Chapter Twenty-One
Twenty-Four Very Long Hours
Harry and Ginny were no longer speaking to each other. While Rowena pushed them to communicate when they were building their Occlumency and Legilimency skills, they only spoke the words of the spells they cast at each other. Days passed, and soon Valentines’ Day was looming.
Percy, following Remus’ request, had been teaching duelling skills to his sixth and seventh year students. These students were excited to learn that they would be allowed to duel with the Auror trainees. While Ron thought this was a good plan and that these students would be better prepared should they need to fight, Harry couldn’t help feel a little wary of duelling with Ginny.
Like Ginny and Harry, Susan refused to attend to Draco. Harry talked to Malfoy, as he had promised Susan he would. It turned out that though Harry had forbidden Kreacher from helping Malfoy in his previous year, the elf had deliberately defied him like Dobby had done to the Malfoys. Because of his betrayal, the ugly house elf had punished himself severely. The elf had thrown himself from the Astronomy tower shortly after helping the blond invalid.
Kreacher had gone to Malfoy in an attempt to help the sickly blond. Malfoy used Kreacher to learn that his mother was alive, though she had gone into hiding to avoid the Dark Lord’s displeasure. Kreacher had also gone to Lucius Malfoy, and informed him of his son’s survival. Malfoy senior then took it upon himself to inform the Dark Lord that his son was alive and now working as a spy for their side, within Hogwarts. Draco had said that he would do what would be best for himself. Had he refused to “spy,” Lucius would have ordered the elf to kill him.
When Harry asked Malfoy what information he had given Kreacher, Malfoy only confessed to telling the elf that he was stuck in the hospital wing. Granted Harry was pleased to hear that Malfoy hadn’t said anything damning, but he became increasingly worried that Susan, Hermione, and Roni were in danger. Harry confronted Malfoy about his worries, but Malfoy volunteered to swear the wizards’ oath that he would not harm them.
Harry was still worried about the Horcruxes. Now that he knew that the dagger wasn’t one, he was becoming more and more agitated about the fact that there was no indication as to what they could be. Nagini was their only lead, and Hermione wouldn’t make any comment about her suspicions.
Hermione had been attending to Malfoy, much to his displeasure. To everyone’s great surprise, he never called her ‘Mudblood’ any more and only referred to her by her last name. Ultimately, they got on quite well. They never spoke to one another unless it was very necessary. It was clear that a professional relationship had developed. And while they were never kind to one another, she would obligingly leave him a book or two so that he could amuse himself.
Hermione and Ron continued to get closer. Everyday he would walk her to the dorms after her shift in the hospital wing, and after a few awkward attempts, they had managed to hold hands. It was only once, but for them, it was monumental.
Finally, the holiday dawned and everyone was buzzing about the big duel. The teachers had agreed to shorten classes so that the school could watch in the Great Hall. Plus, there was the added bonus of having more teachers on hand to supervise. Percy announced that the fights would begin. His students were to partner off with one of the Aurors in training. For the sake of the Hogwarts trainees, the Ministry had sent over seven other trainees. While they were a bit older than Harry and Ron, they were at the same level of experience.
Kingsley and Tonks were bustling about setting up, while Percy gave his students a few last minute instructions. Colin and Demzela were the unlucky students to be picked first to duel. Colin was going up against Ron. Demzela, upon seeing her opponent, completely froze up and ran away. Colin had been able to hold Ron off for about a minute before he fell to the Full-Body Bind. Because of his non-verbal skills, Ron had become quite deft at quickly immobilizing his opponent.
Teachers and students alike watched as duels began in several directions. Moody had suggested that instead of continuing on one by one, they split up and several duels commenced under the eyes of one or two teachers. It was an awesome sight as Hannah took on three sixth years and Ron disarmed Luna and Romilda Vane. Harry had fought Neville and incapacitated him easily before he moved on to duel with the Patil twins. They were a challenge, as they both moved with grace and ease; in addition, they also seemed to be able to communicate without words. He soon learned that they were capable of anticipating each other’s every move and he was only able to take them out with the mirror shield. The duels continued for about twenty minutes before Percy called them to a halt.
All of the students had fallen at the hands of the Auror trainees except for one. Ginny stood out in the crowd battling with Ron. Clearly, both were tired and were glad to put their wands down when Percy called out. Percy smiled at Ginny before turning to Tonks and whispering something to her.
