For Your Love

A/N: A few people have commented about my use of the song "Scarborough Fair" in Chapter 6, so just a note of clarification. Some of you may not realize that the song did not originate with Simon & Garfunkel. It is a traditional English ballad and some say it dates back to medieval times. The lyrics that I used are the traditional ones, which are slightly different than the S&G version. The words are so haunting and beautiful, and it is my favorite song. I was so pleased to be able to include it in my story!

Chapter 8 - Real Life and All That

The Burrow was a flurry of activity, and Harry and Ginny hardly had time to exchange two words, let alone talk about what had happened under the tree. They had both lain awake for several hours, and morning had come far too soon.

"Trunks!" Mr. Weasley called from downstairs.

Harry heard Ron's trunk bumping off the walls as he tried to levitate it down the stairs. He strapped on his wand holster and hurriedly checked his room for any last minute items.

"Ow, Ron!" Ginny exclaimed as she tried to run up the stairs and was blindsided by the floating chest. She ran into Harry's room, rubbing her shoulder with one hand and dropping a stack of clean t-shirts onto his bed with the other.

"These are yours," she mumbled and ran out of the room again before Harry could register her.

"Gin..." he said, but she was already gone. He growled in frustration as he gathered up the shirts and stuffed them into his trunk, closing the lid. He wanted to talk to her, to make sure they were alright. But the morning of September first was never conducive to meaningful conversations.

He tried to catch her eye as they loaded themselves into the ministry car, but she busied herself with the clasp on her cloak and climbed into the middle seat with her mother, forcing Harry to take the rear seat next to Ron and stare at the back of Ginny's head for the duration of the trip.

They emerged through the barrier at King's Cross onto Platform 9¾ and melted into the sea of students and parents saying their final goodbyes before boarding the Hogwarts Express. Ron immediately started scanning the crowd.

"Do you see her?" he asked anxiously.

Harry looked around for Hermione's wavy hair but couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. Suddenly, the crowd parted and there she was, elbowing her way toward them with a beaming smile.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. She greeted everyone and let Mrs. Weasley admire the Head Girl badge shining proudly on her jumper.

Finally, Ron was able to sweep her into a hug. "I was looking for you."

"I was just helping some first years get on the train. First day jitters, you know. I've got a compartment for us." She led them to the front of the train where they stowed their trunks along with Hedwig and Pig in the luggage racks next to Crookshanks, then went back outside to say goodbye to the Weasleys.

After Mrs. Weasley finished hugging and worrying over him, Hermione tugged on Ron's hand. "Come with me and meet my parents! They've been waiting for you."

Ron's face paled. "Your parents?" he croaked.

Hermione gave him a stern look. "Don't be silly. You've met them before, they just want to say hello. Come on, we've only got a few minutes. Oh, Ginny, once the train gets moving, meet us in the Prefects' Car for the meeting, alright?"

Ron looked around to Harry for help as Hermione led him away, but Harry only laughed. The crowd began to thin out as the students boarded the train, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley turned to say their goodbyes.

"Goodbye, sweetheart, have a wonderful year," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging Ginny and handing her a bag. "Here are sandwiches for you all, make sure Ron gets one, won't you?"

When she turned to Harry, her eyes seemed to brighten a little as she reached up to pat his cheeks. "Goodbye, Harry. I can't believe it's only been a few years since we met you right here in this station, and now look at you, all grown up."

Harry hugged her and said, "Thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley. We'll see you at Christmas."

Mr. Weasley shook his hand and leaned in to Harry's ear. "Don't worry about anything here; the Order will look after things. You just concentrate on getting through your last year. I expect Dumbledore will keep you updated if anything important happens." He straightened up and clapped Harry on the shoulder, smiling. "Take care of yourself. Sorry we can't stay; we need to get the car back to the Ministry."

Harry nodded and watched as they disappeared through the barrier. When they were out of sight, he turned back to Ginny, who had a wistful look on her face as she watched her parents go. She met his eyes, and they were both startled to realize that they were alone for the first time all morning.

"Hi," Harry smiled.

Ginny smiled in return. "Hi."

"I wanted to..." Harry began, when he heard a shout behind him.

"There he is!" In a flash, he was surrounded by two reporters and their cameramen, snapping his picture and bombarding him with a stream of questions.

"Harry, how do you feel about going off for your last year of school?"

"What are your plans for after you leave Hogwarts?"

"Look this way, Harry!"

