Harry Potter and the Loss of Innocence

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Year Ends

Though endings are never, ever happy,
It's the happy moments along the way
That in the end
Make it...
ok...

~ Five For Fighting: Nobody

To Harry's horror, the whole school knew that he had his own chocolate frog card by Monday. Several people who didn't know him well thought he was just looking for more attention. Others who didn't know him well went out of their way to congratulate him. Those who did know him told him to ignore it and forget about it. He smiled gratefully at each of the D.A. members as they said similar things to him.

The week passed in a flurry of meetings, classes, and practices. Harry was looking forward to the weekend. It was his last Quidditch game of the season and he had not, as of the moment, spent anytime in the infirmary for Quidditch-related reasons.

The last practice went well in Harry's opinion, though Katie was a little more frantic. He had a feeling that it was just the stress of N.E.W.T.'s and the final game. There really was no other reason to be concerned. Even with the Ravenclaw team scouting them out, Harry felt confident in his chasers. They were the best in the school. They would set the pace of the game. Then there were the beaters. Harry smiled. Sloper and Kirke were getting really talented. By their seventh year, they'd be as good (if not better) than the Weasley twins.

The only drawback to that Saturday's game was the weather. All week it had rained. This, in Neville's opinion, was just fine, they hadn't had rain in a long time and the plants needed it. But, in Harry's opinion, it was horrible. He absolutely, without a doubt, hated playing in the rain. And everyone on the team felt the same way.

"You never know," Natalie commented, as she dried off her hair after practice, "it just might stop by Saturday."

"I doubt it," Ron said pessimistically. "That's in two days and it doesn't look like it's almost done."

"Less than two days, really," Sloper chimed in sadly. "More like 36 hours."

"I hate being wet," Ginny grumbled.

"At least it isn't cold," Harry reminded them. "It could be worse." He really wanted to join in, but he had to keep their spirits up, as a captain and all. "Any last words before they leave, Katie?"

"No," she answered in a short tone.

"Okay then," Harry said turning back to them. "Stay clear of Katie or she'll bite your head off." Katie threw her towel at him. "See what I mean? Go inside and get something warm to eat. Go to bed at a reasonable time Friday night. And get ready to kick some Ravenclaw butt." The team left, pulling their cloaks close.

"I hate this," Katie told him.

"I hate the rain too, but what can we do?" Harry asked. Katie looked at him in surprise.

"That's not what I meant," she answered. "This is my last game. I'm not going to play professional Quidditch, so I'll never play so competitively again. And it's against Cho. I've been playing against her forever. I want to win so bad." Her grip on her broom tightened, and Harry found himself hoping she didn't break it.

"I'm with you on that," Harry said with a smile. "We'll be fine, Katie. Just don't think about all of that. It's a normal game and you'll play again. I know you, Katie. You'll probably end up joining some local league. Let's get inside, before Ron eats all the food." Katie smiled, and they walked up to the castle. By the time they were safely in the castle, they were sopping wet.

"I hate rain," Harry and Katie grumbled at the same time. They laughed and went to sit with their friends in the Great Hall. There was a bright flash of lightning across the ceiling, causing heads to look up. Thunder boomed, filling the Hall with its echoes.

"Great," Harry grumbled with Ron and Ginny. "Just great."

"It might blow itself out by Saturday," Hermione told them hopefully.

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

It didn't, of course. Saturday dawned, but you couldn't tell that it had. It was extremely dark out. The rain was falling in buckets and thunder boomed in the distance. We started the season in rain, Harry complained to himself, and we'll finish the season in rain.

The team headed down to the Great Hall together and ate together. Katie had a hard time eating, but the rest of the team forced the food into her. Half an hour before the game was to start, they headed down to the Quidditch Stadium. They changed into their Quidditch robes and congregated, waiting for Katie's pep talk. She started pacing back and forth, but she didn't say anything. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so Katie's not Wood, which you should all be thankful for," Harry started. "He had the worse, most predictable pep talks around. So, instead you get to hear mine. Let's win this game for our seventh year captain. Let's win and take the Cup." Several people nodded. "And anyway, I don't want to let the Ravenclaws win it. They've been trash talking for weeks. Let's shove everything they've said in their faces."

"Okay," Katie managed out. "Let's get out there." The team walked down the tunnel and out into the rain. "I hate rain!" Katie complained to the sky. In return, it started to pour harder. They walked to the center of the pitch and waited for the Ravenclaw team to join them. After several moments of waiting, they walked out.

"Shake hands," Madame Hooch told the captains. Harry shook Cho's hand first, followed by Katie. "I want a nice fair game, you hear. All right then, on three. One. Two. Three." She tossed the quaffle into the air and Harry zoomed into the air, searching for the snitch.

