Echo in My Mind

Chapter 11: Christmas at Grimmauld Place

"When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know-"

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

~*~

Am I dying? Harry thought, unable to voice the thought because of his clogged throat.

He gasped and gasped, taking in huge gulps of air, but it wasn't enough. It was too smoky and he was in too much pain to put in the effort. Barely hearing someone scream his name he suddenly felt himself being lifted. Someone was carrying him out of the room.

"What the hell is wrong with him? Ginny's just fine so what's wrong? What happened in there?"

Harry coughed weakly. The pain was finally beginning to leave his ribs and he could breathe again. Air had never felt so good in his lungs and he felt his head clear because he was no longer near Ginny. The intense worry from whoever was carrying him, however, made his stomach churn harder. The mist that had shrouded his eyes was disappearing and he saw Remus was taking him to a couch.

"Harry, I know you're in there. What happened to you?"

Harry moaned loudly as he was laid down on the couch. He hadn't the slightest idea how he was going to explain this magic to everyone because even those who knew about it didn't know how affected he was when near people with strong emotions.

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I have no clue what just happened. I'm so, so, sorry. I was acting horribly, please forgive me," Ginny whispered as she broke free of her mother's grasp and nearly dove at Harry.

Harry, being already overly vulnerable to the others, nearly stopped breathing when Ginny got so close. Her emotions were too strong and they overpowered his extremely weak state with ease. He could hear things beginning to shatter around him.

"Ginny!" he choked. "Get away, please, hurry."

Confused and scared, Ginny scurried away; watching as Harry slowly regained his breath. The others began to swarm him however, and his heart began to race. He couldn't handle them all at once.

"Please back off," he barely got out. "It's all too strong for me to handle. Please-"

But they didn't back off. The pain was returning to Harry and his body began to burn. All he noticed was that Ron wasn't hurting him like the others.

"Please, it's making me sick to have all of you so close. Ron I can handle, the rest of you please step back," Harry pleaded.

Noticing the pleading tone in his voice they did. Ron came forward and knelt next to Harry's head.

"Did Ginny do something?" he asked quietly.

"Not directly," Harry whispered back. "Look, do you remember that magic that I unlocked about a week or two ago?" Ron nodded and Harry continued. "It's triggered by emotion, strong emotion. It hurts me though. It hurts me so much I thought I was going to die back in that room. Ron, I have no clue why but I'm incredibly perceptive to other people's emotions when they're strong enough. They hurt me. Ginny was feeling what she was feeling so strongly that I nearly suffocated and my whole body hurt like the bloody devil himself.

"My own emotions, especially after nightmares, trigger the magic and it makes the pain double. I think it's why I'm always so sick nowadays. You're not really feeling anything too strongly so I can stand to be around you. Mixtures of feelings I can handle but just a single intense emotion makes my magic go haywire and it's so painful. I hope you never have to go through anything to it. If I had gotten out of that room only seconds later I bet I would have died of suffocation. Everyone else is just concerned and I can't handle it. If I wasn't so bloody vulnerable and weak..."

Ron laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. Though he couldn't directly relate to what his friend was going through, he could understand his position. Feeling helpless and weak was something Ron had more often than not felt in Harry's presence on one of their many adventures. Even on the Quidditch Pitch he had the feeling he was doing nothing for his team when he should have been able to do something.

"It's all right, mate. I'm sure you'll get it under control soon," Ron said, trying and failing to find true words of comfort.

Harry let out a long breath. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder, why me?"

Ron knew Harry didn't want an answer and even though he wanted to give one, he couldn't, because there was no way of answering fate.

"I'll save you the trouble of telling them," was all he said.

Harry nodded, thanking Ron silently. He shivered suddenly and completely accidentally summoned a blanket to lay over him and shield him from the cold. He was glad that Dumbledore had made sure there were wards in place around Grimmauld Place that kept underage magic and any accidental happenings undetected.

Oddly enough, Harry could sense Ginny's growing need to touch him and make sure he was still there. He knew their connection had opened at some point upstairs but was surprised it had stayed for so long. Previously it had only been for a few minutes but lately it had been going on for longer and longer periods of time before shutting down. When Ginny had first arrived at Grimmauld Place had been the longest until now. Sighing, knowing that if she got too close his magic would go berserk, he rolled over so his back was facing the group. This scene reminded him of exactly why he hated being in the spotlight. Things had been so much easier when he didn't have so many problems and he could just lock himself in a room with Ginny all day and be happy.

