Harry Potter and the Elemental Heirs

Chapter 3: Confrontation

I don't know your thoughts these days
We're strangers in an empty space
I don't understand your heart
It's easier to be apart

~Keane

The days flew by as summer melted away and September first drew ever closer. Ginny avoided Harry as best she could and when they did stumble across each other, they behaved as if they were distant cousins: polite, formal, detached.

Their conversations usually consisted of phrases such as "Oh, hello," "Nice weather we've been having," and "I think I hear someone calling me," and never lasted for over a minute.

Ginny often felt that Harry's indifference cut with a much sharper blade than when he had never really noticed her at all. Frustration and rage were slowly building up inside her, and she knew it wouldn't be long until something had to give.

And give it did.

One warm evening, Ginny was out in the garden, carelessly skipping rocks on the pond surface and enjoying the sight of frogs leaping every which way trying to avoid them. Sticky sweet heat pressed down like an iron fist, and she pulled her hair back to stop the fiery tendrils from clinging to her face.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw something glinting in the moonlight. Glasses. Harry walked out of the house looking very tired and preoccupied, as if he could hardly bear the thought of facing another day. He strode off toward the gravel path that wound down through the meadow and into the forest. She had seen him going down this path before, but had never thought to follow him, assuming he wanted to be alone.

But something stirred in Ginny this time and she had an urge to go after him. Silently, she followed, hoping to catch a glimpse of what he found so interesting that he wandered out here every night. Staying in the shadows, she took the opportunity to watch him. Harry was in his element now, alone and determined, gliding down the path with panther-like grace. Almost like a lion stalking its prey. On his own, Harry was so sure and determined, and Ginny was irresistibly reminded of the Chamber; Harry, standing next to the diary covered in ink and blood, Gryffindor sword in hand. Confidence and power had seemed to surround him, and it was like that now. He was so different when he was alone, another person entirely.

He ventured off the path and Ginny gasped. He was heading straight for her glade. The small area surrounded by a copse of trees had been her refuge for as long as she could remember. How on earth had Harry found out about it? It was so well hidden that Ginny always had one hundred percent confidence that even Fred and George could never stumble across her there.

She saw him pass through the hanging vines, which strung their way between two tree tops, almost brushing the ground. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself and followed through.

" 'Lo, Ginny," Harry murmured as she entered. He was leaning up against the particularly odd shaped tree in the center of the clearing. It looked as if it had been struck by lightning numerous times, and now had four twisting trunks that pointed in different directions. Mother Nature's hand had weathered it and warped it into abstraction. There were faint scratch marks in the bark that had probably been made by an eager squirrel.

"Oh, hello, Harry," she responded casually, as if she hadn't just followed him all the way down here. "How did you find this place? You know this has been my hideout since I was about seven? No one has ever found it before."

"Really," he said, as though this came as no surprise at all. He suddenly felt his wall of resistance toward Ginny crumble a little. The cracks had been forming ever since he had seen her on the front porch, and now he couldn't keep himself from letting the words tumble from his mouth. "Well, I know this will sound weird, but I just felt it calling to me. It just gives me peace of mind, being here, that's all. So now I come every day. Your house can get pretty insane, you know?"

"Tell me about it," she said, a smile playing about her lips. "But honestly, isn't it a bit strange that we both are the only ones to find this place, after who knows how many generations of Weasleys have lived here? I'm positive that no one else in my family has ever even noticed it."

"I suppose so," Harry said, though he didn't look concerned at all. "Not like it means anything though..."

"I guess you're right. Just a coincidence, of course," she muttered, half to herself, as if she didn't quite believe it.

Ginny turned to leave, but Harry's voice, tinged with annoyance, stopped her in her tracks. "Why did you follow me Ginny?

"What..."

"I knew you were following me. I'm not hoping to be an Auror for nothing." He stood stiffly, clenching his fists.

"Well, I really was under the impression that Aurors had to be somewhat brave, so I don't see how you possibly hope to be one," she responded coldly, crossing her arms and taking a step nearer to the tree. She was sick and tired of his brooding attitude and wasn't about to stand back and let him try to shoulder all his burdens alone.

It took a moment for the impact of this statement to hit him. When it did, Harry leaped up, bright spots of rage on his cheekbones, eyes flashing. "You're going to tell me that I'm not brave?" he demanded incredulously. He looked as though he wanted to say a lot more but he closed his mouth firmly. He collected himself and shoved his hands in his pockets. Once again he merely looked weary. "You know that I could never live with being a coward," he said evenly, looking directly at her.

"I know, Harry," Ginny said softly. "But I'm talking about a different sort of bravery. What you're doing right now, it's not brave or self-sacrificing. It's selfish."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about. What exactly am I doing?" he said firmly, looking ready for a fight.

"You know precisely what I'm talking about Harry James Potter," Ginny threw back, her voice growing angry. "Do you think I'm still a naïve little girl? You think you can protect me from Voldemort by pushing me away? Well let me tell you something: It's my fight too."