"Katie Bell, seventh year Gryffindor and one of their captains, takes possession of the quaffle. She passes to Ginny Weasley, youngest of a talented family. Oh, that had to hurt," Dean's voice rang out over the rain. Harry spun around to see what had happened to his girlfriend. It seemed that she'd gotten hit in the face with a bludger. "So, Mandy Brocklehurst with the quaffle. She passes to Morag McDougal. Morag takes it to the goal. Oh, nice try by the Gryffindor beater, Kirke. It just missed him. And Morag prepares to shoot. That's Natalie MacDonald, people. Current second year."

Harry smiled as Natalie zoomed towards the Ravenclaw goal. She was one vicious, but clean, chaser who had just wrestled the quaffle from Morag. Harry turned to find Cho, the smile still on his face. She was flying on the other side of the pitch. Harry frowned, so she wasn't going to follow him. Too bad, he had been practicing his diving just for her.

"So that makes the score, 10-0 Gryffindor. Brocklehurst with the quaffle. She passes to Morag. Morag takes it forward. He passes to Orla Quirke. Quirke passes it to Brocklehurst, but it never makes it to her. Bell with the quaffle now. She passes to MacDonald. MacDonald to Weasley, back to Bell and... BELL SCORES! 20-0 Gryffindor!" Harry smiled for only a split second, and then took off to the other side of the pitch. Cho was already racing to reach the snitch. Harry could barely see, but it was there. He hoped his beaters noticed and sent a... Harry pulled out of his dash, avoiding a collision with a Ravenclaw chaser. It didn't matter; Cho was cradling her left arm, hurt by a bludger. Kirke had such good aim.

"Well, that search came up fruitless, folks. Brocklehurst shoots and... That was a wonderful save by Ron Weasley. Weasley passes to Weasley and she takes off. What's Potter up to?" Harry was shooting at the crowd, after the snitch. He turned to the left sharply, following it. It reversed its direction and shot passed his ear. He missed it, but was still on its trail. By this time Cho was next to him.

The snitch went right; Harry followed it with little problem. Cho couldn't take the turn at her high velocity and so she lost control of her broom. Harry smiled. This snitch was his. The snitch dove to the ground and Harry followed it, thankful that he was able to dive. The snitch went right, parallel with and a few feet above the ground. Harry pulled out of his dive before he hit the ground. He shot after it, Cho with him again.

The snitch headed straight up, going even faster. Harry was glad he had a Firebolt as Cho lost ground on him and the snitch. Harry shot up at it, high above the game. As he was staring up at the snitch, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. Harry blinked, trying to clear his sight. He dove and leveled off when he felt he was at playing height. "Timeout!" he called, making the motion with his hands. "Time out!" He heard Madam Hooch's whistle.

"WHAT'S UP WITH POTTER? THEY WERE ABOUT TO SCORE!" Dean's voice shouted over the noise of hundreds of boo's from the Gryffindor supporters.

"What's the meaning of this, Potter?" Katie's angry voice reached him. He turned to where he thought she was and started to speak.

"I can't see!" he shouted to them over a clap of thunder. "I was staring at the snitch when lightning shot across the sky. I need to get my sight back!"

"You can't see?" Ginny asked worriedly. He nodded. He rubbed his eyes and started to blink furiously. "What do we do if he doesn't get his sight back?"

"We move you to Seeker, Gin," Harry said. "I'll stay on the pitch, just in case I get my sight back. Does anyone know a spell to help clear my vision?" Nobody did. "Damn!"

"Are you ready?" Madam Hooch asked, coming over to speak to them.

"We'd like to make a player switch, Madam Hooch," Katie said as Harry nodded. "Ginny Weasley's going to be our Seeker and Harry Potter's taking her spot as Chaser."

"I'll inform the other team and the score table," Madame Hooch said before flying away.

"Can you see any better?" Ron asked nervously. They'd be down a Chaser and have a Seeker that hadn't trained as one in over a year.

"No," he answered frustrated. "Here, Gin, let's switch brooms. Lead me to the ground." She nodded and took his hand.

"We're three feet from the ground, luv," she said to him. He dismounted and Ginny handed him her broom. "Be nice to her," she told him. "And stay out of harm's way."

"Gryffindor has a player change!" Dean shouted. "Ginny Weasley's taking the Seeker spot and Harry Potter's taking the Chaser spot. And look at that, they're changing brooms. What happened to Potter?" It was the question everyone was asking.

"I'm staying down here," Harry told her. "I wish I knew a spell to get my sight back."

"Me too, luv," Ginny responded, before pecking him on the cheek. "Don't get hurt!" And she flew off. Harry heard Madam Hooch's whistle again and play started. Harry felt useless just sitting there (well, technically he was flying, but that's beyond the point) and not searching for the snitch. He listened to Dean's commentary, not even able to watch it for himself.

"Well, Gryffindor is down a Chaser it seems. Potter's sticking low to the ground. Doesn't matter, Ginny Wesley's a fine Seeker. Bell has the quaffle, she passes to MacDonald. MacDonald passes to Bell, who shoots and.... Scores! 110-70 Gryffindor!" Harry cheered for his team. "Brocklehurst with the quaffle and gets hit by a nice bludger from Sloper! Bell swoops down and snatches it up--"

"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione's voice said behind him.

