I don't own anything in the Potterverse.
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The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day was a strained one for all those at Lion’s Watch. The news of the pre-Christmas attack on Headquarters was punctuated by news of attacks in Hogsmeade, and even in the small hamlet of Ottery St. Catchpole.
The Weasleys, at Harry’s request, were going to stay at Lion’s Watch for the duration of the war. It would become the new Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, and home to Harry’s adopted family. With this decided, Harry had to disclose the fact that he “owned” four house-elves, since Mrs. Weasley had no way of keeping a house that large. Hermione was not pleased.
She attempted to have Harry give them clothes at once, but the house-elves staunchly refused. “Wez ‘ave been working for the Potters for five generations and wez ain’t stoppen now,” Pinky had remarked in a huff. It was finally agreed that Dobby would try and talk them into taking a regular salary, and Hermione eventually let the issue rest.
The attacks had unnerved Harry. He thought about the warnings from Percy about not going to Grimmauld Place or the Burrow. The attacks had been directed at to both houses,although the Fidelius Charm kept the Deaths Eaters from finding Number 12 and the wards around the Burrow held. The attack in Hogsmeade made less sense. Was Percy right and they were trying to attack him? If so, why the attack in Hogsmeade? Was Percy just uninformed? He’d certainly seemed to have a good bit of information in the past, but he must not know everything Voldemort was doing.
Harry was sitting on the balcony of his room contemplating these questions when he heard a small tap at the door. He raised his mental walls and felt the warm presence of Ginny waiting behind the door.
Come in, he thought. He felt Ginny’s pulse quicken, as he heard the door open behind him.
“Harry, you need to warn me before you do that,” she chided him.
“I thought you liked me being inside your head?” Harry replied, looking back at her. She wore a white turtleneck sweater and jeans. She had on almost no makeup, and the cold had caused her face to pale more than usual. This made her flaming red hair stand out even more brilliantly, and Harry thought for the hundredth time about just how beautiful she was.
“I said I don’t mind you being in my head. Just don’t surprise me like that,” she commented with a slight grin. “So, what are you doing, just hanging out up here?”
“Just thinking about things. I know you aren’t going to want to hear this, but I need to try and go to Lancaster before we get back to school. There may be something there that will help us find the locket,” Harry stated. He really had been thinking about going to Lancaster, and he had absolutely no intention of telling Ginny about Percy.
“Why wouldn’t I want to hear about that?” Ginny asked, her tone growing colder. “Oh, I see, you still aren’t going to let us help you, right?” She had her hands on her hips and seemed to be ready to argue.
Harry, however, was not going to be dissuaded. He had decided that he could do this on his own, the injuries suffered in obtaining Hufflepuff’s cup notwithstanding. “You know why I don’t want you all to come, Ginny. We have been through this argument before.”
“Harry, where are we going with this?” Ginny sighed, her demeanor softening.
Harry was caught completely off balance by the sudden change in topic and didn’t really understand what she was asking. “Where are we going with what?”
“With us,” she stated flatly, her cheeks flaming. “We flirt all the time. You know that I care about you, and I think you care about me”and not in the overly protective brotherly sense, either. Why aren’t we together?”
This was the conversation Harry had been hoping to avoid until the war was over. The truth was that he really believed he loved Ginny”loved her the same way that Ron loved Hermione”but he couldn’t be with her like that. Not until the war was over and they could be safe. “Nothing’s changed, Ginny. The same reasons I broke up with you in June hold true now.”
Ginny deflated and tears came to her eyes. “Nothing’s changed?”
“No, I promise when it does you will be the first to know,” Harry replied, desperately trying to find the words to comfort her.
“Okay, Harry,” was all Ginny said as she left the room. Harry felt awful, but he had to finish this before he could truly live, and that meant keeping Ginny at arm’s length. At least that is what he told himself. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to see the reasonableness of his position, but he clung stubbornly to it.
