Bedtime Stories

Chapter 2 - Secrets

Things have never been the same
Since you came into my life
You found a way to touch my soul
And I am never, ever, ever gonna let it go

Happiness lies in the palm of your own hand
It took me much too long to understand
How could it be
Until you shared your secret with me

You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin' anybody else
- Madonna - Secret

He lay on his bed watching the sunrise gently in the horizon through the small window that overlooked the garden and reflected on the events of the previous evening.

Harry and Ginny returned from their walk to questioning glances from the Weasley family and Harry's guard. They sat together continuing the conversation that they began in the paddock in lowered voices. No one approached them until Remus needed to leave for Grimmauld Place.

Remus told them that he would return today to speak to the pair. Harry nodded his head in agreement and Ginny gave her former professor a hug. Moony departed and no one else really wanted to try and talk to the two teenagers, both of whom had well known tempers.

Harry was given Percy's old room for his stay. Molly decided that the boy was old enough now that he might appreciate being alone. He agreed because he really didn't want to face Ron yet.

After spending a highly enjoyable evening with Ginny, he wondered how the Weasleys would look upon his friendship with their only daughter. One of the things that he wanted to know was how she had become who she was now. How had she overcome the hell that had possessed her so deeply and how was she still so happy and vivacious? He was aware that he had been pretty unbearable over the last year and felt that he could learn from her.

Ginny explained that until she had learned to forgive herself and not believe that the blame rested solely on her shoulders, she was still the mouse that attended Hogwarts. Michael Corner, she explained, had a lot to do with that. He helped her learn to love herself for who she was and not what she had been. It had been the acceptance she had been thirsting for since her first year that made the change. Michael recognized her as a bright student, something a Ravenclaw would appreciate. Harry also learned that the girl was the second highest student in her year except for in Defence Against the Dark Arts in which she was first.

He asked one favour of her and that was patience. It was easy to talk to Ron and Hermione about certain things since they had normally been with him at the time. But there was one thing she had that his best friends didn't and that was a carnal knowledge of the evil that was Voldemort or Tom Riddle. Oh, Hermione could read about it and Ron could see what it did to Harry, but they had never truly been touched by it. He wanted her to be patient as he learned to be open with his memories and feelings. It would be difficult to talk about certain things, but he hoped it would get easier with time. She understood and told him to take all the time he needed.

Harry wondered about telling her the prophecy. He hadn't even told Ron and Hermione about it yet. Something deep in his mind told him that she would understand. She had even said something at dinner about the prophecy and had already worked out that it dealt with Voldemort's destruction. Little did she know that it was either Harry or Voldemort in the end. He resolved that he would tell her that day.

That was another thing. What did the last of his father's best friends want to talk to them about? He had watched when Remus talked to Molly and Arthur about Ginny's release of power the night before, but neither of them had heard anything about it when they returned from the back paddock. A knock on the bedroom door brought him back from his thoughts.

"Harry, are you awake?" Moony asked quietly through the door.

"Yes, Remus. Come in."

"Are you dressed? I have someone with me."

"Give me a minute then." He hopped off his bed and dug through his trunk for a pair of trousers and a T-shirt. Tossing them on, he crossed the room to open the door.

"Morning Harry," Ginny said cheerfully walking into the room.

Remus followed her in and closed the door. He was carrying some breakfast and another parcel. "Molly sent this up for you. I told her that we needed to talk and didn't want to be disturbed."

Harry took the tray and noticed that many of his favourite foods were waiting for consumption. He laid it on the desk grabbing the bacon and taking a bite. "Morning Gin, sleep well?" After their discussion on nightmares the night before, he knew that she had the same problem he did.

"I did, how about you?" She looked pointedly at him.

"Quite well actually. Remus, what do you have in your hand?" Harry looked at the package in Moony's hands.

"You might want to sit down for this." He waited until Harry was seated. A part of him wanted to smile as Harry sat beside Ginny on the bed. "After Christmas Sirius started doing a bit of catalogue shopping. He knew that you would be coming back to Grimmauld Place this summer and didn't care for the state of your clothes. Between Owl Post and Muggle companies, he purchased quite a bit of things for you. That is what this package is. It's the clothing that he bought. I know that you might not want it now, but Sirius would still want you to have it." Remus handed over the bundle to the boy before him.

"Finite Incantatum." He pointed his wand at the parcel.