"I can't see," Harry responded.

"Well, I couldn't tell that," Hermione said waspishly. "You're staring like a blind man. How did it happen?"

"POTTER WATCH OUT FOR THE BLUDGER!" Dean yelled in warning.

"Move to your right, Harry, and quickly!" Hermione screamed at him at the same time Dean had. Harry did and felt the air ripple from the bludger pass by his right side.

"Sorry about that, Harry," Sloper apologized. "I lost track of this one. It won't happen again."

"I hope not," Harry mumbled angrily. "What did you ask?" he asked Hermione.

"What happened?" she re-asked.

"I was looking at the sky when lightning blinded me," Harry replied. "Can you think of something that would get my vision back?"

"NICE SAVE, RON!" Dean screamed, cheering his roommate on. "Weasley passes it to Bell. Hey, the other Weasley's diving for the snitch. Cho's right on her tail. Ginny's heading straight down to the ground."

"Wronski Feint," Harry said smiling. "Gin's been dying to do that to Cho!" Harry was right.

"Oh, that had to hurt," Dean said, grimacing. "Cho fell for a Potter specialty. He must have taught it to Ginny Weasley on one of their dates. As you all know, Potter and--"

"DEAN THOMAS, we do not need to know about their personal lives!" McGonagall shouted at the boy.

"Sorry, Professor. Bell scored during the wonderful Feint done by Weasley. So that makes it 130-110, Gryffindor!"

"Harry, what's the counter spell for the Avelgule spell?" Hermione asked excitedly. Harry furrowed his brow deep in thought. What was the counter spell? Another clap of thunder rumbled. The rain poured down, hitting Harry on the head. He ran a hand though his wet, tangled hair. He needed a haircut. This is neither the time nor the place to think of that, you idiot! Harry chided himself.

"I can't think of it," he shouted up to Hermione.

"I'm right next to you, Harry," she told him. Harry mumbled an apology and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. Wait! I had a way to remember this one... What is it? Glasses, spectacles, Spectio! That's it!

"I remember it!" he told Hermione. "Spectio! Now what?"

"Try to use it," she informed him. "If it doesn't work, put the Avelgule curse on yourself and then take it off. I think that'll work."

"Thanks, Hermione, you are a lifesaver," he said to her.

"Don't mention it," Hermione said. Harry cast the seeing charm and of course Hermione was right. He could see again. And what he saw made his stomach flip. Cho was diving for the snitch and Ginny had just been hit by a bludger. He couldn't catch the snitch until he was the seeker again, but he could distract Cho.

Harry took off, flying straight at Cho. The snitch turned and started to make its way to Harry. And the one time the snitch flies to me I can't catch it! Harry was now flying directly at Cho, who was flying right at him. The game of chicken was on and Harry wasn't going to pull out until the absolute last second.

Cho looked at him, surprised and furious. She gripped her broom tighter and barreled at Harry. Harry just smiled and continued flying. The snitch went past his ear and continued behind him. Cho, now only a few feet away, looked even more surprised. She had expected him to catch the snitch. She rolled to the right the second Harry sped past her.

"Time out!" Harry bellowed, catching Hooch's attention. As Harry and Ginny went to switch brooms, Katie told Madam Hooch that Harry was once again the Seeker.

"I told you not to get hurt and not to be hard on my broom!" Ginny yelled at him. Harry just smiled. "I'm going to keep yours if you're not careful."

"Over my dead body, Gin, give her here!" Harry held his hand out for his broom. Ginny gave it to him, grabbing hers. "Much better," he said, running a loving hand along the handle.

"Guys and brooms," Ginny said rolling her eyes. She raced up to their team and Harry followed. "Nice scaring Cho out of her mind," Ginny told Harry.

"Nice Feint! Or it sounded nice to me," Harry replied with a smile. Ginny really didn't like his "ex-girlfriend", and Harry found their little fight amusing.

"Okay, Ravenclaw took the lead, 140-180, so we need to take control again," Katie said quickly. "Sorry about leaving you out to dry like that, Ron, but two chasers aren't enough." Ron shrugged, he had stopped more than he had let in. "Harry catch that snitch, I want to get dry and start celebrating."

"Aye, aye, captain," Harry said with a smile. "Your mum is here, Gin," Harry added. He had been looking for Hermione when the section of red heads caught his eye. Bill, Charlie, and Mrs. Weasley were sitting with Hermione. He felt himself missing the twins. They'd normally be here to watch, he thought sadly.

"Ready?" Madam Hooch asked them. Katie nodded and the team broke apart. Katie took the quaffle and play resumed. Harry listened to Dean as he continued searching for the snitch.