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January the second dawned bright but very cold. Harry sat by the fireplace in a small sitting room on the second floor. He and his friends had discovered that this room was the warmest in the house, so they often congregated there. Harry was seated in a squishy armchair that reminded him fondly of the common room chairs at Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron were snuggling on the couch, while Ginny sat in another armchair across from Harry. She had made no mention of their conversation the day before and seemed as at ease with him as ever. Neville and Luna were playing a game of Exploding Snap at a table in the middle of the room.
“So, Harry, when are you going to get to Lancaster?” Neville asked as the deck of cards exploded in Luna’s face.
“That’s a good question. I don’t know enough about the place to get there. I could fly, but I don’t know which house it is. I can’t Apparate since I don’t know the area. I don’t really know how to get there, but I think that finding the place will help me to find the locket.”
“Do you think that Tonks might know where it is since she was Regulus’s cousin?” Ron asked.
“I don’t know, but if I ask her about it, she’ll want to know why,” Harry replied.
“Do we know anyone who knew Regulus when he was alive?” Ginny interjected.
“Fifteen years is a long time, sixteen now. I don’t know, since most of the family is dead,” Hermione replied, grimacing when Harry pressed his lips together at the mention of the rest of the Black family being dead. “Sorry, Harry.”
“Is sir wanting anything before we tidy up the kitchen?” Pinky the house-elf asked, sticking his head into the room.
“No thanks, Pinky, thanks for the offer though,” Harry replied, smirking as Ron leaned back on the couch with a somewhat disappointed look on his face.
“Yes sir, anything for the great Harry Potter sir,” Pinky bowed, his nose and ears brushing the floor, and left the room.
“That elf has been talking to Dobby too much,” Harry commented. “I wonder why they are so loyal in the first place.” Harry had expected an explanation from Hermione or someone in the room, but his question was met with silence. He looked at Hermione, who had the look of someone just putting the last piece of a puzzle together.
“What about Kreacher?” she exclaimed.
“I don’t think he’s been talking to Dobby?” Ron said dryly.
“No, He may know about the house in Lancaster. He may be able to tell us what Harry needs to know,” Hermione explained, clearly getting overwhelmed with excitement.
“Hey! That makes sense. Kreacher always talked about how much he liked Regulus, so he might know something,” Ginny agreed.
“Harry, go ahead and call him. Maybe we can get the information and we can go…I mean you can go today or tomorrow,” Ron interjected.
Harry thought about this idea for a minute. He had used Kreacher before, to spy on Malfoy last year, so he knew that the house-elf would do what he was told and could not lie to him directly. “All right. Kreacher,” he announced.
Crack. Kreacher popped into the room.
“Oh look! The blood traitor and the Mudblood are entangled on the couch. That looks cosy, blah,” he muttered. Slowly, he turned and looked at Harry. He gave an exaggerated bow and said in a full sarcastic voice, “Harry Potter wished to see me?” He bowed again and began muttering about half-blood whelps and wasting his time.
Harry rolled his eyes as Kreacher performed his little show of being the good house-elf. “Yes, Kreacher, I want you to tell me what you know about Regulus Black’s house in Lancaster. You are not to lie.”
Kreacher immediately stopped muttering and looked directly at Harry. “Master Black, Master Black is dead. The Dark Lord killed him. The Dark Lord comes in the night to Master Black’s little house in Lancaster. Kreacher’s wanting to get Master Black out but it’s too late. Master Black is dead.” The house-elf seemed filled with sorrow as he talked about the death of the youngest Black son. His eyes filled with tears.
“It’s all right, Kreacher,” Hermione spoke gently.
“The Mudblood says it’s all right. She is having no idea how awful it is that Master Black is gone. She is having no idea how awful it is to have her talking to Kreacher.”
“Kreacher, that’s enough,” Harry declared angrily. “Where is the house?”
“1564 N Dowling Street,” Kreacher responded and began muttering again.
“Did he bring anything back there that you know of? Something he found very important?”
“No.”
“Is there a picture of the house or something I can see?”