The relatively small box began to grow to three times its normal size. Harry undid the string that kept the top closed. He reached in and pulled out T-shirts, shorts, jeans and trousers. He also found a couple pairs of shoes for school and some trainers. He handed things to Ginny as he dug through the box. Most of the colours were beige, white, black and green. There also were some red and blue shirts. Under the shoeboxes were a couple of daywear robes for school. He sat still, completely stunned, tears threatening in his green eyes.

Ginny could see the pain on Harry's face and placed the things in her lap on the bed behind her. She wrapped one arm around him to give him a hug. He leaned into her embrace and sobbed on her shoulder at the loss of Sirius. She placed her free arm around him, pulling his body closer to hers.

Harry embraced her tightly as the tears fell. It didn't bother him to cry with a fellow survivor. He felt safe here; part of him knew that she wouldn't judge him for this lack of control. All of the times he wanted to cry for Sirius were released in this one moment. When one of her arms moved, he looked up to see her handing him a handkerchief. He wiped off the tears from his cheeks.

"You ok?" she asked quietly.

He nodded and looked at Remus. "Thank you for bringing them." His head turned to Ginny. "Thank you."

Moony's heart broke to see Harry have to suffer so much; he knew that it would have torn James and Lily apart to see their son looking older than his fifteen years. This boy had seen more before his sixteenth birthday than most had seen in a lifetime. The girl that comforted him was wiser beyond her years because of Voldemort. This was why Remus had agreed to train these two children ...No... young adults. They both had a part to play in the end, but getting the pair there would be the hardest part.

"You're welcome, Harry." Remus replied. "You two know how I said that we would talk today? Ginny, last night you released a lot of power. Did you happen to notice what was going on around you?"

"Not really," she admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "Just that the weather changed at some point."

"Exactly. Your parents, Professor Dumbledore, and myself believe that you might have some elemental powers. This summer, I am going to train you to harness those powers so that you don't lose control of them and cause a blizzard or other meteorological disaster."

"Professor, I can't be an Elemental. They are really rare and I am just me."

Remus could see a glimpse of the scared twelve year old he had once taught. "Yes, you are 'Just Ginny', but you are a witch that has a great amount of power within her. We need to teach you how to handle and control it."

"Ok." She didn't look convinced.

Harry laughed quietly for a moment. Ginny turned to him. "You find this funny Potter?" arching an eyebrow as she stared at him.

"No, I was thinking about Quidditch practice. We could train in all kinds of weather without casting the spells to make fake storms."

"Good point." A look that reminded Remus and Harry of the twins crossed Ginny's face. "It's always fun to soak the Seeker."

"Now, I am not training you to handle the power so you can have a monsoon during Quidditch practice, but I do remember that James would have loved that," a bemused Moony remarked. "Harry, we are going to work on your reaction time, general defence knowledge, and proper control of your power." He didn't notice Ginny's surprised look. "The other thing I need to talk to you two about is the bond."

"What bond?" Harry asked in surprise.

Remus looked with a slight smile. "You didn't feel it last night?"

"With Ginny?"

"Yes," Remus replied. "It started with your rescue of Ginny from Tom's diary, and continued to form properly when you became friends last year. Last night was the first time that you both used it consciously."

Harry's face was a mystery, as he accepted what he heard. "How can the bond save our lives? I won't let Gin jump in front of a curse meant for me."

"Haven't you learnt yet that I am not going to allow anyone to tell me what to do?"

"Ginny, I'm not telling you what to do; I am just saying that I don't want you to lay down your life for me."

"What? Are you saying that it's OK for you to sacrifice yourself for the good of the world, but I am not allowed to do the same?"

Remus watched them bicker back and forth and couldn't help noticing that they were acting like a couple of friends of theirs, using the argument as a form of flirting. But he wasn't about to point that out.

Harry stood from the bed and began pacing the floor. "That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"That's what is sounded like to me," she spat back at him.

"Damn it, Weasley! Don't twist my words!"

Ginny stomped toward the door. "Fine, Potter. Eat your bloody breakfast. I am going for a walk." She left slamming the door behind her.

"That went well," Remus commented from his place at the desk. "Both of you are going to have to watch what you say to each other since you have such short tempers. Hopefully in training we can teach you to reign them in."

Harry's brows furrowed. "What do you mean 'we'?"

"I am not the only one that will be teaching you. Professor Dumbledore, Kingsley, and Tonks will be taking some of the lessons. The Headmaster will be here later this morning to cast some wards so that the Ministry can not detect that you and Ginny are doing magic."

Harry nodded. "Oh..."