Ron was just about finished explaining at that point and the group was already beginning to speculate about what to do. Harry tuned them out, focusing more on himself and Ginny, wondering what was happening between them. He'd felt incredibly distant from her for the past few weeks. He knew it was his own doing as well. He'd been keeping so many secrets from her that he'd wanted to say, knowing she'd support him and comfort him in a second, but it was just too hard. When Harry himself didn't really have a clue what was happening most of the time it was hard to explain it to anyone else. Lately he'd just felt so detached from everything, like the world was moving around him but he was standing still.

He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that Ginny had been developing her powers in training. He was aware that Blaise had been brewing a potion for nearly a month. He knew he was beginning to get into an easy sort of comradeship with Draco, much more easier than being around Ron, who just seemed to blab about this and that. He even realized that he'd pushed Hermione away at some point. The only problem was Harry didn't feel as if he'd been there to do or see any of it. To him it was like those memories had been planted in his brain and he was watching someone else's life, like he was an outsider in his own body. He couldn't help but wonder if Voldemort had been controlling him this whole time, very discreetly, and was now letting Harry see what he'd done.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder, effectively startling him as he flipped over in a rush, his heart beating quickly.

"I'm sorry, my boy, I didn't mean to startle you," said the voice of Albus Dumbledore as he loomed over Harry.

Harry lifted his glasses and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was really seeing the Headmaster. Contacts had been useless to him today, because there was no point putting them in just to have them fall out when he cried. He wondered when the Headmaster had arrived.

"Hello, Professor," he said quietly.

Forty-five minutes later Harry stood, staring down Ginny, as she screwed her eyes shut in concentration. After explaining their situations for the better part of that time, Dumbledore had told them to recreate the scene from the bedroom. He wanted Ginny to let her emotions go, her magic erupt as it had in the room. He wanted to see how Harry reacted, and how their powers had mixed to start the fire.

Slowly, Ginny's face began to relax into a serene calm. A dangerous smile played at her lips and Harry knew what she was feeling. The power rush was flowing through her, coursing through her veins, setting her nerves on the warpath. Her eyes glinted with such anger at him that he easily knew she was reveling in the feel of such strength.

Harry blinked, hard. His head ached already, his stomach already churning away. All the pain was rushing back to him, stabbing his body all over. He stood strong though but began to back up as he felt the intensity of her emotions begin to flood his senses and block his throat. His magic pulsed, straining to be released.

Ginny kept advancing on him and he finally hit the wall, gasping in pain and to desperately try to get some air into his rapidly contracting lungs. He felt as if someone was choking him, cutting off all his air supply. Really, it was the magic and emotion in the air around him that weighed him down, choking him, making him dizzy.

He fell to his knees, losing all control over his magic as his vision blurred, his lungs and throat constricted painfully, and his body was in so much pain that it couldn't support him anymore.

Ginny's magic practically cackled as it rushed out to meet his. She had given up all control of it, wanting to feel the rush of being so powerful take over her. She'd never felt more alive than this, except for when she was with Harry.

Suddenly a fire exploded in the room as their magic reacted together. Harry collapsed on the ground, gasping as he neared suffocation, trying to fight the pain in his head, stomach, eyes, and everywhere else. Ginny watched him as he desperately tried to get air in his lungs, and she seemed to realize at that point that this was Harry, the person she loved more than anything.

The fire that had been fueling her drained quickly without a trace remaining. She dropped to the ground where Harry struggled with the abrupt end of the magic. Ginny cradled his head on her thighs as she knelt.

Dumbledore watched as Harry struggled to regain his breath. The older wizard had never expected anything like this could happen. Only Empaths could be affected by emotion like this, and it was obvious Harry wasn't one of them. Dumbledore was certain of that, since he had tested the boy in his sleep a few times to be sure.

The Headmaster preformed a quick spell in the air between the two teenagers on the ground. A steady gold light was flowing between them, connecting them, and showing that their link was fully functional. Ending the spell, Dumbledore watched silently as Ginny stroked Harry's back with one hand, her other hand's fingers entwined with Harry's shaking ones.

Harry was breathing safely now, his eyes closed as he allowed himself to be lulled to sleep by Ginny's touch. He felt incredibly open and he couldn't clear his mind at all but it didn't matter to him anymore. All he wanted to do was sleep and not have to face the world...

Harry landed with a thud on the ground. He was standing atop a large jagged cliff of huge rocks. Waves crashed around him as the sea stretched around him for miles upon miles. A smile, sinister and dark, tugged at his lips. With barely any thought he Apparated away.