Kreacher snapped his fingers and a small framed photo of Regulus and Sirius appeared in his hand. There was a two story house in the background. Harry took the photo as a surge of emotion pulsed through his body. Sirius seemed to be the same age he was in the wedding photo he had of him and Harry’s parents. Regulus looked like a smaller and slightly heavier copy of his older brother. Sirius’s eyes were filled with mirth and laughter. Regulus looked dark and sullen.
Hermione came over and looked at the picture along with Ron, Luna, and Neville. Ginny never took her eyes off Harry.
Hermione was the first to speak. “This should be enough.”
“Yeah, I think it is. I can go tomorrow. I’ll take the Invisibility Cloak and have a look around. Hopefully I can bring the locket back and it will be done with.” Harry looked back at Kreacher who was stalking around behind the group. “Kreacher, go and don’t talk to anyone at Hogwarts about this.”
Crack. Kreacher was gone.
“So that’s it then. I leave in the morning,” Harry remarked. Everyone in the room looked warily at him, not knowing what to expect when he went to Lancaster.
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The next morning, under the guise of exploring the grounds, Harry left the house and started walking down the path to the main gate. He had his rucksack with him and the lunch Mrs. Weasley had prepared for him for his hike. He felt awful for lying to her, but the truth was impossible for a multitude of reasons.
The rest of his friends had been very reluctant to let him go; Hermione, surprisingly, being the worst among them. They finally relented and left the main house a little before he did, going to spend the morning at the Quidditch pitch.
As Harry made his way down the path, he caught sight of Ron and Hermione, arguing.
“What do you mean you can’t? This was your idea,” Ron whispered, obviously annoyed.
“I don’t know, Ron. I just can’t do it now. Something is different and has been for a few weeks,” Hermione replied, tears beginning to fill her eyes.
“What’s going on, you two?” Harry interrupted, feeling very nervous for his newly engaged friends. “Everything okay?”
Ron jumped as Harry’s words startled him and Hermione started shifting uneasily from foot to foot. “Harry,” Ron exclaimed a little too brightly. “Nothing to worry about. Hermione and I were just discussing…um…”
They looked at each other, but neither seemed able to say what exactly they were talking about. Hermione had turned red and Ron had paled considerably. “We were talking about…relationship stuff,” Hermione finally commented lamely.
Harry’s eyes widened as his head replayed the part of the conversation he had heard. “What can’t she do, Ron?! He stepped forward, fists clenched.
Ron stepped back, looking bewildered by Harry’s reaction, his facial expression clearly showing he had no clue what Harry was talking about. “We were just discussing some things in our relationship. They really don’t concern you, Harry.”
This was the wrong thing to say, as Harry’s protective nature had gone into full swing. “If you are trying to push Hermione into doing something she isn’t ready to do, then you damn well better believe it’s my concern!” Harry shouted, taking a second step towards Ron.
“Oh, Harry, no!” Hermione gasped. “You can’t think that Ron would ever do something like that. We were talking about what we would do for our honeymoon. That’s all; we weren’t discussing anything else.”
Harry continued to glare at Ron, and Ron, who was now openly offended by Harry’s assumptions, glared back. “You’re sure that’s all you were talking about?”
“Of course it is… mate,” Ron hissed sarcastically. “I wouldn’t do something like that to anyone, let alone Hermione.” Ron stalked off towards the Quidditch pitch, leaving Hermione and a very frustrated Harry on the path.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Harry spat. “I just thought… the part of the conversation I heard….” Harry threw his hands up in irritation.
“It’s all right, Harry. Don’t worry about Ron. He’ll be fine; you need to concentrate on getting to Lancaster and getting back safely. I still wish you would wait, or let us go with you.”
Harry sighed, not wanting to argue this over again. “I know, Hermione, but we’ve settled this. Go have fun with Ron and tell him I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.” Harry walked to the front gate as Hermione watched him go.
He was still feeling frustrated about the row with Ron as he exited the gates. He raised the walls in his mind and reached out to his best friend. He flinched as he felt Ron’s anger still very clear. He felt it almost as if Ron was very close to him, although he knew the pitch was almost a mile away. He must be really mad.