“Ladies and gentlemen, since Miss Weasley has managed to maintain a duel so well, we would like to see how she would hold up against two opponents. Miss Abbot and Mr. Potter, if you will?” Percy called out in a professional voice.
The students clapped and cheered Ginny on as the three bowed to one another. Ginny threw the first curse at Harry. He hastily put up the mirror shield again. She smiled for a moment as the curse hurled toward her and she put up her own mirror shield throwing the curse towards Hannah. Hannah jumped out of the way and the curse drove into the planks of the floor. A small spark erupted and before Hannah could stamp out the flame, Ginny waved her left hand and encircled Hannah in a circle of heatless and smokeless flames. Apparently, her Phoenix Brander skills had grown, and she manipulated the flames to prevent Hannah from firing off a single shot.
Harry tried to throw curses and hexes, but Ginny deflected them all and got in several good shots of her own. Sensing Harry’s need, Ron jumped into the fray. She laughed as she shot the Falling Trousers hex and Ron stood in the middle of the Great Hall with his pants around his ankles. Distracted by Ron’s maroon boxers, Harry tried to avoid the Tickling Hex, but she got him on the tailbone and he fell to the floor.
With one hand holding his pants, Ron tried to fight her off, but soon she had him with the Full-Body Bind. A general roar exploded through the hall as Ron hit the ground. Percy ran up to his sister and spun several circles with her in his grasp. After Ginny let the flames down, Hannah came up and hugged Ginny in congratulations. The whole school was stunned by her performance. McGonagall was so pleased that she awarded Ginny thirty points for Gryffindor and as the students filtered towards their dormitories, Ginny laughed as Fred and George dropped to their knees chanting, “We’re not worthy!”
While the duel had been amazing entertainment, everyone was excited to get out of the hall so they could get ready for the Valentines’ Day feast. It was rumoured that McGonagall had ordered hundreds of magical flowers for the students to give one another. When Harry recovered and returned to the hall, he smiled as the beautiful bouquets amplified the subtle beauty of the room. Warm light emanated from the tables and it smelled remarkable.
He gave Ron an odd look as he sat waiting for the food to arrive. Ron lazily draped his arm around Hermione and he turned a deep crimson when he saw Harry’s mocking glare. Harry just smiled good-naturedly and shook his head.
The food was amazing. Exquisite tarts and pastries appeared after the entrée and everyone felt quite full. Just as their food was beginning to digest, the whole table became silent as one by one, people began to notice a verbal war between Colin and Ginny.
“What do you mean, I showed you up!!!” she hissed at Colin, cautiously scanning the table for onlookers.
“I just meant that I’m supposed to protect you! I mean, I’m your boyfriend!” Colin shot back angrily.
“Well the last thing I need is someone else who thinks they need to protect me!” she snarled. “Can’t you get over your ego? I was great today!”
“You have to be bloody perfect at everything don’t you, Ginny?” he spat.
“Sod off, Colin!” she growled as she leaned back into her chair, trying to calm her temper.
“We’re through!” he whispered venomously, and stormed out of the Great Hall.
Hermione had watched wide-eyed and moved down the table to console Ginny, but Ginny just wrenched her shoulder away from Hermione’s hand and ran out of the hall. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Harry watched her run and suddenly had no desire to be in the hall anymore. He wanted to run after her, but he was sure that would be a bad idea as she was already furious with him. Wanting time to think, he excused himself from the table, and slowly made his way to the Founders’ Suite.
He could hardly believe what he saw.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione and Ron watched Harry skulk away with interest, but knew better than to do anything. Hermione returned to Ron’s side, and hugged him gently.
“I need to get up to the hospital wing for a few minutes, and then we have rounds. Could you come and get me in about twenty minutes?” she asked sweetly.
Ron nodded and she pressed a kiss to his cheek before sweeping away gracefully. She never saw Remus make his way to Ron or the way Ron’s face fell as Remus pulled him aside.
Hermione just finished helping Malfoy back into bed when Remus and McGonagall came up to talk to her.
“Hermione,” Remus began sadly, “we should go into the office for a minute.”
Hermione fearfully sank onto the edge of Malfoy’s bed, frozen by his tone.