Moments later he reappeared on another island, this time at the water's edge. His black robes swishing he walked into the water. He was unaffected by the water and he followed the sand down, down, and down. Deeper and deeper he went into the water, a well-done charm allowing him to breathe and another one keeping him grounded to the sandy bottom. He cast his hand out, light flaring from it, cutting through the water and shining in fragments on the objects in its path.

Suddenly that image was gone as he was expelled from the water with a rough force that sent him flying up onto a cliff. He landed, the world tilting dangerously as he stumbled. Harry glanced around. This was the cliff he had started out on.

He noted his arm and legs had been cut on the jagged rocks that he had hit when he fell. Oddly enough, his scar was bleeding, sending rivers of blood down his face. Harry never remembered hitting his head on anything.

Where am I? Harry thought.

"You, Harry Potter, are where you'll meet your doom."

Harry awoke with a start, looking around wildly. He felt a hand reach down to smooth his hair back from his forehead. Ginny's face came into view and Harry let out a sigh. He realized that he was lying with his head on Ginny's lap, the rest of his body stretched across the couch. Dumbledore, who had been talking in hushed tones with Remus, came back over to the couch.

"Harry, good to see you awake again. We have a long discussion ahead of us. Would you rather be sitting for it or stay where you are?"

Oddly enough, Harry didn't feel the least bit concerned about laying on Ginny while talking to the Headmaster. He knew the close relationship he had with the elder man was unbreakable and no disrespect would be shown if he stayed where he was.

"I think I'll stay like this, sir," Harry answered quietly.

"I rather thought you would choose that. Now, from watching your reenactment of the scene upstairs, I've gotten a better look at the situation. Ginny, for one, you must focus more on controlling your magic instead of letting it control you. I know the feeling of immortality one can possess when the magic flows freely but you must rise above it. I don't believe I can stress enough how vital it is for you to be able to control this. Your magic is strong, incredibly so, and it will convert you to darkness if you decide to let it free."

Ginny bowed her head, strands of red hair falling from behind her ears that hid her face from the Headmaster's view. Harry could see the emotion, though, and watched as a tear escaped Ginny's eye. Faintly Harry could sense her feelings of betrayal and it sent his magic bubbling inside of him. He reached up his thumb to brush away her tears. Dumbledore gave Ginny a few moments before continuing.

"Harry, you seem to be developing a similar problem. Though you may be able to control the magic you possess under the Mark of the Phoenix this new magic you have released, the power Voldemort knows not, is out of your control. Do you remember what I told you at the end of last school year, after the Department of Mysteries?"

Harry shut his eyes tight at the sudden onslaught of emotion that statement brought. He nodded slightly, knocking his glasses back and throwing his arm over his eyes. Suddenly he didn't want to talk to the Headmaster anymore.

"Though no one knows exactly what that power is behind the door, it is obvious now that you possess it. Just as the magic in that room is uncontrollable, the magic that resides in you is the same. I'll be calling in an expert from France to work with you on it. She's been researching this incredibly rare type of magic for quite some time.

"However, the important part is that you control your magic. Regular magic out of control is a minor problem but, Harry; your magic is lethal and deadly. If the masses held this power such as you do, the world would have been destroyed long ago by the careless and the fools. For now try any way you can to not let yourself be affected by emotion as you are.

"Starting on your first day back at school, you will be resuming Occlumency lessons. I will give you the choice of taking them with myself or Professor Snape."

Harry felt a seething anger building inside of him. What man just gets to pop up and say he has control of my life! Lights started to flicker and Harry pushed the anger down, trying to swallow it to its dark depths before it the situation became more out of hand.

"Snape is my choice," Harry spat out bitterly.

"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledore corrected gently.

Harry balled his hands into fists and drew in a long, calming breath. It was taking every ounce of restraint he had not to unleash his anger right there. Dumbledore knew Harry had a very short fuse these days and that his temper came out easily, and Harry had no clue why the old man was pushing his limits. He was only slightly aware Ginny had a questioning air about her over his choice of teacher.

"Harry, I'm also hoping you will give the Order permission to continue using this house as their headquarters, since it now belongs to you."

Harry wanted to say no so badly he was afraid he'd explode.

"Go ahead," he said tersely with a surprising sharpness to his tone.

