Harry Potter and the Sacrifice of the Traitor

Chapter 16

Hermione took a deep breath. 'Well, the thing is,' she began.

Just then, Ron came down from the boys' dormitories, ready for breakfast.

'Come on Hermione, I'm starving! What are you doing?' he called over to them.

Hermione, who had been looking at the ground while she considered, went bright red.

'I'm sorry, Harry', she said. 'I really can't tell you yet. I will tell you as soon as I can, I promise.' She turned away and almost ran out of the room, followed by Ron, glancing curiously over his shoulder.

Harry stared after her furiously. A small hand touched his shoulder, and he jumped. Ginny had come up behind him unnoticed.

'Oh Harry, she really isn't allowed to tell anyone. If she could take the knowledge away from me, she probably would. Ron and I found out by mistake, but she could still get into a lot of trouble if anyone finds out other people know. I'm sorry, you're right and it's not fair that we know and you don't, but please don't be so angry,' she said anxiously.

Harry looked down at her soft brown eyes. He did feel very angry, but firmly told himself that it would do no good. Dumbledore had told him to control his temper, for fear Voldemort should pick anything up through his Occlumency shields. And he already knew that Hermione would tell him when she was ready, and not before.

'All right Ginny, I'll try to be patient,' he said, and was rewarded with her brilliant smile.

'Shall we go and have some breakfast?' she suggested.

'Good idea,' said Harry, grinning as his stomach rumbled loudly.

They went down to the Great Hall and joined Ron and Hermione, and had a hearty breakfast, which as Ron said, was a good thing, as it was needed to sustain them during the extremely difficult Transfiguration lesson which followed. They reeled out of it, pale and sweating, after Professor McGonagall had given them some gruelling tests of the spells which they had been learning over the year.

'You will need to know each and every one of these spells off by heart,' she snapped at them. 'Your mock NEWTs will be in a couple of weeks, and I expect you all to perform to the high standard which I know you are capable of.' Her eyes lingered on Hermione as she said this, and again Harry wondered what she had been teaching Hermione in their extra lessons.

This lesson was followed by Potions, in which Professor Richards proclaimed that their Polyjuice potion would be ready for bottling in a day or two. Harry saw Malfoy grinning broadly at this news, and could have sworn he heard him mutter to Crabbe and Goyle 'Make sure you bring the extra ones next lesson.' He, Ron and Hermione spent a long time trying to work out what Malfoy might have meant by this.

'Perhaps he's been making some fake potion, and wants to ruin our results by switching our own potions for the useless stuff,' suggested Ron.

'But wouldn't it just be easier to tip something into our cauldrons at the last minute?' said Hermione.

'Well, I'm going to keep a close eye on Malfoy, that's all,' said Harry firmly. 'Professor Richards has taught us a lot over the last year, and I don't want my grade ruined by that ferrety git.'

Ron laughed loudly at this, and Hermione looked very pleased that Harry was so concerned over his grade.

'You never used to worry about your marks, Harry,' she said, smiling at him proudly.

'Well, I need Potions to become an Auror, don't I?' said Harry, shrugging.

The following evening, they were just leaving dinner to go back to their common room, when Harry heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Mark Evans running towards him, followed by Jessica Thomas and a few of the other first years.

'Hi Jess, how are the lessons going?' asked Dean, coming up behind them.

'Fine thanks, though at one point I thought I'd never get the hang of Hovering charms', she replied.

'Harry, I wanted to talk to you,' said Mark, and they walked a little way apart from the others.

'OK, what's up?' asked Harry, his heart thumping. Perhaps Mark had at last found out from his mother whether they were related.

'I got an owl from my mum today, Harry,' Mark continued. 'She's looked right back through the family tree as far back as she could trace. I'm sorry Harry, she couldn't find any link to your family and your mum though. I guess our surname is just a coincidence.'

Harry's heart sank. 'That's ok Mark,' he said, trying to smile. 'Evans is a pretty common name. I just thought, seeing as we live so near each other ...'

'Well, it doesn't stop you being friendly with each other, even if you're not related, does it?' said Hermione, coming up behind him and looking at him sympathetically.

'No, of course not,' said Harry. 'See you around then, Mark.'

He went with the others back to the common room, but couldn't make himself settle to any homework, though it was starting to pile up again. In the end Ron and Hermione gave up trying to draw him into their conversation, and left him alone to slouch down in one of the comfortable squashy armchairs, brooding.

He knew that he didn't really matter whether or not Mark and he were related. Over the last year, he had got to know the younger boy quite well, and liked him. That wouldn't change whether or not they were related. He supposed he should have known they wouldn't be related, or surely Dumbledore would have sent him to the Evans family instead of the Dursleys. But, he thought, moodily, it wouldn't be the first time Dumbledore had made a mistake, and he had so hoped to find he had another living relative other than the Dursleys. He sank further down into the armchair, reflecting bitterly that he seemed fated always to be alone.

'What's up, Harry?' said a soft, cheerful voice at his elbow. Jumping, he glanced up to see Ginny perching herself on the arm of his chair, looking down at him inquisitively.

