Lessons the following week had an ominous feeling to them. Teachers seemed on edge and irritable, which put students off as well. Minor scuffles had broken out amongst students, but were put down quickly. Kevin’s departure from Hogwarts was soon noticed by his students when they arrived for class and found Stacy teaching Potions and Chris teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. It started a host of rumors that eventually formed into a story about him defecting to Voldemort’s side. Harry was quick to put down any of those stories that he heard before they got out of hand. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were also quick to defend him. They did not want a repeat of what had happened last year when a story broke in the Daily Prophet about Kevin being a loyal Death Eater.
Halloween was now upon the students and Harry was also concerned with keeping an eye on Ginny. After she had told him about her dreams, he became afraid for her. Dreams had a way of coming true in the wizard world and Harry could testify to that. She hadn’t been clear what the dreams were, but Harry was sure they seemed real enough to Ginny. They got to the point that they made Ginny afraid to be around Harry.
He couldn’t help remembering the feeling of anger back at the lake when he felt Ginny was keeping something from him. It frightened Harry that he had felt this way when he held her, but more so that he felt that way towards her. Harry had felt hate before. He had first felt it when he thought that Sirius had betrayed his parents to Voldemort. He had been willing to go so far as to kill Sirius himself. The next time he had felt it was in his fifth year, when Voldemort had been trying to possess his mind and find out any information he could on the prophecy. Every time that Harry had met eyes with Professor Dumbledore, he felt intense anger and loathing.
Harry, who had been lying in bed at the time, bolted upright. This was almost exactly the same as when his mind was being invaded by Voldemort. The anger and hatred he had felt at the lake was the same as in his fifth year. Harry quickly got out of bed and changed. He had to speak with someone about this…but he stopped. Kevin had not yet returned from wherever he had gone, and he didn’t know Chris that well to go and speak to him about this. Snape was out of the question.
Of course, there was always Professor Dumbledore.
Harry had gone to the headmaster on more then one occasion about something like this. He could surely go to him again. Harry left Gryffindor tower as the other students were starting to wake up and made his way down the stairs. As he walked through the corridors, he thought about what he would say to Dumbledore when he got there. The first thing he would say was that he thought Voldemort was trying to possess him again…and that made him stop.
It suddenly dawned on Harry that this was impossible. The spell that Kevin had used on him months ago had stripped the Dark Lord of his powers. There was no possible way that Voldemort could have gotten his powers back so soon. Though Harry did recall that Kevin had said the spell might not work for the full year, but so soon? Harry knew that Dumbledore would not dismiss his thoughts right out as some other teachers might have, but it would raise a few interesting questions.
He quickened his pace, eager to get this over with. Just as he turned a corner, he thought he saw a flash of red from the end of the corridor. Harry stopped for a moment. Surely Ginny wasn’t awake this early, unless she had been having nightmares again. He had said that she should speak with Dumbledore as well, and he did not like the idea of telling the headmaster about his anger towards her while she was in the same room. He ran down the hall in the hopes that he could catch her and stop her, but as he turned the corner he saw only stone floors and paintings hanging on the wall.
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Ginny walked up a secret staircase that no student had walked for some time. She stopped at a large wooden door. Apprehension struck her, but she knew she had to go through this door. She reached out a hand and knocked. A voice from within said, “Come in.”
The door swung open and Ginny walked into a large sitting area that reminded Ginny a bit of the Gryffindor common room. A large stone fireplace was on the opposite wall with a fire roaring inside of it. Plush armchairs and an extravagant sofa were sitting in front of it, where almost six people could have sat comfortably. Off to the side was a wooden desk with parchment spilling off the sides. No doubt that both Kevin and Sara shared this desk to do their work and grade student’s essays.
Sara was sitting behind the desk now, her head leaning over a copy of the Daily Prophet. She looked up at Ginny, smiling. “Good morning, Ginny.”
Ginny walked over to her. “Good morning,” she said. “I hope that this isn’t too early to speak with you, but I wanted to make sure no one could overhear.”
Sara dismissed Ginny’s concerns. “Not too early at all. With Kevin away, I have to be up this early to take care of this one.” She waved her hand to indicate the bassinet that rested beside the desk. Lilian was lying inside, gently kicking with her small arms and legs and cooing softly. Sara reached inside and scooped her daughter into her arms. “Let’s sit down to talk while I feed Lily.”
The two women took seats beside one another on the sofa. Sara, who was still in her nightgown, pushed aside part of the fabric to let Lilian nurse from her breast. Ginny watched with minor wonder at the small infant. “So, you’re calling her ‘Lily’ now?”
Sara gently adjusted the baby. “Just a nickname, thought it would be a small tribute Lily Potter. Something to remember them for what they did for Kevin and me. We discussed that if we ever had a boy that we would name him James, but thought that honor should go to Harry if he has a son.”
The mention of Harry silenced Ginny for a moment. She had seen him only briefly in the corridor before she entered the secret stairway to the Hall’s room. It had seemed that he had seen her as well and was trying to catch her. It hurt her a bit that she still had a secret from him, but that was the reason that she was here with Sara.
“I’ve been wrestling with a problem for some time now,” Ginny said. “I’ve tried to work this out myself, but I can’t seem to come up with any solution that makes sense.”
Sara nodded. “And what would this problem be?”
Ginny shifted on the sofa. She had to word this carefully. “Well…I love Harry, more then anyone I’ve ever loved except for my family.” Sara nodded again. “Well, I never told him that I had these same feelings for another boy some years ago.”
“Someone at Hogwarts?”
“Yes,” Ginny replied. “Robert Harmen.”
