Harry Potter and the Loss of Innocence

Chapter Six: Why Didn't You?

When you are with m
I'm free... I'm careless... I believe...
Above all others we'll fly.
~Creed: My Sacrifice

Harry threw the bucket full of water on the sleeping girl and yelled, "Happy birthday, Gin!" He laughed at the sputtering Ginny. He was alone in this wake up call because Ron had chickened out. He hadn't even asked Hermione. He knew that she would have told Ginny in a heartbeat.

"There are dryer ways to wake me up!" she yelled indigently.

"Yes, there are, but what fun is that?" Harry repeated the girl's comment to him on his birthday.

"Mr. Harry James Potter! You! Are! A! Prat!" She threw her pillow at him. He caught it in mid air and bowed to her, twirling his hand several times.

"Why thank you, Miss Ginerva Molly Weasley. I take that as the greatest compliment coming from you, a younger sister to six prats. It is the highest compliment you could have given me." Harry bowed again. "If the Lady would like, I could give her her gift now. But I doubt she wants a gift from a prat, so I'll be on my way. Oh, and your mother says hurry up or breakfast will be gone by the time you get down there."

"Mr. Potter, get your sorry butt back in here. I'll take your gift now, if you want to give it to me." Harry looked at Ginny's eager face and he smiled at her. He knew Ginny loved to get gifts just as much as Ron did, so he was going to make her earn it.

"No, I'm going to make you wait, Gin. It'll be good for you." He bowed once more and she threw her other pillow at the back of his head. "My Lady, that was a cheap shot. I am sorely disappointed in you." And he hurried down to help in the kitchen before she could hit him again.

"You're alive, mate," Ron uttered in disbelief. "I'm impressed. The last time we woke Ginny up with a bucket of water we had hex marks for weeks. Mom was furious, 'cause she got a letter from the Ministry." Ron and Bill started to laugh. Harry had learnt several things about the relationship between Ginny and her brothers. One, she could play innocent extremely well and had the ability to get her brothers in trouble for her misdeeds. Second, even when Ginny did get in trouble she was hardly yelled at when compared to the yelling the boys got. And thirdly, the brothers loved it when she did get screamed at and pranked.

Harry smiled a knowing smile and told them conspiratorially, "I moved her wand and placed it in a very safe spot." The two brothers laughed, awe showing on their faces. No one did that to Ginny and lived to talk about it.

"And where is that, Harry?" Hermione asked him.

"Wrapped up in the box her present is in. And she won't be opening it until after dinner." Harry said patting one of his pockets. The twins who had just entered the kitchen started laughing. Hermione scowled at him.

"HARRY POTTER, WHERE IS MY WAND? YOU PRAT!" Ginny's thunderous voice drifted down the stairs.

"Ahh, the sound of an angel," Fred said dreamily.

"I always knew she was following in Mother's holy way," George said, looking up to the ceiling with his hands clasped near his heart.

"Be quiet you, two!" Ginny yelled as she entered the kitchen. She stomped over to Harry and glared at him. "First, you douse me with water, then you mock me." She took a breath; she was furious and Harry had a hard time not smiling at her. "Then, then you offer me your gift, but won't give it to me!" The twins oh'ed and ah'ed at Harry's daring; laughing as they went back outside with some plates. "Then, you insult me again! And now I can't find my wand, AND I KNOW WHO TOOK IT!! GIVE IT BACK!!"

Harry stared at her calmly, but he could feel the corners of his mouth curl up in a smile. "Now, Gin, that's not a very lady like thing to do. You should be composed and not at the top of a towering tantrum." Ron started to laugh even harder. Harry couldn't believe he was teasing her like this. When had he gotten the guts to do this?

She stared at him for a moment and then put out her hand expectantly. Harry just shook his head and grabbed a dish filled with eggs. "I'm sorry, Gin, but your behavior doesn't warrant the return of your wand. I am truly sorry." He stepped out the back door and a huge smile lit his face.

"You mark my words, Harry James Potter. When I get that wand back--and I will--I am going to hex you into next week." Harry shuddered involuntarily. Her hexes were always good ones and usually hurt in some way. He would need to come up with some way to deter her from seeking revenge.

The day was just as wonderful as Harry's birthday, though Ginny was irritated with Harry the whole time. Everyone found out about his wake-up call and his stealing her wand. He received a few compliments and it amused everyone. He just wished that Ginny wasn't so angry with him.

