Love of a Traveling Soldier

I returned to my dorm room and began to make it feel more like home, putting a few pictures up and taking out some of my personal things to put on the mirrored dresser. My music box was playing in the background all this time, the music making me feel closer to Harry. The songs all seemed to fit him in some way, and through them I quickly became a fan of Muggle music.

When it was finally a reasonable time for breakfast, I walked down to the Great Hall. Easing myself down to a largely empty part of the table, I began to eat, though more out of habit than hunger. I was stunned to see an owl land in front of me.

"Aren't we the popular one?" Lavender teased. I smiled slightly and took the letter from the large school owl before me. "Who's it from?" she inquired. I read the first sentence.

"Dumbledore," I murmured, without looking up at her, "to tell me about my duties as the new Prefect."

"Ooooo, you're the new prefect? Congratulations!" She smiled, and then returned to her food somewhat awkwardly, obviously understanding my need to simply read in peace.

The letter discussed what I was obligated to do in the next few months. It also went on to tell me the passwords to the restricted sections, and to the Prefects' bathroom. As soon as I uttered them to commit them to memory, the passwords faded. The entire letter was rather standard until the last paragraph, which read:

"I thought you might wish to know that I received an owl this morning, which informed me that the Lt. has safely reached his post. Do not expect much in the form of letters, as he will be extremely busy. He is safe, and I will do everything in my power to keep him as such.

-Albus Dumbledore"

I looked up to the head table, and saw that the Headmaster was looking at me. After a brief smile was shared between us, I folded the letter and put it in my pocket. I was always thankful that we had Dumbledore, but never before that very second had I realised what a truly sweet human being he was.

Looking at my schedule, I saw that my first class was Care of Magical Creatures. Due to the reduction in the class sizes, they had combined 6th and 7th years, but even still, the class seemed to be half as big as the preceding years.

When I reached Hagrid's hut, he looked harried and stressed, but still smiled when I walked up to talk to him.

"'Arry told me about the two of ye," he beamed. "I can't think of a better couple."

I thanked him, and tried to hide my blushing. Turning, I saw that the Syltherins had finally arrived. Though very few of them were left, the ones that had remained seemed ready to more than make up for the absences in their ranks; Pansy Parkinson, one of the vilest of them all, sneered maliciously at me.

"Well, well, well. I've heard about you and Potter, Weasel. Finally sunk your teeth into the poor boy, eh? Eager for some of the glory that comes with the Potter name? Or is it just the money it entails?" She inquired evilly. I squashed the urge to ask her why her supposed boyfriend wasn't at school this year, and ask if she honestly thought that Draco would stay true to her when she was still at school, and instead attempted to just grin and bear it. "What? No response? The truth hurts, doesn't it, Weasley?" She drawled nastily.

"Ever think she could be dating him out of love, Pansy?" Lavender snapped out, then added, "You know, love, that thing that you might be able to accomplish if you had a heart?" It looked as if any one of the Gryffindors could have just kissed her, me most of all. The Slytherins looked livid, especially Pansy, who was about to say something when Hagrid cut her off, beginning the lesson.

*****

Many days passed before I received another letter from Harry, and the letter I did get was short, albeit sweet.

"Polaris:

This is not even close to what I thought it would be like. Instead of a war training center, we have basically been put straight into the war.

I am missing you more and more as days go by. You are always in my heart and rarely far from my mind.

I will have to write more later, because I need to go talk with the head Auror.

Yours,

Leo."

I responded with a short but sweet letter about the days so far at Hogwarts, but felt a bit uncomfortable about it. I left out the bit about my fight with Pansy, knowing it would just aggravate him that he couldn't be here to help and defend me. Also, I felt terrible talking about school somehow. He had been robbed of his 7th year, just as he had been robbed of his family. Hopefully this would be the last thing he was robbed of.

******
Time slipped quickly by, as I sat safely wrapped in my Hogwarts cocoon. My correspondence with Harry was the only thing that truly kept me awake to the world outside of the castle. As much as he did tell me, I was sure that he was holding back. The war was escalating quickly, and in what seemed like no time, it had been 2 months, and my birthday, otherwise known as Halloween, had arrived. It shocked me a bit to realize how little I was looking forward to my own birthday. While usually I was looking forward to it with bated breath, counting down the days, I awoke the morning of my birthday and took 10 minutes to realize what that nagging feeling in my tummy was. My instant reaction upon this realization was to get up and run to the common room. As I suspected, my mother's head was floating merrily in the fire, chatting with Lavender Brown.

"Morning, Mum!" I said, laughing when Lavender jumped about 10 feet in the air.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" She scolded me, but laughed as she walked away, leaving her seat before the fireplace to me.

"Morning, Mum," I repeated.

"Morning, love," She responded. "What took you so long? Last year you were up with the sun!" She teased, and I frowned for a moment.

"I forgot."

My mother frowned back at me. "Forgot? Oh love," she whispered.

I brushed it off instantly, resolving not to let my birthday be ruined by the obviously unchangeable reality I was faced with. "I guess I've been just so busy lately," I explained with a fake smile, "You know, being a prefect and all." She smiled at the mention of my new position, and even through the flames I could tell she was just brimming with pride and happiness.

"Well, I hope your birthday is all that you hope for and more, dear." She smiled. "I really must go, your father wants to pop in before he heads off to work. Hopefully Errol will make it with your gifts in time for breakfast. I love you! Happy Birthday, dear," she blew me a kiss, and almost instantly, my father's face replaced hers.

"Virginia, love," he said quickly, "I must be off, lots to do these days, but I love you and I wish you the happiest of birthdays." His eyes twinkled, and he blew me a kiss. I blew him a kiss back. "Thank you, Daddy." His face quickly disappeared.