"Harry, do you know anything about the whereabouts of You-Know-Who?"

Harry's mind changed instantly from shock to anger, and he had only one thought - to get out of the glare of the cameras and onto the train as quickly as possible.

He grabbed Ginny's arm and ducked his head to avoid the flashbulbs, but the group blocked their path, and the few people left on the platform were beginning to stare. Determined not to answer their questions, he tried to steer Ginny around them and eventually had to resort to pushing the female reporter out of the way so they could get through.

"Leave him alone!" Ginny shouted at the woman as they passed.

"Ginny," Harry whispered frantically, "just go!"

"Are you his girlfriend?" the second reporter, a young man, asked.

At this, Harry stopped and wheeled around in frustration. "Hey! It's bad enough you come here and harass me. Leave my friends out of this."

Ginny, however, gave the man a steely glare. "That's none of your business," she spat.

"We're only reporting what the public wants to know!"

"Oh yeah, well tell 'the public' to..."

"Ginny!" Harry tightened his grip on her arm. "On... now!" He forced her up the stairs and through the door and didn't let go until they reached their empty compartment. He slammed the door shut, causing Crookshanks to hiss and Hedwig to ruffle her feathers reprovingly.

Ginny turned to him, her cheeks flushed. "That was so unfair! How dare they corner you like that!"

"Yeah, well you just made it a whole hell of a lot worse," Harry said forcefully.

Ginny's eyes went round as saucers. "Me?! I told them to leave you alone and that it was none of their business!"

"You told them it's none of their business that you're my girlfriend!"

"I'm not your... I didn't say that!"

"But that's what they'll hear! You can't say things like that to reporters, they twist everything around to what they want it to be. You have to ignore them! Don't answer any questions, I don't want people thinking you're my girlfriend!"

The volume in the compartment had reached a fever pitch, but now, the silence was just as deafening.

Ginny raised her chin defiantly and spoke in a barely controlled voice. "I know. You've made that perfectly clear."

Their eyes locked in a furious stare. They hadn't realized it, but during their shouting match the train had pulled away from the station, and they could now hear the clacking of the wheels on the tracks. Harry's jaw clenched and he made a visible effort to bring his voice under control.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Save it, Harry. I know exactly what you meant."

Ginny lowered her eyes and turned away just as the compartment door slid open and a tall, blonde boy stuck his head in.

"Hi, Ginny!" Colin smiled. But his smile soon faded as the tension in the room hit him like a ton of bricks. "I was... just checking if you're coming to the prefect's meeting."

"Yes, I am," she said briskly. "Let's go." She brushed coldly past Harry and out into the corridor, not waiting to see if Colin was following her.

Colin watched her retreating back and then turned to Harry. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," he said nervously.

"S'ok," Harry grunted as he dropped into a seat.

"Okay then... I'll just be going."

"You do that."

Colin looked as though he wanted to say more, but instead he nodded and closed the door, leaving Harry quite alone.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sauntered to the Prefects' Car at the front of the train, smiling at the way his Head Boy badge had been inspiring looks of awe and fear ever since he had arrived at the train station. He reveled in the fact that a Slytherin had finally claimed the top spot once again, and he looked forward to reminding the rest of the school that it was the Slytherins who were indeed the most noble house at Hogwarts.

But his smirk turned to a sneer as he reached the car only to see that his new Head Girl, Granger, and her insufferable red-headed sidekick were already there. She appeared to be looking over some notes as Weasley sat talking heatedly at her, unaware that Draco was watching them through the glass. She was giving him short, one-word answers. Draco had to admit that she was something of an expert when it came to ignoring harassment from others.

It was inevitable that Hermione would be made Head Girl. He had known it even before Dumbledore had told him. His father would be outraged if he knew that his son's coveted Head Boy status was tainted by having to serve with someone of such inferior breeding. Draco snorted, thinking that that was not all his father would be outraged by if he knew the truth. But the walls of Azkaban had separated Draco from his father for the past year and in that time, he had learned some hard lessons about loyalty and honor.

Hermione looked up and caught sight of him, locking her eyes to his for only a moment before hastily stuffing her parchments back into her bag. She shushed Ron as the door slid open.

"Well, well, if it isn't everyone's favorite know-it-all and her pet Weasel."

Ron's face grew red and he looked to Hermione, begging silently for permission to hex Malfoy until that smirk was removed from his face permanently. But Hermione remained unfazed.