"Weasley passes to MacDonald. Nice bludger work by Kirke, clearing the way for MacDonald to... SCORE! 150-180 Ravenclaw. Nice to have Weasley back as chaser for Gryffindor. Morag passes to Brocklehurst, Brocklehurst to Quirke. Quirke back to Morag... and Morag misses. Weasley passes to Bell--"

Cho was tailing him now. Harry decided that it was time to take her on a wild goose hunt. He took off at high speed, only slightly angled to the ground. "Potter sees the snitch!" Dean roared, much to Harry's pleasure. That would get Cho's attention. Cho turned and started to follow him and Harry had to smile. He turned directions, going to his left and into a steeper dive. Cho followed, not knowing where the snitch was. Harry changed directions again, heading up and to the right. Cho was catching up; she should have realized that her broom wouldn't be able to do that. Then Harry dove, straight at the ground. And Cho followed. Harry felt his smile grow as he pulled out of the dive in time for Cho to hit.

"That was one elaborate Feint!" Dean called out. "Wait, Potter's at it again only this can't be a Feint, Cho's not back in the air!" Harry had seen the snitch as he pulled out of his dive. It was behind the Ravenclaw goal posts. He shot at it, ignoring everything. He wanted out of the rain! He would later pay for that.

He shot through the goal hoop and latched his fingers around the snitch in triumph. And then five things hit him in quick succession. Two bludgers, only one sent by the Ravenclaw beater Michael Corner, hit him. One broke his left arm; the other shattered his right shin. Then the quaffle, thrown by Ginny, hit the back of his head. She throws hard! was all Harry had time to think before the bludgers came back for more. One rammed into his chest and the other hit him in the same spot the quaffle had hit just moments before.

He didn't remember hitting the ground.

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

"Is he alright?" Molly Weasley asked as soon as she entered the infirmary. Professor McGonagall walked over to her quickly.

"Poppy doesn't want anyone to bother her as she fixes him up," Minerva said tersely. "She says he'll be fine as long as she's able to work."

"He has to be in a bad way," Molly continued, her hand griping Bill's tightly.

"He's been in worse," Minerva answered tightly. "Poppy already fixed up his leg and ribs. I guess there's still internal damage to his lungs, but otherwise his chest's fine."

"And his head?" Charlie asked quietly. Molly looked at him. "Most Quidditch related deaths are blows to the head." Molly felt the tears come unbidden to her eyes. How she absolutely hated crying!

"That's what Poppy's dealing with now," Minerva said angrily, glaring daggers at her old student. Molly smiled warmly. Minerva had been such a help for each of her boys at one time or the other. "She said he'll be out cold for a few days, but once he's regained consciousness he'll be fine. Don't worry, Molly, Harry will be fine. He always is."

Molly smiled at her old friend. Minerva knew exactly what to say. "Though I'd be more worried about your son," Minerva continued. "Poppy yelled at him and the team for bothering her, and as he was leaving he was getting an earful from a very angry sister."

"Not from his girlfriend?" Bill asked with a laugh.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Minerva said, all traces of a smile gone. "Hermione was bidding her time. That's never a good sign."

"What's the Gryffindor password?" Molly asked knowing that her son might need rescuing. Neither of the girls would be very happy for being kicked out.

"I think it's 'The Weasley Twins Live', but I'm not sure about that," Minerva said vaguely. "Ron has been known to forget that passwords need to be cleared through me, so it might have been changed. Try 'Victory Is Ours' if that fails or something like that."

"Or something like 'Save Me'," Bill added with a smile. "Particularly if the girls are chewing him out."

"Oh, there you are, Minerva," Poppy said coming around a curtain toward the end of the hall. "Oh, Molly, would you like to see the Potter boy?" Molly nodded. Ron could fend for himself. He'd been dealing with Ginny for years, and he had decided to go out with Hermione. Harry though, he hadn't done anything to deserve this stay in the hospital wing. Well, that last Feint might have deserved one bludger, but not four.

"Can you believe that Mum just deserted her own flesh and blood to sit up with his best friend?" Molly heard Bill ask Charlie as they walked out of the infirmary.

"Yes, but the students might not have been too thrilled about her wrecking the party," Charlie said as the door snapped shut. Molly smiled as she took a seat next to Harry. Ron would understand. And Charlie was right, she shouldn't disrupt the party. Heavens knew that those kids deserved to have a party. This war was taking its toll on them the most.

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

"He's a complete git," Ginny said angrily, pointing at Harry. Hermione smiled faintly, the sun reflecting off her hair. "I need to be studying, but what am I doing instead? I'm watching him, looking for any signs of life!" Ginny sat in a huff. Ron had just left and Hermione just continued smiling. It made Ginny even angrier and she stood again. "Seriously, Hermione! Don't laugh at me! I told him not to get hurt and he went and got himself hurt!"

"Miss Weasley," Madame Pomfrey's crisp tone interjected. "Do I need to ask you to leave? I told you that you could stay as long as you don't bother my patient," she finished waving a hand at Harry's unconscious form.

"I don't think anything could bother Harry at the moment," Ginny replied. "I told him to stay safe, and look!" Ginny sat again. Why does Harry do this to me all the time?

