The Time of Destiny

Chapter 18 - Decisions

A very miserable Harry Potter shivered in the Shrieking Shack. He was sitting on the bed, the covers pulled up around his shoulders as the wind howled through the broken windows. Snow was piling up in small drifts around the room.

Harry had removed his glasses and sat with his arms around his legs, his face pressed against his knobbly knees, sobbing as if he'd lost his last friend - which, to his mind, he had. If Molly didn't want him seeing Ginny, it wasn't much of a leap to think she'd also tell him to stop being friends with Ron because of the danger posed by Voldemort knowing that Ron was Harry's friend. And if he lost both Ginny and Ron, Hermione probably wouldn't be spending much time with him either. Harry rocked himself, locked in grief, his brain unable to think beyond the excruciating pain he was going through.

A flash of light made him raise his head. His heart lifted a tiny bit when he saw his faithful phoenix had come to keep him company.

"Hi, Merlin," he murmured, his voice breaking with emotion. "Thanks for coming. I needed a friend."

Merlin crooned to him and nestled against his side. Harry petted the phoenix for several minutes, the soft musical sounds and the feel of the bird's feathers on his hand both comforting Harry a bit.

"Damn, it's cold," Harry said with a sudden shudder. He glanced at the phoenix, which had made a different sound at him. "Yeah, I'm an idiot," Harry agreed, then changed into the black wolf, which curled itself around the phoenix so they could share body heat.

* * * * *

"Where might he have gone?" Dumbledore asked Ginny, Ron and Hermione anxiously. "There's a blizzard out there now. He's not at Hogwarts. Did you search the house?"

"Yeah, Bill and Charlie searched from top to bottom," Ron told him. "They're doing it again now just to be sure he isn't hiding somewhere. The house-elves are helping them. I've never seen Dobby so upset. But the way Harry flashed out of here, he was going somewhere else, not staying here in the house."

"Is Hedwig here?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, he left her at Hogwarts. He had Merlin here, but Ginny sent him after Harry," Hermione answered.

"I should have gone with him," Ginny sobbed.

"Then we'd have two of you out in the cold to worry about," Dumbledore said kindly. "I, for one, am glad you stayed here. And Harry wouldn't want you endangered, you know that. Wherever he is, he isn't safe."

"I know," she said, tears streaming down her face. "I still should have gone. I wanted Merlin to bring him back. I should have. . . ." Her voice broke, angry, frustrated, heartbroken tears streaming down her face. Hermione put her arm around her comfortingly.

"I've got Barney here if you need an owl," Ron offered, remembering Dumbledore asking about an owl.

"Yes, I would like to borrow him," Dumbledore agreed. "I'll post a letter to Harry and follow Barney to wherever he is."

"In this weather?" Hermione said, concerned for her headmaster. "How will you travel?"

"I have my ways, Miss Granger, never fear," he assured her.

They all stilled as the sounds of angry shouts and something heavy falling filtered down two stories to the kitchen.

"Oh dear," Dumbledore said. "It's a bad one, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I've never heard them fight like that," Charlie said as he, Bill and the elves came into the kitchen. "Sounds like Mum's throwing things now. She doesn't usually do that."

Dobby and Winky stood wringing their hands and looking miserable. "Is our master safe?" Winky asked Dumbledore.

"Dobby and Winky will go take care of him wherever he is," Dobby said seriously. "Where do Dobby and Winky need to go?"

"I believe he's safe for now, but I don't know his location at present," the old wizard told the elves. "When I find him, if he needs you, I'll send for you. Don't worry. Harry can take care of himself rather well. He'll be back as soon as things calm down." He patted both elves kindly on the shoulders. "This is delicious tea. Thank you."

"Winky will make fresh scones," she said, turning to the stove.

"It's the middle of the night, Winky," Hermione said, sad to see the elves so unhappy. "You don't need to do that."

"Busy hands is happy hands," the elf said quietly, glancing over her shoulder.

"She has a point," Charlie said grimly. "I wish there was something we could do."

"Should I speak to your parents?" Dumbledore asked looking at the Weasley children each in turn.

"I don't know," Ron said uneasily.

"Perhaps you should," Bill replied, his face grim.

"I hope Dad throttles her!" Ginny snarled.

"Maybe we should go with you," Charlie said, looking over at Bill, who nodded.

"All right, then. Merlin can look after Harry for a few moments. With luck, he'll bring Harry back here soon. I will speak to your parents, and then, Ron, if Harry has not returned, I'd like to borrow Barney if you don't mind," Dumbledore said, rising to his feet and starting to leave the kitchen.

"What about Harry?" Ginny demanded. "He should come first!"

"He's in no physical danger at present," Dumbledore assured her. "I checked the instruments I have tracking him, and, while they didn't tell me where he is, they did indicate that, physically, he's fine. But your parents sound as if they could do with a referee. Let me just have a word with them, and then I'm off." He left the kitchen and headed up toward the master suite.

"Bloody hell," Ron said as his parents got even noisier. "I don't envy Dumbledore."

"Maybe we should go too, in case he needs help?" Hermione said worriedly.

"We'll do it," Bill said as he followed Charlie out of the kitchen. "You two try to calm Ginny down, OK?"

"OK," Ron said, sitting back down. "I'm not entirely unhappy to be staying away from that situation anyway."

* * * * *

Upstairs, Dumbledore, flanked by Bill and Charlie, knocked on the door to the master suite. "Arthur? Molly? It's Albus. Is everything all right in there?" No answer, but the screaming in the room did lessen a bit. "I'm coming in. Bill and Charlie are with me," he called, then turned to the other men. "Wands out, stun only," he warned. "Domestic situations can be dangerous." They nodded, their faces worried, then followed him into the room.

Molly had been doing her best to destroy the room, from all appearances. Tables and chairs were overturned, pictures hung askew, the lambs in one painting of a country scene had all bolted and wound up nibbling nervously on the flowers in a painting across the room. At the moment, Molly was busy beating Arthur with a pillow while screaming at him.

"Have we interrupted something important?" Dumbledore said calmly.

Molly straightened up and pushed her hair out of her face, blowing feathers from the burst pillow away from her. "No, nothing. How are you, Albus?"

"Not a bit happy at the moment," Dumbledore replied testily. "I understand one of my students has gone missing after a confrontation with you, Molly. And you seem to be intent on destroying his home."

"Hasn't he come back yet?" Arthur said, his eyes worried.

"No, and no one knows where he went. The house has been searched several times." He turned stern eyes on Molly. "His house-elves are distraught, as are Miss Weasley and Miss Granger. And your children are frightened, hearing such a fight from you two. Can't you settle your differences more quietly?"

"We can't seem to settle this one at all," Arthur said sadly. "She won't listen to reason."

"Reason? REASON?" Molly snarled, instantly enraged and ready to go after Arthur again.

"Silencio!" Dumbledore said, pointing his wand at Molly. "Molly, you must be quiet and listen to me. Sit down." He Levitated the chairs back onto their feet and sat in the chair next to hers, then conjured a tea tray and set it on the table which Charlie had just righted. "Drink this," he said, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to her.

Molly sat with her arms crossed, glowering at all the men surrounding her.

"When you've had your tea and have calmed down a bit, I'd like to speak to you, Molly, but you must drink your tea first." Seeing her suspicious look, he added, "It's only tea, no potion of any kind in it. You have my word on that. But you need to calm down. There's nothing like a good cup of tea to help quieten the nerves," he said, pouring tea for Arthur, who sat in the chair across from Molly. Charlie and Bill accepted cups of tea as well, and moved across the room to sit on the edge of the bed.

Arthur's hands were shaking so, he spilled his tea several times before he managed a good sip. "Is someone out looking for Harry?" he asked worriedly.

"I will go and find him as soon as peace is restored here," Dumbledore replied. "I can't take very long to deal with this. The boy is out there in the cold in his pyjamas and wandless, with only Merlin to help him if he gets in trouble."

