Of Girls and Goddesses

Of Girls and Goddesses

Chapter II

When Hedwig had gone, Harry went downstairs and into the back garden. Ginny, who was busy spreading tablecloths on the wooden tables, did not look at him, and he was glad. He would have to talk to her again sometime and try once more to make her understand how mixed up his feelings were at the moment, but not now.

Mrs. Weasley looked up. "Harry, dear! Where have you been? I was worried about you. If you hadn't have come back soon, I was going to send the boys to look for you."

"I just went for a little walk," Harry told her. "I went to the village and back."

Mr. Weasley looked worried. "Harry, that was very wrong of you, very wrong indeed. You mustn't go out walking anywhere alone. You-Know-Who probably doesn't know you're here, but we can't be sure. You might have gotten into trouble."

Harry was about to admit that he hadn't been totally alone, when Ginny spoke up.

"Harry wants to meet up with You-Know-Who," said Ginny flatly. "He thinks that's his purpose in life. He told me."

Arthur Weasley looked at Harry, sympathy on his face. "Harry, I talked to Dumbledore quite a bit before we decided to bring you to the Burrow. I know what you're worried about, and I can't say I blame you, but you're not ready to face him yet. Don't go doing anything rash."

Mrs. Weasley suddenly gave Harry a hug. " That's right, Harry, dear. You need to be careful. No more going off on your own." She glared at Ron and Ginny. "And that goes double for you two! When I think of you all going off to the Ministry the way you did, I don't know what to do! It's not like traipsing off into the Forbidden Forest, you know, as if that weren't bad enough."

She magicked a large ham, potatoes, and several large dishes of vegetables onto the table. It looked like she was about to say something else, when Bill and Fleur came into the garden. Harry had not known that they were coming, and he was amused to see the look of horror on Ron's face when Fleur appeared. Mrs. Weasley rushed over to give Bill and Fleur hugs, and Charlie, who was sitting across from Harry, winked at him. Obviously he had noticed Ron's expression as well.

After greetings all around, they started dinner. No one mentioned the absence of Percy Weasley, not wanting to upset Mrs. Weasley. Percy now admitted that Voldemort had returned, but he was still living in London, very bitter about the whole turn of events. He had gotten in quite a bit of trouble two years earlier for not noticing something was amiss with Mr. Crouch, and later on for his support of Umbridge. His troubles had been compounded by his pompous attitude the year before, which had not endeared him to anyone who now mattered at the Ministry. If it hadn't of been for Cornelius Fudge, who was still clinging tenaciously to his office, Percy would probably have gotten the sack. Percy was still not speaking to his father unless it was absolutely necessary.

They had gotten almost all the way through the meal, when Mrs. Weasley turned to speak to Fleur, and let out the loudest shriek anyone had ever heard out of her. She snatched Fleur's hand and held it up. Fleur was wearing an engagement ring.

"Oh, damn!" Bill said, sheepishly. "We weren't going to tell you until later."

The table exploded with congratulations, as everyone admired the ring. Ginny seemed a bit subdued, but only Harry noticed this in the chaos of the moment. It gave him a twinge of guilt.

"Oh, Bill! I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Weasley cried. "We have to make plans! When are you going to get married? Where? Oh, this is so exciting!"

"We haven't decided," Bill told them. "We went to France for Bastille Day, to see Fleur's parents. You haven't lived until you've been in France on Bastille Day."

"Zey were vairy pleased," Fleur admitted shyly, looking over at Bill. "Bill is vairy important wiz Gringotts now, and 'e impressed zem vairy much."

"We want a small wedding, just family and a few friends," Bill said.

"Then it's not going to be small," Fred quipped. "Not if you're having this family."

Laughing, Bill had to admit that was true. "We're thinking of going to Egypt on our honeymoon. I made a lot of good friends when I was over there, and I'd like to show Fleur off to them."

"That was a wonderful place for a vacation," Mrs. Weasley sighed. "There was so much to see! I wish we had been there last winter when those muggles found that temple."

"Yeah," Charlie said. "I read about that. It was a temple of the goddess Isis and it was pretty much intact. That doesn't happen very often. I thought the muggles had already found everything there was to find over there."

"The muggles never give up, do they?" Mrs. Weasley said fondly. "I hope there weren't any curses on that temple. Some of those ancient spells have weakened over time, but they're still potent enough to give the muggles a hard time."

Mr. Weasley produced a couple of bottles of wine so they could all have a toast. They were just settling down to a dessert of some very rich chocolate cake, when Pigwidgeon came soaring into the garden toward them. He was carrying a very thick envelope and was flying lopsided just to keep in the air.

"Duck!" George yelped, as the small bird hit the table and skidded toward Ron, throwing a few feathers onto Ron's empty plate. "Blimey! What did you get? An encyclopedia?"

