Just Plain Harry

Chapter 32 Illogical Feelings

Hermione stopped precisely where she was, eyes wide as she stared at Professor McGonagall. Ron immediately put an arm around her shoulders, and Ginny grabbed one of her hands and held on tightly. Harry stood behind them, hoping against hope that it wasn't what they all thought it was, and wishing he could help Hermione more than just by putting a hand on her shoulder.

Professor McGonagall looked over the tableau the four of them made, and sighed.

"I suppose the rest of you had better come, as well," she said, before turning and leading the way inside.

The sea of students parted for them easily, and afterwards, Harry would remember individual faces quite clearly. Brenna's, paler even than usual. Natalie MacDonald's, with tears already pouring down her cheeks as she watched them. Cho's, utterly closed and blank. Katie's, full of sympathy. And Draco Malfoy's, full of glee. He didn't say anything, of course, with Professor McGonagall right there, but Harry knew exactly what he was thinking, and he could only hope that Hermione didn't see him. He could feel Ron seething from two paces away, though, so he suspected that she had.

Professor McGonagall led the way up to the headmaster's office, giving the password as "Self-flossing Stringmints." That made Harry more hopeful. It would be an exceedingly cruel password if Hermione's parents had been...hurt, and Dumbledore simply wasn't that cruel. Harry saw Hermione perk up, too, and she practically ran up the last few steps and threw herself into the room.

When he reached the door, Harry saw her with her arms around her mother's neck, and her father patting her back. He entered the room, and then leaned weakly against the wall, waves of relief washing over him. He truly didn't know what he would have done if Hermione's parents had been killed. He suspected that it would have been the last straw, that he would have had to leave Hogwarts and face Voldemort on his own, even with the full knowledge that he would die. He just wouldn't have been able to live with himself if one of his best friends' parents had died, simply because their daughter was close to him.

As soon as he'd thought that, he felt guilty, knowing what both Hermione and Ginny would say if they knew. Watching Hermione's violent joy was painful right then, so he looked at Ginny, and was surprised to see that she was also leaning back against the wall, guilt written plainly across her features. He had no idea what that was about, but before he could say anything to her, Mr. Granger detached himself from his wife and daughter, and turned to Dumbledore.

"I would like to thank Remus and Sirius again before we leave," he said. "Are they nearby?"

Dumbledore smiled, but Harry couldn't help but notice that the usual twinkle was missing from his eyes.

"They will return shortly," he said. "Sirius suffered a slight injury, but he cannot be treated in the hospital wing, so Remus took him down to his hut. He will be fine," he added, turning to Harry, who had pushed himself off the wall and taken a step towards the door.

"How was Sirius hurt?" Hermione asked, her voice muffled by her mother's shoulder.

"He didn't move quickly enough," Remus said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "Age, you know - it happens to all of us."

"That's quite enough, Moony," Sirius said from behind him. "And, speaking of not moving quickly enough..."

"Oh, you want to enter the room, Padfoot, is that it?" Remus said. "Hmm. Let's see. Shall I -"

But whatever he was going to say next was interrupted, as Sirius pushed him from behind, making him stagger slightly, grin, and step to one side. Sirius then came into the room, smiling, too, his eyes searching for Harry, and then relaxing slightly as he found him.

Only slightly, though. Despite their horseplay, Harry could tell that something was deeply troubling both of them, and he noticed Ron watching them narrowly, as well. Hermione didn't seem to notice, though, as she threw herself at one and then the other, thanking them over and over for saving her parents.

"Not another word, Hermione, you knew we would," Remus said.

"Don't be ridiculous, Moony," Sirius said. "You can thank me all you like, Hermione. It's been a long time since I've been hugged by a beautiful woman."

"Hey!" Ron said, but he smiled at Sirius, who grinned back.

Hermione blushed, smiled, and looked down at her feet. Mrs. Granger watched her, her face filled with such love that Harry had to look away. He could never have that, and no matter how happy he was for Hermione, no matter how guilty his envy made him feel, he did envy her.

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, suddenly turning to where the headmaster still sat behind his desk, with Professor McGonagall standing beside him, "may I show my parents Gryffindor Tower? I know it's not usually allowed..."

She trailed off, and Harry and Ron exchanged gleeful looks behind her back. Hermione Granger, trying to circumvent a rule?