Molly tried desperately to speak, but the Silencing Charm was still holding.

Dumbledore gave her a quelling look. "I will remove the charm if you can stay calm. No more yelling. No more anger. Is that clear?"

She took a deep breath and then nodded.

"All right then." He removed the charm and said, "What did you want to say?"

"He can take care of himself just fine even without a wand. I know he's good at wandless magic," she said, anger still edging her voice.

"Molly, there's a blizzard outside. We are sitting in Harry's home. He's not here. He hasn't gone to Hogwarts. I checked before I came here. His godfather got married this evening and is now on his honeymoon. Harry wouldn't go to him tonight even if he could reach him - he's too considerate. He also wouldn't go to The Burrow after what happened here tonight. He won't go back to Privet Drive, there's no question of that. So if he's been run out of his very own home, where would he go? He has nowhere else to go. So where can he be? Wherever it is, he's in danger, because he has no safe place to go," Dumbledore said as reasonably as he could manage.

Molly blanched. She had been so wrapped up in her temper, she hadn't considered what Harry might be facing out in the world this evening. "What shall we do?"

"You and Arthur must stop fighting. You're upsetting your children. I promise you, you cannot dictate to your children who they are allowed to fall in love with, and who they are not. Ginny and Harry are very good for each other. I believe they can go on to make an excellent life together when they're old enough. They're as well suited as James and Lily Potter were - or as you and Arthur were, and still are. You've done a wonderful job with your children to this point, Molly. Trust that the values you've instilled in them actually took hold. All of your children have turned out well."

"Not Percy," Charlie commented dryly.

"Prat," Bill agreed.

"He has some growing up to do, I believe, and then he'll be fine as well," Dumbledore said calmly. "He'll be all right with a few more years of maturity on him."

"Git," Charlie said under his breath.

"That's not helping," Arthur said, glancing over his shoulder at his sons.

"Sorry, Dad," Charlie said, not looking terribly repentant.

"So you think I should just leave Ginny and Harry alone?" Molly said, her heart breaking, every broken piece shining in her eyes.

"It's nothing to be sad about, Molly," Dumbledore assured her. "Many people go through life without finding their true love at all. Ginny is very lucky, as is Harry. They will be a blessing to each other all their lives, I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure that they're right for each other? That theirs is a forever love, not just puppy love?" Molly asked sadly.

"I've seen them together nearly every day for the last year, remember? Ever since Harry finally noticed Ginny as a girlfriend, he has just blossomed - and so has she. They are two halves of a whole, Molly. Even if they aren't, you can't force them to stop loving each other. They have to make their own decisions about how they'll live their lives. You've trained your children well. Trust them."

"What if they make a horrible mistake?" she cried, her voice quavering.

"Then you'll help them pick up the pieces of their lives and move on," he assured her. He looked from Molly to Arthur and then back to Molly again. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

She wiped her tears and then nodded.

"Good." He stood up and walked toward the door. "I must go and find Harry and make sure he's safe. Try to mend the fences you've damaged here tonight, will you? I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * * * *

A phoenix followed the barn owl for hours, flying at the owl's much slower pace as it battled its way north through the heavy snow and wind. Finally, the owl tapped on the boarded-up window of the Shrieking Shack, then went to the roof and zoomed down the chimney, landing next to a black wolf that lay trembling on the bed next to a phoenix. The wolf had a layer of heavy snow on his thick, coarse fur and was whining piteously. It looked up and growled when the phoenix following the owl changed into Dumbledore.

"Oh, Harry," the old wizard said sadly. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through. Lumos," he said, lighting his wand and looking around the dark, dreary room. "You're cold, despite your fur, aren't you?" he said smoothing a hand over the wolf's shaggy coat and brushing off the snow, some of which was melting into its fur. "Or are you trembling because you're grieving?" The wolf raised heartbroken eyes to his for a moment, then laid its head back on its paws, still trembling and whining. "Ah. That's what I thought. I'm so sorry, lad."

He handed Barney some owl treats and said, "You rest a while, Barney, and then go back to Hogwarts, it's closer. Ron will understand." The owl hooted dolefully, then flew up to perch on the footboard of the bed.

"Change back into yourself, Harry," Dumbledore said quietly. "I want to talk to you."

The wolf merely growled, not lifting its head from its paws.

"I just had a long talk with Arthur and Molly. She's coming round to a more reasonable stance. I think she'll understand before long. I believe her realizing that you two were so very serious just hit her hard when she was already feeling quite emotional. Come now, Harry, change back for me, please?" He sat down next to the huge wolf, shivering a bit. "I'd build a fire in the fireplace, but this chimney never did draw well, and with the wind outside, this room would soon be full of smoke. That wouldn't be comfortable at all, would it?" he murmured as he did a Warming Charm on the room. "There, that's a bit better, but it won't last long, this room is so draughty. I need to get that window replaced, don't I?" he mused. "Won't you change back for me, lad? I'd rather not force you, but we do need to talk."

A moment later, a shivering Harry appeared where the wolf had been. He pulled the thin blanket close around him. The Warming Charm wasn't doing a lot of good, and his dressing gown and pyjamas were just not enough clothing for the frigid temperatures inside the Shack.

"Let me help you," Dumbledore said kindly as he transfigured Harry's clothes into warm wool trousers, a warm sweater and a heavy woollen cloak, as well as sturdy boots with thick socks.

Harry snorted derisively. "Why didn't I think of that?" he said as he looked at his new attire.

"I believe your mind was elsewhere, as is your wand," Dumbledore said compassionately. "Now then. Arthur is firmly on your side, as am I. Both of us see that you and Ginny have enough sense to wait until you're older to marry, despite your strong feelings for each other. Molly just had a very emotional day and responded very badly, I'm afraid. I know she hurt your feelings, as well as Miss Weasley's, a great deal. She said a lot of things she didn't honestly mean."

"I don't believe that. I think she said what's in her heart," Harry said, his face hard and cold.

"It's part of what's in her heart, yes, you're right," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "But Ginny is her only daughter, and it's natural she'd be over-protective of her. You need to return to your home and talk to Molly again. I believe your discussion will have a different outcome this time."

"I don't want to," Harry said stubbornly. "I can't trust her anymore."

"Do you know what she was doing, Harry?" Dumbledore mused. "She was treating you exactly as she'd treat one of her own children. She wasn't treating you with the kindness and respect she shows to people outside the family. Her losing her temper with you to that extent is a sign that she truly feels you are family."

Harry snorted with disgust. "Yeah, right. If that's how she treats her family, I want no part of it."

"That's not true. You do want part of it. You want Ginny in your life. You want Ron as your best friend, even as a brother. You want the rest of the Weasleys as your extended family. I know this to be true. I see it in your eyes when you're with them. They're the family you would choose if you were allowed to be with any family in the world."

"You're wrong!" Harry snapped, getting up and pacing the room restlessly. "I would choose my own parents over them. I would choose Sirius. I would choose Remus. I wouldn't choose the Weasleys!" The windows rattled ominously in response to his strong emotion.

"Well, you do have several good points there," Dumbledore agreed. "But the fact is, you care about all of the Weasleys a great deal, with the possible exception of Percy, of course," he added with a small smile, "and they do love you. Even Molly. Perhaps, especially Molly. She wants the best for you and for Ginny. Her judgement isn't always the best, I grant you, but her heart is good."

"If it's so good, then why was she so horrible to me?" Harry asked, his voice breaking with emotion as he sat on the edge of the bed next to his headmaster. "She as much as threw me out of my own house!" Soot fell down the chimney as the entire Shack shuddered. Harry's emotions were rattling the old building to its very foundations.