“Just…what happened?” she stuttered anxiously.
“Death Eaters attacked several Muggle establishments this evening. They attacked the schools that Hagar and Dudley attend. They burned a church to the ground and murdered half the patrons at a restaurant in downtown London,” McGonagall provided as she provided a soothing arm toward Hermione’s shoulder.
Remus continued, “Your father took your mother to that restaurant for the holiday, Hermione. Your father survived, but…” his voice cracked as he chokingly continued. “Your mother was killed. Hermione, I’m so sorry. Let’s get you into the office.” Remus extended a hand as he tried to guide her into a standing position.
A single tear tore down her cheek and she asked, “Who?” The heartbreak was clear in her voice.
Remus bit his lip for a moment, knowing the meaning to her question, he whispered, “Malfoy, it was Lucius Malfoy.”
Hermione sat stone still. Slowly, she turned at the waist to stare at the son of Lucius Malfoy.
“You,” Hermione ground out in a strangely calm, forced voice. “You are the son of the man, the sick bastard, who killed my mother. You made my life…a living hell for years…And all I can think to say to you, right now, is that I am sorry. I don’t think I can be your Healer, anymore.”
She rose to her feet sharply and swept past Remus and Professor McGonagall. As if she was in another body, she felt herself walk towards the exit. She saw Ron blocking her path. She moved to go past him, but he deliberately stepped in front of her.
“Move, Ron!” She heard herself command.
But he just shook his head, and reached for her. She yanked her arm from him grasp, hissing at his touch. He pulled her to him forcefully this time, and she hit him. First she smacked his chest, then his arms. She was pinned beneath his strong arms and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.
And Hermione cried, finally letting Ron hold her, and giving in to the grief.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry watched as Ginny and Colin playfully threw grapes at one another, trying to catch them in their mouths.
“Hi, Harry!” Ginny exclaimed laughingly as a grape hit her in the head.
“Hiya, Harry!” Colin mimicked as Ginny whipped a grape at him.
Harry stared quizzically at them for several moments before he found his voice. “Is this some sort of reconciliation?”
“Oh, Harry,” Colin sighed dramatically. “Ginny and I have ‘broken up’ if that’s what you’ll call it. You know how rumours spread in this place. Ages ago, we realized that if we broke up it would be because Ginny was pining away for you…or worse. We couldn’t have that now!” Colin explained happily.
“Colin,” Ginny hissed. “Let Harry be, the plan was a smashing success. Now just remember to keep up appearances for about a week or so. Then we’ll decide to be friends again, okay?”
“Have I missed something?” Harry asked confusedly.
“Many things, love,” Ginny laughed.
“Harry, when Ginny came back this year she was distraught. First, she lost you at Dumbledore’s funeral…” Colin was cut off as Ginny hit him in the arm. “Her father died, George was attacked. She needed someone to be with her through all of that. She wanted it to be you,” Colin said the last bit quietly.
Ginny turned her sad and angry face away from Harry to gaze out the window. Harry knew she didn’t want him to know all of this but he also knew Colin would continue.
“I asked Ginny to help me keep a secret, early this year. In turn, she needed someone to be there for her. I honestly think I got the better end of the deal,” Colin shook his head and bit his lip. “Harry, I’m gay. That was my big secret. That should answer every single question you have about the relationship of Colin and Ginny,” he stated grandly, as he continued toward the door. “Now, I think I should return to that ever tiresome Charms essay.”
“Colin!” Ginny shrieked. “You finished that yesterday!”
Colin smiled goofily as he moved past Harry and towards the door. “Did I say Charms? I meant Potions,” and he hurried past Harry.
“That git!” Ginny exclaimed.
“Colin is gay?” Harry asked stupidly.
“Yes and he finished his Potions essay two days ago!” She huffed.
“Colin is gay?” Harry repeated.
“You’re bloody daft!” Ginny and Godric bellowed at the same time.
Harry whipped around to stare at his founder. He saw Ginny sink to the floor and sit down.
“Clearly, she and Colin were together to help each other!” The portrait remarked. “He dated her so that people wouldn’t question his sexuality and she dated him for companionship. For Helga’s sake, it was a match of convenience! Surely you can understand that. Now if you’re half the Gryffindor I expect you are, you should apologize for being a right stupid wanker!”