"Letting loose the insults so soon, Malfoy? The train hasn't even left the station. Better save some or you'll have none left for the ride."

"If you've trained Potter to keep his mouth shut as well, I may not have to use them at all," Draco smirked. "But that would be a pity; I've so been looking forward to it. I've got some really good ones this year."

"That's it." Ron stood up abruptly, but Hermione, anticipating him, had already moved between them.

"Malfoy," she said, an edge creeping into her voice. "Could I speak to you outside for a few minutes? I have some things I want to go over before the meeting starts."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "I read the brief from Dumbledore, Granger, there's nothing we need to discuss."

Hermione stood her ground. "It will only take a minute," she repeated as she gestured to the door, waiting for him to open it.

He cast another cool glance at Ron before sliding the door open and stepping into the corridor. Hermione closed the door and motioned for him to follow her to the end of the car into the private entryway. She turned to him and gathered her courage. Putting her carefully crafted plan into action, she smiled.

"Well, Draco, congratulations on making Head Boy. Your mother must be very proud."

Draco grimaced and rolled his eyes. "Spare me, Granger."

"And you too, Hermione," she continued. "Congratulations on making Head Girl." She waited. "Go on, say it."

"If you think I'm going to make polite small talk with you, your intelligence has been sorely overrated."

"Oh, but you will," she said patiently, "because this is how we are going to behave toward each other this year. We are going to be civil and responsible and live up to these badges on our chests even if it bloody well kills us. Professor Dumbledore, for some reason known only to God I am sure, has made you Head Boy. Why he ever thought that you and I working together was a good idea, I'll never know. But I will not let you undermine our position with your petty insults and house-bashing."

Draco surveyed her with a practiced look of unconcern. "I am not the one who needs lessons in decorum, Granger. I can get along quite pleasantly with anyone I choose, so long as their last name is not Potter or Weasley. Not that you would know, since you cannot bring yourself to make friends with anyone but a Potter or a Weasley. Or should I say more than friends?"

"Leave Ron out of this. This is between you and me."

He cocked an eyebrow and leaned forward so that his clear grey eyes bore into hers. "Let's get one thing straight, Granger. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything between you and me."

He noted the look of disdain in Hermione's eyes with satisfaction, and straightened himself up, adjusting the cuffs of his crisply pressed shirt.

"Congratulations, Hermione, on making Head Girl. I'm sure your mudblood parents are very proud."

Hermione crossed her arms and smirked triumphantly. "Well, it's a start. Now that that's out of the way, I have a proposition for you."

He raked his eyes over her body. "I seriously doubt you have anything that could tempt me."

"I don't know," she said, returning his smug gaze. "How do you feel about Hufflepuffs?"

She saw that she had knocked him off-balance, and the smugness turned to a flicker of confusion before he carefully schooled his expression, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Hufflepuffs? What about them? They're good and honest and upstanding. I have no use for them really."

"Mmm hmm," Hermione hummed interestedly. "Ravenclaws?"

"What's this about?"

"Well, we're going to be Head Boy and Girl over the entire school. I'm just trying to gauge how we can use that to our... advantage." She paused to let her words sink in, knowing that if she spoke his language, Malfoy would be much more likely to go along with her. "Ravenclaws?"

"Ravenclaws can be useful. If they would put their minds to use for things other than schoolwork, that is."

"And we already know how you feel about Gryffindors," Hermione stated as a foregone conclusion. "Well, then you'll be happy to hear that I've worked out a plan that will enable us to spend as little time with each other as possible."

Hermione proceeded to lay out her plan for Malfoy to retain his power over Slytherin house while she took up the reigns of the other three houses, hoping that he would see this as a decrease in his workload while still retaining all the perks of being Head Boy. When she finished, he crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes shrewdly.

"You want me to give up the power that I finally have to make the rest of the school give Slytherin the respect it deserves? You're mad."

"Unfortunately, I cannot make a ferret change its spots. I can't stop you from intimidating them. But when it comes to the nuts and bolts of managing them, you leave that to me. The Slytherins are all yours, I won't touch them. Are we agreed?"

It was so like a Gryffindor, Draco thought. For all her spouting about house unity, Hermione was just like the others. Unity only at the exclusion of the Slytherins, who must all be evil and hated. But, if Hermione wanted to believe that he was incapable of showing support and fairness toward the other houses, and it was probably better that she did, then he would go along with it. It might even prove useful in protecting his image in the eyes of... certain people.