"I think we can arrange that," Professor Dumbledore said, "but it will depend on your Head of House." He smiled up at Professor McGonagall.

McGonagall gave the slightly-less-prim-than-usual smile that Harry only saw on her face when she looked at Hermione.

"Of course you may, Miss Granger," she said.

Hermione's face lit up, and she started babbling to her parents about all of the magical things they would see on their way through the halls of Hogwarts. She led the way out the door, but as Harry prepared to follow her, he caught Dumbledore's eye, and read the unmistakable message in it. So, he returned to leaning against the wall, and watched as Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Professor McGonagall, and Ginny followed Hermione. He tried to catch Ginny's eye as she left, but didn't manage it; she looked a little dazed, he thought, but that was probably because of Hermione, who still hadn't drawn breath.

"What is it," Ron said, bringing Harry's thoughts back into the room. "There's obviously something wrong with the two of you." He still leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't try to hide it. It's bloody obvious."

Harry instinctively looked at Dumbledore when Ron said that, but the headmaster's smile only widened at the borderline profanity.

"I don't think that Sirius or Remus will try to hide anything from you and Harry," he said, ostensibly to Ron. Then, he turned and pinned Sirius with a look that had no twinkle in it. "Will you?"

Sirius sighed, and the gaiety that had felt so false to Harry melted off of him.

"All right, all right," he said, sitting down in one of the chairs and running a hand through his hair. Remus still stood near the door, his eyes looking deep and worried as they fixed on his friend.

"We didn't have any trouble reaching the Grangers in time," Sirius said. "That really was a brilliant idea of yours, Ron, to put a ward on their house that would tell us when anyone used magic there."

Harry gazed at his friend in wonder. That was a brilliant idea, and Ron had never even mentioned it to him. Ron's ears were bright red, and he shook his head.

"So, what happened? Did you catch anyone?" he asked.

"The instant the Death Eaters Apparated there, the ward went off, and Remus and I Apparated there ourselves. You know, we'll have to do something about that," he added, drawing a small ball out of his pocket. It reminded Harry of a Remembrall, though it was smaller, because it was quite clear. "The whole time we were there, fighting the Death Eaters, this bloody thing kept wriggling and buzzing in my pocket."

"Well," Ron said, taking the two steps he needed to reach Sirius and picking up the ball. "That's what it's designed to do. I suppose you could have left it behind when you Apparated...but then, what if something had happened at someone else's house? Did it turn the right color?"

"Yes," Remus said. "It worked perfectly, Ron, and I, for one, was far too busy to be bothered by a little movement in one of my pockets in the middle of a battle. Sirius is just being a bit of a prat."

"A battle?" Harry said. "How may Death Eaters were there?"

"Just five," Sirius said. "And two of them were Crabbe and Goyle, Senior, who hardly count."

"Then what's the problem?" Ron asked again. "Didn't you catch anyone? Wasn't that the point?" He gave the ward ball back to Sirius, then stood looking down at the older man, his arms crossed. "If the wards worked perfectly, and you had no problems with the Death Eaters, what's wrong?"

Harry looked over to Dumbledore, to see how he was taking this blatant cross examination of a member of the Order of the Phoenix by a mere student. Far from looking disapproving, as Harry had expected, Dumbledore actually looked satisfied. Even proud. Suddenly, he turned to meet Harry's eyes, and Harry was relieved to see the twinkle back.

Meanwhile, Sirius still didn't seem to want to answer Ron. Remus finally let out a grunt of disgust, and walked over to sit next to him.

"One of the five was Wormtail, that's what Padfoot doesn't want to say," he said.

"Really?" Harry said. "Did...did you catch him?" As soon as he'd asked, he wished he hadn't, because it was quite obvious they hadn't. If they had, Sirius wouldn't be acting this way.

"I tried, Harry," Sirius said. He gazed at Harry, who still stood leaning against the wall. "I...I did. But..."
"But protecting the Grangers was more important," Harry finished for him, wondering why he looked worried.

Sirius just gaped at him, and Dumbledore chuckled.

"You really do need to get to know your godson better, if you didn't know he'd react that way, Sirius," Dumbledore said. "One of Mr. Potter's most admirable traits is his inherent moral center."

Harry felt himself turn red, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Ron wasn't helping; Harry could see the glee in his eyes, and knew he'd be in for some teasing later on. At least now he knew what was wrong with Sirius.