"It's a letter from Hermione, of course," Fred said, as Ron tore it open. Ron went red to the tips of his ears as he started to read the letter, but when he looked up, his face was more normal.

"It IS from Hermione, actually. She spent the summer holidays with her parents in Majorca, but now she's back. She wants to know when we're going to Diagon Alley. She says she'll meet us there."

"How about Wednesday?" Mrs. Weasley offered. "You could go to work with Fred and George, and meet her at Flourish and Blotts by ten in the morning. Tell her if she wants to, she can come back to the Burrow after to stay with us, and we'll see her on the train September 1^st with the rest of you."

"Thank, Mum!" Ron said happily. "I'll go write her back." He took the letter and headed into the house.

Bill watched him go, grinning. "Those two will be next. Wait and see."

"I hope not," Mrs. Weasley said huffily. "They're much too young to be thinking along those lines."

"I agree with you completely. There's too much going on right now, in my opinion," Harry offered, taking some more cake. To his irritation, Fred, George, Charlie and Bill all looked at him, then at Ginny when he said this. Ginny turned red and went into the house. Finishing his second piece of cake, Harry waited until the talk turned back to Bill's wedding plans, and when he thought it wouldn't be too noticeable, he slipped away as well.

He found her sitting alone. Ron must still be upstairs writing to Hermione, Harry thought.

"Look, Ginny," Harry said awkwardly, "if I made you angry before, I'm sorry. I just really don't think we'd get on. I meant what I said before. I want you to be happy. I just don't think I can be your happiness."

She looked at him coolly. "Why don't you just say it, you coward? You're afraid to love anyone! You think just because you have burdens to bear that you have to suffer alone and in silence. Poor little martyr!"

"I don't see myself as a martyr!"

"It's more fun to see yourself as a hero isn't it? That's why you wanted to go to the Ministry alone. You just want to win on your own, so you can stand up and hear the crowd cheering for you. Only for you!"

A torrent of words poured out of Ginny Weasley. "Hermione was right. You have a saving people thing. Because you like to save people, but because you like to get all the credit as well. Special Harry Potter, as usual."

"I never saw myself as a hero," Harry said angrily. "I just got stuck with it. Do you want to know how it all ends, Ginny? Do you really want to know what was in that prophecy at the Ministry?"

Ginny looked surprised, and a flicker of doubt crossed her face. "Neville said it got broken, and that you didn't hear what it said."

"Dumbledore knew what it said. He was just afraid to tell me. Dumbledore couldn't bear to say it, Gin. That's how bad it is."

"The ending is going to be bad?" Ginny whispered.

"For me it is," Harry said bitterly. "I have to kill Voldemort, or he has to kill me. Neither of us can continue to exist while the other still lives. I have to be a victim, unless I want to be a murderer. And if I wind up the victim, the whole wizarding world will be in danger. Nice choice isn't it? And with that hanging over me, you think I should be worrying about which girl to start dating this year? Let's get our priorities straight, why don't we?"

He looked so miserable that her heart broke for him. "Harry, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She stepped up to him, and slid her arms around him. He stood stiff for a moment, then with a strangled cry, turned his face into her hair. She held him tightly, until he relaxed a bit.

He drew back his head, and looked into her brown eyes. "Everything happens to me, Gin. Everything happens to me."

Not knowing what to say, she said nothing. She leaned in instead, and pressed her mouth to his. He stood there for a moment, so close he could hear her heart beating, so close he could feel her breathe. Could this be love? If it was love, Harry thought, why was it so damned terrifying?

"Oh...sorry."

Harry stepped back, startled, to see Ron standing behind them, grinning.

"I just finished my letter," Ron said, a bit too casually," so I thought I'd go back for another piece of cake. Dad might even let me have another glass of wine, if he's still in a good mood. Amazing about Bill and Fleur, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Now your mother can quit nagging them about when they're going to get married, and start nagging them about giving her grandchildren."

"That's not funny, Harry. I can just see her doing that," Ron answered, and the three of them went back outside.

As the sky went from sunset pink and gold, to smoky gray, to the deep velvety blue that comes just before blackness reigns, Ginny watched Harry once more. The prospect of Harry killing Voldemort filled her with dread. She believed he would find a way to do it. He had to. The alternative was unthinkable, but what would it do to Harry, to have to kill? Whatever Harry had to do, she would have to keep trying to be there for him.

When their school letters arrived, they discovered Ginny had been made a prefect. Mrs. Weasley was ecstatic, and promised Ginny a new cauldron in honor of the occasion, as hers was worn nearly through.

"I wonder who the other Gryffindor prefect will be?" Ron mused.

"It's Colin Creevey," Ginny answered. "I got a letter from him, as well. I wonder who told him I got the other badge?"