"Agreed."

* * *

An hour and a half later, the air inside the Prefects' Car was beginning to get stuffy, and people were fidgeting.

"Alright," said Hermione, "the last thing we need to do is to hand out assignments for this evening once we reach Hogsmeade. I need one prefect from each house to see that your second-years get into the carriages without any mishaps as this will be their first time riding in them. Volunteers?"

Ginny's hand shot up for Gryffindor. Anything that would occupy her time would make it less likely that she would run in to Harry, which, at this point, could only be a good thing.

"Okay, good," said Hermione, making several marks in her notes. She went on to hand out more assignments, but Ginny had stopped listening. She stared out the window at the blurred landscape rushing past, still mulling through feelings of anger and sadness, until she was jolted out of her thoughts by Colin gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, you in there?" he said, smiling. People were standing and had begun filing out of the car. "Want to grab a bite to eat from the cart for lunch? There's room in my car. Unless you'd rather go back to your own..."

"No!" Ginny exclaimed. "I mean, that sounds great. I'd love to get some lunch. Thanks."

* * *

"Prefect meeting over?" Harry asked as Anthony Goldstein, one of the Ravenclaw prefects, slid into the car where Harry, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and Terry Boot had been catching up with each other. After wallowing in irritation and self-pity for a good half-hour, Harry had left his empty car and wandered up and down the corridors until he spotted his housemates, welcoming the chance to relax and laugh for a bit with people who didn't care who he was, but just treated him like any other mate.

"How was Malfoy?" Seamus wanted to know.

Anthony shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Bit strange really, he just kind of stared everyone down, but didn't really say much. Hermione did most of the talking."

Harry laughed. "That's because Hermione's been planning for that meeting all summer. She probably wouldn't let Malfoy get a word in edgewise."

"That's our girl," said Dean.

"I'd better go see what she and Ron are up to," Harry said, rising from his seat.

"Hoping you'll catch them in the act?" sniggered Seamus. "Bet Hermione's already taught him a few things," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "It's always the quiet bookish ones. I'd love to get my hands on some of those Ravenclaw girls."

"Like you would know, Finnigan," Harry scoffed, causing the other boys to double over in laughter. Harry had made the mistake of telling them about the new status of Ron and Hermione's relationship, and he didn't envy the greeting that Ron was likely to get from them once they reached school.

But he soon discovered that Seamus wasn't far off the mark when he reached his car to find Ron and Hermione snuggled together in a corner, his arm draped around her, whispering something in her ear that made her blush and smile.

Harry noted with relief and a little disappointment that Ginny wasn't there. He slid the door open and cleared his throat loudly. "Don't mind me," he said dryly, dropping into the seat opposite them. They rearranged themselves on the bench and smiled apologetically.

"How was the meeting, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"You should have seen her, she was brilliant," Ron jumped in.

"Anthony said you didn't let Malfoy get a word in."

Hermione sat up proudly and smiled. "We had a chat before the meeting and laid down a few ground rules. It went rather well, I thought. But it's not like he didn't say anything."

"Yeah, but he mostly only talked to the Slytherins, which was fine by me," Ron said. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he leaned forward on his knees. "Hey, Ginny told me about what happened on the platform. That was rotten luck, mate. Sorry we weren't there."

Hermione's smile disappeared into a frown. "Why... what? What happened?"

Harry blew out a breath. "Nothing. Just some reporters cornered me and Ginny as we were getting on the train, kept trying to snap my picture."

Hermione sucked in her breath in shock. "What? Oh, no! How did they get on the platform? Only students and parents are allowed through the barrier, they know that! Ooh, wait 'til I get my hands on Rita."

"It wasn't Rita," Harry said. "I didn't recognize them. I was just trying to get away from them as fast as I could."

"Ginny seemed pretty upset about it," Ron pushed. "Did something else happen?"

"Well..." Harry hedged.

"What?" Ron said.

Harry looked apprehensively between his friends. If Ron thought that he had hurt Ginny somehow, he would be in for it. But he decided that he might as well tell them now before they read it in the morning paper.

"One of the reporters asked her if she was my girlfriend."

"So, she's not," Ron shrugged, creasing his eyebrows. "Right?" he added with an edge in his voice.

Harry shook his head. "No, of course not."

"What's the problem then?"

"She told them it was none of their business."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Oh, no."

Ron looked at her agitatedly. "What's wrong with that?"