"Thank you, Harry. I have two more things to address before I can leave. The first is the connection you seem to share with Ginny here. I am looking into the reasons and circumstances that may have caused this, but for now I can view it as a connection to both of your advantages. I'd like you to work on making the link stronger. Do it in any way you see fit, and I encourage you to explore new and other aspects of your relationship to strengthen it-" Ginny went rigid, her eyes wide as she realized what he was nearly giving them permission to do. Harry didn't react at all. "And Harry, I have created a room on the third floor at the end of the hall that is warded strongly. If you feel the urge to let out your magic, please do so in there so as not to damage anything in the house itself. I believe that is all. Good day, Ginny, Harry."

"Goodbye, Headmaster," Ginny said quietly.

Harry didn't move nor did he acknowledge the leaving of his mentor. When the elder man was out of the room and the door clicked shut, Harry sat up. He leaned over and kissed Ginny soundly on the lips. She found herself melting into him instantly, and just as quickly knew he was going to leave her.

"Go," she said breathlessly as he pulled back.

He nodded and leaned in for a final kiss. Ginny grasped his hand and cupped the side of his face with her hand. She wanted him to stay, and knew that if he left she wouldn't be seeing him for the rest of the day. His emotions flooded through her, and she felt his desire, his burning wish to stay, even though he really needed to go. She felt his passion for her as well, and she nearly drowned in him.

Ginny let out a loud sigh of defeat as Harry drew back; his lips still mere centimeters from hers. At some point she had pinned him to the couch and was now lying completely on top of him. He had realized this too, and Ginny was happy feel through the connection that he didn't mind one bit.

"I want to stay, I really, truly do," Harry started.

Ginny kissed him sweetly. "Just go now and let it all out. I'll find you later."

Neither moved however until Ginny could truly sense the struggle Harry was starting to have with his magic. She sat up on his stomach and then slid off the couch. Harry gave her a lopsided smile that, even though she'd seen it loads of times, still left her weak in the knees.

"I'd kiss you again," he said quietly as he went towards the door, "But if I do I'll never get out of this room and my magic will build up so much I'll explode and you'll be left to pick up the pieces."

Ginny collapsed on the ground in a fit of laughter as she pictured millions of pieces of Harry scattered on the floor like an unfinished puzzle. Harry let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he crossed the threshold. Crossing the kitchen area quietly he started up to the third floor.

~*~

"Blaise?" Draco called from the far side of the library. "Are you in here?"

The shuffling of feet was all he got in response. He followed the footsteps and the shadows from the glaring sun until he found the girl in question. She was sitting in a chair by the window overlooking the magnificent beach, a book open on her lap.

"We're in Greek paradise and you're reading?" Draco said in disbelief.

"I just received a note from Harry," Blaise said calmly. "He had an interesting dream and swore it took place somewhere in the Mediterranean. There were islands, lots of them, and that fits the descriptions of a few places. I'm trying to help him figure out where he was, because he said he was Voldemort, which means it's vital."

Draco drew a chair to him, straddling the seat and folding his arms over the back. "For all Potter knows it could have taken place in the Americas."

Blaise shook her head. "He's seen pictures of the Greek coastline before and says the rocky cliffs are just like it. He didn't see much but from what he wrote it sounds like somewhere from Italy to Turkey."

Draco frowned. "That leaves too wide of an area to cover to find Voldemort. For all we know he's still in England. He's probably planting visions in Harry's head. I still don't like the sound of this, though. Did he say what Voldemort was doing?"

"He was searching for something. Underwater, he went underwater but he couldn't see anything and got shot out of it onto a cliff. Oddly enough he said it seemed as if he wasn't inside of Voldemort after that. He could hear the Dark Lord in his head but it was as if he was the one on the cliff. It was all terribly confusing and I told him I'd look into it."

Pursing his lips, Draco looked out the window, searching for something to take his mind off Harry and visions. It still amazed him how wonderful the Greek coastline was, and how beautiful his surroundings were. He didn't know exactly where in Greece they were, or if they were on Crete. They'd been dropped in the house and not been told anything else except to never go further than the beachfront that was part of the property.

"How did Harry contact us anyway?"

Blaise showed him a mirror. "This. It's a two-way mirror. The Order has one, more specifically Harry since he took it from them, and we have the other. All I have to do is speak his name into the mirror and he'll hear me if he has it on him."

Draco nodded absentmindedly. He didn't care much for an explanation he just needed something to occupy him even if it was only for a few seconds. He wasn't fond of cold water, and while the sun was shining there was no way Draco was going for a swim in the sea. Flying wasn't allowed because it violated Dumbledore's wards and safety precautions. Though the area around them was beautiful, there was little to do to enjoy it.

"Draco, you look tired. Do you want to take a rest?"

Draco raised his eyebrow. He wasn't aware that he seemed tired. However, now that he thought about it, a short rest didn't sound like such a bad idea.