Ginny rested her head in her hands and at the moment was staring at the floor, so she missed the look that passed between Hermione and Pomfrey. She was so worried for Harry. He'd taken a bludger to the chest and the head. Not to mention the one to the arm and the shin. It was Sunday evening, she had her Charms O.W.L. the next day and she should be studying. What was she doing here?

"You may stay as long as you don't disrupt me," Madame Pomfrey finally said, leaving with a faint smile on her lips.

"Why are you so bloody humored by this?" Ginny screamed in annoyance. "I, personally, see nothing humorous about Harry lying on his bed in the infirmary unconscious and me at my wits end! It's like you all find it funny that I'm pulling my hair out, skipping the studying that I need to do, and watching my boyfriend's unconscious form. I find nothing humorous with this! Maybe you just enjoy my ire!"

"But I do," Harry croaked out. Ginny sat back down. When did I stand up? she asked herself vaguely. She had a hand at her heart; trying desperately to get over the shock Harry had just given her. "Sorry, luv," he said abashed. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"How long have you been awake?" Ginny asked quietly. She wanted to go sit on his bed or in the chair next to his bed, but she didn't think her legs would be able to support her.

"I remember being called a git a few times," Harry said with a huge smile at Ginny. "If you need to go study, by all means, go study."

"I only called you a git once," Ginny defended herself angrily. No one got away with talking down to her like that. She stood and angrily walked over to him. "But I'll list off all the names that fit if you'd like."

"By all means, do," Harry said with that annoying smile. Did he have a death wish?

"You're a git, a prat, an annoying little prick," Ginny started, holding up a finger with each name. "An idiot, a jerk, a dweeb, a very stupid boy, a horrible liar. Did I mention that you're a git?" Ginny asked for emphasis. Hermione was now laughing, hard. Ginny sent her a scathing glare, but all that managed was to make Hermione laugh more. She turned back to Harry and he was playing sorry.

"I'm sorry for being me," Harry answered a tone that Ginny knew was faked. "I'll try not to be a git, prat, a prick, an idiot, a jerk, a very stupid boy, and a horrible liar. But, Gin, that's what I am." Ginny laughed as Harry swept her into a hug. "But if I'm such a horrible liar, how come you fell for that?" Ginny hit him over the head and struggled out of his grasp.

"I ought to--" Ginny warned, but she didn't want to stay angry with Harry. He was awake, finally, he was smiling, and he was hers. "Oh, never mind. I'm the one that started this." She looked down at him. He was hers, and she liked that.

"Yeah, that quaffle hurt more than all the bludgers combined," Harry told her impishly, rubbing the back of his head for emphasis.

"Sorry, 'bout that," Ginny answered without a trace of true apology. "But you did scare me, shooting past me like that. I can't help it that I threw the quaffle at you. And don't ever make me be Seeker again. It's so boring."

"You seemed to enjoying sending Cho into the ground," Harry said with a smile. Ginny smiled weakly, finally feeling a bit embarrassed for her actions. "But Michael was the Beater who got me, right?" Ginny nodded. "Well, there we go. He got me back for what you did to my ex-girlfriend who's now his."

"I never realized that she was your girlfriend," Hermione replied innocently. "I mean, one snog and a horrible date can't really count as going out, can it?"

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked, for the first time noticing the absence of his best friend. "I thought he'd be here or with Hermione."

"Don't change the subject," Ginny told him, giving him the smile she knew he loved. "I never knew you thought Cho was your girlfriend."

"Where's Ron?" Harry asked again. Ginny noticed the slight panic in his voice and she walked over to him quickly. "Why won't you tell me where he is?"

"It's not that we don't want to or can't, luv," Ginny told him calmly. She ran her fingers through his hair. She knew he loved it when she played with his hair and she enjoyed doing it. "I just want to finish this conversation about Cho and then we'll tell you."

"Why are you so worried, Harry?" Hermione asked nervously. Ginny watched Harry look away. "He's alright, right?" Hermione asked again.

"He left right before I woke up?" Harry asked and Ginny nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. It was just a dream. Why don't you go get your Charms books and I'll help you study, Gin." Ginny got up and Hermione went with her. At the door Ginny turned back.

"You should read that book," she said point to his bedside table.

Harry smiled as the door closed shut. He loved it when Ginny worked herself into a huff. She got so angry and said some pretty amusing things. He picked up the journal and said the password. He flipped past the halfway point and found her letter. They'd need a new book before long.

Dear Luv,

DO NOT EVER DO THIS TO ME AGAIN!! JUST BECAUSE I TELL YOU THAT IT'S GOOD TO GET SENT TO THE INFIRMARY INTEAD OF ST. MUNGO'S DOESN'T MEAN I CONDONE IT! DON'T DO THIS AGAIN!!

Okay, done with the rant. Though I'm not sorry. It felt rather good, 'cause I know I'll never have the guts to say that to your face for a long while.