The feast Mrs. Weasley made for her youngest daughter was amazing. The tables out in the garden were groaning under the weight of all the dishes and the smell that drifted up to the house was delicious. Tonks and Shacklebolt were there for this meal. They had been switched to the day shift just a day after they had gone to Diagon Alley. Fred and George were talking to them quietly and all of a sudden Tonks' loud laugh rang out along with Shacklebolt's deep chuckle. All four of them looked from Harry to Ginny. Harry had a strong suspicion that they were talking about the events of the morning.

Mr. Weasley was home, thankfully, and was talking to Remus and Hestia, who was a family friend. "Did you hear about that Muggle attack over the full moon?" he was asking them.

"Yes, I did," Remus answered sadly, while Hestia nodded her head. "I don't understand why some werewolves must do things like that. It just gives the rest of us a bad name."

"Yes, it just doesn't seem right," Hestia answered quietly. "But they are people, just like we are and can make the same stupid mistakes as the rest of us."

Mr. Weasley nodded but added "Only for the rest..."

"Please, let me cut it, Bill" Mrs. Weasley's voice came floating to him.

"No, Mum, I like it this way. And so does Melissa," Bill said calmly.

"Who's Melissa?" Harry asked Ron, who had his mouth filled with food.

"Wem, Mewissa is hi' girlfriem'" Ron answered around the potatoes.

"Ron, please, that's so disgusting," Hermione chided from Ron's other side. Ron took a big gulp and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry, 'Mione. I just forget."

"Just forget! Ron, you talk with your mouth full all..." Harry tuned out his best friends' argument. He had gotten very good at that over the five years he'd known them. Instead he turned to Ginny, who ironically, was sitting next to him.

"Who's Melissa?" Harry asked her, praying that she wouldn't bite his head off. She continued eating as if she hadn't heard him and Harry sighed. Fred, George, Tonks, and Shacklebolt all laughed again and Harry noticed that they were watching Ginny and himself closely. "You know, your brothers all find it amusing that you aren't talking to me. You could wipe the smile off their faces by answering me."

Ginny looked over at the twins who were now laughing hysterically and pointing at them. She rolled her eyes and said, "Melissa is Bill's girlfriend. They met at Gringott's and became fast friends last fall. When Fleur broke up with him over Christmas, she helped him through it. He asked her out some time in April and they've been dating since. Alright?" Harry was sorry he asked. Her voice was cold and she never even looked at him. He was about to apologize when Bill shouted:

"Mum, lay off. I want my hair long and it's going to stay long!" Everyone at the table started to laugh at the two fighting people. It seemed Mrs. Weasley hadn't been able to help herself and had grabbed Bill's ponytail. Bill yanked it out of her hands, grabbed his plate, and headed to the kitchen. It seemed that that was the signal for everyone else to get up and leave the table. (They had, with the exclusion of Ron, finished eating a while ago.)

Ginny opened all her gifts, minus Harry's, everyone settling down in the living room, trying to find a good spot to sit. Fred and George cornered Harry once more afterwards and congratulated him for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"I thought we all agreed not to prank her," Fred said forlornly.

"Yes, I did too. You should have told us, Harry," George said quietly. "We would have kept your secret and helped you, too."

"But now you have to deal with her revenge," Fred sadly added. "It was nice knowing you."

"Yes, it was nice knowing you," George piped in. "If you think facing a Dark Lord is bad, well, just you wait and see. Ginny's a thousand times worse," he finished gloomily. Harry couldn't tell for sure, but he thought Ginny had heard them, for she got up and went outside.

"Hey, Harry, you want to lose a game of chess to me?" Ron asked him.

"No, no. I think I'm going to go give Gin her gift," Harry said, getting up and heading out the door. He looked around for the girl, but couldn't see her anywhere. He thought for a moment and then headed for the pond. She liked to sit on the log and think, so he figured she'd be there.

And Harry had guessed right. She was sitting on the log where Remus had given Harry his gift. "Would you like your gift now?" he asked her quietly, taking a seat next to her.

"Yes." There was a tremble in her voice that surprised Harry.

"What's the matter, Gin?" He went over and sat next to her.

She looked away and sighed, "Nothing. Are you going to give me my present or not?" There was a little bitterness there.

"Well, if it'll make you happy than I will," Harry hoped that he hadn't caused her to be hurt. "But you have to promise me that you won't seek revenge once school starts or ever. Promise?"

"Promise." Harry handed her the box with her wand in it.

"If you would have asked me nicely I would have given you your wand back. That's all that's in that box. Here's your present." He gave her the other box. She unwrapped it and opened the box.

"Oh, Harry it's beautiful!" She launched herself at Harry and gave him a hug and Harry hugged her back. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Tonks put me on the idea when I couldn't come up with anything else. I picked out the stone and she told me how to make it. I changed the plan a little, but, yeah." He shrugged. "So you like it?"