"Who cares?" Ron groaned. "Why would Dumbledore make that little git a prefect?"

"He probably wanted to give him a little confidence," Fred said mischievously. "Dumbledore's been known to do that on occasion."

"Shut up, Fred!" Ron snapped, as the others hid their smiles.

While the wisdom of Dumbledore's decision was being debated at the Burrow, the headmaster himself was arguing with Cornelius Fudge. Having been proved totally and undeniably wrong, Fudge didn't really have the support to argue with Albus Dumbledore anymore, but he was letting his displeasure be known all the same.

"Why do you want Croaker at Hogwarts? He's one of the best Unspeakables we have, and I really would prefer he stay in that department, especially since we lost Bode!"

Dumbledore looked at Fudge and shrugged. "I thought you would be pleased to have someone from the Ministry take the job. Croaker is an expert on the occult sciences. His reputation is impeccable. Even muggles know about him, although most of them think he is simply a scientist. I think we should get back to basics at Hogwarts. Binns does the best he can, but he doesn't always get the message across. Croaker could tie the dark arts together with history, and we would have an integrated program."

"Oh, very well," Fudge said, exasperated, "you may talk to him, but it's his choice."

Ron, Ginny and Harry flooed to Diagon Alley as planned with George and Fred on Wednesday. They arrived at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes a little after nine. Fred and George opened the shop, and showed off a few of their latest inventions. Harry never ceased to be amazed at the ideas the twins came up with. Ron kept checking his watch, not wanting to be late meeting Hermione.

A bit before ten, Ron, Ginny and Harry set off for Flourish and Blotts, armed with their book lists. Ron didn't have much to buy, because he had inherited all of Fred and George's old books, and Ginny was getting a few of Ron's used books. Harry was buying all of his books for sixth year new, however, and had just begun to gather up what he needed when Hermione appeared.

They were all very glad to see each other. Hermione gave them all a hug, but it seemed to Harry that the hug she gave Ron was a little longer than the one he and Ginny got. Maybe Ron and Hermione were going to accept the inevitable after all. In his last letter, Ron had given her the news about Bill and Fleur, and they talked about that for awhile. Hermione was a lot more enthusiastic about Fleur now that she was firmly attached to Bill.

While they waited for the clerk to get down her new Arithmancy book, Hermione enthused about the idea of an Egyptian honeymoon. "That sounds very romantic," Hermione said. "It's beautiful along the Nile, and there are so many things for tourists to see. Remember what we learned in history of magic? Remember what the wizard Herodotus said about Egypt?" Hermione began to quote from memory. "He said, 'concerning Egypt itself, I shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country that possesses so many wonders, nor any that has such a number of works that defy description.' I was really jealous when you went there, Ron. The ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating!"

Ron and Harry looked at each other and sighed. Hermione still sounded at times as if she had swallowed a textbook.

After they had chosen the necessary books for the new term, they left the bookshop and began to look at some of the other shops. They were just passing the Quibbler office when Luna Lovegood came out and almost walked right into them.

"Hello," Luna said, looking at each of them with a dreamy expression.

"Hello, Luna," said Hermione. "How was Sweden? Did you and your father find any Snorkacks?"

Ron choked back a laugh, and Luna looked at him oddly before replying. "No, but we saw a lot of other interesting things. My father picked me up right from school and we were there for five weeks. There is a large community of wizards in the Dellen Lakes area. My father got a lot of good ideas for stories. I was just in the office helping him sort through some of his notes." She turned to Harry. "Thank you so much for the book you sent me, Harry. I loved the pictures. The illustrator is a very good painter, isn't she?"

"I thought you'd like it," Harry answered.

"You sent Luna a book?" Hermione said, incredulously.

"It was about fairies," Luna said, smiling. "We were talking about them one afternoon last week."

"When was this?" Ron asked, surprised. Ginny looked from Harry to Luna and her eyes narrowed. Harry noticed this, and sighed. He thought he and Ginny had gotten their friendship back on track. She had certainly been more understanding the last few days. If she was going to be jealous of Luna, though, it was going to be a problem. Luna was a good friend of his, and he didn't want to see her placed in an awkward position.

"Luna and I did spend an afternoon together. It was nice," Harry answered. Changing the subject, he asked her," Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to Madam Malkin's. I have to get new robes," Luna answered.

Harry was getting very tall, and his robes were once again too short. "I need to go there, too. Are any of you getting new robes this year?"

"Mine are still fine," Hermione said, a bit confused.

"New robes? Are you kidding?" Ron said. "I've never had new school robes." He tried not to sound too bitter. It wasn't Harry's fault that his parents had left him enough money to be able to buy things new. Ron certainly wouldn't trade having parents for new robes.