"She didn't mean to, Harry. And she's sorry for what she did. Please come back with me. Everyone's so worried. We've kept it from Remus for now, but if you don't return soon, someone may tell him. That's not something he should hear on his honeymoon, is it? I won't force you, but I think it would benefit everyone if you went back and talked to Molly while she's calm and settled things properly."

"What do you mean, 'settle things properly'? Do you mean I should ask for Ginny's hand now? Or do you mean I should break up with her?" Harry asked, frantic to find a way to make things go back the way they were before the blow-up.

"I think getting permission to see Miss Weasley again is enough to ask for just now," Dumbledore said sagely. "I'm cold and tired. It was a long flight up here. Let's go." He held out his hand and helped Harry up from the bed, then grasped Merlin's tail and the three of them flashed back to the Grimmauld Place house.

* * * * *

The Weasleys and Hermione were all seated around the kitchen table, doing their best to mend broken relationships. Ginny was still in a temper and quite upset about Harry's extended absence. Suddenly, she sat up straighter, her face brightening.

"Someone's in the hall!" she said, leaping to her feet and running up the stairs. "Harry? Harry!" she called, praying it was him.

Dumbledore transfigured Harry's clothes back into pyjamas, a dressing gown and slippers just before Ginny came hurtling up the hallway and leaped into the young man's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Ginny's face was swollen, red and blotchy from hours of crying. Harry didn't care. He held her close, murmured to her soothingly, then kissed her. Their kiss became frantic as the emotional upheaval of the last several hours overwhelmed them.

The Weasleys, Hermione and the house-elves had all followed Ginny up the stairs and down the hall. "Ginny," Molly began, then quietened when Arthur put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Hermione asked Harry worriedly.

"Bit cold," Harry replied as he lowered Ginny to her feet.

"You're freezing!" Ginny cried as she ran her hands over his face. "We need to get you warmed up!"

"Dobby has some tea and some pumpkin soup ready for you, Harry Potter, sir," the house-elf offered.

"Thanks, Dobby, that sounds perfect," Harry said, smiling wearily at him. "I'll be down in a little while. It's very late. Just leave it on the stove to stay warm and I'll help myself later. You should be in bed."

"Harry Potter's guests are up, so Dobby and Winky must be up to serve them," Dobby said simply.

Harry looked at the people crowding the hall. His temper flared but he did his best to tamp it down. "You're keeping the elves up," he said, "and that's not fair to them. They worked hard all day to prepare for the wedding, and then to clean up. They need their rest." Harry bit back more angry words when he realized none of the people in the house except Dumbledore had any experience at dealing with house-elves. He shouldn't be too angry with them for not knowing the elves were required, by their custom, to stay up as long as the guests in the house were up - he hadn't known that fact until just now himself. "Dobby, let's have brunch tomorrow instead of breakfast. How about planning it for, say, eleven? Then we can all sleep in."

"Whatever you wish, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby said, gazing at his master with tremendous devotion.

"What I wish is for everyone, including you and Winky, to have a good night's sleep," Harry said kindly. "Now you and Winky go to bed. If my guests need anything else, I'll take care of them." When Dobby still didn't move, Harry added, "Consider that an order, Dobby. Go to bed. Thanks for everything you've done today."

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir. If you're sure. . .?"

"I'm sure. Good night."

"Good night, then, sir," Dobby said as he walked back wearily toward the kitchen, taking Winky's hand as he passed her.

When the elves had disappeared down the stairs, Harry glanced around at his friends, then down at Ginny. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said, gently pushing her away from him.

"Harry?" she said, confused.

"I'm not allowed to see you anymore," he said sadly, reaching out with one gentle finger to smooth her hair out of her face. "That means I can't hold you, either. But it won't be forever." He looked deeply into her eyes, which were miserable and tearing up again. "When you've finished at Hogwarts, we'll get married whether they give us permission or not. And that's not a proposal - I told you, when I do it, I'll do it right. I'll try to get permission first, but if they don't agree, that's just too bad. But for now. . . ." He swallowed hard, forcing himself to drop his hand and step back from her.

"Harry! NO!" Ginny cried.

"Harry," Arthur said kindly, "Molly has something to say to you."

Harry had been avoiding looking at Molly. He finally turned his eyes to her, steeling himself for something unpleasant. "What is it?"

"Harry, I'm . . . I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," Molly said earnestly.

"You said what was in your heart. I could see that," Harry said, his face adamant.

"You saw my Boggart, remember?" she said urgently. "You do remember that?"

"How could I forget seeing myself dead on the floor?" he snarled. "Of course I remember."

"Then you know how afraid I am for my family - and for you - in these awful times. I. . .I don't know how to tell you how sorry I am. You and Ginny . . .of course you can see each other. I won't stop you. I'm sorry for the way I behaved." Molly was fighting back tears but went bravely on. "I forced you out of your own house. I can't believe I did that. I'm so ashamed. I'll go back to the Burrow now. You lot have a happy Christmas." She sniffled, then prepared to Apparate but Harry stopped her.

"No," he said firmly.

"No what?" she replied, surprised.

"Your whole family is here - well, except for Percy. The twins will be here again in the morning. You don't need to go to the Burrow," Harry said. "Families should be together for Christmas. Please stay."

"Oh, Harry," Molly said, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you! Can you forgive me?"

"I don't know. You seriously damaged a friendship here tonight," he said carefully. "It will take me a while to learn to trust you again. Are you certain you're willing to allow me to see Ginny?"

Molly swallowed hard. "Yes. You are good for each other. Albus said you're two halves of a whole, and I know in my heart that he's right. I just didn't want to believe it, with both of you being so young. I'm sorry for the way I behaved, all those horrible things I said. I hope you can forgive me at some point."

"I do, too." He gazed at her a moment longer, then sighed, his body relaxing a bit at last. He looked at Ginny and held out his arms. She rushed into his arms and held him tightly. Harry bent his head down and rested his cheek on her hair. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she said, laughing and sobbing at the same time.

Harry looked up at the others and did his best to be cordial. "If you'll excuse us, I need to make up with my girlfriend. You lot should go to bed. Father Christmas can't come if you aren't asleep when he gets here."

Charlie and Bill chuckled and moved up the stairs. "Good night, all," Bill called, hoping the rest of his family would get the idea and leave Harry and Ginny alone.

"Come on," Harry said, taking Ginny's hand and leading her to the library, where he closed the door, then put a Colloportus and a Silencing Charm on it, as well as a charm that would tell people, in a very stern voice, to get away from the door or suffer serious consequences.

"What a horrible night!" Ginny said, holding on to him tightly.

"Yeah. I really need to get my 'saving people thing' under control," Harry mused wryly. "If I hadn't thought your mum had caught you trying to get into my room. . . ."

"I was afraid that was why you came out," she said sadly. "Thanks for trying to save me."

"If I hadn't come out, none of this would have happened," he replied, "but I couldn't leave you to get in trouble alone."

"Yeah," she chuckled, her eyes twinkling, "it's far more fun to get in trouble together."

"Yeah, that's what I had in mind," he said, leaning down to kiss her soundly. Seconds later, they were pushing at each other's clothes, frantic to get down to skin. Ginny shoved Harry toward a chair and jumped into his lap facing him, straddling his legs.

"I want to see why Mum fussed at me for this," she said, her eyes dancing. A moment later, she sighed. "Ah. That's why." Her soft chuckle was quickly covered by Harry's kisses.

A very short time later, they rested, wrapped in each other's arms, Ginny's head on Harry's shoulder, his cheek on her hair, spent but happy to be together. They lifted their heads and looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

"That has to be some kind of world speed record," Ginny said, kissing the dimple in his chin.

"Yeah. But still. . . ." he murmured with a tender smile, then nibbled a line down her jaw, making her moan with pleasure. He sat back and studied her face. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied. "I can't believe we had such a horrible night!"

"Me either. But, in order to avoid more trouble," he said, lifting her to her feet, "we should get out of here. And besides, young lady, as I said earlier, Father Christmas won't bring your presents if you aren't asleep!"