"Maybe I should," Draco said, rising from the chair. "Come with me?"

Blaise bookmarked her page and grinned up at her boyfriend. Lacing her fingers with his she allowed him to pull her up and lead them to his room.

~*~

Ginny didn't find Harry until late that night. All day, though he'd been under the same roof, she'd missed him terribly. For hour after hour she'd had a strange but wonderful ache to be near him. She knew that their connection was still alive and that she was still getting some of his thoughts, and she knew all about his internal struggle with his magic that had gone on earlier. Ginny wished she could help him but at the same time was glad she didn't have a problem as deadly as that to deal with.

Walking alone down the hallway, lost in her own thoughts, she barely noticed the room Harry was in and didn't stop until after she had passed the door. Ginny turned back and peered into the room. Buckbeak was the first thing she saw, Harry sitting against the wall was the second. He idly tossed a dead ferret at the bird and Ginny laughed because she could picture Draco's face on the animal. This attracted Harry's attention to her and he closed his eyes briefly. He stumbled ever so slightly as he stood and his eyes focused on the girl in front of him.

"I can't feel you're thoughts anymore," he said, making his way over to her. "The connection's closed down."

Thinking about it she realized that he was right. She could no longer feel anything from him. A sudden thought came to her head.

"I can remedy that," Ginny said with a devilish smile. "Come on," she said, grasping his hand and tugging him out of the room.

Harry followed her, already knowing where she was going. He wasn't that naive, and knew she'd wanted him alone all day. When their connection had still been active he'd been slightly overwhelmed by her feelings for him. He had wanted to be around her, of course, but nothing that strong.

When they reached the door to their room, Ginny stopped short. Leaning against the closed door she pulled Harry so his body fit perfectly against hers.

"Get through me first," she said, smirking and arching her back even closer to him.

Harry let out a laugh and kissed her softly before drawing back. Leaning forward to kiss him again, Ginny met his lips as her hand reached for the doorknob to let them through. However, Harry shied away from her. Ginny looked up at him, both confused and expectantly. Harry growled lowly.

"Not now, Ginny," he said darkly as he brushed passed her.

Ginny entered the room and shut the door behind her. To say she was disappointed was an understatement.

"Why not?" she whined, plopping down on the bed next to him.

"There's too much going on right now."

"Dumbledore told us we had to make our connection stronger. He gave us permission to have sex!" Ginny pressured.

"Dumbledore is a stupid old fool," Harry hissed with such venom that Ginny flinched. "I'm doing whatever the hell I want, and that bastard has no control over me. All these years he's been hiding me from the truth, sheltering me, and just fucking up everything more than it already was. I'm sick of it, fed up, and I won't take his shit anymore."

Ginny couldn't speak and she sat back in astonishment and shock as Harry buried his face in his pillow and screamed. She couldn't understand what had fueled this anger inside of him, but whatever it was, she detested it. She hated Harry like this because he wasn't the Harry she had grown to love. He seemed out of control and so honestly evil that it scared her.

"You know what," Harry said, looking up, his tone of voice making Ginny malaise. "Let's do it. Now. Come on, Ginny, you've been hinting it all day."

Ginny began to back off. "Harry, snap out of it."

Harry smirked and laughed. There was something slightly crazy about the way he was acting. Ginny tried to jump off the bed but in a quick move Harry had her pinned. She was about to scream but his mouth cut her off. He kissed her, hard, ravaging her mouth. She struggled against him, trying to scream into his mouth, clawing at his skin.

"You can't win, Ginevra."

Ginny stared at Harry's face as he pulled back. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Tom Riddle's face was staring back at her.

"Yes, Ginevra, it's me."

Ginny screamed.

"Ginny! GINNY!"

Ginny's eyes flew open as the last of the scream died on her lips. The first thing she noticed was that she was being held down. As she looked up at her captor's face she saw the same black hair, same features, everything she had just seen.

Immensely frightened now, Ginny screamed again, and began to struggle. The person wouldn't let her move, he was too strong.

"Ginny, calm down. You had a bad dream. It's me; it's Harry. Calm down..."

"You're not Harry!" she shrieked. "Stop trying to trick me!"

"Harry, get off her," Ron's voice sounded.

"But, Ron-"

"Get off her," Ron said shortly, shoving Harry roughly off the bed.

Hermione rushed over to catch her friend before his head had the chance to slam into the floor. He'd fallen at a very strange angle, headfirst over the side of the bed. If he'd fallen all the way he would have mostly likely snapped his neck. As it was he'd fallen on his ankle because Hermione had only supported the top of his body. Luckily it wasn't broken.