"You two will go through a form of Auror training with Kingsley and Tonks. Kingsley will take over your Occlumency lessons as well. Albus will be working with Ginny on her elemental powers and with you on wandless magic. I will be dealing with Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Remus, I think that Ginny might be able to do wandless as well."

Moony cocked his head to the side a little confused. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, last night she summoned a broom. I found out later she didn't have her wand with her."

"That's interesting, but not surprising considering what occurred last night. Speaking of Ginny, if you are going to make this friendship work with her, you had better go and find her now," Remus advised.

Harry walked to the door and down the stairs. He found Molly in the kitchen sitting at the table. "Morning, Mrs Weasley. Which way did Ginny go?"

"I don't know Harry. She stormed out through the back door mumbling about people running her life again."

"Thanks," Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll go and find her." He started out the door and found Ron sitting on the back steps.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, mate?" Ron asked quietly.

Harry had not been looking forward to talking to his best friend. "Sure Ron." He hoped that Ron knew where Ginny went.

Ron looked at him. "Do you think Ginny hates me now?"

Harry looked down at Ron sitting there and saw a face that was wrought with pain. His eyes were tinged in red as if he had been crying all night. This was not the same Ron who had unquestionably entered into battle with him time and time again. This was the Ron that realised sometime during the night that he had failed his sister and, in turn, his family.

"I really don't know. We didn't talk much about her outburst last night. The only thing I really know is that we have been discounting her for years and Ginny finally is fed up with it. And now with the training, it's going to be an interesting year."

"What do you mean, 'the training'?"

Harry paused before answering. He knew that he needed to tread lightly with this information since he and Ron had been through everything together. "Remus and some others are going to be training Ginny and me this summer -- mostly basic Auror training and some other forms of magic."

Ron looked up at Harry for a moment before his head dropped back down to his chest. "OK. I can see where you need it, but why Ginny?"

Harry rolled his eyes at Ron's cluelessness. It suddenly made sense why Ron had never noticed that Hermione liked him. "Did you notice what she was doing last night when she was angry? The weather changed, Ron. Ginny made it happen. Dumbledore and Remus think that she might be an Elemental of some sort. They want her to train so that she can handle the power."

Ron looked surprised at the revelation. "You know, I thought that my sister could be scary before, but to think that she could strike me down with lightening is even scarier."

"I have to agree there," Harry replied. "Do you know which way she went?"

"Yeah, she grabbed a broom and headed out to the paddock. I just realised that's something that you and my sister have in common; when you are upset at school, you go to the pitch, when Gin is angry, she goes to the paddock."

Harry began walking to the broom shed but he paused and turned to Ron. "It's the one place that no one can control us. When it's just you and a broom in the air, nothing can stop you from being who you are or want to be. It's freedom, pure and simple. Tell your Mum I will have Gin back for lunch."

Ginny was sitting on her old Cleansweep, hovering about thirty feet from the ground. The conversation she had with Harry replaying in her mind. She kept berating herself for losing her temper again. And I was trying so hard to not get mad.

Looking toward the orchard, she noticed Harry walking out with his Firebolt. His head was down lost in thought. Ginny was able to watch him without being noticed so high in the air. She could tell he looked resolute about something. His shoulders were square as his feet navigated the rough terrain at the edge of the tree line. He hopped on his broom and pushed off.

And he's heading straight to[wards] me. She prepared herself for the confrontation. You can do this without getting angry.

"Hi, Harry. How was breakfast?" Ginny casually asked.

"I wouldn't know. I didn't get to finish it. When you left Remus and I talked further about our training." He deftly sidled his broom next to hers.

"What's going on?"

"We'll have a mix of Auror training, Defence against the Dark Arts, wandless magic and your Elemental work. Kingsley, Tonks, Dumbledore and Remus will be the ones working with us," he explained.

Ginny ran her fingers through her long hair. "I'm sorry for getting angry earlier."

"Well, before we go any further with training or anything else, you need to know something. Last night you mentioned the prophecy... Well, Dumbledore has the full thing and he told it to me last year. It basically says that Voldemort has to kill me or I have to kill him; no one else can kill the other."

"The prophecy said that the one who had the power to destroy the Dark Lord would be a boy born to parents who had thrice defied Voldemort at the end of July and he would be marked as his equal. He had a choice of two boys: Neville or me. For some reason, he chose the half-blood and not the pure blood. When he attacked my family, Voldemort marked me with this scar.

"The Longbottoms were Aurors, Dad was an Auror and Mum was working in the Experimental Charms Division of the Ministry. Both couples were members of the Order. Moony thinks that the Longbottoms were attacked in retaliation for Voldemort's demise and because of the prophecy." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Gin, I just want you to know what you're getting into. This is my destiny. I can't run from it because then Voldemort wins. You still have a chance to run."