"Spoilsport," she said good-naturedly. "Yeah, we've been in here long enough. If anyone's paying attention--"

"There will be hell to pay," he said seriously. "Get dressed. We need to think of something silly to do to give us an excuse for looking the way we do."

"And what way is that, good sir?" she teased as she buttoned her pyjamas and pulled on her dressing gown, knowing perfectly well what he meant.

"Besotted with each other," he grinned.

"Besotted?"

"Seems like the right word at present," he said, leaning down to kiss her bum as she bent over to pull her slipper from under the chair, making her giggle. "I've got it!" he said suddenly, then squatted in front of her, with his back to her. "Get on."

"What?"

"You can play jockey. If we're doing something silly like this, we'll have an excuse for looking so goofy."

"Goofy, is it?" she said as she jumped lightly onto his back. "I thought it was 'besotted.'"

"That too," he said with a chuckle as he straightened up and slid his arms under her knees, carrying her piggy-back. "Get the spells off the door, will you?"

"Done!" she said with a wave of her wand.

Harry remembered his "warning" spell and waved his hand to remove that one as well, then opened the door and "galloped" down the hall, with Ginny giggling madly as she held on. They passed no one in the hall and continued their play all the way to the kitchen, where Ron and Hermione were sitting at the table with Arthur while Molly puttered at the stove.

"Feeling better?" Hermione asked teasingly.

"Loads," Harry replied with a grin. "Ouch!"

"We haven't finished our race, Dobbin!" Ginny said, digging her heels into his sides. "Trot on!"

"Slave driver," Harry said, then trotted around the kitchen and back up the stairs, making another circuit of the hallway before returning to the kitchen. "Enough, wench!" he said, letting go of her legs and bending down for her to dismount. "You're wearing me out!"

"You needed the exercise, lazybones," she teased, her eyes raking him up and down. Harry was beautifully built, broad-shouldered, well-muscled, quite obviously not a lazybones.

He grinned at her dig. "Lazybones, am I? Next time, you can carry me!" he retorted, then ducked as she reached out to poke him. "This woman's abusing me again!" he cried in mock horror, determinedly ignoring the senior Weasleys.

"Yeah, we can see how abused you are," Hermione giggled. "It's good to see you two laughing again."

"Feels good too," Harry agreed. "Where's that soup Dobby left out for me? And why are you lot still up?"

"We were hungry," Ron said, "and Mum was worried about the soup and tea being left on the stove."

Harry stifled a sigh. "It's not a problem, Mrs. Weasley," he assured her warily, wishing she wasn't such a fusspot. "Dobby told me he uses a spell so it won't burn or dry up or anything."

"I just wanted to be certain," she said carefully. She was treading softly, hoping not to offend him again. "Would you like me to dish the soup up for you?"

Harry hesitated a moment, then said, "OK, thanks," trying his best to act normally with her, but only managing in sounding distantly polite.

It was enough. Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. They'd been worried about how Harry and Molly were going to get along after their blow-up.

A short time later, Harry's soup was gone, the conversation had slowed again and everyone was yawning. "Off to bed now," Harry said, stretching so hard his back cracked. "Good night." He, Ginny, Ron and Hermione all headed up the stairs.

Molly had insisted on washing up the few dishes involved in their snacks. "Come on, Molly," Arthur said, stretching his hand out toward his wife when she finished. "Let's go upstairs too." He draped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, kissing her on top of her head.

"Oh, Arthur, what have I done?" she said sadly. "And still - I felt it had to be said."

"So it's been said. Forget about it now," he said kindly. She nodded and walked slowly up the stairs with her husband.

* * * * *

"Harry, wake up! Presents!" Ron called cheerily a few hours later.

Harry groaned. "What time is it?"

"About 9:30, I think," Ron replied. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed, happily opening the presents piled at the foot of his bed.

"What woke you up so early?" Harry said, rubbing his eyes and yawning hugely. "And why did you wake me?"

"It's Christmas! Presents, Harry! Wake up!"

Harry rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up, grabbed his glasses and put them on, then smiled at the pile of presents by his bed. "Wow! I've never had so many before."

"Yeah, cool, huh? I knew you'd want to see."

"They would still have been there in half an hour, you know," he teased his friend. Harry was soon sitting cross-legged on his own bed, gleefully opening presents from all his friends.

Someone tapped quietly on the door.

"Come in," Harry called.

"Are you up yet?" Hermione said, poking her head around the door.

"Yeah, sure! Come in! Happy Christmas!" Ron called cheerfully.

"Good morning," Harry said. "Happy Christmas!"

"We thought it would be fun to open our presents together," Ginny said, coming in with her arms full of gaily wrapped packages and sitting on Harry's bed. Hermione and her pile of presents wound up beside Ron on his bed.

"Yeah, that's brilliant," Harry said, leaning over to give Ginny a kiss. "You look so cute with your hair all frowsy."

"Frowsy, is it?" she said with a crooked smile, running her hands over her sleep-rumpled hair. "Yeah, I guess it is. Hermione woke up ready to open presents and I didn't even think to brush my hair. Back in a sec," she said, ready to bounce off the bed and go tidy herself up a bit.

"I said it was cute," Harry grinned. "Don't worry about it. We match, right?"

She laughed and ruffled his already messy hair. "Yeah, we do, actually. What have you opened so far?"

The couples opened their presents and showed each other what they'd received, with much laughter and delight. The girls were particularly excited about their presents from Harry.

"What a beautiful picture frame, Harry!" Hermione said as she opened it. "Did you make this?" He nodded. His mosaic efforts over the summer had gone into these picture frames as Christmas presents. "And it has a picture of Ron and me in it! Wow, thanks!"

Ginny had opened hers at the same time. "Oh, I've got one too!" she said happily, smiling at the handsome photo of her being swung around playfully in Harry's arms. "Thanks, sweetie!" She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"They're enchanted," Harry said, taking Ginny's from her. "Let me show you how they work." He set it on the bedside table and pointed his wand at it. "Slide show," he said, and the photo was replaced by another one, then another, and another, each one staying on view for several seconds.

"Whoa, that's wicked!" Ron said. "How'd you do that?"

"That's not all it does," Harry said with a smile. "Change dissolves," he said, pointing his wand at it again. The slide show went from changing the pictures as a whole to changing with various patterns, the new picture taking the place of the old one bit by bit.

"There are several patterns you can use for the dissolves. All the commands are marked on the back, and they're in plain English so they're easy to remember," Harry said. "It will stop on whichever picture you want, as well." He pointed his wand at the frame again and said, "Hold." The picture currently on display remained in place.

"I've never seen anything like these," Hermione said, examining her frame closely. "Well, Muggles can do this kind of thing with a computer, and I've seen Muggle picture frames that change the picture, but never anything in the wizarding world like this."

"I made them," Harry said off-handedly. "I've seen such things on computers and those Muggle frames you mentioned, but they won't work in the wizarding world, so I made up spells to make the frames do what I wanted."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You . . . made up these spells?"

Harry smiled and shrugged. "Yeah."

"How did you learn how to make up spells?" she demanded.

"Dunno. I just thought it out and when I tried it, it worked. So I put the spell on several frames to be gifts. Ginny's mum and Tonks are each getting one, as well," he replied, looking perfectly innocent.

"How can you sit there looking so innocent when you've learned something so. . .so. . . ." Hermione, rarely if ever at a loss for words, couldn't come up with the appropriate thing here. She growled in frustration. "When were you going to tell us you'd learned this? And when are you going to teach us how?"

Harry laughed, delighted with her reaction. "I was going to tell you when you opened your presents this morning - and I've just done so. And I'll show you how - well, I'll try, anyway - whenever you want. I don't know how to explain the process, but I'll have a go at it later on today if you'd like."

"Yes, of course I'd like!" Hermione said excitedly. "You're making up spells! That's amazing! Is it hard to do?"