"Like it?" She paused holding the stone up in the light from the house. "No, I love it. Is that a butterfly inside?" Harry nodded. "I love butterflies! Could you put it on?" She handed the necklace to him and pulled her hair to the side. Harry reached around her to grab the other end of the necklace, but stopped. "What's the matter, Harry?"

"I was just thinking that you looked pretty in the moonlight." Ginny turned around and looked up at him. They were so close and Harry could feel his mouth lower towards hers.

"Ginny! Harry! Time for cake!" Harry looked up at the house filled with Ginny's older brothers.

"We should, um, hurry up. Or it'll all be gone," Ginny mumbled nervously.

"Yeah. Here let me put this on though." He pulled her a little closer and fastened the clasp. "Happy birthday, Gin."

They started to walk up to the house, but Ginny stopped and looked at him.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For the necklace and for making it for me. If it had been Ron or any of my other brothers, they would have asked Tonks to make it. And for waking me up this morning, I've actually missed that."

"No problem, Gin. That's what," he paused for a second then finished, "friends are for." Harry didn't like the way that came out, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Where were you two?" the ever-nosy Ron asked.

"Harry gave me his gift," Ginny answered without saying where. "Isn't it pretty?"

"That's wonderful, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said admiring it. "Where'd you get it?"

"He made it, mum," Ginny stated while fingering it lovingly.

"That's nice of you, Harry," she said giving him a smile. She then turned to her sons and asked, "How come you boys aren't so sweet?"

"Thanks, Harry," Fred said scornfully.

"Yeah," George added. "Now we have to compete with that standard."

"That's just fabulous, Harry," Fred finished.

Ginny glared at them. "Harry gave me my wand back too."

"Thanks, Harry," George started.

"Yeah," Fred added. "Now we have to watch our mouths."

"That's just fabulous, Harry," George finished. Everyone laughed at the two, everyone but Ron and Hermione, who were both watching Ginny and Harry closely. They were standing closer than need be and Ron could see the attraction between their hands.

Ron leaned close to Hermione's ear and whispered, "Why doesn't he just ask her out?"

"Why didn't you?" Hermione countered her boyfriend.

He nodded sagely and whispered back, "Point well taken."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later, Harry found himself alone with Remus. Harry looked at the man and was happy to see the laugh lines on his face. Remus seemed so happy with Tonks. And having his sister come back from the dead had to have helped. Harry wondered if he'd ever be that happy or if he'd even get the chance to make it out of his teen years.

"What are you thinking about, Harry?" Remus asked setting up the chessboard.

"Nothing much," Harry lied. He thought Remus knew that from the look he gave Harry. "Are you spending a lot of time with your twin sister?"

"My twin?" Remus asked, confused.

"You know, Synthia," Harry said blankly. Remus laughed and shook his head.

"Thia's not my twin. She's just about a year younger than me."

"Then how was she in my mum's class?" Harry asked baffled.

"I wasn't eleven by the September 1^st cutoff date the year before I went to Hogwarts. And even if I had been, I wouldn't have gone," he said sadly. "The next year, Dumbledore became Headmaster and had the letter sent to me as it should have been. Thia was born August the year after I was, so she was eleven by the cutoff date that year. James and Sirius gave me a lot of grief about that."

"Oh," Harry said quietly.

"Don't call her Synthia to her face," Remus counseled him. "She reacts a lot like Tonks, only a lot worse."

"Thanks for the advice, but I don't know if I'll get to know her well enough to call her by her first name." They were playing chess now and Harry could already tell he would lose. He was also surprised at the look Remus gave him. It seemed like he wanted to tell him something.

"Got any stories to tell me?" Harry asked him after a moment's silence.

"Let's see," Remus said as his pawn captured Harry's queen. Harry couldn't believe he had let that happen. "How about a story about your mum?"

"Sure," Harry said absently. He was trying to figure out his next move.

"Well, Lily, Thia, and Samantha, or Sam for short, were the best of friends," Remus started.

"What happened to Sam?" Harry asked moving his castle forward three spots.

"Voldemort killed her and her children personally," Remus said softly.

"Oh," Harry said, regretting that he had asked.

"Anyway, they were bright, popular, and beautiful. They also had a good sense of humor and the rare ability to prank the Marauders." Remus moved his bishop. "I think they were the only ones who could. It was our sixth year. This was the year Lily started to have second thoughts about your dad. If you hear Thia telling this story, she'll tell you that Lily finally realized that she actually liked him." Harry moved his knight forward. "Your dad had cooled off and was deflating his head, as Sirius would have put it." Remus moved his bishop to take Harry's castle.

