One of A Kind

Chapter 4: Back to Normal

Harry smiled as Avril joined them at the Gryffindor table, sitting down across from Harry. She was clearly very happy about the Sorting Hat's decision as well, her eyes sparkling in delight.

"So, welcome to Gryffindor then," Ron said.

 She nodded emphatically while sipping her pumpkin juice. Harry glanced to his left at Ginny. She was glaring at Avril, her expression one of pure fury. He gently touched her arm, and she looked up at him, the anger fading from her face.

"What's wrong, Gin?" he asked. Seeing the concern in his deep green eyes, Ginny felt her stomach turn. Reluctantly, she broke eye contact, looking at her hands, which lay in her lap. His touch was burning into her arm, a sensation that made it immensely difficult to speak.

"It's just that she was rude to me earlier."

"Who? Avril?" he asked, an expression of confusion on his face. She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"On the train, and then when we arrived."

"Wow, I can't see her being rude to anyone, although I guess she did brush you off on the train. Come to think of it, she brushed me off as well. Ah, well, I believe you, Gin." Then, with no warning at all, his hand was grasping hers. She was suddenly very glad that she had kept her head down, because she was sure her face was now as red as her hair.

~*~
A few days later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Avril were all at breakfast when Hedwig, Harry's snowy owl, swept into the Great Hall, a copy of the Daily Prophet tied to her leg. She landed on the table, allowing Harry to remove the paper.

"Oh, she is so beautiful!" Avril squealed. She moved her hand toward Hedwig, looking at Harry for permission.

"Sure, you can pet her," he said.

 Immediately, Avril was stroking the owl's soft white feathers. He saw Ginny roll her eyes and sighed softly. The animosity between Ginny and Avril had only increased since the first night back. As he unfolded his mail, Ron and Hermione huddled in around him. The headline read Well-known Wizarding Family Found Dead. They read over the article, and Harry felt his blood boil as he noted that the Ministry of Magic was still denying that the numerous deaths over the past months were related to Voldemort. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had refused to believe that Voldemort had risen again. The cause of death was listed as unknown.

"How can they deny it?!" Harry demanded.

Ron and Hermione both shook their heads, clearly at a loss for words. Avril stopped stroking Hedwig, who hooted softly before flying out of the Hall.

"Harry, what are you so upset about? What's happened?" she asked, her voice rising in panic.

"The Ministry still denies that Voldemort has any connection to all the attacks," Ron answered, flinching as he spoke the name. Since their last day of fourth year, Ron had decided that he was going to stop referring to Voldemort as "You-Know-Who", as had Hermione and Ginny.

"I don’t understand that," Ginny said angrily. "It’s pretty obvious who is behind them."

"Well, if Fudge denies it, then the rest of the Ministry follows suit," Hermione said logically.

"That stupid git! He just doesn’t want to see it," Ron said, brown eyes flashing in anger. Harry glanced at Avril and saw tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Avril, what's wrong?" Hermione asked. Avril looked at Harry.

"That laughter, that was Voldemort wasn't it? I never made the connection before now. You saw him rise, and saw him kill that boy."

Harry nodded slowly, and Avril's tears turned into sobs.

"H-He, He's after you isn't he?"

Again, he nodded.

"Aren't you scared?" she asked, her eyes searching his as her tears began to subside.

"I'm terrified," he whispered, "but letting that fear rule my life will only be letting him win." Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement, and Avril seemed to understand, as she said no more about it. Harry threw the paper onto the table and led them out of the Great Hall.

~*~

The room was cold and dark, barely furnished. A large snake was curled up in the floor beside the fireplace. All seemed peaceful, but a sense of danger hung in the air. There was the sound of footsteps approaching, getting ever closer. Then, they stopped. The door opened, and two figures entered. The air grew colder, and the fire went out, what little light it had provided immediately leaving the room. One figure was thrown upon the floor, making a loud thud. The other raised his wand, and muttered

"Crucio!"

The person on the floor began to writhe in agony, the white-hot pain coursing through every part of his body. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. The attacker moved forward, aiming his wand at the other's head.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry awoke with a start, his scar burning. He was drenched in a cold sweat. He glanced over at Ron's bed, considering waking him up, but decided against it. Silently, he stood up and left the dormitory, heading for the common room. When he got there, he saw another figure huddled in the chair facing the fire. He recognized the mane of red hair, and walked toward her. He knelt down beside her chair, lightly resting his hand on her shoulder. She jerked suddenly, raising her gaze to his. Her brown eyes were wide with fear, shimmering with unshed tears.

"Gin, why are you awake at this hour?" he asked gently. He pushed her hair out of her face, trying to ignore the feeling he got from touching her.

"I had another nightmare," she said.

"Me, too," he admitted. Her eyes bore into his. When he had stayed at the Burrow before the start of term, he and Ginny had both spent a lot of time together. He had discovered that she had frequent night terrors, as he did, and they had a lot of late night talks. She had been the only person he had confided in.

"Gin, nothing is going to happen to you," he said, wishing he could be sure of that.

 At his words, she closed her eyes tightly, tears coursing down her face. He swallowed the tears burning his throat, knowing he had to be strong for her. But her tears cut him to the core, and he found himself drawing her close in a hug. She clung to him tightly as he stroked her hair gently. After a few moments, her tears subsided, but she didn't pull away. She needed him like she needed oxygen, and for this moment, she had him. She wanted it to last forever. She breathed in deeply, burning the memory into her mind, and reluctantly pulled back. Harry was gazing at her in a way that made her heart nearly jump out of her chest. There was something in his eyes, something she dared not hope for. Her nightmare was far from her mind now. Harry would protect her, as he always had.

~*~

He awakened the next morning to shouts, and it took a moment for him to realize that he was in the common room. He automatically glanced around for Ginny, and felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when he found that she was gone. He could only imagine what Ron would say if he had found them asleep side by side, and all possible scenarios were bad. Wait a second! Isn't that Ron's voice? Harry listened closer to the angry voices, recognizing his two best friends.

"Why are you so interested in my trip anyway?" Hermione demanded.

"Because I want to know what happened with that ugly git!"

"I seem to remember you following Victor around, wanting his autograph."

"But I didn't date him, did I?!"

"Well, I should hope not." This remark caused Harry to chuckle to himself. "Ron, have you ever thought that maybe you are jealous?"

Uh-oh! She should not have said that, Harry thought, waiting for Ron's reaction.

"ME, jealous of that oaf? Yeah, right! Why would I ever be jealous of him?"

Harry happened to agree with Hermione that Ron was incredibly jealous, but for one main reason.

"Maybe because he is a professional Quidditch player, maybe because he has girls chasing him, or maybe because you think he has me!" Hermione said.

Silence followed this comment, and Harry looked up to see Ron blushing furiously. He seemed to be trying to say something, but couldn't get it out. Harry stood up to make his presence known, and Hermione looked at him in shock, her cheeks instantly turning crimson.

"Why did you sleep down here?" she asked.

"Nightmare," he answered quickly. "Let's get down to breakfast, shall we."As he led them out of the common room, he thought to himself, At least things are back to normal.