'Nothing, I guess,' he muttered.

'I'm glad thinking of nothing doesn't make me look that depressed then', she said lightly. 'Come on Harry, we know each other better than that, don't we?'

Harry sighed. He did know Ginny well enough now to know that she wouldn't let it go until she had found out what was bothering him. He told her about Mark and about how he had hoped to find he had some more relatives, but he kept to himself the fear that he would always be alone in the world.

'You know, Harry,' she said thoughtfully, when he had finished, 'I know I come from a big family, but that isn't always a good thing. I mean, would you really have wanted to grow up with Fred and George playing tricks on you all the time?'

Harry gave a weak smile. 'Better than growing up with Dudley using me for a punch bag', he said softly.

Ginny looked sadly at him for a moment, then brightened up again. 'I think what you said Hermione said is true though: you can still be friends with people who aren't family,' she pointed out. 'And after all, my mum always says that friends are the family you choose to have. You can't change the past, but you can pick your own family for the future.'

Harry thought about this for a while, and felt a bit better, until the thought of the future brought up another dark thought.

'If I have a future, don't you mean?' he asked quietly. He didn't mean to sound self-pitying, but Ginny's eyes suddenly flashed angrily.

'Don't you dare think like that', she said quietly but forcefully. 'You are going to defeat V-V-Voldemort, and have a long happy life, with lots of children and a loving wife.'

Her cheeks started to flame as she said this last bit, but she continued to stare at him defiantly.

'Sorry Ginny, I guess you're right,' said Harry, ashamed now of his negative thoughts. He gazed again into her brown eyes, sparkling with hints of hazel as she glared at him, and found himself forgetting entirely what had made him so depressed to begin with. He found himself wanting to fall into those eyes, and wrenched his own eyes away, only to find his gaze fixed on her soft, full lips. He wondered what it would be like to kiss those lips.

'Er, Ginny, I was wondering ...' he started hesitantly, looking again at her eyes, and noticing how beautiful they were.

'There you both are!' came a voice behind them, making them both jump. Ron rushed over to Harry. 'Come on, Katie says that there's just enough time for a Quidditch practice. The game's in a few days time, let's go!'

He stared curiously at Harry and Ginny, who had been gazing deeply into each others' eyes. 'Unless I was interrupting something, that is', he said, a sly grin slowly growing on his face.

'No, no, we were just chatting about nothing,' said Ginny, leaping up from the chair arm. 'I'll just grab my broomstick.'

She rushed upstairs to the girls' dormitory. Ron watched her go, then turned back to Harry.

'Are you two going to be a couple, mate?' he asked eagerly. 'That would be great, you know Mum's always wanted you to be part of the family!'

'I don't know, Ron,' said Harry, glancing around to make sure nobody was listening. 'I think I like her, but I don't know what to do. And do I have any right to drag someone into my life like that, with what's ahead of me? It could be very dangerous for her.'

Ron sobered quickly, but then said, 'Knowing Ginny, she wouldn't need much dragging. We're all in danger just from being your friends, but we won't stop being friends with you. I know she said she was over that crush she had on you, but I bet she still likes you really. I tell you what, I could ask her if you wanted?'

Harry looked at him in horror at the thought of Ron asking Ginny about her feelings for him, but was saved by Hermione, who had come over with Ron.

'Don't you dare say a word to anyone, Ron!' she burst out. 'Harry didn't interfere with us, did he? I'm sure he can ask Ginny out if he wants to without you spoiling everything!'

'All right, all right, I was only asking,' said Ron, looking a bit surprised. 'I won't say anything if you don't want me to.'

'Thanks anyway, Ron,' said Harry, much relieved. 'Let's just get on with the Quidditch practice, shall we?'

He ran upstairs for his Firebolt, very thankful to get out of the awkward situation. He realised that he had been falling in love with Ginny without even really realising it, but again he wondered - did he have any right to ask her out, knowing what Voldemort would do to anyone who was his girlfriend? And then again, he thought angrily, didn't he deserve to get some pleasure out of life? He shook his head and reached for his Firebolt. It was too complicated to think about now.

Over the next few days they were far too busy with Quidditch practice and homework to think about much else. Hermione in particular looked very tired and drawn. She had finished her extra lessons with Professor McGonagall, and promised that Harry should know what she had learned very soon. However, she had replaced them with extra lessons with Professor Flitwick, together with Luna Lovegood, of all people. She came back from these looking tired but very excited. Even Ron didn't seem to know what they were up to this time, and Hermione would only say that they were working on an experimental Charm that might be useful.

They only had time to go to visit Hagrid once, but Alex was there, and Harry and Ginny fed him some sugar, before pretending to eat the rather sickly green coloured buns Hagrid offered them for tea.

