Harry Potter Book 7

~Chapter Four~

Beneath the Moonlight

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Fred, Percy, Ginny and Lupin were downstairs, dressed and talking quietly to each other when Harry, Ron and Hermione joined them.

"Oh good, you're finally here," Mrs. Weasley said. "What took you three so long to get down here?"

"Nothing, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said hastily.

Lupin held out a phial of potion to Harry.

"Drink this, Harry."

"What is it?" Harry asked him.

"Enhanced Polyjuice potion," Lupin replied briskly. "The potion will change your appearance for longer than the usual one hour. And you need a new identity. You're new name is Patrick Simons. You are Ron's friend, staying at his place for the Summer holidays, okay?"

Harry nodded.

"And you two are to always call him Patrick whenever you're in public," Lupin added to Ron and Hermione. "Anyone could be watching anytime and if you call Patrick Harry, it'll raise suspicious."

"Okay," Ron and Hermione said together.

All of them watched as Harry raised the potion to his lips and he drained it all in a gulp.

It tasted exactly like he remembered it-like overcooked cabbage.

At once, he felt his very skin and insides begin to write violently. The phial fell to the floor from his hand and shattered.

"Harry!" Ron, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley cried anxiously.

Mrs. Weasley started forwards but Lupin held out a hand to stop her.

Harry felt as if though his skin were bubbling. He felt his face, nose and mouth all change shape. He felt his entire body transform and he even almost felt his hair change colour. Finally, it all stopped and Harry stood, trembling and gasping for breath.

Everyone let out a cry of amazement except Lupin who glanced wearily at Harry.

Mr. Weasley conjured a mirror out of thin air and handed it to Harry.

Harry gazed into the mirror at his reflection.

His eyes had turned a hazel brown and his hair likewise, except a lighter shade. His nose was slightly longer and his mouth shorter and thinner.

He looked up at them all, at a complete loss of words.

"Let's go, Patrick Simons," Lupin said crisply.

Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys stepped out into the fresh, chilly morning air, shivering slightly; misty fog rising into the air every time they breathed.

Lupin was the last to exist the house and closed the door of Grimmauld Place firmly and the house shrank and was squeezed out of sight by the other houses on either side of it.

They all trooped down the steps and stopped on the edge of the square outside the house.

Mrs. Weasley flung out her wand arm.

Bang!

A purple, triple-decker bus appeared out of thin air and sped dangerously down the lane towards them making some shrubs leap backwards out of the way to avoid being hit.

It screeched to a halt in front of them. The door opened and a grumpy-looking man with greying hair and thick spectacles climbed out and said in a crisp, stern voice, "Welcome to the Knight-"

"Yes yes, thank you," Mrs. Weasley cut across him, prodding everyone onto the bus. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were last to enter the bus. The conductor jumped in after them and the doors slid shut.

Harry glanced at the conductor as the party shuffled down the bus to a group of vacant, mismatched chairs.

"Isn't Stan Shunpike the conductor of the Knight Bus?" he said in an undertone to Hermione and Ron.

"Not anymore," Mr. Weasley answered quietly who had heard what Harry said. "The Ministry of Magic is still holding Stan Shunpike on Death Eater charges. They needed a new one to replace him."

They each gave the new conductor some silver each and with a satisfied grunt, he headed back to the front of the bus without another glance at them.

At once, the bus exploded forwards with a loud bang! that nearly unseated Ron, Hermione and Harry.

Ron was thrown forwards off his chair onto the floor face-first. Hermione swayed on her seat and toppled, but managed to prevent herself from falling by grabbing Harry on the arm who had seized another chair to steady himself. He looked out the window and saw they were rolling down a busy London street.

They all remained silent during the ride to Diagon Alley except for Ron's muttered cursing every time the bus burst forwards with another violent bang! hurling Ron from his seat once again and Hermione's quiet whimpering of terror.

After about ten minutes, the conductor called from the front of the bus in a bored voice, "Next stop, Leaky Cauldron."

"That's us," Ron said, springing to his feet, clearly desperate to get off the bus.

"Ron, sit down!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "Before-"

The bus screeched to a sudden halt and Ron, still standing, was thrown forwards with tremendous force.

He flew forward six feet and smashed into a circle of chairs knocking them over.

"Ron!" Mrs. Weasley cried, jumping up at once and hurrying over to her son who was lying stunned admist the rubble of chairs. She pulled Ron to his feet who was dazed.

A moment later, the conductor helped support Ron off the bus with Fred and George roaring with laughter, swearing darkly under his breath.

"Fred, George, that's quite enough!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at the two twins. Both had tears of mirth streaming down their cheeks.

"Come on boys, let's stop wasting time," Mr. Weasley said in a serious tone. "The quicker we get our shopping done, the better..."

Harry noticed that he looked carefully around the packed street as he said this.

Muggles were casting curious glances at the group and the Knight Bus.