"You'll catch him someday," he told his godfather. "I know you will."

Sirius looked for a moment like he was going to jump up and hug Harry, and Harry was grateful that he didn't. Being hugged by Hermione or Molly, not to mention Ginny, was one thing, but being hugged by Sirius would be a different thing altogether.

"Erm...what are Hermione's parents going to do now?" he asked, more just to say something than because he really wanted to know.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, studying him over the tops of his spectacles.

"Well, are they going to stay here, at Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "Or are they going to join Aunt Petunia at the Burrow?" He grinned inwardly at the thought of Hermione's parents, who had loved the Burrow, showing Aunt Petunia exactly how to be good house guests. Molly never complained, of course, but Aunt Petunia definitely did, and every letter made it more and more clear that she hadn't improved with the transition to the wizarding world.

"Why would they?" Ron asked, his eyebrows raised.

"I think the Grangers would prefer to return to their home," Dumbledore said.

"But...but isn't that dangerous?" Harry asked. "What if they're attacked again?"

"Then maybe we'll actually catch Wormtail," Sirius said, causing Harry to stare at him. Did he really mean to use the Grangers, who had no magical means to protect themselves, as bait?

Remus put a hand on Sirius' arm, and smiled up at Harry reassuringly.

"It isn't very likely that they will be attacked again, Harry," he said. "Not now that Voldemort knows how well-protected they are."
"No, what we need to worry about is what Voldemort's going to do next," Ron said, beginning to pace around the room. "His last two attacks have failed, or mostly failed, in Dean's parents' case. What will he do to make sure the next one succeeds?"

"That is a discussion for another time, I think," Dumbledore said.

His eyes were fixed on Sirius, who had put his head back into his hands. Harry wanted to go comfort him, but he just didn't know what to do.

"Right," Ron said. "Erm...I'm really glad the wards worked well, anyway. Perhaps we should go and see how Hermione's doing?"

Now it was Harry's turn to smirk at him, and as he watched the tips of Ron's ears turn pink, he exchanged an amused glance with Remus. Actually, what amused Harry the most was how much less embarrassed Ron was than he used to be at being caught thinking about Hermione. Dumbledore smiled, too, but he gratified Ron by shooing them out of his office, and telling them it was their duty to check up on Hermione. So, with a last smile at Sirius, which his godfather didn't see, Harry followed Ron out the door, and practically wore out his legs trying to keep up with him on the way to Gryffindor Tower.

They found Mr. and Mrs. Granger being entertained by Fred and George, who were showing off some of their inventions. As they climbed through the portrait hole, they heard Fred tell Neville that it was his duty, as a friend of Hermione's, and though Fred hadn't said what 'it' was, Harry wasn't at all surprised to see a large canary standing near the Grangers when they reached them, instead of Neville. Hermione looked distraught, but Mr. Granger roared with laughter, and Mrs. Granger reached out to pet Neville-the-canary. Unfortunately, at that moment, he molted and then changed back into a human with a pop, which caused Mrs. Granger to give a little shriek. That caused her husband to laugh even harder, and she did smile.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione said, once they were close enough, "can't you do something? Your horrid brothers...I don't think my parents need this right now."

"I don't know, Hermione, they look like they're enjoying it," Ron said, moving behind her and wrapping his arms around her. She stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed into his embrace, giving a little sigh. Ron whispered something in her ear that made her smile and shake her head.

"I'm fine, now," she said, her eyes never really leaving her parents.

"Y'know, I don't think McGonagall handled that very well," Ron said, this time loud enough for Harry, who still stood next to them, to hear. "She should have told you straight off that your parents were fine."

Harry hadn't thought about that before - everything had happened so quickly - but now he realized that Ron was right. The way McGonagall had greeted them had certainly made it seem like something was wrong. He knew Hermione would never agree that a professor could have handled something badly, though, so before she and Ron could start arguing, he decided to provide a diversion.

"Where's Ginny?" he asked.

"Oh," Hermione said, looking around. "She went upstairs as soon as we got here, but she said she'd be right back down." She frowned and looked at Harry, her nose wrinkled in thought. "She seemed awfully quiet, didn't she? Did something happen today?"