Harry put on the Invisibility Cloak and focused his mind on taking him to Lancaster. He felt the squeezing of Apparition and almost instantly arrived just outside Regulus Black’s old house. The house was far more rundown than what it looked like in the photo he’d seen. The windows were all broken. The yard was a mass of overgrown grass and weeds. The fence that marked off the perimeter of the yard was in shambles.
Harry, mental walls still in place, walked slowly up the path to the house. He stepped into the front door and removed the Invisibility Cloak. The house was in ruins and had the musty smell of not having been lived in for a very long time. Harry vaguely wondered why it had taken so long for anyone to find the body.
He began to focus on seeing dark magic around him and was immediately inundated by the objects in the room. As he looked around, he saw faint reds, dark greens, and glowing blacks, all seemingly indicating the presence of dark magic about him.
He walked through the mess of broken furniture, papers, and other assorted trash, inspecting the house. He found no evidence of the locket in the downstairs so he decided to explore the second floor.
This floor was also a wreck, although less so than the first. He checked the bedrooms to no avail. Each room had definite traces of dark magic, but nothing he could identify as the locket Horcrux. He felt sure he would recognize it when he saw it.
He checked the attic and found boxes of dark objects, but no locket. He was getting frustrated with his search and the feeling that he was wasting his time, but he continued nonetheless.
After about two hours of searching the house from top to bottom, he’d found nothing of use. He finally gave up and decided that the locket must not be there. He stepped onto the stairs heading towards the ground floor and heard hushed voices coming from the front door. His heart leaped into his throat as he recognized the distinct sneer of Lucius Malfoy.
“Come on, the disgusting little house-elf said he would be here today,” Malfoy hissed.
“Oh Harrykins,” Bellatrix Lestrange called out. “Can wittle baby Potter come out to play.”
“Hush, Bellatrix. We want to surprise him,” growled an obviously annoyed Malfoy.
“Yes, my dear, please don’t let the little brat know we are coming for him,” said a voice Harry thought must belong to Rodolphus Lestrange.
Harry heard the back door slam open. “He’s not in the back,” bellowed a male’s high-pitched nasal voice, which Harry didn’t recognize.
“Would you all please be quiet,” Malfoy snapped. “We are trying to sneak up on him.”
Harry stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs, only a wall hiding him from the view of the inner circle Death Eaters. He quickly threw on the Invisibility Cloak and started to inch his way back up the stairs. His mind was racing over possible escape plans. He couldn’t Apparate out. Like most wizard houses, there were Anti-Apparition charms around the perimeter. He had seen enough people make Portkeys; he vaguely wondered if he could do it, but rejected the idea as being far too dangerous to try. He was left with precious few options but to try and hide until they gave up and left.
He was still slowly backing up the stairs as the hall door opened and a tall blond head poked through. Harry froze, seeing Lucius Malfoy staring directly at him. Lucius gave no hint that he saw him, as Harry was still concealed by the Invisibility Cloak. The others joined Malfoy in the hall. Still unwilling to move, Harry stood two steps from the second floor landing.
“He’s not on the first floor either,” the man Harry thought was Rodolphus stated. “He must be upstairs.” He pointed at Bellatrix to start towards the staircase.
“That or the elf lied to us,” Malfoy retorted. “I have never trusted that creature.”
“You never trusted the creature Kreacher,” Bellatrix laughed. “Oh, Lucius you have such a way with words.” Malfoy rolled his eyes.
How did Kreacher tell them? Harry didn’t have time to ponder the question as Bellatrix and the man Harry didn’t recognize started to walk slowly towards the stairs. He carefully took a step back, trying to avoid pulling the bottom edge of the Cloak up to reveal his trainers.
It’d be nice to have Ron here to help me figure out a way to get out of this. He stepped on the landing.
CREAK.