That was a great game! I really don't like Seeker, but it felt so good to send Cho into the ground. Don't hate me for it, but you should have heard some of the things she said about you last year. And you know me: we Weasley women don't let go of grudges easily! And watching you take her on that chase... Priceless.

I wish you could have seen her face! It was great. She was covered in mud, head to toe, and furious. Even as you fell unconscious, she was glowering at you. But then again, you were unconscious, so you couldn't have seen that. Have I mentioned that I don't want you to end up in the infirmary ever again?

Can you believe the weather today? Sunny, just a few clouds, warm, light breeze. Why couldn't yesterday have been like that? I hate playing in rainstorms like that! I can handle a drizzle, but that storm was unbelievable. And the lightning blinded you. I wish we could go for a walk around the lake. It's a perfect day for it!

I'm sooooooo nervous for the O.W.L.'s the next two weeks. Hermione has been complaining that you've done more studying for my O.W.L.'s than you did for you own. And I've told her that you're just trying to help me. She then said that you had a saving-people problem and I said, yes you did, but that's why I love you. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but just shook her head. A little later she said that your saving-people thing was what made you so great. Which is as close as anyone will ever hear Hermione Granger come to saying that she was wrong.

Do you think I'll do fine on my O.W.L.'s? I don't think so, but if Ron can get as many O.W.L.'s as he did, I should be fine, right? I mean, I've studied more, I take better notes, I'm slightly smarter, or rather, I just apply myself more than he does at my studies. I can't do worse than the twins, no matter what happens.

Hey, that reminds me of two things. One, you missed a great party last night. It was fantastic, though it would have been better if we weren't all worried about our favorite Seeker. You should have heard Dean go on about your timeout and then your amazing Feint and then your graceful fall.

But Bill and Charlie came half way through and, well, we had a great time. And they told us that the healers expect Fred and George to be released the weekend after exams are done! They really wanted to come to the game, but Healer Lemon said no. And they listened! I can't believe that!

I really can't wait 'til school's done and you're at Grimmauld with us! This summer will be great! Well, it'd be great if we could go outside sometimes.... The roof will have to do, though I do want to play some Quidditch or just fly with you.

I miss the Burrow already! I wonder how long it'll take for the grounds to become decontaminated. Maybe I'll be able to live there when I'm old and gray. Or not. Who knows? I just wished we could have spent break there with the twins joking around. At least they'll be fine in a while.

Well, have a good time suffering alone this evening! I am GOING to study, no matter what you say!

Yours forever,

Ginny

Harry sat, staring at the letter in disbelief. His eyes kept returning to one line. "But that's why I love you." Certainly she didn't mean 'I want to live with you the rest of your life' kind of love. She must have meant 'he's a great boyfriend and an even better friend that I can't live without somewhere in my life', because he couldn't picture such a great girl loving him enough to spend her whole life with him. She was way more than he deserved and she did deserve so much more than he was.

He didn't care that much one way or the other at the moment. They'd figure it out sometime in the distant future. And he'd figure out exactly what he felt for her at that vague point in time. Right now, he was figuring out how to keep Ginny here for most of the evening. Well, he could always help her study, but she should study with someone from her year. And that's when Luna entered the room.

Harry cleared the Journal quickly and set it on the table. Luna wore her normal vacant expression. She seemed to be in another world. He felt a smile curl his lips up as he recognized her butterbeer cap necklace. She was an odd one, Luna was, but there wasn't anything wrong with that.

"Hello, Luna," Harry said to her when she got closer. Luna nodded slowly and took a seat next to Harry. "How's your reviewing for O.W.L.'s coming?"

"Oh, fine," Luna replied. "How's your leg?" Harry looked at her strangely. Of all his injuries from Saturday's game, that was the least of his worries.

"Fine," Harry told her. "Pomfrey fixed it up quick." Luna turned to look at him for the first time.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, picking up the Journal. She opened it and started paging through it. "It's good that you write in here," she told him vacantly.

"I haven't written in that yet," Harry responded. What was she talking about? It's not like she could see the writing. She gave him a piercing glance. The door to the infirmary opened again and Ginny entered with a book bag filled with books and notes. She stopped when she saw Luna talking to Harry, the Journal in her hands. A second later, Ginny started forward again, smiling at Luna.

"Hey, Luna," Ginny said cheerfully. "You ready for the Charms exam tomorrow?"

"Not really," Luna answered with a smile. "I was hoping you'd want to study with me. Everyone from my house already had someone to study with."

"Sure," Ginny replied. "As long as Harry doesn't mind."

"Well, Harry doesn't mind as long as you stay," Harry replied in third person.

"I'm not going anywhere," Ginny promised him.

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

Harry was released from the infirmary Monday, minutes before supper started. He hurried down and took the seat next to Ginny. She looked awful, and Harry knew she had her Transfiguration exam the next day. He spent the evening making up the homework he missed, Hermione talking him through everything.