Harry thought guiltily of everything that had happened that day in the cave, knowing that Ron wouldn't be happy about any of it. But he also knew that wasn't why Ginny was acting strangely, because she'd been fine up until they'd reached the castle again.

"Should I go up and find her?" he asked.

Hermione gasped. "You can't do that, Harry," she said. "You know that."

"Right," Harry said, rolling his eyes. It really was ridiculous - Ginny might need him, and he couldn't go to her, just because she was in the girls' dormitory.

Hermione must have thought that he meant to go anyway, because she said very quickly, "I'll go," and almost ran up the stairs. Harry tried not to think about following her, and to distract himself, joined the group clustered around the Grangers.

"So, tell me," Fred was saying to Mrs. Granger, "has Hermione always had this unholy drive to be the best at everything? Should have been a Slytherin, that she should." His voice sounded grave, but he eyes were dancing.

"And such a poor taste in men?" George added, watching Ron carefully for his reaction.

Ron just snorted. "Well, she did have a crush on Lockhart, if that tells you anything," he said.

Mrs. Granger laughed. "Was he the terribly handsome teacher who wrote so many books? I kept telling Hermione that no one could be expected to memorize six textbooks, but she just wouldn't listen." She seemed to be ignoring Fred's question.

"That's the one," Ron said. "'Course, Lockhart probably did expect us to memorize them - after all, who wouldn't want to have every detail of how he defeated that werewolf in the felly-tone booth at hand whenever you might want it?"

Both of the Grangers looked a little confused at that, but just as Harry was about to explain to them what Ron had really meant, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see one of Ginny's dormmates - the small, blonde one - standing next to him.

"Hermione asked if you and Ron would come up to our dorm," she said.

"Really," Harry said, smiling slightly. He could just imagine how much it had cost Hermione to do such an about-face. He lost his smile quickly, though. What was wrong with Ginny? He grabbed Ron by the arm, said, "Ginny needs us," and led the way up the stairs. As they walked, he turned to the girl.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I don't know your name."

"Annis," she said, blushing a little.

Harry couldn't imaging why she was blushing, so he ignored it. Ginny had told him that Annis was the only one of her dormmates who she'd told about Joanna, so he knew she trusted her.

"What's wrong with Ginny?" he asked.

"She thinks that she should have Seen Hermione's parents being attacked," Annis said. She spoke very quietly, so that Harry had to strain to hear her, as they trooped up the stairs. Suddenly, she stopped, and Harry and Ron stopped with her.

"I didn't know Ginny was a Seer - none of us did. How...how long has she been?"

Harry turned to Ron, not sure what to say. He knew Ginny and Toby didn't want the whole world to know Ginny was a Seer, but obviously Annis already knew.

Ron shrugged at Harry, then turned to Annis.

"Since this past summer," he said.

"Oh," Annis said. She started walking again. "It's such a huge responsibility, isn't it? Poor Ginny."

That made Harry feel better. He could definitely see why Ginny wanted to be friends with this girl.

When they reached the fourth-year girls' dorm, they found another of Ginny's dormmates sitting on Ginny's bed and staring in shock at Hermione, who had Ginny by the shoulders and was shaking her so hard the bed shook, too.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron both said, and ran to them, Ron to pry Hermione's hands off of Ginny's shoulders, and Harry to put his arms around Ginny. She didn't push him away, but she submitted to his embrace very stiffly.

"Fine," Hermione almost spat. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her. She won't listen to me. Honestly, Ginny, you can't blame yourself every time something bad happens, and you didn't See it beforehand. It's going to happen quite often, you know. You can't save the world all by yourself." She glared at Ginny for a moment, which Ginny couldn't see, because she'd dropped her head onto Harry's shoulder. "The pair of you are well suited, I will say that," Hermione added.

Ron snorted, and Harry couldn't help smiling - he thought they were, too, after all, if not for the reason she did - but Ginny didn't look up.

"Ginny," he said into her hair. "Maybe you didn't See it, because nothing really happened. Hermione's parents weren't hurt, because R- the Aurors got there in time."

"I should have," Ginny said, her voice muffled by his shoulder. "Hermione's my friend, and I should have."

Hermione just threw her hands up in the air and shook her head.

"But, Ginny," Ron said, "we didn't need you to See this. We bloody well knew that Hermione's parents would be attacked. There's been twenty-four hour surveillance on her house for months."