"Harry, are you ok?" Hermione asked gently, helping him up.

Harry nodded, shaking. He began to limp towards the door, nearly collapsing on his bad ankle. Ron was in the process of calming his sister down, assuring her that there was no Tom Riddle anywhere near her. When Harry was at the door, about to turn out of it, Ron looked up and watched his friend limp into the hallway. Hermione caught the apologetic look on Ron's face and knew he hadn't meant to hurt Harry, but had known how to deal with Ginny better than he. Ron caught her eyes and gave her a look that told her to leave, which she did, easily catching up with Harry as he struggled down the second flight of stairs.

~*~

Traditionally, Weasley family Christmas dinners were served at precisely four o'clock. No matter how slow, lethargic, or just plain lazy you were, you were always at the table when the clock struck four for Molly's scrumptious dinner. Though again not at the Burrow, the change of scenery did not mean a change in timing. At three o'clock Molly was still bustling around the kitchen, utensils and pots clanging.

Ron and Ginny sat at the kitchen table, sipping hot chocolates and watching their mother. The entire day had been very strenuous since Ginny had awoken them all at six in the morning. After calming her down and sitting with her for a few hours, helping her study for her Defense O.W.L. exam, they'd made their way downstairs. Ginny had tried to launch herself at Harry but Ron held her back. He'd led her into the kitchen, where they'd been ever since.

Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, had been lying on a couch they'd transfigured into a bed for the entire day since the incident. Neither had changed from their pajamas. Hermione lay with Harry's head on her stomach and he was stretched out sideways, forming an L shape on the queen sized bed. Lunch had been brought out to them, and their discarded plates were banished in the sink.

"Go tell Harry and Hermione to come in here, I need the four of you to help me. Surely they've changed by now," Mrs. Weasley requested of Ginny.

Biting her lip Ginny exited the kitchen. She was still slightly afraid to face Harry and even Hermione's presence with him wasn't helping. She stopped short to listen to a bit of their conversation.

"Kissing Ron is great, Harry. I don't care that you don't want to hear this because-mmph-Harry!"

Harry smirked as he took the pillow that was supporting his ankle and stuffed it over Hermione's face. Hermione sat up, grabbing the pillow from under her head, and giving Harry a large thump in the stomach with it. Harry let out a genuine laugh and smacked the pillow into her side. She squealed, rolling off the bed to avoid another attack.

"Come on, Granger, you know you want a piece of me," Harry said daringly, gingerly landing on his ankle as he got off the bed.

Hermione eyed him with a challenging look. "You're on, Potter."

A massive pillow fight commenced, ending five minutes later. The pillows were gone and Harry and Hermione were trying to pin each other to the bed.

"Aggressive," Harry commented, with a small amount of pride.

Hermione giggled as she got Harry on his side, pinning him to the bed by straddling the side of his hip with her legs. He broke out of it easily, rolling away, then springing back on his hind legs. Just as Hermione turned he pounced on her, and they ended up lying in a heap of tangled limbs. Harry propped himself up on his hands, leaning above Hermione, panting.

"I surrender," she laughed. "Again, you win, oh master of pillow fights, sir Harry Potter."

Harry chuckled, easing off of her. "Three times today and I don't think I'll ever get tired of you saying that. Ginny's waiting for us though, so I think we'd best get off the bed."

Harry looked up, catching Ginny's eye. She was faintly surprised that he knew she was there. That thought was quelled, however, as she looked into his eyes as he neared her, and saw a twinkle in them, one she hadn't seen in so long. He stopped in front of her and she threw her arms around him, not letting go for quite some time.

"Mum wants us all in the kitchen," Ginny said finally.

Harry nodded, disentangling himself from his girlfriend, and heading in to the kitchen. Hermione made to follow but Ginny stopped her. Hermione gave her a questioning look.

"Whatever you did with Harry today really helped. He's starting to be like his old self again. Thank you."

Hermione's expression softened. "I'd do anything for him, you know that."

"HARRY!" came an exasperated yell from the other side of the door. "What have you been DOING all day? Get dressed now! There's only an hour left until Christmas dinner! That good, Mum?"

Hermione and Ginny fell over in peals of laughter as they realized it had been Ron who was yelling.

"Mrs. Weasley, I think Ron needs a tad bit more work with it," Harry said with a smile as he turned to leave. "Hermione and I will go get dressed now. Separately, Ron, and get your mind out of the gutter."

