaginations and perfect pictures managed to temporarily suspend the pain in her heart.
Because of the faulty Knight Bus and the relative slowness of brooms, the opening ceremonies had already begun before they arrived. Lupin quickly ushered them into the Great Hall and gave an abbreviated wave to Dumbledore, whose eyes twinkled at the sight of them, before departing with Tonks.
Dumbledore was hovering by the stand, evidently in the middle of a speech. Oliver was sitting between Hooch and McGonagall at the front table. Apparently, the sorting ceremony had been completed, but instead of sitting down, Harry spotted the nervous-looking first year students separated in four groups, huddled at the front end of their respective house tables. There appeared to be some older students mixed in the group as well. The four of them quietly crept to the Gryffindor table and sat down modestly, trying to not draw attention to themselves.
“Let me just repeat what we’re currently sorting out right now, for those that have just joined us,” Dumbledore glanced at Harry’s direction. “As I was saying, some of you sixth and seventh year students may have received a letter from me about the mentoring program that I started this year…”
“Oh my goodness! They’re matching you up now!” panted Hermione excitedly to Harry as Dumbledore continued in the background.
Harry had forgotten all about the mentoring program and him selected as a big brother because the letter was received almost a month ago.
“When I call out your name, please come up to the front and you’ll be matched with your mentee from your house.
“Ingrid Lannar!”
A brown-haired lanky seventh-year girl from the Gryffindor table hurried up to the front.
“Miss Lannar…” Dumbledore adjusted his spectacles, “let me see… Okay, got it! You are matched with Miss Joy Mavin.”
A shy little brown-haired girl raised her hand timidly and emerged from the group of first years. Ingrid walked over to her and shook her hand.
“I trust you’ll take good care of Miss Mavin,” he smiled to Ingrid, who hastily nodded her head as they disappeared into the group.
“Okay, the final match up, and then everyone can eat! I’m sure we’re all hungry by now!” Dumbledore studied his list attentively.
Hearing this, Harry’s stomach lurched slightly. He was anxious to find out who he would be matched up with.
“Hmm… we’re not too bad… I see…” Dumbledore delayed his announcement. “We are not that bad with numbers after all, Professor McGonagall. Four for four! We actually managed to get this right! We actually have the exact number of boys and girls for all four houses. What are the odds of that? Or maybe the sorting hat knew in advance...”
Harry’s heartbeat was racing faster and faster. In his mind, he was hoping Dumbledore would just stop rambling and call his name, so he could get this over with.
“Harry Potter!” Dumbledore announced.
“Good luck, Harry! I hope you won’t get stuck with a pint sized version of a Fred or George!” Ron sneered as he hesitantly strolled to the front.
“Mr. Sam Ryan!” Dumbledore turned to the group of standing Gryffindors. Strangely, no one raised his hand or came forward.
“Mr. Ryan!” Dumbledore tried again.
A little girl with very short silver hair, almost a buzz-cut, and very pale skin except her blazing red cheeks slowly emerged from the Gryffindor crowd. She had pointy features and big gray eyes. Although she was much shorter than the other first years, she was certainly not shy with her tongue.
“You forgot already, sir? I’m not a mister,” she sighed somewhat impolitely. “We just gone through this just now with Professor McGonagall already. Remember? The sorting ceremony?”
“Please forgive me, Miss Ryan. I guess memories go with old age.”
“There must be some kind of mistake,” McGonagall got up and joined the conversation. “The plan was supposed to match a boy with a boy, and not a boy… with a__”
“Yes! I’m a girl, as the entire school just found out during the sorting ceremony!”
A sense of ominous anxiety was starting to blanket inside Harry. The idea of teaming up with this rather brash girl for the entire year would definitely ruin his school year; he was taken back by her rudeness, especially in front of Dumbledore and McGonagall on the first day. Maybe Fred and George were right, he thought to himself miserably. His hands would be full with her. Or worse yet, she could turn out to be a small version of a Fred or George, just like Ron said.
“Mr. Filch, you were in charge of the two lists. Is she in the wrong one?” McGonagall yelled through the hall of jeers and murmurs.
“I don’t know, Professor!” Filch rushed to the front. “I don’t remember what I did! She may be in the boy’s list or something. I guess when I saw her name, I figured…”
“Sam is short for Samantha!” Harry could hear her mumble underneath her breath.
Filch rolled out his list from his pocket, “See, she’s in the right list. She has her name right here. She__”
“I got a name by the way!” she suddenly snapped her finger curtly at Filch and glared at him. She was tired of all his endless references of her as a non-existent invisible third person.
“Professor McGonagall, there’s no need to make a fuss. I don’t see anything wrong with our Harry matching with Miss Ryan over here, if the two of them are okay with the arrangement,” said Dumbledore mildly, shielding Filch away from her, because both looked like they were ready to pounce on each other.
“There’s no law that a big brother must be matched with a boy,” Dumbledore suggested.
“Harry, are you okay teaming up with Miss Ryan here?”
Harry glanced at Ron, who not only gave him a severe look of disapproval from the Gryffindor table, but he was animatedly strangling at his own neck, at the same time seemingly mouthing words that appeared to say, “But she’s a girl…” Hermione and Ginny could be seen trying to suppress what could potentially be a laugh as loud as New Year’s fireworks.
He shifted his eyes to Sam, who was currently roasting furiously at Ron’s direction for some reason, her hands in balls of fists. It was the same burning glare she had for Filch earlier. Perhaps she saw his terrible facial grimaces to Harry just now and she knew he was signaling about her.
Harry was debating frantically inside his mind. At this dire point, as everyone was peering at him, waiting for his answer, he realized he couldn’t care less if he was teamed with a boy or girl. All he wanted was someone with a normal temperament.
”I would settle for Joy Mavin! Why didn’t I get her?” a tiny voice squealed in his head.
To him, she certainly did not appear to have a normal temperament. Teaming with her could potentially be the biggest nightmare of his life. But deep inside, he felt sorry for her, for being put on the spot on her first day. He recalled how nervous he was on his first day at Hogwarts. He didn’t want to reject her in front of the whole school.
But then, Harry put his natural nobleness aside, because he knew he had no choice but to accept. He was clearly aware this girl might peck his head off if he were to reject her now.
“I’ll be Miss Ryan’s mentor,” Harry replied bravely. As soon as he uttered those words, he regretted them immediately, because there were instant gasping sounds from the crowds, followed by chuckles and murmurs of, “Potter’s dead meat now… Potter’s got himself one silver firecracker…” Harry could not help but agree with the murmurs.
Apparently stunned, Sam quickly turned to Harry, seemingly trying to reorganize her facial features, changing her raging expressions she had for Ron and Filch earlier to a much more friendly one. Evidently, she had figured he wouldn’t accept.
“Good… Good. Harry! That settles it! I’ll entrust Miss Ryan with you then,” Dumbledore rushed. “Now, let’s eat! Let the feast begin!”
“Harry Potter here. Nice to meet you, Miss Ryan,” Harry extended his hand shakily as the standing students passed around them to get to their seats. As they passed him by, he could feel their uneasiness; he noticed a few of them were staring at her apprehensively.
With a look of appreciation, she smiled sincerely with a glimmer of gratefulness in her eyes as she gently accepted his unsettled hand.
“Please call me Sam. Nice to meet you, Harry Potter.”
The Boy Next Door by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: Last year, she finally reached out and successfully seized her love, holding him as tightly as she could, and made him hers. Today, those very arms and hands of hers just dangle powerlessly to the side, even though he is sitting right in front of her, leaving her to wonder if in the future, it would be those same arms and hands that will push him away and ultimately let him go…