Harry turned to look at Ginny’s face. She was laughing and crying at the same time. She reached a hand out to him and he took it, trying to help her up. Instead, she helped him down and he sat next to her, quietly in awe.
“You see, Harry,” she said. “Courage is being with you. When you’re stupid, or noble, or just being Harry, I still love you. When you’re facing a huge basilisk or snogging me in the common room after a Quidditch match, I still love you. When you go against Voldemort for the last time, I’ll still love you, and you’ll know it because I’ll be there, fighting with you to prove it.”
Godric smiled and laughed heartily at the red head, but nodded in agreement. “You are right again, my dear. That is a very…devout explanation of courage. Would you like a reward this time or would you rather another riddle?”
Harry realized that Ginny was still holding his hand. Her fierce grip intertwined her fingers with his. He spoke before she could. “Tell us a story, Godric. Have you always been such a flirt?”
Ginny giggled beside Harry and rested her head on his shoulder. They both chuckled as Godric laughed and tried to avoid the question. Finally, Helga came to his rescue.
“Oh! He was always that bad!” Helga chimed. “He would flirt with witches of every shape and size. He fancied redheads best, I think, but eventually fell for just one woman. And he fell awfully hard! After they were married, he flirted with her as he always had. It was like a permanent courtship. Unbelievable, some of the things he did to woo his wife. A fresh flower in her pocket, gifts of jewellery and gold, he never ceased. He loved her so fiercely that it could not be contained.”
Godric smiled wistfully as he remembered his wife and tried to speak in his defence. “She always loved bragging about how doting I was. She especially loved telling Salazar about the faces I would make when feeding the babies. My daughters were blessed to have their mother’s beauty. They both married wonderful men. We taught them early on to marry for love and happiness. When I had this portrait made, my wonderful wife insisted that I add my flirtatious spirit to the visage.”
Harry and Ginny laughed at Godric and smiled. They knew better than to expect a serious answer from him. Harry lazily lifted his head to look down at Ginny. He smiled. They weren’t together, but he suddenly realized that she never wanted to push him away and in the end, she pulled him closer. Mentally scratching his head, he smiled at her conspiracy.
He stared at her lovingly for another moment or two, before he heard her ask for another riddle. This time Helga obliged.
“Demonstrate loyalty.” Helga’s sweet voice commanded.
“Is it me,” Ginny started to ask, “or are these riddles becoming much more hands on?” Her voice was a little weary but she chuckled nonetheless.
Harry nodded in agreement and rested his chin on the top of her head. They sat several minutes enjoying their silence and unspoken joy. Only when the door snapped open did they look up. Professor McGonagall, looking particularly formidable, folded her hands in front of her. Her thin lips were pressed firmly together while her students leapt to their feet.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said heavily, “But Miss Granger needs you. Her mother was killed in a Death Eater attack. She was told just before she was to go on rounds. Mr. Weasley is with her, but he must leave early tomorrow morning for his appointment at St. Mungo’s. I know this will be difficult for both of you, but please return to Gryffindor tower. She needs you both.”
McGonagall turned sharply and left them alone. Ginny sighed as she ran a hand through her long hair. She blushed slightly as she realized that she was still gripping Harry’s hand in hers. Harry’s eyes had saddened considerably and they both realized that their night was going to be much longer than they had ever thought.
Harry slightly tugged on Ginny’s arm to pull her forward, to make the journey back to their dorms. As they moved, he slowly paused and turned to look at Helga.
“Our best friend has lost her mother. The man she loves is having surgery tomorrow. The last people she wants to see would be us. She loves us, but we will remind her of everyone else that has been lost because of this war. Despite all of that, we go to her. Loyalty can never be explained or described, because loyalty is an action. Courage, knowledge, and potential are excellent characteristics of a person, but loyalty requires a person to move outside of what they are and make a sacrifice in order to help someone else.” Harry said nothing further and waited for no response.
Harry and Ginny left the Founders’ Suite and solemnly walked up to the Tower. Their hearts heavy, they said nothing to one another on the journey, but walked with arms around each other. Trying to brace themselves for the impact, they hugged each other one last time, before whispering the password to the Fat Lady.
Harry Potter and the Legend of Infinity by peskypetunia
Chapter Notes: I am very poor and not JKR. God I wish though...anyhow please oh please review!