Love of a Traveling Soldier

As I watched dismally out the window of the Hogwarts Express, I fought tears and absently rubbed my locket. After the amazing events of the night before, the next morning it was like nothing had happened at all. Harry hadn't been there for breakfast, and was still not there when the entire family left by Floo for Diagon Alley, to drop me off.

"Too good to be true," I muttered, to the empty car.

"What was?" Harry's voice came from the open door to the car and startled me. I turned to see him casually leaning against the door's frame, a sly grin adorning his face. An instant later I was by his side, grinning too.

"You!" I stated, giving him a kiss. "Where were you this morning?" I scolded playfully.

"I had some business to attend to," he said, impishly. Before I could ask what was going on, a magically amplified voice announced the impending departure of the train. "But I wouldn't miss seeing you off for anything."

"You know, if Ron heard you saying this to me, he would mock you relentlessly," I pointed out, giving him a kiss.

"With what that doting fool says to Hermione? I have enough retaliation to last me a while, don't you worry," he winked. The whistle blew, and Harry gave me a sad look. "I'm off. Write me?"

"Every day," I promised, embracing him quickly. "Take care of yourself."

"You, too," he gave me a mischievous grin, "And don't forget to keep your eyes on the sky." He gave me one quick kiss, then with a soft pop, disapparated. Pondering his cryptic message, I sat down again and closed my eyes.

A few minutes later, I was bombarded by a few of my friends from Gryffindor, and was allowed very little time to think about what he meant. Within a few hours we were back at Hogwarts, our safe haven.

It was odd how mixed the atmosphere was as we sat down in the Great Hall. While not all the seventh years were gone, there seemingly was an enormous gap in each table, which was still evident even after the first years were sorted. Slytherin's table seemed almost empty, and Ravenclaw's was also lacking a few noticeable figures. There was still the happy impression of the first evening back, and the excitement of the sorting ceremonies, but behind all that, the air seemed to have a palpable taste of fear and sadness.

Since the death of Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuffs had had a constant sadness lingering over their heads, but now the almost inevitable deaths of countless more, from all houses, seemed to be hanging over the hallway like the black flags that hung for Cedric's death. Yet also, there seemed to be the great relief of being able to ignore it, just for a little while, while we ate and had our yearly ritual of the Great Feast. One of the main comforts, as always, was Professor Dumbledore's opening speech.

"Good evening, good evening," a hush quickly fell as he began. "Now as you all know, this year we are missing a few of our students, whom we should not necessarily be missing. These students are fulfilling their own obligations, whether to family," he gave a poignant glance at Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, "Or obligations to themselves. Now, while they are no doubt going to be missed, these are surely necessary obligations. As no one can deny any longer, we are in a war. Doubtless, every life has in this room has been touched by it, so I do not feel it necessary to elaborate much further, but I do feel the need to reassure you. You are here to learn, to find yourself; here at Hogwarts, you are the safest that you can be. Enjoy your time here, and enjoy your youth. Do not allow the acts of a cruel being to take away your happiness, or your youth, for then he will have won before the war has even truly begun." He left his words hanging in the air for a moment, before finishing. "And with that, I believe we have a feast to consume." With a wave of his hand, the plates quickly filled. Dumbledore sat down again, and began what seemed to be a quite serious talk with Professor McGonagall.

The newest students oohed and ahhed the food, while the older students dug right in and began to eat. I joined them, and by the end of the meal I was so absorbed by the treacle tart, and thoughts of everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours, that I didn't immediately notice a large owl land beside me.

"Ginny?" Colin Creevey nudged me, pointing at the owl. "I think that is for you." I turned and found an enormous pair of brown eyes looking at me.

"It's a long eared barn owl," Lavender Brown, one of the few remaining Gryffindor seventh years, informed me. "I get them from Seamus all the time." I tilted my head a bit, and took the note that the owl was shoving towards me.

Opening it, I instantly recognized the handwriting, and felt a grin spread across my face as I read:

"My beautiful Polaris:

I just left you a few minutes ago, and already I'm missing you and have things to talk to you about. Even though we spoke for hours last night... funny, huh? I guess I could talk to you till I lost my voice and still have things to tell you. You will probably get this sometime during dinner, or tonight before bed. Either way, I hope it finds you happy and well.