To Harry it sounded as loud as a cannon being fired. He watched as four pairs of eyes looked directly at the place he stood. He held his breath, trying not to move. He waited for several very long seconds, watching the four black-robed figures just stare at the place where he stood.
“What do you think?” questioned the unknown Death Eater.
“One way to find out,” Bellatrix replied. “Stupefy!”
A red beam of light shot from the end of her wand. Bellatrix had moved slowly, however, and Harry was able to jump out of the way. He landed on the second floor landing and rolled as a second and third spell were fired at him.
“Remember, he is to be taken alive,” shouted Malfoy.
Harry, still somewhat entangled in the Cloak, was unable to get to his feet quickly. He fired a Stunner as he tried to get up, but missed badly. A Bludgeoning Hex hit him on the side and sent him flying into a wall. He landed with a thud and knew that at least one rib was broken.
He tried to crawl away, but was hit by a Cutting Curse that sliced down his back. He gasped in pain. He thought he heard a door slam downstairs. His vision was becoming blurred; the pain of breathing was overwhelming.
A hooded figure walked slowly up the staircase, smiling malevolently at him. “Petrificus Totalus!” Bellatrix exclaimed. Harry’s body instantly went rigid. Falling to the side, he landed on his right side, sending new waves of pain through his already broken rib, but allowing him a full view of the hall at the bottom of the stairs. He heard the bark of a small dog coming from downstairs and then the hallway door slowly opened.
The two Death Eaters at the bottom of the stairs whirled around, wands at the ready. However, they didn’t see a man stalk in; a white and auburn Jack Russell terrier came bounding through the door and began racing around the room.
The Death Eaters were frozen for a second, then started laughing as the terrier continued its run, darting from wall to wall and back again. The laughter soon stopped. From the opposite side of the hall, a great black bear stormed in, teeth bared and growling menacingly. It lunged at the closest person, Rodolphus Lestrange, picked the man up in its massive paws, and threw him into the wall, his head striking it with a sickening crack. He would not move again.
Shocked by the arrival of this terrifying creature, Lucius never realized that the dog had stopped darting to and fro. Instead, it stood directly behind him, transforming back into a tall and gangly red-headed boy.
“Stupefy,” Ron whispered, and Malfoy collapsed onto the floor.
Harry was dumbfounded by the sight of a wild bear entering the house, and then seeing his best friend appear and Stun Malfoy. He watched as Ron and the bear started to move for the stairs. Bellatrix and the unknown Death Eater began firing spells as they both leapt out of view.
Bellatrix seemed more confident now and started moving back towards the stairs. As she did, Harry caught sight of a large gray owl flying directly at her. The owl attacked the black haired woman with its talons, scratching and clawing. Lestrange screamed in pain as one of her eyes was gouged, blood starting to stream from the wound. She batted the bird, finally making contact and sending it hard into the railing.
By this time, the third Death Eater was lying, Stunned and bound, at the base of the staircase. Harry watched in amazement as a small red and orange cat quickly and agilely bounded up the stairs.
Bellatrix didn’t seem to notice as she attempted to fire hexes and curses at Ron and the bear, who again found cover. The little cat slipped past her and made straight for Harry. Harry recognized it as his cat from school. The cat ran up to him, licked his face gently and walked back behind his head.
Harry was quickly losing his battle to stay conscious, but he fought to try and get his brain to start working properly. The panic he felt had diminished considerably and now he just felt woozy.
He felt movement behind him and suddenly a small hand was placed on his shoulder. “Finite Incantatem,” was whispered and Harry felt himself able to move again.
He turned quickly, feeling his ribs protest painfully, and looked into a pair of determined brown eyes belonging to Ginny Weasley.
Bellatrix must have caught the movement behind her, because she turned at almost the same time as Harry. “Crucio!” she bellowed, and Ginny was hit by the curse. She fell back, screaming and writhing in pain.
Harry’s mind instantly snapped into action. He twisted, ignoring the pain of his ribs and shouted, “Stupefy!” The Stunner hit Lestrange with the force of a freight train, sending her careening over the railing of the stairwell; she nearly landed on top of her husband.