He caught Harry's eye as he said that, and Harry nodded. Ginny might trust Annis and her other dormmate with the fact that she was a Seer, but the knowledge that Ron was training with Dumbledore was different.

"I know that, Ron," Ginny said, finally raising her head to glare at her brother, "but knowing that a vision didn't turn out to be necessary isn't going to stop me from feeling that I should have had one anyway. I know it's illogical, but that's the way I feel."

Harry certainly understood that. "Now you know how I feel," he said.

Ginny gasped, then giggled and nodded. "I suppose I do." She smiled into Harry's eyes, and he smiled back.

Suddenly, Ron cleared his throat loudly, and Harry and Ginny looked away from each other, both blushing slightly.

"Erm, Ginny?" Annis said. She was still standing closer to the door than the bed. "Is this...this Seer thing something you don't want anyone to know about? I mean, Velvet and I won't tell anyone, if that's what you want."

Ginny sighed. "I don't know," she said. "I suppose it'll get out eventually, anyway."

"Yes," Hermione said, reaching out her hand, and putting it on Ginny's arm, "but it's probably better to put that day off as long as possible, don't you think?" She turned to Annis. "Would the two of you mind keeping this to yourselves? We don't want the whole world pestering Ginny to tell them their futures."

"We don't mind, do we, Velvet?" Annis said, and Harry realized that he had heard her correctly before. He'd heard some rather odd names since he'd entered the wizarding world, but 'Velvet' was one of the oddest.

Velvet shook her head, making her ponytail swing back and forth, practically hitting her cheeks.

"Not as long as Ginny tells our futures," she said.

Harry thought she was serious until Ginny laughed, and then he could see the twinkle in Velvet's eye.

"Besides," she added, now smiling faintly, "you don't need to be a Seer to tell Annis' future. She's going to marry Gryffydd, have a long career in the Ministry, and have two children, one boy and one girl, who will both be paragons of virtue. The only worry they will ever cause their parents will be whether they'll be sorted into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."

"Velvet!" Annis said, her cheeks bright red.

Ginny, though, burst out laughing. "It's so true, Annis," she said in gasps, through her laughter. Velvet snickered, and even Annis smiled.

Harry watched all three of them. Was this how girls talked normally? Hermione was certainly smiling, her eyes bright as she looked at Annis. Well, he could certainly leave Ginny to them - she obviously wouldn't be able to brood on her perceived failure with Velvet nearby. He stood up and touched her cheek softly.

"We'd better get back downstairs, before McGonagall finds out we're here," he said. "And Hermione's parents are probably wondering where she is."

"Oh, yes," Hermione said, jumping up from the bed. "Who knows what Fred and George are doing to them."

"Wait, I'm coming with you," Ginny said, standing up herself and linking her arm with Harry's. "I want to show your dad something new Professor Flitwick taught me."

So, all six of them trooped back down to the common room and joined in the impromptu party that lasted well into the night.

The Grangers returned to their home the next morning, and life at Hogwarts returned to normal. The O.W.L.s, as Hermione constantly reminded them, were in just a month, and there really wasn't time to do much more than revise for them. Somehow, Harry and Ron squeezed in Quidditch practices, but the rest of the team was even busier, studying for their N.E.W.T.s, so there weren't as many of those as before. Besides, they'd have to lose spectacularly to Hufflepuff for them to lose the Quidditch Cup, and even Angelina, paranoid as she was about Quidditch, had to admit that was pretty unlikely.

They did still have their Auror training classes, which continued to be extremely challenging. One day in mid-May, just a week before the O.W.L.s, they entered the classroom to find both Remus and Professor Moody there, along with a young Slytherin boy that Harry didn't know. Harry stopped short and looked at Remus in confusion. Why would they want a Slytherin to know about the extra training some of the students were receiving?

Remus smiled back at him. "We will explain Mr. Overhill's presence when everyone arrives," he said.

Harry took his seat beside Ginny, but he still eyed the Slytherin suspiciously. He didn't look like he was planning anything, or even noticing much of anything; in fact, he looked almost terrified. Harry exchanged looks with Ron, who just shrugged his shoulders. He saw Ginny roll her eyes next to him, but that didn't stop him from thinking that the Slytherin just shouldn't be there.

Everyone waited in silence until George and Brenna, the last two to arrive, entered the room, both a little pink and wind-blown. They sobered quickly, though, when they took in the mood of the room, and swiftly took their seats.