I have been thinking a lot of what has happened lately, not only in the last day or so, but since I've met you. Seeing you for the first time before I got on the train first year, the Chamber of Secrets in your first year, the Yule ball, your relationship with Neville, and the beginnings of us. The odd thing is, I don't really remember the true beginning of us. We just fell together, luckily enough.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I felt until last night. For so long, you were just my best friend's sister, just the girl who had suffered so much in her first year. But then I began to see you for who you really are; a beautiful person, inside and out, who saw me for me even when I couldn't see myself. I guess you never know what you truly want until you have to leave it.

I am leaving for Auror training in a few hours. I will probably be gone by the time the owl reaches you. I'm petrified. I won't lie and say that I'm not. But at the same time, I'm extremely eager to finally finish this. We've fought so long and so hard, and I've waited so long. I need to finish this, to end it now, on my own terms. Not only has Voldemort taken my family, but he's taken my sense of safety, and I refuse to let him take any more. I want my freedom from his chains. I want to be able to be with you with out having to worry that just being around me will end with you getting hurt. I don't want to see you hurt in any way. So I promise you that I will do everything in my power to see that your brothers and your friends come home safely, and that soon there won't be anything to be afraid of anymore.

This owl is for you. I named him Finn, and he's the reason I was so late this morning. I figured that if people kept seeing Hogwarts school owls around here, it might become too much of a red flag. This won't bring up as many suspicions.

Open your music box, and say "Cantus Dream." And be assured that the words are in my heart for you.

Yours, Leo."

Folding the letter, I placed it in my pocket and smiled at the owl. Handing him a bit of turkey from my plate, I asked, "Hey, Finn, do you think you could deal with being my familiar?" He hooted happily and nipped my finger affectionately. "Well, if you'll follow me, I'll show you your home." I stood up and was about to give Finn a tour of the castle and my dorm, when I saw Professor Dumbledore approaching me. "Maybe not tonight, Finn," I said softly, noticing the determined look on the man's face. "Perhaps the owlery will have to do for this evening." I released the owl and trusted him to be able to find his way.

"Ms. Weasley, I was hoping you would accompany me to my office. There is something that we should discuss." he said. I obediently nodded, and we set off down the winding hallways, heading to the office that I had been to only a handful of times in my six years at Hogwarts. Reaching the statue at the entrance, Dumbledore softly declared, "Licorice bits." As the statue moved out of the way, we stepped onto the bottom step, and let the revolving stairs carry us up.

Dumbledore sat, gesturing for me to do the same. Conjuring up twp cups of tea, he took his time preparing them. While I was a bit perturbed at his almost blatant stalling, and almost said something, I decided instead to wait patiently. Finally, after he handed me my cup and took a sip from his, he began to speak.

"I suspect that Harry has told you what is happening," he murmured, and I nodded in response. "I also understand that you two have become somewhat of an item." I felt my skin burn with a blush. "While I can not and would not presume to tell you what to do, I am not sure that either of you have any idea of the gravity of what this war truly is, a fact that I am both grateful for, and fearful of. Youth can be a glorious blinder of reality." He sighed, almost regretfully. "This won't be an easy time for any of us, and especially for the two of you. A relationship is a difficult thing, even in the best of circumstances..."

"With all due respect, Professor, did you call me to your office to tell me that my relationship with Harry is a bad idea?" I asked, in amazement.

"Not in the least," he said, obviously trying to appease me. "I just felt that it was my duty to make sure you understood that fact."

"I understand that fact quite clearly," I declared with as much defiance as I could muster against a Professor. He nodded solemnly and rubbed his face with his hand.

"I trust that you do," I began to stand up, thinking that the conversation was done, but he signaled me to sit back down. "I certainly hope you don't think that I am the type of person to bring you here simply to lecture you, Ms. Weasley." He laughed.

"I was hoping not, sir," I smiled, a bit relieved. "What is it that brought me here then, sir?"