Mrs. Weasley pushed the door to the Leaky Cauldron open and ushered them all in side.

Harry turned, but the Knight Bus was already gone-it's disappearance into thin air went quite unnoticed by the Muggles.

Harry was not surprised to see the Leaky Cauldron as empty as it was last year-no doubt people felt safer in their homes from Voldemort than sitting in pubs.

Tom, the toothless landlord, peered almost desperately at them.

Mr. Weasley eyed him pitifully and told Mrs. Weasley, "I think I'll get a drink. You take the kids to Diagon, Molly."

"Oh, I don't know, Arthur..." Mrs. Weasley said uncertainly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll catch up with you all later."

Mrs. Weasley nodded reluctantly and beckoned to the rest of the party while Mr. Weasley sidled up to the bar and started a quiet conversation with the landlord.

They emerged into the small courtyard at the back of the bar. Percy withdrew his wand and rapped a particular brick in the wall. The bricks around the one Percy had tapped with his wand melted away to create a large archway that led into the long, winding street of Diagon Alley.

"We need to buy dressings and other things for the wedding," Mrs. Weasley said.

"And I need to buy my school stuff for the new year," Ginny piped up.

"New year?" Harry said, surprised. "Is Hogwarts going to stay open?"

"Yes, Harr-er, Patrick," Mrs. Weasley said distractedly.

"We should split up," Lupin suggested.

"Well..." Mrs. Weasley said in an agitated, apprehensive voice.

"I'll go with Ginny to buy her things while you can buy your wedding dresses-it'll save a lot of time."

"I'll go with Ginny," Harry added at once.

"We'll go to," chimed in Ron and Hermione.

"So you can go with Percy, Fred and George, Molly. I'll watch over Patrick, Ron, Hermione and Ginny."

"Oh, very well, then," Mrs. Weasley conceded. "Just be careful you lot."

"We will," Ron assured her.

"We have to go check up on our shop," Fred informed his mother. "We left Verity to look after it and we have to go see how she's doing."

"No, I don't want us all to split up more than we have-"

"We'll be fine, mum," George said smoothly. "Honest."

"Oh-but-well, oh, alright then," Mrs. Weasley burst out, now red in the face. "And heaven forbid you come to any harm."

"Okay, then," Fred said brightly.

"See you, mum," George added, giving her a merry wave before the twins set off down the street to they're premises.

"We'll all meet back here at twelve o' clock," Mrs. Weasley insisted.

Lupin nodded and he, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny set off while Percy and Mrs. Weasley hurried off in another direction.

"I didn't know Hogwarts was staying open," Harry said to Lupin.

"Professor McGonagall met with Rufus Scrimgeour and they agreed that it should stay open for at least another year," Lupin replied wearily. "Some parents, even though there are very few, want their kids to still go back to Hogwarts and parents have the right to expect the school to be open for their kids at all times, no matter what the situation."

"Does that mean we'll have to go back for our seventh year?" Ron asked.

Lupin gave Ron a quizzical look.

"Were you planning not to return to Hogwarts for your seventh year?"

Ron half-glanced at Harry and said uncomfortably, "Well..."

"Your mother would want you to go back and complete your education," Lupin said, frowning at Ron.

"Patrick's coming back too," Ginny piped up. "Aren't you, Patrick?"

Hermione and Ron both turned to stare at Harry.

Harry considered whether he should tell Lupin and Ginny he was not planning to return to Hogwarts, even if it remained open. He had to set out to find and track down the Horcruxes...

"Patrick?" Ginny said loudly bringing Harry back to earth.

"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm coming back..." Harry lied nervously.

They waited outside Flourish and Bott's while Ginny went inside to buy her new school books.

Ron and Hermione kept throwing worried glances at Harry as if though afraid the Polyjuice potion might wear off at any moment and Harry would return to normal. After an hour of shopping, they returned to where they had separated with Mrs. Weasley to find her awaiting them, looking harassed.

"Oh good, you're all here," she said, sounding immensely relieved.

"Where's Fred and George," Ron asked her.

"They want to stay at their premises," Mrs. Weasley answered resentfully. "And now that they're legally adults, they are free to make their own decisions and are fully aware of the consequences those decisions carry. I must respect their own decisions."

That evening, when they had returned to Grimmauld Place, Harry paced in his room while Ron and Hermione watched him, his appearance returned to normal after the Polyjuice potion.

"You told Ginny a lie," Hermione said sharply. "You know you're not going back to Hogwarts."

"What was I supposed to have told her?" Harry snapped back. "That I was going to go hunt Voldemort and I might not be coming back alive?"

"You can't keep hiding this from her! The longer you keep it from her, the more hurt she'll be when you eventually have to leave!" Hermione retorted angrily.

"I already told her last year!" Harry yelled. "She knows we can't be together and I'll have to go hunt Voldemort without her!"