"Because," she explained, "it makes it look like she's trying to hide something, like she really is his girlfriend but doesn't want anyone to know."

Harry nodded, thankful that at least someone understood. "I can just imagine what the papers will say tomorrow."

Hermione sighed. "No offense, Harry, but being your 'press girlfriend' is no picnic. I ought to know." She could still remember having to run to the hospital wing after receiving an angry letter containing bubotuber pus, all because some anonymous witch had believed a gossip article in Witch Weekly about her cheating on Harry with Viktor Krum.

"I know," Harry nodded. "I tried to tell her that, but she took it the wrong way and we got into an awful row and now she's right hacked off at me." He rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "I should probably go find her."

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione jumped in. "Maybe you should give her a little space. Wait and see what the damage is in the papers tomorrow and then you can talk to her."

"She's right, mate. The best thing to do with Ginny when she's hacked off is just leave her alone for a while 'til she cools down. Believe me."

Harry leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Oh," said Hermione, checking her watch, "I suppose I'd better do some rounds. I'll be back in a little while." She leaned forward and patted Harry's knee. "Don't worry, it'll be alright."

As they rode on in silence, Harry watched the passing landscape, and Ron watched Harry.

"What's really going on with you and my sister?" Ron asked finally.

Harry continued to stare out the window before answering. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not blind. You spent almost as much time with her this summer as you did with me. Do you... are you starting to have feelings for her?"

This time Harry met Ron's eyes. "No. I don't know. Not feelings like that. I just wanted to get to know her better, you know? I like being around her. But it's probably moot now. Seems like being friends with me is more trouble than it's worth. I'm surprised you and Hermione have stuck around this long."

Ron snorted. "But you know how she feels about you, right?"

Harry smiled ruefully. "I do now."

"Why, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"It was yesterday, wasn't it. Something happened between you two."

"Yeah, alright, something happened," Harry snapped. "But look, I really don't want to go into it, okay?"

"She was a nervous wreck before you came this summer, you know. Wanted to make sure everything was perfect for you. She got that hand for the clock, cleaned out Bill's room." Ron paused. "I don't think she ever really got over the way she used to feel about you."

"And you didn't think you might want to tell me any of this?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "Didn't think it mattered to you. Never did before."

"No, I guess it didn't," Harry realized. "You're not going to give me the big brother speech, are you? Because you know I would never do anything to hurt her intentionally."

The corner of Ron's mouth curled up. "If I think you need the speech, I'll be sure to let you know."

* * *

"I win!" Ginny declared, laughing as Colin waved away the smoke from the Exploding Snap deck and checked to make sure his eyebrows weren't singed.

"You cheated," Colin teased.

"I did not cheat," she smiled. "Dennis, did you see me cheat?"

Colin's younger brother looked up from his book in the corner. "I don't think she cheated, Colin."

The three of them had passed the afternoon pleasantly. Colin did his best to bring Ginny out of her sour mood, and he was pleased to see it seemed to have worked. He had asked about her summer and learned that Harry had come to live at the Burrow. Ginny's feelings for Harry were no secret to Colin, and he had tried to discern how she felt about sharing a house with him. But she was reluctant to talk about it, so he had steered the conversation toward more innocuous things. He had missed her terribly over the summer, and just being near her again was enough to put a perpetual smile on his face.

The sky began to change from blue to orange and the torches in the compartments sprang to life.

"We must be almost there," Ginny said. "I'd better go get my robes on."

"Okay, I'll see you at the feast."

Ginny smiled as she made her way along the corridor toward her own compartment, passing other students doing the same. She loved the friendship she had with Colin. So easy, so fun. Why was it so easy with Colin and so hard with Harry?

Because, she answered herself, you're not in love with Colin.

She stopped outside the compartment, standing a little away for a moment. She could see Ron's long legs sprawled across one side of the car. He was probably asleep. On the other side, Harry and Hermione had their heads leaned together, deep in conversation. She watched the easy way they had with each other, the way Hermione touched his hand or his leg as they talked, the way he looked intently into her eyes like he was trying to convey something very important.

Of course, she thought, Hermione. It made perfect sense. Hermione was really the girl who knew him best, not her. Hermione was the one he confided in, the one he called on to help him and stand beside him. All of that business at the Burrow about him getting to know her and wanting to be near her... it was only because Hermione wasn't there.

And now that Hermione was back, he didn't need her anymore. Maybe he never had.