Ginny whimpered a bit and slowly began to move as Harry crawled over to her. She lay there for a few moments, seemingly gathering herself, shivering slightly, as the pain slowly subsided.
“Hermione, get in here. Ginny, Harry and Luna are hurt,” Ron shouted from the base of the stairs. He then raced up to check on his friends, Neville hot on his heels.
Hermione dashed up the stairs and saw Ron standing over Ginny and Harry, while Neville cradled the owl in his arms. Hermione went to Neville first. Neville laid the owl on the floor, and Hermione whispered an incantation which shot a blue-white light from the end of her wand. Before his eyes, Harry watched as the owl became Luna, lying motionless on the floor.
“She’s breathing, but unconscious. We need to get back and get some help,” Hermione exclaimed in a slightly panicked voice. “Neville, can you Apparate back to Lion’s Watch and get help? Tell them to get Madam Pomfrey. We will be along in a couple of minutes.”
Neville got up and ran out of the house. Ron came alongside Hermione as she knelt down next to Harry and Ginny. Ginny was pale but breathing easily; Harry was also pale, but was having trouble getting his wind.
“She hit Ginny with the Cruciatus,” Harry gasped. “Make sure she’s all right.”
“I’m fine, Harry,” Ginny breathed. “Just sore. What about you?”
“I’m fine,” Harry lied, trying to get to his feet. “How did you all get here?”
“Later! We need to get both of you back to the house,” Ron cut him off. “Harry, can you walk?”
“I think so.” He shakily got to his feet, as did Ginny. They both leaned heavily on Ron. Hermione gently levitated Luna in front of them, and they made their way back out of the house, leaving the crumpled forms of four Death Eaters behind. When they reached the street, Ron Side-Along-Apparated Ginny and Harry, while Hermione did so for Luna.
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It was semi-controlled bedlam when they returned to the house. Madam Pomfrey, along with Professor McGonagall, was attempting to control the adults, who had no idea what was happening. The first sight of Ron helping Ginny and Harry into the house did nothing to assuage the chaos.
“Oh good heavens!” Mrs. Weasley shrieked. “What in the world is going on?” She raced over to help Ron with Ginny, while Mr. Weasley helped Harry. Ron, looking pale and tired from carrying most of Harry’s and Ginny’s weight, walked over to a chair and collapsed.
“There will be time enough for explanations later,” Madam Pomfrey declared. “Molly, take Ginny into the parlour. I will examine them in there.” Madam Pomfrey bustled off down the hall.
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It was after dinner before some sense of normalcy returned to the house. Madam Pomfrey had checked over the injuries of all the young people and helped what she could. Luna was the most badly injured. She had another concussion, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken leg, wrist, and upper arm. She was in her room resting comfortably now, but every couple of hours someone had to go in and wake her.
Harry had two broken ribs to go along with a fracture in his left ankle, and a long deep gash down his back. He too had a slight concussion”although not as bad as Luna’s”which left him with a lingering headache all afternoon.
Ginny was sore all over, but had no external damage. The Cruciatus Curse had been lifted quickly, so there was no risk of mental damage either. She was just extremely stiff, like she had just been through a strenuous workout without stretching first.
Ron and Neville both had numerous cuts and bruises, but nothing more substantial. Hermione was the only one totally unharmed.
Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all sat quietly in the game room, waiting for Harry to react to what he had seen that day. Harry sat across the room pondering that very question. Finally, he rose and stood gingerly by the fireplace.
“So, how long have you all been Animagi?” Harry almost whispered.
Hermione spoke up, her head held in a dignified manner. “Since late September. At least that is when we all were able to complete the transformation. Ginny and I were able to do it first. Ron, Neville, and Luna managed right after that.”
“Who knows?”
“Just us. McGonagall and I talked about human transfiguration this summer, but she doesn’t know that I was trying to teach myself and the rest of us.” Hermione stood and walked over next to Harry.