"You have to tell her you're not going back to Hogwarts and that you can't see each other again!" Hermione shouted. "Harry! Voldemort will use her against you! What will you do then?"

"Alright!" Harry bellowed.

Both of them fell silent, breathing deeply and glaring at each other while Ron looked awkwardly from one to the other.

Dinner was a very uncomfortable affair that night for the three of them. Ron kept looking nervously from Harry to Hermione, as if though afraid they would both start shouting at each other again.

Ginny was oblivious to this and was chatting merrily to Percy while the adults talked quietly amongst themselves.

Finally, after an hour, Ginny rose from the table and stated that she needed to go back upstairs.

Hermione threw Harry a look full of meaning. Sighing inwardly, he abruptly stood up, pushing his chair back with a scraping sound and declared he needed to retire early too.

He caught the curiousness in Mrs. Weasley's gaze as she watched him walk out of the room.

Once out of the kitchen, he sped up.

"Ginny. Hey, Ginny!"

She turned and waited for him to catch up.

"Hi, Harry."

"Ginny, could I have a word with you please?"

"Okay, in my room?"

Harry was taken aback for a moment. Then he nodded.

They walked upstairs and entered Ginny's room; she closed the door softly and turned to him.

Harry felt a little uneasy and jumpy.

"Ginny..." he began. "...you know we can't be together..."

"Why?" she whispered, her eyes shining with tears of sadness.

"Because I don't want Voldemort to hurt you," Harry said firmly, trying to keep his voice stable and carefully not looking at her.

"I don't care if Voldemort hurts me," Ginny said boldly. She reached out her arm and grabbed Harry's hand. "I don't care. As long as we're together."

"I care," Harry said steadily, still refusing to meet her eyes.

She smiled sorrowfully at him through her tears.

"You know, to be honest, I'm actually glad you have to go hunt Voldemort."

"Why?"

"Because I know you can destroy him. And once he's gone, there's nothing that can stop us from being together."

Despite the lump in his throat, Harry laughed.

"Will you promise me then?" Ginny demanded. "Will you promise me that once you kill Voldemort, we can be together?"

"I promise," vowed Harry quietly.

They smiled sadly and hugged each other tightly.

After a while that seemed like forever, they broke apart.

"But I might not survive it," Harry warned her. "What if you or I are killed before I can kill him?"

"It won't happen," Ginny said fiercely and passionately. "We won't let that happen no matter what. We'll live through this darkness to be together some day. One sunny day where the sky is a bright blue and cloudless once again..."

"I don't want to lose you, Ginny," Harry murmured.

She lead him to the other end of the bedroom where she pushed open a pair of doors with glass panes in them.

He followed her out onto a small balcony.

It was a beautiful night. The sky was deep shade of blue and there wasn't a wisp of cloud in sight. The vast space of blue was scattered with thousands of stars that shone like clear diamonds and twinkled peacefully down on them.

Ginny climbed up and on the edge of the banister. Harry joined her and together they sat on the edge of the balcony gazing up at the heavenly full moon. It hung among the sea of stars like a perfectly round crystal orb that bathed them in soft, white moonlight.

"It's a beautiful night," Harry observed. "Since this will probably be our last time together for a long time, we should enjoy it."

"Venus is seventy degrees parallel to Mars," Ginny said quietly, pointing at the bright green star. "An unlucky planetary position for people born in July."

Harry looked enquiringly at her.

"Professor Trelawney," she simply said and they both laughed.

"I can't wait for the war to be over," Ginny sighed. "Then we can all live peacefully like we did at Hogwarts in our earlier years."

"Do you think we'll make it?" Harry said, turning to gaze straight into her eyes. He could see the moon reflected in them.

"Yes."

Harry leaned forward and they slowly kissed. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he put his hands on her waist.

"Isn't that romantic?" Hermione sighed blissfully to Ron.

They had both been crouching outside the bedroom for the past fifteen minutes, listening to Harry and Ginny's conversation through the door.

"Yeah, romantic," Ron grumbled, rubbing his knees. "Can we stop watching my sister snog one of my best friends now? I'm cold and me knees are getting sore."

"Ron," Hermione snapped. "You are so heartless."

"No I'm not!" Ron protested. "It's just it's starting to hurt after kneeling on the floor for a quarter of an hour!"

"Then how come my knees aren't hurting?" Hermione demanded.

"I dunno, I suppose it's because you've gotten used to listening in on other people's private conversations outside the door?"

"How dare you!"

Harry and Ginny smiled at each other as they heard Ron and Hermione's argument outside the bedroom grow louder and more heated, the quarrelling pair quite unaware that they had given themselves away.

Ignoring Hermione and Ron's now shrill voices, Ginny laid her head on Harry's shoulder and he put his arms her as turned their faces to the sky to watch the stars shine in what would most probably be their last, happy, peaceful moment together for a very long time.