"Why don't we go together, then?" Harry said to Luna, hoping to have a chance to talk to her alone for a few minutes. "Why don't we meet up at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch in an hour?" Harry said to the others.

Ron shrugged. "Okay. What do you want to do, Hermione?"

"Let's go to the Apothecary. I need to get more potions ingredients." She turned to Ginny. "Are you coming with us? We can stop and get your new cauldron on the way if you are."

"Looks like it," Ginny answered. A terrible thought was beginning in her mind. She couldn't remember seeing Luna at the leaving feast. Could Luna have been the one Harry had confided in, when he wouldn't confide in anyone else? But why Luna? Ginny has known Luna casually for years and had never seen anything very remarkable in her. Luna had been all right as a child, but after her mother died, she'd started getting eccentric. She was bright enough, or she wouldn't have been sorted into Ravenclaw, and she had certainly been useful at the Ministry, but Ginny had never seen Luna as someone who would appeal to Harry. This was something she had to think about.

Ron and Hermione set off, and Ginny followed them. She couldn't resist looking back, however, and winced when she saw Harry take Luna's hand.

Harry and Luna started down the street, and Luna said, in a matter of fact way, "You didn't tell Ron and Ginny that you saw me the other day."

"It wasn't anything deliberate. I just didn't think of it. Ginny wasn't talking to me, anyway. She was still angry about the argument we'd had, and then when I got home Ron's older brother, Bill, came over with Fleur Delacour. They're engaged. Did you hear?"

"No. How nice for them Bill is very smart, and Fleur is a pretty girl, isn't she?"

"She's part veela. Her grandmother was one. They want to go to Egypt for their honeymoon. Bill used to work there as a curse breaker for Gringotts, and he wants to show her around" Harry told Luna, who looked quite interested.

They got to Madam Malkin's quickly, and were fitted for their new robes. Harry pulled out his bulging moneybag and paid with gold galleons. Luna also had a bulging moneybag, but it was filled with a few silver sickles and many bronze knuts, which she counted out carefully. The cost of the robes nearly emptied it, and Harry felt a little sorry for her, as he watched her stack the coins carefully on the counter. She noticed his expression, and after she had taken her parcel, and they were walking out the door, she said calmly, "You don't have to pity me, Harry. I have enough money to get by."

"What makes you think I pity you?" Harry asked, startled.

"You had the same look on your face just now that you had when I told you about my things going missing."

"That's not pity. I just know how it feels to get picked on. Remember what I told you about living on Privet Drive? And besides," Harry continued, "I don't like seeing any of my friends in bad situations, and you're a good friend. I like you, Luna. "

" I thought you might. I hoped you would. I like you, too, Harry." She hesitated, then led him over to a bench. They both sat. "Do you like me enough to tell me the truth about something."

Harry thought about their trip to the Ministry and took a deep breath. "If I can't tell you something that you ask me, I'll always have a good reason not to answer. I won't lie, though."

"What did you and Ginny quarrel about? I thought she'd be too happy to quarrel with anyone. I heard she made prefect."

Harry hadn't expected this. "She wanted to be my girlfriend," he blurted out.

"And you didn't want to go out with her?" Luna looked at him seriously, her silver eyes shining.

"I don't think I can give her what she needs," Harry said honestly. "I do like her. I like her a lot, but I've never thought of her in that way. Besides, I have a lot hanging over my head."

"Why does Voldemort keep coming after you?" Luna asked next.

"Because of the prophecy that was made about us, before I was born. The prophecy said that a child was coming to parents who had defied Voldemort three times, and that Voldemort would mark that child as his equal. I am the one with the best chance of defeating him for good. Neither of us can exist while the other still lives."

"Your scar is the mark," Luna said flatly, "and you must some day face off and end it, one way or another. This is the path you're on, and you feel it's a path you must walk alone."

"Yes." Harry looked down at the ground, a lump in his throat. "After what happened to Sirius, how can I feel any other way?"

"Oh, Harry," Luna said, with a wistful smile, "making one mistake is not a crime. You don't have to put yourself in solitary confinement for it. You need your friends, and it wouldn't be helping any of us to have you turn away from us. The Death Eaters know by now who went to the Ministry with you. We have all chosen to walk this path with you, and you can't change that. Nothing can take away what we have given you of ourselves. Don't try to take yourself away from us." She looked at a clock on a nearby building. "It is noon. You must go. You will be late for your lunch."

"You're coming, too, aren't you? It'll be my treat, and not out of pity, either, either. It's because you're my friend, and I'd like to be with you a little longer."

She shrugged. "If you're sure the others won't mind."

They began to walk back to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry watching Luna thoughtfully. She was a very strange girl, but she was all right, really. She certainly had a knack for putting things in perspective, and she was so calm! If it really was time to start reaching out to people from other houses, Harry was awfully glad they had started with Luna Lovegood.