"Bloody hell, Ginny!" Harry yelled. "What are you on about? Your fight? I've been marked down since birth as the one to defeat Voldemort!" Harry laughed sardonically as Ginny's eyes widened. "That's right! I know what the prophecy was. Dumbledore told me. He's known all along! Either I kill him or he kills me, that's how it's going to be in the end!" He rapidly repeated the prophecy to her, briefly realizing that she was the only person he had told besides Ron and Hermione. The words flew out of his mouth in anger and pain, burning as they were released.

And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The words rang in Harry's ears, as they had every day since he had heard the prophecy.
If Harry had expected Ginny to be sympathetic or to start apologizing, he was sadly mistaken. "Honestly, I don't give a damn about that prophecy, Harry! I already knew you were going to be the one to face him in the end, and this doesn't change anything! At one point, I knew Tom better than I knew myself! I know he won't let it go, and he will always want revenge." Her face was now bright pink with fury and her eyes flashed dangerously. If looks could kill, Harry knew he would long since be dead. "Voldemort left a mark on me too, even if you can't see it! He stole a part of me, an element of my innocence and childhood, and I will never forgive him that!"

Harry suddenly noticed how close together they were standing, and briefly wondered how that had happened. Ginny was trembling with rage and opened her mouth to start yelling at him again but never had the chance as Harry had covered her mouth with his. Ginny melted into the kiss for a moment before roughly pushing him away. "Oh so now you can just kiss me and make it all go away?!" she demanded, breathing heavily. "It's not that black and white Harry! Maybe it is for you, but I don't easily forgive people who have spent the last several months pretending I hardly exist."

Harry simply looked overwhelmed and confused, as though he wasn't sure what had just happened. He had always been the type of person to follow his instincts and that was exactly what he had just done. Why do I have to be so impulsive? he mentally berated himself, before looking up to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry Gin. I just wasn't thinking..."

She silenced him with a finger. "I know Harry. Just promise me one thing," she said, poking him hard in the ribs. "Never shut me out again. No matter what. And respect me enough to let me make my own decisions. I meant what I said before. This is my fight too."

"Fine," Harry answered with a sigh, though he had no intention of ever letting her get anywhere near Voldemort. "I have to leave now." With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the glade, leaving Ginny to watch him go, her heart still going a mile a minute and her hands still shaking.

One gloomy day, when rain clouds sagged heavily in the ash gray skies and threatened to unleash a torrent of rain at any second, a large lump of tawny feathers collided with the Burrow's kitchen window.

"Looks like someone's been using Windex," Harry said, snickering. Hermione joined in, while the entire Weasley family looked thoroughly baffled. "Never mind," he said, "Muggle cleaning products..."

Mr. Weasley looked fascinated and opened his mouth, no doubt to begin asking numerous questions about these cleaning products, but was cut off by Hermione's excited squeal. "Our Hogwarts letters! They're finally here!"

Ginny groaned. She would be getting back her O.W.L. results and was quite certain she had done miserably.

Her mother sat at the end of the table, urging Ginny to open her letter. "Go on, dear. I'm sure you did just fine." Her tone was comforting, but Ginny knew her mother would be furious if she had done poorly.

She hastily ripped open the seal, anxious to get it over with and grabbed the paper containing her results. Her mouth formed a small "o" of surprise as she read the total. "Twelve," she gasped. "How in Merlin's name did I pull that off?"

Mrs. Weasley bustled over and threw her arms around her petite daughter. "Mum...can't...breathe," Ginny choked, and finally writhed out of her grasp, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, Ginny! I am so proud of you! I knew you could do it."

Ginny snuck a glance at Harry, but he simply looked down at his hands and mumbled a congratulations.

Hermione sat in her chair, frozen and staring at her unopened letter. Her hands trembled and finally she sighed and placed the letter back on the table. "I can't do it," she stated. "I just can't."

Ron laughed and snatched the letter up quickly. "I'll open it, Hermione. Never fear," he said in a valiant tone, as if he were volunteering to rescue her from a particularly menacing dragon.

He opened the envelope and drew out the contents, placing aside the supplies list and looking down at the other small bit of parchment it contained. "Head Girl..." he began reading out loud, "Hermione Granger!"

Hermione sat for a moment, mouth open in shock, before leaping up and pulling Ron into a tight hug. "I did it?! I never really expected to get it! Oh dear!" She kissed Ron on the cheek and began receiving hugs from everyone. Ron's ears turned bright red and he mumbled some incoherent words. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure as the Weasleys all took turns congratulating her.

"Well done, Hermione."

"Brilliant!"

"You'll never be able to get into trouble now. And neither will we for that matter..."Harry said, grinning merrily as Hermione shot him a look that clearly said 'don't-even-think-about-it.' "So who's Head Boy?"

"Oh...right." Ron picked up the slip again. His face suddenly went from pink to a pasty white. He gulped. "Head Boy...Draco Malfoy."