"Not really. Well, I don't think it is, anyway," he said with a smile. "The biggest thing is to work out the steps logically, I think. Sort of the way computer programs are organized, step-by-step. One thing has to happen before the next one can. That kind of thing. At least, that's what I did for these frames."

"Have you made up other spells?" she asked, her presents completely forgotten for the moment.

"Yeah, I made one up that we used last night, actually," he said, grinning down at Ginny. "You lot didn't get to hear it, but I put a spell on the library door that would very sternly and loudly tell anyone who came within three feet of the door to leave or suffer the consequences."

"And does it work?" Ron asked. "What are the consequences?"

"It works. It stings you if you touch what I've protected with the charm," Harry said. "Not enough to hurt you, but enough to warn you off."

"Wicked!" Ron said with a grin. "Where did you get that idea?"

Harry shrugged. "I was annoyed with the fan girls one day and thought it would be great to have a 'proximity alarm' like some Muggle cars have. If you get within a few feet of the car, without even touching it, a big nasty voice says, 'Move away from the car!'" He laughed. "I wanted that kind of protection for myself! I haven't tried it on myself yet - probably won't - but that was where I got the idea. I saw a car with that kind of alarm on a television program and thought it was an interesting idea."

"Why would someone put that kind of thing on a car?" Ron asked, confused.

"No idea," Harry said. "Maybe there's an expensive sound system in it or something, I don't know. Or maybe just because they can."

They all went back to opening presents, chatting happily as they worked their way through their piles.

"Ginny, this is brilliant!" Harry said sincerely as he opened a box full of all his favourite sweets. "Thank you!"

"I thought you'd like that," she said with a smile, glad he was so easy to please, and sad that she couldn't afford what she'd wanted to buy him. But she was saving her money as much as she could. She'd have enough in a month or so. She just hadn't managed it in time for Christmas.

"Chocolate is always perfect!" he said happily.

"Wow, 'Mione, this is great!" Ron said, happily pulling a screamingly orange Chudley Cannons sweater over his head.

"Oh, and it fits, too! I was worried. Your shoulders are so broad now, I wondered if it would be big enough," she said, smoothing the fabric over his heavily muscled shoulders and doing her best not to cringe at the clash of the garish colour with his ginger hair.

"I love it! Thanks!" he said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her in for a kiss.

"Oooo, Ron!" Hermione said as she opened her present from him. "How lovely! Thank you!" He'd given her a desk set with a handsome ink bottle, quill and quill holder, as well as a blotter, and a beautiful book filled with blank pages. "Is there a spell on the text? It looks blank," she wondered as she flipped through it.

"No, it's a blank book. You can write whatever you want in it," he replied, smiling at her. "Notes, thoughts, stories. I read somewhere that writers often keep journals or diaries, and they make sure they write something every day. I don't know if you want to be a writer, but those articles you wrote were brilliant. I thought maybe. . . ."

"Thank you! I really did enjoy doing those articles. I've been thinking it would be fun to do some more writing. Thanks for thinking of this, Ron! It's wonderful!" She ran her hand over the luxurious leather binding of the book, knowing it and the desk set had been a serious expense for Ron, and loving him all the more for his encouragement of her writing.

"What's this?" Harry mused, opening a roughly wrapped package and pulling out a rather hairy bag with something large and oddly shaped obviously inside it. "Oh, it's from Hagrid. What d'you suppose this is?" He held the bag up for his friends to see.

"It's not growling or anything, is it?" Hermione said warily.

"No, but it is a bit lumpy and heavy," Harry said, running his hands carefully over the bag. He pushed his fingers through the thick fur and found a drawstring. "Here's the opening," he said, slowly and carefully opening the bag. He breathed a sigh of relief when nothing monstrous burst from the bag, then opened it wider and looked inside. "Wow!" he said, putting his hand inside and lifting something out. "It's something he's made. There's a note inside here, as well." He pulled the concoction of neatly carved wooden pieces out and then opened the parchment. "He says this is a perch for Merlin. Oh, there's a dish in the bag, too." He pulled out the large brass dish and set it on the bed. "No wonder it was so heavy! There's a diagram here. . . ." Intrigued with the project of putting the perch together, Harry studied the plan and started assembling the pieces, his tongue between his teeth in concentration. Before long, a very handsome large perch stood on a tall base. There were various branches protruding in different directions, each of which had a unique texture. Merlin would be able to scratch his toes on the bar wrapped in rough cord, sharpen his claws on another section, clean his beak elsewhere. There were small metal rings holding a water dish and a food tray, with the large brass dish beneath them to catch any spills or droppings. The setup contained every comfort a bird could want.

"Merlin, what do you think?" Harry asked, delighted with the present. The phoenix flew down from his customary position on the curtain rail of Harry's bed and made himself at home, seeming quite content.

"He made catnip balls for Crookshanks," Hermione said with a smile as she opened her present from Hagrid.

"And owl treats for Barney," Ron said.

"And for Pigwidgeon as well," Ginny said with a smile. "He's making sure we're taking good care of our pets."

"Yeah, there are owl treats in here for Hedwig, too," Harry said, digging them out of the bottom of the bag.

"Happy Christmas, you lot!" Arthur said as he and Molly passed the open doorway. "Having fun with your presents?"

"Loads!" Ron said, chucking a chocolate frog, part of his gift from Ginny, to his dad.

"Harry, dear, thank you so much for the picture frame! It's lovely!" Molly enthused.

"Wait until you see what it does!" Hermione said, hoping to encourage friendly relations between Molly and Harry.

"I'll show you at breakfast," Harry added in a cool voice.

"We'll see you downstairs then," Molly said with a timid smile, hoping Harry was feeling more kindly toward her this morning. He was being distantly friendly, not his usual warm self, but she couldn't really blame him after all that had happened. She and Arthur went down to the kitchen, leaving the young people to finish opening their presents.

"All done?" Harry asked as Ginny shoved wrappings around on his bed making certain she'd not missed anything.

"Looks like it. This was a nice Christmas!" she said happily.

"It's not over, you know," he said seriously, gazing into her eyes.

"Huh?"

"I think there's something hidden right. . .under. . .here," Harry said, reaching behind her and pulling something out from under his pillow. "Happy Christmas."

"But you already gave me the picture frame!" she protested, but took the small package happily. She unwrapped it slowly, careful not to tear the pretty paper. "What have you done this time, Potter?" she said tartly as she recognized the jeweller's box. Harry just shrugged and smiled at her. She opened the box and gasped. Nestled inside was a pair of earrings with heart-shaped rubies surrounded by lacy gold filigree. "They're beautiful! But I already have earrings."

"I've noticed other girls who wear earrings usually have more than one pair," he said reasonably. "So now you do, too. These have all the same protections as the lion ones."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, leaping into his arms with such fervour that she nearly knocked him over.

Harry laughed. "I'm glad you like them." He held out his hand like the well-trained boyfriend he was. Ginny was already taking the lion earrings off and putting the hearts in her ears. She put the lion earrings in his hand until she'd finished changing earrings, then carefully put the lions in the box that had held the heart-shaped ruby earrings.

"Where's your mirror?" she said, running to the wardrobe and opening it to look in the mirror inside. "Oh, they're lovely!" she moaned.

"Let's see then!" Hermione said, standing and admiring Ginny's new earrings. "Gorgeous!"

"Yeah," Ginny said with a smile, then looked at Harry, love shining on her face. "Gorgeous."

* * * * *

"Oh, how wonderful!" Molly said as Harry showed her and Arthur how the frame worked as they ate the delicious brunch Dobby and Winky had prepared.

"Harry, that's brilliant!" Arthur said. "Using Muggle ideas to create something new - pure genius!"

Harry blushed. "Not really. I just copied someone's idea and made it work for wizards," he replied.