Ron turned bright red and made as if to lunge for Harry but the latter had already left the room. He raised an eyebrow at the girls but then started up the stairs. At that point Hermione seemed to snap out of it.

"Oh no you don't, Harry!" she said, racing off after him. "I get the shower first!"

Ginny watched the staircase curiously as she heard pounding feet and scuffling. One of them was pushed unceremoniously against the wall, which one she didn't know. A few minutes later the shower was running and Harry came back downstairs.

"Bloody women and their showers," he said, and then catching Ginny's look, kissed her quickly to make her forget what he had just said.

~*~

The Christmas Feast had been more than delightful and the partakers in this gorging left the room pleasantly full and content. Ginny and Hermione were curled up on the couch watching as Ron and Harry commandeered their chessboard. As always, Harry was losing. The girls had taken to cheering him on since they concluded Ron was going to win, he didn't need any support.

"So, Harry, it's been what, nearly seven years now, and you're still no better at chess?" Ron laughed as he took one of Harry's knights.

Harry flushed. "I've gotten better," he said quietly.

Sighing as Ron took another one of his pieces and declared check Harry dropped his head into his hands. His pieces were yelling at him to do something so they wouldn't lose and his head was beginning to throb. He really needed some good whiskey.

"Malfoy knows how to play chess, I'm sure. I'm surprised he hasn't taught you," Ron commented.

Harry raised his head to command a piece to move. "Why would Malfoy have taught me to play chess? You did just fine, you're just a master at the game and I can't beat you."

Ron raised his eyebrows at Hermione and Ginny as Harry let his head fall again. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look but Ginny remained stoic, only giving Harry a reassuring word as his queen was taken.

"Checkmate," Ron said two moves later.

At this point Harry's head was throbbing, his scar sending out bursts of pain at random intervals. He supposed he must have been hiding it well, because none of the room's occupants seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. He really wanted a shot of whiskey.

"I'm going to go find Remus," Harry said as he rose from his chair.

Ginny looked sorely disappointed. She uncurled herself and slid off the couch. Grabbing Harry's hand she led him over to a dark corner of the room.

"Harry, it's your first real Christmas with me. You can't just up and leave. Remus is probably preoccupied with Tonks anyway."

Harry tipped his head back and let out a sigh. Instead of responding to her, he kissed her. Mistletoe, which had gone unnoticed by Ginny, hung above them. Since she hadn't gotten a kiss from him all day she melted easily into it, leaning against him even after he pulled away.

Their connection had sprung back up during dinner and Ginny could once again feel his reluctance. A darker emotion, grief, flowed through, undermining the love he had for her and his happiness. Suddenly it clicked with Ginny. Last Christmas had been the last time Harry had seen Sirius before the fateful night at the Department of Mysteries. Of course he'd want to be around Remus.

"Go, Harry," she said reluctantly. "Just promise you'll be back with me before the night's over."

Harry gave her a half smile and nodded before giving her a last kiss and heading out the door. With a sigh Ginny returned to the rest of her family.

Harry found Remus and Tonks on the couch in front of the fire in the library. Two bottles were out and open on the table in front of them. Wine sat in the bottle closest to Remus, and filled his glass while Tonks took the Firewhisky, poured herself another shot, and gulped it down.

"Looks like a very merry Christmas," Harry said upon entering. "Mind if I join the festivities?"

Remus smiled and Tonks let out a small laugh. Harry made his way over to the couch and curled up on the other side of Remus. The three fell into a compatible silence in which Harry stared at the fire.

"I miss him," Tonks said softly after a while.

Remus rubbed her shoulders but remained silent.

"Christmas past was the last time I saw him before the Department of Mysteries," Harry added. "I never opened one of the things he gave me. If I had, it probably would have saved all of us a lot of trouble, and possibly Sirius's life."

"Don't think that way, Harry," Remus soothed. "You know as well as everyone that it wasn't your fault. We should be celebrating that we're all still here, and that Sirius still has a link to us through you. No need for sorrow on Christmas."

Tonks sprang up at his words. "You have a link with Sirius?"

Harry gazed into the fire, watching the flames leap around each other. He could remember seeing Sirius's head in a fire so similar to this.

"Yes, I can talk to him in my head, through a process that is incredibly hard and long to explain. Next time I talk to him I'll be sure to mention you say hi," Harry said.

A few tears began to fall from Tonks's eyes. Harry stayed silent, knowing that he was still rubbish at comforting crying women even under Ginny's influence. This was all for Remus to handle. As he looked into the flames his scar flared for a mere second and a flash of green light passed before Harry's eyes. However, he ignored it, which was an error in judgment on his part.