"It was actually that summer," Remus said thinking a little harder. "That was when James realized he still had a chance and he asked her out that September. But this story took place the summer between our sixth and seventh year." Harry moved his knight forward and captured the bishop who had just taken his castle. "Did you plan that?"

"Yes, I did," Harry said irritably. Everyone seemed to know how bad he played.

"Nice move," he congratulated before continuing. "Thia had invited your mum and Sam over for the summer and I had invited the other Marauders. Sam had turned the invitation down at first, but she ended up coming." Remus moved his knight and took Harry's knight that had just captured his bishop. Harry stuck his tongue out at him. "Yes, James never liked it much either.

"It was July and we were swimming in the lake by our house. It was a wonderful day, but Lily, Thia, and Sam changed that quickly. Your mum was born the same year as I was, so she was already seventeen, just like I was." Remus started laughing, not just at the memory, but also at the fact Harry had walked right into his trap. "She was wonderful at Charms. It was her specialty and if you needed a Charms tutor, you went to her. She charmed our swimming trunks to emit smelly bubbles every minute or so. The girls started to laugh uncontrollably." Remus moved his other knight, "Check."

"Bugger," Harry mumbled.

"Sirius was trying to get away from the stench, which was impossible. There was this sinkhole, about twenty feet from shore, but only five feet under the water. He was running right at it and fell into it. He must have panicked, because he didn't come up like we expected. Check," he said quickly after Harry moved.

"James who was closest, dove after him and rescued him. Check. Sirius wasn't breathing when they reached shore and it was a good thing Lily could perform magic. Check. She knew all about healing spells and got the water out of him and got him breathing quickly. Sirius always blamed them for lost of brain cells, but the girls said that he couldn't loose something he never had. Check mate."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Harry grumbled. "So Sirius almost died. What did you guys do in retaliation?"

"Nothing." Harry stared at him wide eyed. "Now you must understand that James wanted to stay on Lily's good side and Sirius was getting over a crush on Sam and had developed a crush on Thia that summer. Neither of them wanted the girls pissed at them and so we didn't prank them."

"I don't believe it," Harry said in awe.

"Neither did I at the time," Remus answered truthfully. "The girls and I expected some secret attack. In many ways that was worse. They sweated out the rest of the summer expecting the retaliation prank."

"That was brilliant," Harry laughed. Remus started to set up the board again. "No, I don't want to play again. I can only take so many losses."

"Ok," Remus said sadly. "At the risk of my head, how are you, Harry?"

"Fine," Harry lied. Harry knew that Remus saw through that one. He didn't look fine. He had rings under his eyes from lack of sleep and still hadn't gotten the weight back that he had lost from lack of nutrition. "Or, I will be fine given time. How are you and Tonks?"

"Great," Remus said with a huge smile. "I really like her," he confessed to Harry. Harry felt a little odd talking to Remus about this, but he sensed that Remus needed to talk. "She's great, you know. She's got the greatest sense of humor and knows when to make me laugh. But she doesn't spoil me and she doesn't pity me." Remus stopped for a second. "That's nice. After awhile everyone's pity gets old. It's nice to have Thia here too, 'cause she's been dealing with my changes for as long as I have. She knows exactly how to handle me."

There was a quiet pause as they thought their own thoughts. "How are you and Ginny?" Remus asked cautiously.

He ran his fingers through his hair and Remus had a sense of dejá vu. If he had a knut every time he saw James run his fingers through his hair because of Lily, he'd be a rich man. "I like her, Remus. But I can't get the guts to ask her out." Remus laughed. "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry, Harry," he apologized. "I was just laughing at the odd twist of fate. James couldn't get the guts to stop asking your mum out, even when we all knew it would help his case. And now you can't find the guts to ask Ginny out, even though it would help you out."

"Thanks for the insight, Remus," Harry said sarcastically. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Harry," Remus added sagely. "I feel it is my responsibility to point of the quirks of fate and shove them in your face. But if it'll make you feel any better, I think Ginny will say yes, whereas your dad had to put up with six years of no's."

"Thanks," Harry said, this time meaning it. "Now I have to convince my mouth to ask her."

"Don't worry, you will, eventually." Remus looked at his watch. "Oh shoot, I'm late for dinner."

"Well, go. You don't want to keep Tonks waiting," Harry said with a laugh.

"I never said it was a date," Remus stated.

"No, but that's the only thing you'd be worried about being late for," Harry said with a laugh as Remus grabbed his cloak and ran out the door.