"But you made it work! And it's a wonderful idea," Arthur enthused. "You should patent this, Harry. It could make you some money. I'm sure there's a market for such things."

"Yes, I agree," Hermione said, looking at Molly's frame. Each frame Harry had made was different, ranging from simple elegance for Molly's to cute and funky for Ginny's to refined for Hermione's. "Have you made any more? I'm sure you could sell them for a good price."

"I charmed one for Tonks," Harry said. "Hers is one I got in a Muggle store, with fluffy purple stuff and bright, sparkly stones on it. I hope she likes it. It looked rather silly to me, but it also looked so 'Tonks,'" he said with a fond smile.

"Fluffy purple with sparkles?" Ginny said, her eyes dancing. "She'll love it!"

"Harry, I have a contact in the Ministry's Patent Office," Arthur said seriously. "I do think you should patent this before someone steals your idea and makes a fortune off of it!"

"A fortune?" Harry said with a snort of laughter. "They're just for fun. I don't know that they'd make a fortune."

"Harry, people have sold rocks as 'pets' in the Muggle world and made a fortune while the fad lasted," Hermione said tartly. "There's no reason you shouldn't benefit from your own invention!"

"OK, OK," he said, grinning and raising his hands in surrender. "I'd be happy to meet your friend, Mr. Weasley. Thanks."

* * * * *

"Knut for your thoughts, Harry," Hermione said quietly. They were sitting in the house's cosy library doing homework, but Harry had been staring off into space with a very serious expression on his face for quite a while.

"Huh? Oh, I'm not thinking of anything, really," he lied.

"That's not true. I could see the wheels turning in your head," she insisted. "And you're far too serious. What's wrong?" she said in concern.

"Nothing," he said dismissively. He didn't want his friends to know he'd been thinking about his future, Ginny's future, Ron's and Hermione's, as well, and wondering if he would be there to see it. He was determined to destroy Voldemort, and was coming to several conclusions about his life as a result of that decision. The decisions he was reaching now had been under consideration for months. He knew now what he wanted to do and how. He just had to do it.

Hermione was still studying him intently, as were Ginny and Ron. "What? Nothing's wrong," Harry insisted. "I was just daydreaming."

"I don't believe you," Hermione said.

"Well, that's all the answer I have for you right now," he said with a shrug, then buried his nose in his book again.

Hermione, Ron and Ginny all looked at each other, their faces worried. Something was going on with him, but what?

* * * * *

A few days later, an owl arrived during breakfast with a letter for Harry.

"Who's it from?" Ginny asked as she buttered her scone.

"Remus," Harry said with an excited grin. He scanned down the letter, his grin getting bigger the longer he read.

"What's up, mate?" Ron asked, noticing Harry's expression.

Harry looked up at his friends, a dazed and delighted expression on his face. "It's real. It works! He's trying it!" he said with a laugh.

"What works? Who's trying what?" Hermione said in confusion.

"The lycanthropy cure! Remus says they've tested it on two werewolves and they haven't changed during the full moon for three months! He's going to take it too," Harry said, excitement in his voice.

"Oh, but it's dangerous to be a guinea pig for new potions!" Hermione said in dismay. "He could be hurt!"

"He says the science behind it is sound," Harry said, glancing down the letter again. "Tonks told him his lycanthropy didn't matter to her, but he's determined to try it." He laid the letter on the table and looked off in the distance. "If it works. . .wow," he said in an awed whisper. He grinned again and looked at his friends. "He's always been afraid to have children. If this works, I'll bet he and Tonks have a huge family!"

"That's great, Harry! Brothers and sisters for you!" Ginny said with delight.

"Godbrothers and Godsisters," Ron corrected with a chuckle.

"Are there such things?" Harry asked, laughing.

Ron shrugged. "Dunno. But if you say that's what they are, that's what they'll be," he said with assurance.

"Why wouldn't he want children if he's a werewolf?" Hermione asked. "You can't pass on lycanthropy genetically."

"He's afraid he'd attack them if he missed his potion," Harry replied quietly.

"Oh," Hermione said in a small voice. "That would be awful."

"Yeah. He almost didn't marry Tonks because of the same worry, but she talked him out of it," Harry replied.

"How did she manage that?" Ginny asked.

"No idea," Harry said with a shrug. "I hope this treatment works."

* * * * *

Later that morning, Harry said, "I have a meeting at the Patent Office with your dad's friend, and some errands to do in Diagon Alley. I'll be back in a while."

"Do you want company?" Ginny said hopefully.

"If you want to come, you can, but I have dull business stuff to do at the Patent Office and Gringotts. You can shop elsewhere while I do it if you want."

"What kind of 'dull business stuff' do you need to do at Gringotts?" she asked, surprised. Harry hadn't mentioned anything about any kind of "business stuff."

"Just some things I need to take care of," he said dismissively. "It will take me a couple of hours, I suppose. You don't have to go unless you want to."

"Sure, I'll go," Ginny said.

"OK. You can go with me to the Patent Office if you want, but I need to go to the bank alone," Harry warned. "I have no head for business and I need to pay close attention to what's going on."

"Can I help?" Hermione offered.

"Thanks, Hermione. I know you're good at this stuff, but I need to take care of this myself," Harry said evasively.

Hermione looked at him oddly. He was up to something, but she couldn't sort out what it might be. "We'll go with you and keep Ginny company while you're busy, then," she said finally. "All right with you, Ron?"

"Yeah, sure!" he said. "I haven't been into the Quidditch shop for a while, and we can visit Fred and George and see how our assembly line is working."

"That will be fun!" Hermione said sincerely. "Let's go!"

* * * * *

"Arthur Weasley tells me you've invented something rather interesting, Mr. Potter," Michael LeBrun, of the Ministry's Patent Office, said. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were seated nearby, paying close attention to everything that was going on.

"They're picture frames that change the pictures various ways," Harry explained, pulling Ginny's out of his bag and showing it to the man. He demonstrated what it did and looked at LeBrun expectantly. "Is it worth patenting?"

"I think that's a delightful thing," Mr. LeBrun said sincerely. "And you created the spells to make it work yourself? With no help?"

"No help at all. I made the picture frames as mosaics, and then enchanted them," Harry explained. "In one case, I used a frame I bought in a Muggle shop and enchanted it. The spell worked perfectly for each frame, once I got it sorted out."

LeBrun pulled out several parchments, shuffling through them quickly. "Ah, here we go. You fill out this form, make a diagram of your invention, explain in writing how it works, and provide us with a sample one to keep on file, and you're done. The sample can be a miniature if you want. There's a small fee involved, as well."

"That's all there is to it?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Pretty much," LeBrun said with a smile. "You can owl everything to me when you have it completed. Even if you never manufacture it yourself, this way you're protected if anyone tries to steal your idea and make money out of it."

"I understand," Harry replied. "Thanks."

"Wicked, Harry!" Ron enthused on the way out. "You're in business!"

When they left the Patent Office, Harry went off to Gringotts alone while the others went off to browse various shops.

Harry went up to the teller's window and said, "I'd like to know if someone here can help me make a will?"

"Certainly, Mr. Potter," the teller said. "Go to the manager's office, over there. He can help you."

"Thanks."

Harry knocked on the manager's office door and was soon seated before the goblin's desk.

"How can I help you today, Mr. Potter?" the goblin said.

"I need to make a will," Harry replied. "I don't know any lawyers. Can you tell me who to see?"

"We can handle that for you, Mr. Potter. We did the same for your parents," the goblin replied. He pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill and ink. "I'll make notes on what you want in your will, and then will have it written out in proper legal language and sent to you for your signature, how's that?"

"That's fine," Harry said, nervous now. He'd been thinking about this for quite a while, and had finally settled on what he wanted to do. "I want to leave some money to Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," he said, watching as the goblin began writing. "The bulk of my estate will go to Ginny Weasley, although her name may be Potter by the time she gets it," he said with a blush.