The day of the last Quidditch match of the season dawned hot and sunny. Harry had slept poorly the night before. Hermione had made them both stay up late practising some complex Transfiguration spells, for their mock NEWTs which were fast approaching. However, he soon woke up when they walked down to the pitch with the rest of the team, and got changed into his Quidditch robes. This final game was once again with the Slytherins. Harry had been so preoccupied with other things that he hadn't paid much attention to who was on the team, and was a bit surprised to see that Theodore Nott was a Chaser now. He was pretty big and burly, Harry thought vaguely, although not compared to the other two Chasers. Malfoy was unfortunately still the Seeker, and his pale face shone with an evil grin as the two Captains shook hands. Harry saw Katie wincing afterwards; he rather suspected the Slytherin Captain, Montague, had been trying to break her hand rather than shake it. The players mounted their brooms, Madame Hooch blew the whistle, and the balls were released into the air.

Harry flew his usual circling pattern high above the other players, listening to Colin Creevey's commentary.

'And the Quaffle passes to Slytherin, Chaser and Captain Montague passes it to Warrington, and flies strongly towards the Gryffindor goal. Can Keeper Weasley save it? Yes! He's done it! The score is still nil nil, as Chaser Ginny Weasley takes possession, looking more lovely than ever today.'

'Creevey, really!' he heard Professor McGonagall complain.

'Just telling the truth, Professor, you wouldn't want me to lie, would you?' Colin answered innocently.

Harry saw Ron glaring at Colin as he circled the Gryffindor goalposts. He felt a hot rush of jealously. Colin was in the same year as Ginny, and obviously thought she was worth trying for. He wondered though what Ron would do if Harry ever admitted his growing feelings for Ginny, whether he would really be happy for the two of them - assuming of course that she liked him at all. Hastily shutting off that line of thought, Harry heard a whoosh! And ducked just in time to avoid a stray Bludger from Goyle. He caught a glimpse of Malfoy laughing, and zoomed off to the other end of the field, continuing his large loops, searching for that elusive flicker of gold.

The game went on, with several more goals being saved by Ron, before he let one in, and a huge roar went up from the Slytherin stand. Harry was half expecting the dreaded chorus of 'Weasley is our King' to start up, but luckily the Gryffindor Chasers took possession of the ball, and Katie and Natalie each scored a goal in quick succession. The Slytherin shouts of joy turned into a sullen silence, while the rest of the stands erupted in cheers for Gryffindor. The tension continued to rise as the game went on, with more goals being scored on both sides.

Colin Creevy announced, 'As the gorgeous Ginny Weasley...'

'Creevy, that's enough!' interrupted Professor McGonagall.

'All right Professor, I was just going to say Ginny Weasley scores again, bringing the score to 90 to Slytherin, 60 to Gryffindor,' he continued.

Harry glared at Colin too, and then flew onwards round the pitch in huge circles. Suddenly a huge roar came from the audience as he spotted the Golden Snitch. He urged his Firebolt towards it at ever increasing speed, hearing the wind whistling in his ears. He saw Malfoy speeding upwards towards him, but he was miles away. Then a Bludger zoomed past him, missing him narrowly, and as he swerved, the Snitch disappeared again. There was a groan of disappointment, and he flew upwards again to carry on searching.

Natalie McDonald grabbed the Quaffle and dodged a Bludger aimed by Crabbe, and scored again, and then the whistle blew for time out. Harry swooped down to the ground and joined his team mates. Katie Bell said to them 'We're doing well so far team, we're only a couple of goals behind, and if Harry gets the Snitch quickly we'll win both the match and the Quidditch Cup. Keep it up, and Ron, make sure you cover the left hoop as well as you can - that's where most of their goals have been scored.'

Ginny was panting hard and her face was flushed bright red in the heat, but Harry thought she looked wonderful. She smiled tiredly at him as they remounted their brooms. Harry couldn't stop himself from saying, 'Colin seems to think a lot of you.'

She blushed even redder, and said 'He asked me to the New Years Ball as well, but I don't fancy him, Harry'. Harry was trying to summon up the courage to ask who she did fancy, but just then the whistle blew to resume play, and she kicked sharply off from the ground and flew off to join the other Chasers.

It was now scorching hot out on the pitch, and Harry could feel the sweat trickling down his back and sticking his hair to his neck, as he swooped to and fro, still without any success in spotting the Snitch. The score was now 120 to Slytherin, 110 to Gryffindor, and whoever caught the Snitch first would win the Cup for their House.

As Harry made one more huge circuit around and above the other players, he suddenly saw it - the glittering golden Snitch, far ahead and below him. He sent his broom into a sharp dive, again seeing Malfoy coming across from the other side of the pitch. But Harry's broom was much faster, and he was quickly overtaking the Snitch. Again a Bludger was sent across his path by the Slytherin Beaters, as the other players turned to watch his spectacular drive. This time though, Harry managed to keep his eyes on the Snitch as he dodged the heavy ball flying at him. Blind and deaf to all around him, he continued his dive, and finally felt his hand close around the tiny struggling ball.

The crowd was all on their feet, but instead of cheering and clapping, Harry realised they were pointing and screaming. He looked around, and his heart turned to ice. The Bludger he had dodged had caught a player unaware, and knocked them off their broom. Far below him, too far away for even his Firebolt to catch in time, a figure was falling fast towards the ground, with her long red hair streaming out behind her.