He moved away from her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’re joking, right?” Ginny interjected. “Would you have let us come if you knew? You would have completely shut us out. We knew you would find some way to try and keep us out of this search so we found a way to make sure you couldn’t.”
“And almost got yourselves killed in the process!” Harry glared at Ginny.
“You’d be dead if we hadn’t done it!” Ginny glared back. “Who do you think called Dobby when you collapsed just inside the gates at Hogwarts? Who do you think was watching out for you when you went to get the cup? You aren’t alone in all this. You have never been alone, not since you entered our lives.”
“Harry, we did it to help you,” Neville stated timidly.
Harry was exasperated by all this new information. He couldn’t believe that his friends had managed to do this behind his back. He thought back to the night he went to get the cup. The owl he heard, the small animal that had scurried off the porch as he went out through the front door”he had been under the watchful eyes of his friends the whole time.
Harry stood in silence for several minutes. He wanted to be angry at his friends for deceiving him. He wanted to be angry about having “minders” like he had had during the summer before his fifth year. He wanted to scream and yell at them about trust and betrayal. The problem was that he didn’t feel like doing it. He was happy”happy that they cared enough about him to spend the time necessary to learn the Animagus transformation. He was happy that they didn’t leave him alone to fight this battle”that no matter how bad it got, or how stupid he was, they would always be at his side.
He felt the sting in his eyes that meant tears were trying to form. He quickly turned from his friends and swiped at his eyes. “So that was what you and Ron were doing in the garden all summer?” he asked, turning back around.
“Yeah, well, most of the time,” Hermione said, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.
“I thought you were just snogging the whole time,” Harry smirked. The tension in the room seemed to instantly fade, and everyone let out a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.
“So you’re all right with this?” Hermione questioned, still looking apprehensive and slightly pink.
“Yeah, I think so. I need you all and it looks like you are going to help me no matter what I say. I won’t make you stay behind anymore.”
“Finally,” Ron sighed. “Glad that’s finally settled.”
“Ron, sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have jumped to the wrong conclusion,” Harry apologized. Ron simply waved him off.
“If I would have walked up on the conversation, but it was between you and Ginny, I may have thought the same thing.”
Harry pondered the conversation again as Neville got up. “I’m going to go check on Luna. See you all in the morning.”
Hermione had returned to her seat next to Ron, where she was now leaning against him with his arm around her shoulder. Harry looked at her puzzled. “Hermione, why didn’t you transform today?”
Hermione sifted slightly on the couch. “Well, Harry, that was what Ron and I were discussing this morning. For the last couple of weeks I haven’t been able to make the transformation. I think today I figured out why.”
“Really?” Ron exclaimed.
“Yeah, while we were at Regulus’s house, I sent a message to Tonks telling her that she and some Aurors needed to come there right away. I was hoping that we could be gone by the time they got there, but I wasn’t sure we could handle the situation when we saw the Death Eaters. When I sent the message, I found out why I haven’t been able to transform. My Patronus has changed.”
Ron looked dumbstruck and Harry’s eyes were wide. Ginny, however, looked like she already knew the answer. Ron spoke first. “What is it?”
Hermione slowly withdrew her wand and conjured her new Patronus. The image of small silvery dog appeared and began prancing around the room. Ron smiled widely back at his fiancée.
Harry and Ginny quickly made eye contact, and mutually decided it was time to leave the two love birds. They walked out, seemingly unnoticed by the young couple sitting on the couch.
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A/N: Well I hope that was a satisfying chapter, to reveal many of the secrets of this story. I hope you all were able to figure out that Ginny was an Animagus, but not they all were. Many of you speculated that Ginny was the cat, so to you, GREAT JOB! Let me know what you think.
A special thanks to cableguysmom and Kerrbear for all their work on this story. As always great thanks need to go to my two betas Ginny Guerra and JenC. I couldn’t do it with out you ladies.
Up next, Harry comes to a realization about Ginny and we go back to school. Wondering if Harry will ever clean out the box of junk Abe gave in several chapters ago?