The goblin looked up at him and smiled a horrible goblin smile. "Getting married soon, are you?"

"Getting engaged, anyway," Harry replied. "But the way my life has been, I suddenly realized I needed to take care of some things, such as making a will, to make certain Ginny's cared for properly." The goblin nodded. "I'd like to give Remus twenty thousand galleons, and Ron and Hermione ten thousand galleons each. I want Ron to have my Firebolt, and Remus to have a set of books I have. Ginny gets my dad's Invisibility Cloak - I'd like that to go to any children we might have. . .if we have children." He stopped and took a deep breath, the implications of what he'd just said having hit him hard. Children. Would he live long enough to have any? He clenched his jaw and disciplined his thoughts, getting back on track. "If any of the people I've named has, um, died before they can receive the money, then it should go to their spouses or children. If Remus has died, the books should go to Hermione. If Ginny and I don't have children, then Ron's children should inherit my Cloak. Ron should be executor, I think."

"I understand," the goblin said as he made more notes.

"But if something has happened to my money and those amounts will cut into Ginny's inheritance too much, then they should be lowered. How do we do that?"

The goblin began explaining to Harry various ways of dividing an estate, and they agreed to terms that pleased Harry.

"Right, then," Harry said with relief when they were done. "Thank you."

"Not a problem, Mr. Potter. This is a simple document. I can have it ready for your signature in about an hour, or I can owl the completed document to you. You'll need to sign both copies and return one to the bank for safekeeping."

"I can come back in an hour or so, sure," Harry said, surprised this task had turned out to be such an easy one.

"Excellent. We'll need two witnesses to your signature. Bank staff can do that for you, if you'd like. Once it's signed and witnessed, I'll keep one copy in the vault for safekeeping, and you keep the other with your important papers."

"All right. Thanks again."

"See you in an hour, then," the goblin said as he held the door for Harry to leave the office.

When he got outside of the bank, Harry glanced around, looking for his friends and Ginny. They were nowhere in sight, which was exactly what he'd hoped for. He stepped into an alley and Disapparated, arriving seconds later in Hogsmeade in front of Mr. Joyero's jewellery shop.

"Hi, Mr. Joyero!" Harry called as he entered the shop.

"Mr. Potter!" the jeweller said with delight. "How lovely to see you again! What can I do for you today?"

"I want to order an engagement ring," Harry said with a smile. "It has to be very special."

"I understand. Do you have any idea what you want?"

"Something sparkly. A diamond, I think. But it needs to be unique too," Harry said, his eyes hopeful. He knew Mr. Joyero was good at coming up with unusual and beautiful jewellery that pleased both Harry and Ginny.

"I'll show you some things that are already made up, and you can tell me if any of those suit your needs," the man said, opening a display cabinet and pulling out a tray of stunning rings. "But if you don't see what you want here, you can tell me if you like one part of a design on a ring, another part of a design on another. Or you can create the design yourself, and I'll make whatever you wish."

"Her hands are small, so the diamond shouldn't be too huge," Harry said cautiously as he admired the rings in the tray. "Maybe about this size," he said, pointing to a ring. "But I don't like that stone. It's not sparkly enough."

"Let me show you some loose stones. You can pick whichever one you want, and I can set it for you," Mr. Joyero said as he pulled out a tray full of diamonds of various sizes and shapes.

Harry studied the stones for a long time in silence, then poked one with his finger, turning it this way and that to catch the light. "They're all beautiful, but I like this one."

"You have a remarkable eye," the jeweller said sincerely. "That's the finest one carat diamond I have. Oval shape, beautifully cut, perfect clarity and the highest quality colour. Let me show it to you," he said, picking the diamond up and snapping it into a holder with small metal prongs, then handing it to Harry along with his jeweller's loupe.

Harry looked at him questioningly, then put the loupe to his eye and peered into the depths of the diamond. "Wow! It's like looking inside a rainbow!" he said with delight.

"This is a wonderful stone, Mr. Potter," the jeweller said. "Does it suit you?"

"You don't think it will be too big for her hand? You've seen her. She has small, dainty hands."

"In the proper setting, this diamond will be perfect on her hand."

"OK, let's talk about the setting," Harry said, his heart lifting as he imagined Ginny's response to the ring.

A short time later, Harry and Mr. Joyero were shaking hands, having agreed to the details involved.

"How much will this cost?" Harry said, suddenly realizing he hadn't asked the price of anything they'd talked about.

Joyero wrote a figure on the order form, then showed it to Harry.

"That's all? I thought it would be a lot more!" Harry said in surprise.

"You have sent me a great deal of business, Mr. Potter, and you, as well as your friends, are regular customers," Mr. Joyero said with a smile, "and truly, I am honoured that you are ordering such a special gift from me. It will be a pleasure for me to know your young lady is wearing this ring."

"Wow, thanks," Harry said sincerely.

"When do you want the ring completed?"

"As soon as possible," Harry replied. "I'm not going to ask her right away, but when I do, I want to have it with me."

"I'll owl it to you when it's ready."

"Please send it to the Boys' Dormitory, Gryffindor Tower, and send it at night, so it doesn't arrive with the morning mail, all right?" Harry asked as he handed the down payment to the jeweller. "Oh, I suppose I could pick out her Valentine's Day gift now, as well," he mused. He walked around the shop looking at the various things on display.

"What about a pendant to match the earrings you bought her for Christmas?"

"She never takes the lion pendant off," Harry said.

"It could be that she never takes it off because you gave it to her," Mr. Joyero said wisely. "Another pendant would give her a choice of things to wear, or you could get something that would look nice with the lion and she could wear them both at the same time. Many ladies do that."

"Really?" Harry replied in surprise. "Huh. OK, you know the lion pendant. What would go well with it?"

"I have this heart-shaped ruby pendant that matches those earrings you bought her," the jeweller said, "and I can put in two chains, one the same length as the lion in case she wants to wear it alone, and a longer one, in case she wants to wear them together."

"You're sure this is the style? To wear them together?" Harry said uncertainly. He didn't pay that much attention to women's jewellery unless it was on Ginny.

"Dear? Would you come here, please?" the jeweller called over his shoulder.

"What do you need?" his wife said as she came into the shop from the workroom behind it. "Ah, hello, Mr. Potter!"

"Hi. Nice to see you," Harry said politely.

"Show Mr. Potter what you're wearing today," Mr. Joyero said.

Mrs. Joyero stepped up to the counter and Harry saw that she had on two necklaces, one a bit longer than the other. One was a beautiful swan whose body was a handsome marquis-cut diamond, the other was a cluster of what looked like flowers made of gemstones with diamonds at the centre. One flower had rubies for the petals, the next one had sapphires, the third emeralds. They were gorgeous necklaces.

"Wow! Those are beautiful!" Harry said sincerely.

"You can see that two pendants that relate to each other in some way - here by having some matching stones - can look wonderful together," Mr. Joyero said simply.

"OK. I'll take that pendant with both chains, then," Harry said, glad to have that decision out of the way, "and with every protection you can put on it."

As the jeweller boxed up the pendant and chains, Harry noticed he had picture frames for sale on a side table. He went over and looked at them. "What do these do?" he asked.

"Nothing. They're just frames," Mr. Joyero replied. "Why?"

"Well. . .I made some frames as presents for my friends, and they were quite happy with them. The pictures change in various ways," he explained. "My girlfriend's dad arranged a meeting for me at the Patent Office this morning to get them patented. I just wondered what kind of market there might be for them. I have a friend who's a photographer who wants to have his own shop when he finishes Hogwarts, and I thought I could market them there."

"So you want to go into manufacturing?" Mr. Joyero asked with interest.

"Not really, but these seem to be a nice present, and I like to make things. It's a sort of hobby of mine, when I have time, to make things with my hands," Harry said modestly.