"All right," Professor Moody said, from his usual perch on the teacher's desk at the front of the room. "You've all become almost competent at flinging curses and counter-curses around, so if you came across a particularly careless Death Eater, I suppose you might survive long enough for help to arrive."

He glowered at them, fixing each with his magical eye in turn. Harry met his gaze steadily, not because he disagreed with him, but because he agreed. He knew they all had a long way to go before they could face a fully trained wizard in the field.

"However," Moody continued, "there are some things that you can't defeat with a simple curse or counter-curse. Some things that take actual strength of mind. Some things that it's better to avoid altogether, so remember, constant vigilance!"

He finished in a mild bellow, but they had all heard that particular phrase so often, that it had lost most of its effect on them. Several weeks earlier, Harry had even noticed Fred and Theo exchanging money after Moody had said it, and could only suppose that they'd bet on how long it would take him. They weren't doing that now, though; everyone stared at Moody, wondering what he would say next.

Instead, it was Remus who spoke. "All of you have actually faced this before, though not all at close range. But it is something that most of you will likely have to face, and you must be prepared for it. Do you remember the train ride here at the beginning of my previous year of teaching?"

Harry felt Ginny stiffen beside him, and could see Ron and Hermione's heads turn towards him out of the corner of his eye. He just stared at Remus. A dementor. That's what Remus and Moody meant, that's what they needed to be ready to face. At least he knew he could; he felt Ginny begin to tremble beside him - he could only imagine what she heard when a dementor was near - and he reached out for her hand, but he didn't take his eyes off of Remus. He knew he could fight off a dementor, but he wasn't looking forward to showing off his Patronus to everyone. He could trust all of the people in this room; he knew that. And he would trust them with his life, but his Patronus was the one thing he had that came directly from his father. Remus must have seen some of that in his eyes, because he smiled reassuringly down at him.

"That's right," he said to the class at large, "we're talking about dementors. Now, we could never bring a real dementor into Hogwarts, but, luckily, we have a perfectly good substitute. Can anyone tell me what I have in my briefcase?"

Everyone just eyed the briefcase warily, but finally Hermione said, "A boggart?"

"That's right, Hermione," Remus said, but before he could continue, Hermione interrupted him.

"But, Professor, Harry's boggart isn't a dementor anymore. How will this work?"

Harry felt himself turn red as Fred, George, Theo, and Brenna turned to look at him. Thanks, Hermione, he thought. Expose my insecurities in front of everyone. Now it was Ginny's turn to give his hand a squeeze.

"Fortunately, one of my third-years can make up for that," Remus said. He held out his hand to the young Slytherin, who had been sitting quietly, in a chair away from the rest of the group. Now, he stood and walked over to Remus and Moody. Harry could see him swallowing convulsively.

"This is Julian Overhill," Remus said, smiling at the boy. "He has kindly offered to assist us today. Now," he went on, turning back to the class, "the way to fight a dementor is with a charm. I know that several of you are very talented in Charms..."

Harry tuned him out, since he'd heard all of this before. He really didn't want to do this. He knew he had to; when Voldemort managed to arrange for the dementors to leave Azkaban, as Ron thought he would, they certainly wouldn't ask if Harry wanted them to come near him before they did so. But perhaps Remus wouldn't force him to face Julian's boggart-dementor now, since, after all, he already knew how to cast a Patronus.

"Harry?" Remus said, breaking him out of his reflections. "Would you please join the lesson?"

Harry looked up into his eyes, and saw that they were full of affection and understanding. But they were filled with something else, too, and he knew without a doubt that he would be conjuring a Patronus today.

"Now that Harry's joined us once more, we'll try it again," Remus said, and the whole room said, "Expecto Patronum," in unison.

"Very well," he said. "Everyone, please stand over by that wall, so Julian can open the briefcase. We don't want anyone else coming too close to the boggart, or it won't be a dementor anymore. When it is your turn to face the dementor, please stand here." He traced a line in the air with his wand, and it settled down onto the floor, glowing faintly. "That way, the boggart-dementor will sense you as a dementor, but not as a boggart. Can anyone tell me why that is?"

Hermione and Brenna both opened their mouths to answer, but before either one of them could say anything, Professor Moody gave a short, barking laugh.