"Remus, do you have any stories about Sirius that are funny?" Harry asked.

Tonks giggled and Remus's eyes took up a childish gleam that hadn't had residence there in so long.

"Stories, Harry, no. I have novel-length epics of adventures from my youth. We weren't the Marauders for nothing, you know. Let me tell you one of my favorites of Sirius and James during Quidditch practice..."

Hours later Ginny wandered upstairs. Most of the house's occupants had made their way up to their rooms within the past hour, leaving Ron, Hermione, and Ginny alone. Five minutes prior, the two aforementioned people had gone on a snogging spree, leaving Ginny alone. She yawned as she reached the first landing, raising a hand to her mouth to cover it up.

Finding Harry wasn't hard at all. Their connection had been up and running most of the day and all Ginny had to do was feel the intensity of his emotions spike to find him.

The door was open when she reached the library. Light from the fire danced on the walls in the cozy setting. Ginny found the object of her affections sitting on a couch in front of the fire with Remus and Tonks.

"Please, Harry," Tonks was saying sarcastically. "I could drink you under the table if I wanted to."

Harry straightened up from leaning on Remus's shoulder. He narrowed his eyes at Tonks as she too raised herself from that position. She gave him a grin.

"Let's go then, Tonks. Get the glasses ready."

"No!" Ginny exclaimed from the doorway. "Harry!"

Harry turned, shrugged, and gave her a small smile. Remus leaned forward to see the teenager.

"Give them each three shots. They've had enough alcohol already that I can guarantee there will be a winner after only three," the werewolf said.

Ginny huffed but agreed, giving Harry a kiss on the cheek as she neared the trio. Harry and Tonks knelt down beside the table.

"First shot on the count of one. Three...two...one."

Both contestants threw their shots back, slamming the glasses back down on the table. They put their hands around the second.

"Three...two...one."

After this shot, Tonks began to look decidedly sick. Her eyes started to glaze over as well. Harry, however, having not had as much alcohol as Tonks, was fine.

"Three...two...one."

Harry smiled triumphantly after he set down the shot glass. Tonks had nearly thrown up her shot. Ginny giggled in light of Harry's happiness. Remus, smiling, helped a woozy Tonks back onto the couch.

"Goodnight, then, Remus," Harry said laughing at Tonks's antics. "Get sober, Tonks. Happy Christmas."

Ginny laced her hand with Harry's tentatively and was surprised when he squeezed her hand in return and swung their clasped hands between them. He was truly happy and she loved it. Bidding goodnight to Remus and Tonks, Ginny allowed Harry to lead her out. She was flooded with his happiness, something she hadn't felt from him in a long time. She was so lost in the sensation she barely realized when Harry left her on their bed to go get washed up in the bathroom.

Ten minutes later they crawled into bed. Harry hesitantly pulled her closer, not sure if she wanted to be that close to him. He and Hermione had worked on piecing together what had transpired that morning. It was obvious that Harry bore a startling resemblance to Tom Riddle and in the darkness and without his glasses he must have seemed like an exact replica.

Ginny could sense Harry's elatedness fade slightly as his fear of rejection pushed to the front. Wanting the happiness back she snuggled in to him to quell his fears. Once again she felt warmth flood their connection.

"You're happy," she commented sleepily.

"Yeah."

"You haven't been like this in so long."

Harry pulled her closer. "I talked a lot of things over with Hermione, Remus, and Tonks today. They helped get a lot off my mind. We talked a lot about Sirius and they wanted to know what was in the box." He felt Ginny's interest pique. "I told them I didn't know because I hadn't opened it. I don't want to open it without you.

"We talked about my powers too. Hermione and I were trying to come up with ways to control it but we didn't get very far. She said Dumbledore had told them that he hadn't seen powers like this anytime in his life that was natural. I'm not sure if I like the sound of that."

Ginny smiled. "I like you happy, Harry. And I like the sound of it. My Harry, most powerful wizard in the world, working wonders for good."

Harry laughed but felt a sharp prickling in his scar. He ignored it, pushing it to the back of his head. However, it was too late, because Ginny noticed his discomfort.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry said, closing his eyes. "Just a headache from the alcohol."

"All-" she yawned, "right. Goodnight, Harry."

"'Night, Ginny."

Harry closed his eyes, pointedly ignoring the growing pain in his head. Things were finally getting back to normal between himself and Ginny and there was no way a simple headache was going to ruin it.

~*~