"I do not know if you noticed, but Amanda Hawkins was not in attendance at the Great Feast." Thinking back I didn't remember it, but with so many people missing, I couldn't remember anything clearly anymore.

"No, Professor, I didn't notice," I said.

"Well, she was to be a prefect, but due to extenuating circumstances," he grimaced slightly, "she will not be here this year. And we shall be one prefect short." Taking a moment to follow his logic, I practically choked at the conclusion.

"Are you asking me to be a prefect?" I gasped.

"Well, Ms. Weasley, there is no need to sound quite so horrified. A simple yes or no answer would suffice. I dare say this is the first negative reaction I've ever recieved in response to this question," he said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, no professor, it is just... just... I didn't... Percy... hrmm... Sure," I tried to regain my composure and footing. "Of course," I nodded firmly.

"Very good, because I've had your things placed in the prefect's bedroom in Gryffindor Tower," he laughed. "And I will have Quirky here show you where it is." He waved his hand toward a very timid house elf in the corner, who I hadn't noticed until then.

"Thank you very much, sir," I said, semi-dazed. "What exactly do I have to do?"

"That can wait for another day," he smiled. "I expect you are tired, and truthfully I am fighting sleep myself." He winked. I stood up and started to follow the house elf, who was darting around nervously and looked ready to pop with fear, but I stalled right before the door to turn back and look at Dumbledore one last time.

"Thank you, sir, for thinking of me." He bowed slightly and I left.

The elf quickly ran through the hallways, no doubt trying to get this mission over and done with as quickly as possible. As we passed the paintings I heard faint murmers from them. Occasionally catching a snippet of their conversations, I heard things like, "Harry's girlfriend" and "Too young for that" being thrown coldly around. Resisting the urge to stop and explain myself to every single painting, I pushed on, trying to keep up with Quirky and hoping that he would know a short cut to the portrait hole.

"Gobbledy-gook," I declared, as the elf and I finally reached the Fat Lady's painting. Following Quirky, I was led to a small private bedroom a few steps from the stairs that led to my old dorm. Quirky promptly scampered away. I quickly found and opened my trunk, taking out my safely padded music box, a quill, and a few pieces of parchment.

After a quick letter written to my parents explaining my new position, I took a fresh parchment and began to write the words I had been mentally composing since my meeting with Dumbledore.

"Leo,

Thousands of thoughts seem to be swirling in my brain right now, so excuse me if this letter seems muddled and disjointed. Professor Dumbledore just asked me to be a prefect. Blimey, after all the chiding we gave Percy, I'm almost dreading telling my family! But in spite of that, it's a position of trust and respect, and I am more than happy to take it.

I am missing you already. I missed you from the instant you Disapparated. And I know what you mean when you say that we could talk for days and still have things to say. I want to know you, and I want you to know me. But we have a long time for that, and for now, I'll settle for telling you what is immediately important.

It's eerie how few people are here now. There are maybe twenty seventh years left, and a considerable amount of sixth years are gone, too. Somehow I think a lot of them left out of fear, rather than because they are helping all of you in the fight. I think that Amanda Hawkins, the prefect I'm replacing, is fighting. Dumbledore didn't say why she was gone, but I think he meant for me to read between the lines.

I can not begin to thank you for my owl! He's everything I ever wanted and more. How you knew I always wanted an owl, I don't know. But he's beautiful, and perfect. Thank you.

Thank you also for wanting to protect my family and my friends. But keep in mind, my heart is out there with you, and I would very much like it if you would keep it safe too.

Yours, Polaris."

Wanting to add more, but sleep finally beginning catching up with me, I folded the note and placed it with the one for my parents. I would be sure to wake up early the next morning and get to the Owlery to send them off.

I quickly changed into my sleep robes and climbed into bed, the music box and letter in hand. I opened the music box and muttered softly, "Cantus Dream". With one lingering look at the letter, I placed it on my side table. I pulled the shades around me and curled up into a ball, absorbing the music coming from the small box.

"Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singin' in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me"

Drifting off to sleep, no doubt to dream of Harry, I tried my best to ignore the aching and longing that was beginning to squeeze at my heart.