I stood up and returned to the girls' dormitory, got dressed and trotted down the stairs to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Sitting down beside Lavender, whom I had been getting quite close with of late, I began to munch on my toast. The morning owls came fluttering in and, I was bombarded with owls landing around me with packages. Disappointed that Finn was not one of the four owls in front of me, I halfheartedly took each of the packages and examined them.

The first two were from my parents. One was a beautiful pale green dress robe, which I remembered fawning over in a window shop the past summer with my mum. The next was a tube of Francine's Fantastic Refilling Lip Balm, which I got every year, my parents knowing well my obsession with it. It refilled itself three times before you had to get a new tube. The two other packages were from my brothers, something that shocked me. I had not heard anything from them since they left with Harry, and except a few mentions of their safety in the letters I had received from Harry, I hadn't heard anything about them.

Opening the small letter that came with the two packages, I was met with the dependably neat handwriting of my brother Percy:

"Ginny Bean:

We all miss you terribly, and send you the very best of wishes on your birthday. These gifts aren't much, but we assure you that we are making our best efforts to make sure your next birthday will be amazing, and we will all be free.

Love,
Percy, Feorge, Gred, Ron, Charlie, Bill, and Hermione"

I traced my hand over each one of their signatures, smiling at the added signature of Hermione. Whatever was to happen with her and Ron, she was my sister in more ways than most people, including my family, would ever realize.

Opening the smaller of the two packages, I found a small flat rock with the word "buartha" etched neatly upon it. A note wrapped in with the rock told me what I had already known, that buartha meant "worried." As children, we had all found smooth, flat little rocks that we made into 'worry stones,' and had etched the word 'worried' etched into them in many different languages. I smiled slightly, and slipped the rock into my front pocket, to later be rubbed when I was thinking of all the things on my mind.

Opening the bigger package, I found a small collection of wild flowers. I dipped my head toward them, soaked up the sweet fragrance and smiled widely. As much as I hated to admit it, my brothers who had once tortured me had grown into some of the sweetest human beings I was graced to know.

As the four owls departed, after a satisfying nibble at my food from each, I let myself sigh audibly. Lavender turned to me and tilted her head.

"What's wrong?" She asked, but instead answered herself with a quick, "Ahh. Don't worry, he will send you something, I'm sure." I gave her a weak grin.

"Am I that transparent?" I laughed, and she nodded with an impish grin.

****

The day swam by slowly and without many important occurrances. It was a Hogsmeade Saturday, but I refused to go down to the town, even after the begging and pleading of the other Gryffindors. I instead took the day for myself, reading and writing in my journal, and not so subtly staring wistfully out the window, waiting for my familiar to return with a letter from Harry.

Returning to the Great Hall for the Halloween Feast that evening, I sat next to a few of the girls I knew from my year. They all grinned and handed me something or other from Hogsmeade, all of which I was thankful for, but put quickly into my robes and simply smiled, before returning to my food. I ate swiftly and returned to the dorms with little more than half of the feast complete.

No letter awaited me on my bed, so I sighed and let myself fall down onto it.

I ached with missing him. I actually could feel the ache deeply resonating in my heart, and wanted nothing more than to run to Dumbledore and beg to know where he was. I opened the small music box on my bedside table and whispered, "cantus Walking," preparing to hear the words I had already memorized.

"Tonight I'm tangled in a blanket of clouds,
Dreaming aloud
Things just won't do with out you,
Matter of fact
I'm on your back..."

The song was quickly interrupted by a tapping on my window. Excited, I stood up and propelled myself to the window, to find Finn pecking at it impatiently. I opened up quickly, and he flew in with a great flourish of importance, laying his package and note on my bed. I gave him a quick pat on the head, before anxiously opening the note.

"My dearest Polaris,

Happy Birthday! Thought I would forget, eh? Don't worry, I couldn't forget even if I tried, your family has been reminding me daily for weeks. So here is my letter, and my gift, though it isn't what I had planned to get you.

Little has happened since I last wrote you, little of any importance in any case. It has been a very intense, "hurry up and wait" situation. I have, however, beaten your brother Ron at Chess three times, I am more that pleased to say. Let's just ignore the one thousand plus times he has beaten me.

We have gotten word of a mission, which I can't really write about in this letter. This means however, that we will not be able to write at all for quite a while, simply because it wouldn't be safe, for either party. I assure you that Colonel Cricket will be well aware of where and how I am and will keep you posted at all times.

I love you.

Leo."

Even after uncountable rereadings of the letter, I couldn't begin to bring myself to stop. He said "I love you," something we had never yet said to each other. I was half dizzy with the weight of the words in my mind. It meant more than I think that he might have thought it would, and was surely my greatest birthday gift as of yet. I picked up the small brown package and opened it with relish. Opening the box inside, I was taken aback by what I saw. Inside was a simple wild flower floral garland with ribbons flowing off of it. On each one of the ribbon ends was a small silver charm. Six charms in all decorated my wreath, a horseshoe, a heart, a star, a wand, a four leaf clover, and a small dragon.

I let myself grin and placed the wreath upon my head, continuing to reread the letter, over and over again. I didn't know how I was going to make it through the time without his letters, and I feared very much for his safety, but I was comforted by his assurances of Dumbledore's knowledge... and the fact that he loved me.

The next morning, I woke up extremely early and went to the owlery. Finn met me with a great hoot, seeming disturbed by the mass of owls hooting all about him. I assured him that my new single dorm was more that enough room to house us both, provided we keep it our secret, and asked him to take my letter to Harry. He seemed appeased, stretching his leg out and flying off immediately after I finished tying on the parchment.

I sighed happily, and found a school owl to take the letter for my parents.