The week passed slowly, as the last real week of school tends to. The students in the sixth year were thankful not to be a year older or younger. They'd take one more week of school and one less week of exams any day. The fifth and seventh years studied constantly, completely aware of how much these tests would affect their futures.

The D.A. meeting that week was a relief for the busy students. Harry was glad that they had agreed for the week. If that first "battle" had been chaotic, Harry wasn't sure how to describe the mess it was that Friday. But Harry knew this kind of exercise was necessary. They needed to realize that war wasn't orderly. It was a mess. Plain and simple.

Afterwards Harry asked Ginny to stay. He knew she wanted to head to bed and sleep, but he wanted to talk to her. She stayed reluctantly, but had needed some cajoling from Harry. She walked with him along the beach at the bottom of the cliff.

"So what do you want,?" she asked him irritated.

"I want to know how the first week went," he asked politely and kindly. She looked burnt out. Maybe he should just let her go.

"As fine as could be expected," she replied. Harry stopped and pulled her into an embrace. "I feel like I have no more brain cells. And yet I know I have another week of this." He pulled out of the hug and looked down at her.

"Next weekend is the last Hogsmeade trip and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me as my date?" Harry asked her. Even after eight months of blissful dating, Harry still felt the butterflies in his gut.

"I'd love to, luv," she replied, turning to him and giving him a hug. "You mind heading back? I've been studying late into the night every night this week and I want to sleep for a long time."

"You mean, cramming, right?" Harry said innocently. She hit him playfully across the chest. "Yeah, we can head back. I just didn't want anyone around if you turned me down."

"Harry, I'll never turn you down," she promised him. He smiled at her, thankful for her support.

"Don't make a promise you're not sure you can keep," he teased her.

"I'm not going to break it, Harry. You're stuck with me," she replied.

"It could be worse," he countered. "I mean, you could be ugly."

"That's one backhanded compliment, Harry," Ginny informed him. They stopped in front of the door.

"It wasn't meant to be," Harry said, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her soundly and then led her out into the castle corridor.

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

Tuesday morning was his exam with Keene. He was beyond nervous. He had been reviewing like mad for this exam. He had no idea what Keene planned to do for the exam itself. A mock duel or a written exam? He wasn't sure which he preferred.

"Okay, Harry," Keene told the young man as they sat at the Ravenclaw table. "This is what we're going to do. For the first part, I'm going to give you a name of a spell; you're going to perform it. The second part, I'm going to tell you an effect and you're going to come up with a spell to create it. Then you're going to tell me why you picked your spell over others, if you thought of others. Be creative."

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice. He'd never be able to do this. He felt the nerves take over and then he clamped them down. When did he ever let nerves make his decisions for him? Never and he wasn't starting now.

In the end, Harry did just fine on the exam. He had the distinct impression that Keene was extremely impressed with his performance. Harry smiled as he helped return the Great Hall back into its normal self before the students arrived.

The next afternoon Harry had his exam from Althea. He had long learnt not to have too high of hopes with healing. He just wasn't cut out to be a healer. He didn't have the patience. But he felt he passed the exam and did better than he expected.

He woke up Friday morning, dreading the next three hours. It was 4:30 and in thirty minutes he'd be down by the lake getting beaten up by Bryant for his exam. Harry put his clothes on, skipping the robe. He'd be back for it afterwards; it would only be in the way during this exam.

He walked slowly to the Entrance Hall, trying to get his brain to speed up. As he turned into the last corridor before the stairs to the Entrance Hall, someone jumped out behind a statue. Harry instantly jumped as a sword came flying at his head. Looking about himself, Harry realized that his sword was on the doors to the castle.

He ducked the blows from his assailant, whom he guessed was Bryant, but couldn't tell because the man wore a mask. Harry started moving forward, trying to get passed the attacker. Grabbing a club from a nearby suit of armor, Harry started parrying the blows. The club was too heavy to attack with, so Harry just concentrated on driving the man into the Entrance Hall.

Seeing an opening, Harry maneuvered the attacker so that the man was facing towards the door. Harry broke into a dead run, dropping the club as he went. Reaching the doors, he pulled the sword from the sheath and lowered his body into a defensive stance. There was no way that the masked man was Bryant. He moved differently and was way too large to be Bryant.

The actual sword fight was a long one. Harry felt his arms slowly tire from taking blow after blow and giving blow after blow. His overall stamina didn't diminution too much, but his arms started to protest. Just as he thought he'd collapse, he saw an opening in the attacker's guard and he moved forward, swinging the sword up and under. The masked man dropped his sword; Harry had his own at the man's throat.

"Good job, Potter," Bryant said from the Great Hall. "I'm impressed. Shacklebolt was more than willing to help out with this exam. You should thank him." Harry was surprised as the huge man took off his mask. "Let's go for a run."

After running the lake twice, Bryant put him through a dagger-throwing test. He managed to hit every target, which was a very nice surprise. Next came fist fighting, though he let Bryant under his guard and was knocked unconscious. After being revived, Harry sat up, trying to clear his head.