“Ah,” Sara said. “He’s a blonde boy from Hufflepuff, right?” Ginny nodded. “He’s a handsome young man, though a bit arrogant at times. When I was teaching him in his fifth year, we were discussing Ancient Rome and he kept trying to interrupt me with random facts that had nothing to do with what I was teaching. I finally had to put a silencing charm on him to get through a lesson.” Ginny laughed at the thought of Robert trying to speak and nothing coming out of his mouth. “Oh, I wasn’t the first to try it, mind you. I had some Slytherins in the class as well. They tried hexing his book to hit him every time he opened his mouth. I put a stop to that quickly, but only after he got the message.” Sara smiled. “I know as a teacher I should be above that, but it just reminds me of when I was in school.”
“I didn’t realize he had such a quirk,” Ginny said. “It was probably those mysteries that drew me to him in my second year.” She inhaled deeply. “I’m sure that you heard about the Chamber of Secrets and how I was possessed? Well, the following year, I felt as though people were watching me and talking behind my back. People seemed to lower their voices when I walked near them. I wasn’t making many friends…until Robert came into my life.” She inhaled again. “He was kind and gentle…and made me feel safe. I wasn’t concerned about what other people were saying as long as he was near.”
“What changed?” Sara asked.
“Nothing,” Ginny said. It’s just…I still had feelings for someone else, for Harry.” She lay back against the armrest. “At the time it felt like a schoolgirl crush, but it was strong enough that I thought about Harry as much as I thought about Robert. I had to choose, and I chose Harry.”
Lilian had finished feeding and Sara shifted her again, making sure to cover herself. “Did the two of you part on good terms?”
Ginny nodded. “I told him that I was interested in someone else, and he understood. After that, we hardly spoke to one another. Though, I did notice him staring at me from time to time over the years.”
“So, what’s changed?”
“I don’t know,” Ginny said, shrugging. “When I got back to school this year, I noticed that he took an even greater interest in me. He’s been talking to me differently, finding innocent reasons to touch me and picking unusual places for us to work on our Herbology project together. He tried to suggest the Quidditch Pitch, but he wanted to meet at 11 o’clock at night. I told him no, but part of me wanted to say yes. I’m afraid that I’m cheating on Harry by having these feelings.”
Sara sat silent as she patted her young daughter. She was thinking over what Ginny had just told her. “I don’t think that you’re cheating on Harry by having these feelings. Simply put, you are never going to stop having feelings for cute boys, Ginny. What sets those feelings apart is how you act on them. If they just stay in your heart, then you have nothing to feel guilty about. It’s only if you take action, like kissing him or sneaking around the castle with him that would make you cheat on Harry. You and Robert shared something wonderful years ago and nothing can make that go away. What you have to understand is that that was in the past and you are moving on to the future. Robert has to understand that too, and you might have to make him understand.”
Ginny sighed. “I’m not sure I can.”
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Harry was sitting in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Even though this was his favorite subject, Harry could not concentrate. He had made it to Professor Dumbledore’s office after he gave up trying to find Ginny in the corridors. The headmaster had listened intently to what he had to say, thanked Harry for bringing it to his attention and dismissed him.
Harry was not satisfied, though, with the response Dumbledore had given him. It was lackluster compared to his previous experiences. Harry began to wonder if Dumbledore already knew about this possibility and was just humoring Harry with his information. He remembered times when the headmaster was aware of the things that Harry was saying to him, but he had always been straight about it. This time, he had seemed obscure.
Chris eventually broke the class into groups to work on honing their Patronus charms. The class was progressing well in their ability to strengthen the charm, though they all still had a long way to go before they could repel the stronger curses. Harry’s Patronus was by far the strongest of any, so it came as quite a surprise when Ron’s Impediment Jinx broke through and immobilized him.
“What happened back there Harry?” Hermione asked after lessons had ended. It was a shock to everyone in the class that Harry had been jinxed. “Why did your Patronus fail?”
“I don’t know,” he said, sharply. “I just had my mind elsewhere.”
“Well, you better get it back on your charms,” Ron said. “Or else people are going to start jinxing you left and right.”
Harry quickened his pace a bit, leaving his friends to watch in mild shock that he was avoiding them. He walked down to the entrance hall and into a side corridor. It was secluded. No one would see him unless they were looking for him.
One person, however, was looking for him. “Harry.”
Harry had his face in his hands up to this moment, but looked up when he heard his name. He saw Ginny standing in front of him. She had a worried look in her eyes. Reaching a hand up, she gently touched his face. “Are you all right?”
He placed a hand over hers. “Yeah, I just had a bit of trouble in class today.”
She moved into him. “Are you feeling ill?”
He shook his head. “No…but I am feeling a bit better now that you’re here.” He put his free hand around onto her back and pulled her into a kiss. Ginny was caught off-guard for a moment, and then relaxed into it. She brought her free hand up to Harry’s neck, gently massaging it. They weren’t concerned about being caught by a passing teacher or student, or that they might be late for dinner. All that seemed to matter to the two lovers at the moment was each other.
As the two lovers spent a joyful moment together, something began to feel different to Ginny. Harry’s kiss started to become a bit more forceful. His hand that rested on her back started to rub harder and harder, and it was beginning to hurt her. “Harry,” she said, breaking the kiss. “Stop, that hurts.”
Harry had an odd look in his eyes. The hand that was covering hers squeezed harder as well. “I don’t want to stop, and I don’t think you want me to stop either.” He pushed his lips back onto hers and kept a firm grip around her torso.
Ginny pushed back with all her strength, but it wasn’t enough to break free from Harry’s grasp. She still had one hand free. She used to reach into her robes and pull out her wand. Pulling back for a moment, she said, “Stupefy!”
Harry was repelled back into the wall. Ginny, horrified at what had just happened, looked on Harry with disgust. Tears started to form in her eyes as she turned and ran from him. Harry could only stand with his back to the wall, amazement suddenly dawning upon him.
What did I just do?