"You're babbling, Lupin," he almost growled. "We have plenty of chocolate here, and these kids can handle this. Get on with it."

Remus sighed. "All right," he said. "I will go first. Please take your places, and watch carefully."

Everyone except Remus and Julian lined up along one wall of the classroom. Professor Moody leaned his shoulders against it, and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked the picture of indolent relaxation, but Harry saw the tip of the handle of his wand peeking out from his sleeve, where he could reach it easily. No one said a word as Remus took his place at the line on the floor. He nodded to Julian, who took a deep breath, and opened the briefcase.

The dementor emerged, and even though it was all the way across the room, Harry instantly felt cold, and the room seemed to darken around him a bit. He heard a whispering, and knew what it must be, but it was quiet enough that he couldn't hear the actual words, so he could ignore it for now. He could see Julian standing rigidly, behind and a little to the left of the dementor, but it wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, it moved slowly towards Remus.

"Expecto Patronum!" Remus shouted, and a large, silvery form shot out of his wand and chased the dementor back into the briefcase. Julian shut it with a snap.

All of the students let out their breath in one gasp, but not even a dementor could frighten Fred Weasley for long.

"Why is his Patronus a wolf?" he whispered in Harry's ear. "I wouldn't have expected that."

Harry just shrugged, but inwardly he was grinning, and that did more for him than the chocolate Moody passed around. Remus' Patronus hadn't been a wolf, it had been a big, shaggy dog, and Harry knew he wasn't the only one who recognized Padfoot. He smiled at Remus, who smiled back, though it was a wan effort. That made Harry sober again.

"Is everyone all right?" Moody asked. When no one said anything, he added, "I think we'll go in order of age. Black, you're up."

Theo nodded, and strode up to the line on the floor. It took him three tries, and even then, the badger that shot out of his wand wasn't quite strong enough to completely vanquish the dementor. Remus told him that was enough for today, and made him sit down with a big slab of chocolate. George had even more problems; no one could quite tell exactly what his Patronus was. Fred, on the other hand, surprised them all by producing a truly powerful Patronus on his first try, but unfortunately it made them all laugh so hard that they had to give the boggart some time before it would come out of the briefcase again. This gave George and Theo plenty of time to recover, and tease Fred for having his mum as his Patronus. Even Ginny, who'd been looking so pale that her freckles looked almost black, perked up a bit, telling Fred that she thought it was cute, and that she knew Angelina would, too. Fred just growled at her, and went back to munching on his chocolate.

After a quarter of an hour, Remus said they could continue, so Brenna took her place at the line. Her Patronus was quite obviously an owl, and just as obviously wasn't up to the task of defeating the dementor. She took a seat, white and trembling, and George put an arm around her shoulders while she sat and stared at her chocolate.

Then, it was Hermione's turn. Harry wasn't at all surprised when she produced a strong Patronus on her second try, but he was surprised to see that it was a wolf. He turned to look at Remus, who seemed equally surprised. Hermione blushed, but she looked at Remus, too, and held his gaze.

"You believed in me," she said after a moment. "Even when...when I almost let you down, you believed in me."

Harry thought she must be talking about what happened in the Shrieking Shack, because what else could she be talking about? He watched, as Remus studied Hermione for a long moment, then smiled.

"You're welcome, Hermione," he said.

Ron smiled proudly at Hermione, as she rejoined them near the wall. Then, he took a deep breath, and walked up to the line on the floor, muttering to himself as he went. His first try left him collapsed on the floor, and so did his second, but each time, he stood up again, saying that it hadn't been a happy enough memory. The third time, he must have found a wonderful one, because his Patronus shot out of his wand, solidly silver. Harry and Hermione both gasped, and Hermione grabbed Harry's hand. Ron's Patronus was a chess knight, just like the ones in Professor McGonagalls' giant chess set that had helped to guard the Sorcerer's Stone. When Ron turned and walked back to them, his ears bright red, Hermione threw an arm around his neck, still not letting go of Harry's hand. Harry felt himself turning red, and he closed his eyes against the curious looks they were getting from everyone else, but he felt a strange tingle in his stomach that wasn't unpleasant.

"Hermione," he could hear Ron murmuring into her hair, "it's just a Patronus."

"I know," Hermione said, letting go of both of them suddenly, and brushing her hand over her eyes. "But it's your Patronus, Ron, and it's...it's..." She trailed off, and turned to Harry.