After that came knife fighting, which was a combination of the two previous tests. Shacklebolt fought Harry for this one and Harry was very glad to be small and quick. This fight came to a stalemate and Bryant was visibly impressed. After a cool down lap around the lake Harry was free to go.

He limped into the castle and realized that the exam had gone over time. Students were streaming into the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry swore loudly, causing several people to turn and stare at him. And they didn't look away. I must look a mess, Harry thought, amused by the stares. He smiled at them, waving to a few D.A. members and then headed into the Great Hall. He saw two red heads and headed towards them.

"I think I passed that," Harry said, loading his plate with food. He was hungry.

"By not dying? Or with your skills?" Ron asked, clearly alarmed by the way he looked.

"My skills," Harry replied. "What time is it?"

"Eight," Ginny said, still counting the minutes. "And twenty-three minutes."

"What?" Harry yelled, standing up quickly. "I don't have anything for the next exam."

"What do you need?" Hermione asked. "You can borrow a quill and ink from me."

"I don't have my uniform," Harry replied. "I can't go to my Potions exam without a uniform." He stood, ignoring the looks directed at him and sprinted to the Gryffindor Tower.

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

"Well, it's over," Ron said happily, falling into a chair next to the fire after their Dark Arts exam. "Only one more year and then we're free."

"Talk for yourself," Ginny complained from were she sat on Harry's lap. "Sorry about not being at lunch. I really needed to look over Ancient Runes before that exam this afternoon. Did you make it to your Potions exam on time?"

"Yes I did, barely," Harry responded. "The bell rang seconds after I sat down. Snape almost docked points for that!"

"He would have too," Hermione told Ginny, "had Thia not been talking with him about something. I wonder what it was about?"

"No idea," Ron said, yawning. "But I can't wait until the trip tomorrow. It'll be fun. What are we doing Thursday at the D.A. meeting?" Ron abruptly asked Harry, trying to surprise Harry into answering.

"I'm not telling," Harry said once again. "It's a secret. But Sephra wants to know if we want to play a pick up game on Wednesday. Slytherin versus Gryffindor II."

"Sure," Ron and Ginny said together. Harry smiled at them.

"That's what I told her, but I also said that I was only one of the captains and I'd need to talk to Katie about it." Harry laughed as Ron hit his forehead.

"Did you expect her to say no or something?" Ron asked, trying to figure this out.

"No, but I didn't want to undermine the authority of the head captain," Harry told him. "Remember I'm only the side kick."

"I forgot about that," Ginny said with a smile.

"Why are you so happy?" Harry asked her, leaning his mouth close to her ear to whisper.

"This time next year, you'll be the ones fried and I'll be the one in an exhausted but cheerful mood," she answered him. "Some good has to come of being a year younger."

"I like it that you're younger," Harry told her. "Better than dating an older woman," he added looking over at Ron.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with dating an older woman," he said defending his girlfriend. "At least both of us are legal."

"It's not my fault about when I was born," Harry countered.

"No, it was all your dad's," Ron replied. Hermione hit Ron and hit him hard.

"That's just wrong, Ron!" she scolded him. "I don't want to hear talk like that!"

Ron laughed, but then stopped as Ginny got out her wand. "I don't want to hear it either, Ronald," she told him angrily. "That's just sick!"

"Yeah, Ron, just sick," Harry echoed his girlfriend. "So what are your guys' plans for tomorrow?"

"We're going to walk the streets and snog in a few places," Hermione answered, surprising all in hearing distance.

"Talking about things that shouldn't be said," Harry said. "I don't want to hear that from your mouth ever again, Hermione. It's bad enough to hear it from Ron."

"We're going to visit the Shrieking Shack and then make our way over to the Three Broomsticks," Ron finally said, still stunned by Hermione. Ginny was laughing now. "I think we missed something," he complained to Harry.

"What about you two?" Hermione asked them.

"Visit George and Fred," Ginny started. "Got to keep a good thing going, particularly since they're free and at work already. Then we're going to go to a few shops, the Quidditch shop for sure. What time will you be in the Three Broomsticks?"

"How about we meet you there around 2:30," Hermione offered. Harry looked at Ginny and then nodded.

"Sounds fine," Harry answered. "You want to come back and then have dinner in the Room of Requirement?"

"Sure," Hermione offered. "A double date." Both Ron and Harry groaned. "What's wrong with that?"

"We just realized that you're like his sister, 'Mione," Ron answered.

"And Ron's the protective older brother, so I'll have to deal with that," Harry complained. "But I can't think of two lovelier ladies to spend an evening with." Ginny smiled up at him and kissed him quickly on the lips. Hermione was beaming at Harry.

"You make me look bad," Ron informed Harry.

"That's not hard," Harry countered. "I'm going to bed. 'Night Gin, Hermione, Ron."

Laying his head down for the night, Harry couldn't help but look forward to the next week. The Hogsmeade trip would be great, the Quidditch game would be a blast, and what he had planned for the D.A. would be loads of fun.