"If you want, you can make up some frames and I'll offer them here in the shop, see how they do," Mr. Joyero said with a smile. "Could you show me a sample sometime?"

"I have one in my bag, actually. I just showed it to the man in the Patent Office." Harry pulled out Ginny's frame and showed the jeweller what it would do.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Potter! Yes, I think there would be a market for such frames. Work out how much you want for them, bring me some samples to sell, and we'll see what happens, how's that?"

"Really?" Harry said, grinning. "That would be fun. I may not be able to make any until the school term is over, since I'm so busy at school. I'll send you some as soon as I get them made."

"Excellent! I'll see you again soon, then?"

"Absolutely!" Harry replied. "Thanks a lot!" He took his package and waved as he left the store, shoving the small parcel into his pocket.

His business complete, Harry Apparated back to Diagon Alley and strolled through the shops he knew his friends would visit, finally finding them in Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Business all finished?" Ginny asked brightly.

"Yes. Everything's taken care of," he replied, glad he'd had the idea to deal with these things so soon. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and happily followed Ron and Hermione around the shop. He glanced up at the shop's clock every so often. When it was time for him to return to the bank, he said, "I have to go back to Gringotts to sign some paperwork. Won't take a minute."

"We're all done here," Ron said. "We'll go with you, if you want."

"OK," Harry replied, not worried about them seeing him signing the will. They wouldn't know what it was, after all.

When they got to Gringotts, Harry left his friends standing in the lobby while he went into the goblin's office to read over and sign his will.

"All done, Mr. Potter," the goblin said with satisfaction as two other goblins signed on the "witness" lines.

"Thanks," Harry said, rising to leave.

"One thing, Mr. Potter," the goblin said as he handed Harry a copy to keep.

"Yes?"

"You need to tell your friends where to find your will so that, if something should happen to you, they'll know what your wishes were. A man as young as you, most people wouldn't expect him to have a will already. So make sure you tell them where to find it, all right?"

Harry was stunned. He hadn't planned to tell anyone about the will. He'd assumed that somehow, it would be taken care of after he was gone. But what the goblin said made good sense. He sighed as he folded the document and put it in his pocket. "All right. I'll tell them. Thank you."

"Ready to go home?" Harry said as he approached his friends.

"Yeah, but let's get something to eat at the pub first," Ron said. They would be using the Floo Network from the Leaky Cauldron to return to Grimmauld Place.

As they ate sandwiches and drank their butterbeer, Hermione looked at Harry seriously. "What was that all about in the bank, Harry?"

"What do you mean?" he said evasively.

"You signed two copies of something, and then two goblins signed it as well. They were witnessing your signature. They gave you a copy to keep. What were you signing?"

"Nosy little witch, aren't you?" he said flippantly, hoping to get her off the subject.

"You've been very serious the last several days, and far too quiet. What's going on in that head of yours?"

Harry sighed. No time like the present, he thought. May as well get it over with. He looked around to see if anyone was close enough to overhear him. "All right, if you must know. I wrote a will today."

"What!" Ron exclaimed before Hermione shushed him. "Why?" he said in a softer voice. Ginny merely gasped, then swallowed hard, doing her best not to cry.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and held on, nervously fingering his ring. "I didn't want to upset you. That's why I haven't talked about it." She nodded mutely, still clutching his hand tightly and running her fingers over the lion on the ruby in his ring repeatedly.

He looked up at Ron and Hermione and said, "I have this 'destiny' thing hanging over my head," Harry explained, wishing he knew a better way to tell them. "Something could happen to me. If it does, I don't want the Ministry to get my things. I want to have a say in where they go. I have property to deal with, and so on," he said lamely, not wanting to get into the two fortunes, Potter and Black, for which he felt so responsible.

He looked at his two dearest friends and his girlfriend, then sighed. "I may as well tell you everything. The bank has one copy, I have the other. It will be in my trunk, the front left corner, as long as I'm at Hogwarts. Once I'm out of Hogwarts, I'll find another safe place for it, and I'll let you know where that will be. Or maybe I'll just keep it in my trunk. I simply haven't thought that far ahead yet.

"I'm taking Voldemort very seriously. He won't ambush me again if I can help it. The battle will be on my terms. I will destroy him, but if I'm really honest with myself, I have to admit that I don't know if I'll survive the battle." He winced as the girls both stifled sobs. "Don't worry, I plan to survive," he insisted, "but I feel a responsibility to my parents and to Sirius to make sure that what they left me doesn't wind up in the wrong hands. So I made a will. Ron, you're the executor. That means you have to make sure everything is done the way I wanted it in the will. I know I can trust you to do that for me." Ron nodded solemnly.

"You get my Firebolt. I know you already have one, but it wouldn't hurt to have a spare," Harry said with a shrug. "Remus gets that set of books, or if he's already gone, then you get it, Hermione. I don't have any other stuff that's worth worrying about. Ron, you and Hermione and Remus each get some money as well." He glanced up at them, upset to see their white faces as they realized how thoroughly he'd thought this through. "And Ginny, you're my next of kin." He hugged her as she stifled a sob. "Don't worry, baby, I'm just making sure you'll be taken care of. But I plan to be the one to take care of you for as long as you can stand me."

"Forever, then," she said, sniffling.

"Forever and a day," he agreed, then doggedly went back to finishing his task. "You get everything else: the house, the property in Godric's Hollow, my dad's Invisibility Cloak, the bulk of the estate. I had them put your name in the will as 'Weasley' with a notation that it might be 'Potter' by the time the will is read." He looked at her tenderly, and brushed the tears out of her eyes. "Please don't cry. I don't intend to die anytime soon. But I wanted everything to be in place. You do understand, don't you?" He looked around at his friends a bit desperately.

After a long moment, Ron cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, mate, we understand. It's the right thing to do, actually. It's just a bit of a shock. I mean, you're only seventeen!"

"Yeah, that's why the goblin at Gringotts told me to tell my friends about the will, because most people wouldn't expect someone my age to have one."

"Too right," Ron replied edgily.

"Another thing I've been thinking about," Harry said decisively, "is Auror School. I'm going to ask them - if I get in, that is - if I can delay attending for a year or two, however long it takes to get Voldemort. I don't want to face more school with that threat hanging over my head."

"No Auror School?" Ron said, stunned.

"Not for a while. You're still welcome to live with me, Ron. I'll stay at the house when I'm not off chasing Voldemort," Harry said with a sad smile. "I'd enjoy your company."

"Are you going after him alone?" Hermione said in horror.

"I'll work with the Order," Harry replied quietly. "Once he's gone, I'll be free to go to Auror School and get on with my life." He turned to Ginny. "That means you have to wait until he's gone, too, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I won't put you in danger by marrying you while that monster is alive."

"What if you get scouted by a Quidditch team?" Ron asked, remembering their dreams of playing professional Quidditch as well as going to Auror School together.

"That will be a hard choice to make," Harry sighed, "but can you see a Quidditch team wanting me, with Voldemort still after me? He could Portkey me out of a game again! No, I don't think any of them will want me until he's gone." His face was sad but resolute. "I don't see any other way to go on after Hogwarts. This is the best plan I could come up with."

"And you're not the best planner in the world," Hermione reminded him tartly.

"Hermione!" Ginny snapped, ready to do battle to defend Harry's honour.

"Maybe not, but I had to make these choices for myself," he replied quietly.

The group was quiet for several long minutes. Finally, Hermione sighed and said, "I'm sorry for what I said about you not being a good planner, Harry. Given the circumstances, this really is the best plan, I suppose."

"It's the best I could come up with," he agreed. "If you can think of something better, do let me know."

"I will," she promised. "I'm sorry I pushed you into telling," Hermione said, wiping tears from her eyes, "but I think you did the right thing."

"Yeah, me too," he replied. He sighed, sat back in his chair and downed the rest of his butterbeer. "Well, this was fun. Let's go home," he said tiredly.