A dark look passed over Ginny's face. "I'm not going to run. Get that through your thick skull. If you have to face Tom, then I will be standing behind you, making sure that you are not attacked by some of the idiots who latch themselves to him. How about we make a pact?"

"Which is...?" Harry asked wearily.

"The way I see it, the only way to get through this is together. We have this bond and if training makes it stronger, then we should stick together. We can't do this in half measures. Our pact would be to help each other and fight until Tom is gone forever. I can assure you, Mr Potter, that you can say no. Just know that I will still fight till the end, no matter what you say."

Harry sat on his broom, silent for a moment. He knew that Ginny was telling the truth about her fighting without him if she needed to. He quickly made a decision. "Together?" he stuck his hand out and slowly smiled at her.

A large smile grew on Ginny's face. She clasped his hand in agreement. "Together," she said resolutely.

Professor Dumbledore appeared before lunch into the kitchen of the Burrow. He noticed Molly making lunch at the cook stove and cleared his throat. "Hem, Molly?"

Mrs Weasley turned to face the wizened old wizard that had taught all of her children. "Ah, good morning, Albus. Will you be staying for lunch?"

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Of course. I wouldn't miss your cooking for the world. Did Remus speak to you and Arthur last night?"

"Yes he did. Do you really think that Ginny could be an Elemental?" she asked cautiously.

"From what Remus has told me, yes I do. He described the affect her emotions had on the weather, which is the classic sign of an Elemental.

"Albus, she was quite angry with us last night. I started it, to be honest. I was upset that she had gone to the Ministry with Harry and Ron. My daughter proceeded to tell us that because of what You-Know-Who did to her, she would be a part of this till he was gone. She told all of us that this was her fight and no one would stop her from being in it."

He could see the defeated look in her brown eyes. "Molly," he said gently, "you have to know that they would grow up one day. This war is causing them all to grow up faster than they should. Ginny is a part of this. We have to train her to handle herself, because if we don't she will not be ready."

"But why my Ginny?" Albus could hear the emotion in her words. It was the sound of a mother losing her last child.

"I believe that Ginny became a part of this when she first heard about Harry Potter and started her crush on him. She's always known that he would be in her life and must have understood the effect that would have. When Lucius Malfoy slipped her that diary, it sealed her fate. The only thing we can do now is help her."

"Whatever you think is best, Albus." Molly turned back to the pots on the stove.

"We shall begin by casting wards to mask their magical signature. If they are going to fight against Voldemort then they need to be able to do the spells."

Dumbledore leaned back in the chair. "When Harry rescued Ginny from the Chamber, a bond was created. Their training will help them to use that bond to its fullest potential. They are the best defence students of their year.

"Together they will work on duelling and physical training. Kingsley and Tonks will be handing this portion of their training. Remus will be handling defence as a whole. He will be training them to handle any kind of dark arts attack that could happen. I will be working with them in certain aspects that they excel in: wandless magic and Ginny's Elemental prowess. They will need a lot of support in this endeavour.

"One last thing I want you to be ready for --their feelings may change in time for each other. There will be days when it will seem as if they hate one another. There will be others when their only line to reality will be the one beside them. Allow them to find their way."

Molly sighed. "Arthur and I talked about it last night. Ginny has always loved Harry. She says that she doesn't anymore, but I have a feeling that she was only trying to save herself from further heartbreak after those years of not being noticed. We know that things will change and we accept it."

Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore spoke for a few more moments about things in the Order. One thing they forgot to do was cast a silencing charm around the kitchen. A sixteen-year-old boy was still sitting on the back porch and heard every word. A boy that was learning fast that his younger sister was going to be deeper into the war than he ever dreamed, a sister that he couldn't protect anymore. The realisation hit him that unless he took a few steps in his own life, he could lose both his best friend and his only sister.

Outside, above the paddock, a brown-eyed girl and a green-eyed boy flew gracefully, completely engaged in an endless game of tag. They dropped all their cares and worries and concentrated on having fun and relaxing, both all too aware that this could be the last time that they would ever be children again.

A/N: This was born from Madonna's album Bedtime Stories. The chapters will follow the song listing from the CD. I do not own the copyright to her music; I leave that up to Maverick Records and Warner Bros. Music.

And last but never least...to my pre-beta Tim who makes me a better writer everyday and is a brit-picker that keeps me sane and ChaoticK who makes sense of my ramblings.