"Yeah," Harry said to both of them. "It's...it's...it's bloody brilliant, that's what it is."

Ron gave a shout of laughter, and only laughed harder when Hermione said, "Harry!" in the tone she usually reserved for Ron when he swore. Harry shared a happy smile with Ginny, and then stepped forward to take his place at the line. He thought he knew what his happy memory would be. He nodded to Julian, who sighed. The younger boy looked exhausted, and no wonder. Harry wasn't sure he would have been able to face a dementor that many times and still be willing to do it again. He could only imagine what Julian heard every time the dementor came out, but even if it weren't as horrible as what Harry heard, it still took great courage to face it over and over again. Harry smiled at Julian, trying to convey an apology with only a look. He'd obviously misjudged the Slytherin - whatever would Ginny say?

Julian opened the briefcase, and the dementor began gliding towards Harry. He tried to fix his mind on how happy he'd been just a few moments before, but suddenly he heard something he wasn't at all expecting.

"Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever," Professor McGonagall said.

Harry looked around wildly, but he didn't see his Head of House anywhere. Just the dementor, still gliding towards him.

"She won't wake," said a soft voice, and then Harry heard the laughing. It wasn't quite the same laughter he usually heard, that cold, hard laugh; it was mixed with another that was just as cold and hard, but somehow more human. And then the words came faster.

"...there isn't much life left in her...stand aside, girl...not Harry!...her skeleton..."

And the laughter, green and hard, chilling him to the bone.

"Expecto Patronum!"

"Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes to see Ginny's warm brown ones gazing down at him. She looked like she was about to cry. But she was there, she hadn't been killed by Tom Riddle, down in the Chamber, so he couldn't understand why she was crying.

"Here," someone said in a gruff voice. "Have some chocolate."

Harry tore his eyes from Ginny to see Remus and Professor Moody standing over him, Moody holding out a piece of chocolate to him. He sat up and took it, starting to feel better as soon as he bit into it.

"What happened, Harry?" Remus asked, his eyes shining with concern. "You haven't had a problem with a dementor since your third year."

Harry looked down at his chocolate. "It wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't hear the same thing I've always heard, or not only that."

"What did you hear?" Ron asked, but Harry just shook his head. He didn't understand why he'd heard what he'd heard, but he wasn't about to try to figure it out in front of everyone. He'd ask Hermione if she knew of anything like this happening before, or maybe Remus. Right now, he just wanted to prove, mostly to himself, that he could still defeat a dementor, no matter what it threw at him.

"I'll be fine," was all he said, as he scrambled to his feet. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and touching Ginny's cheek for a moment, feeling her love for him wash over him. With that, he could face anything.

He walked back to the line and took a deep breath. Obviously, he would need a happier memory, and he knew just the one. This time, when the dementor began gliding towards him, he thought of how he'd felt in the cave, when Ginny had kissed his nose.

"Expecto Patronum!" he bellowed, and watched in satisfaction as the silvery stag leapt from his wand and chased the dementor back into the briefcase. He heard Hermione squeak and clap her hands behind him, and when he turned around, she and Ron had huge smiles on their faces. He smiled back at them, and at Ginny, who also smiled, but only as she passed him. She had a determined look on her face, and he supposed that she had grown tired of waiting for her turn.

Harry just had time to take his place against the wall, before Ginny nodded to Julian. He wondered what her happy memory would be, and couldn't deny to himself that he hoped it would be very similar to his. He knew that what she'd be hearing from the dementor would be just as horrible as what he heard, and he could only hope that a memory of him would be enough to protect her.

As the dementor glided towards her, Ginny cocked her head, as though listening intently. Then, she nodded once, and raised her wand.

"Expecto Patronum," she said, firmly, but not loudly. It didn't matter. A silver shape shot out of her wand, the strongest any of them had produced. It chased the dementor back into the briefcase, then turned and walked back to Ginny, who looked as though she couldn't have moved if her life depended on it. Then it bowed, first to Ginny, and then to Harry, who felt his jaw drop in shock. It was like looking into a silvery mirror, though the Harry Patronus was grinning, and Harry certainly wasn't.

Suddenly, Ginny gasped. She whirled around, stared at Harry for a moment, then back at her Patronus. It saluted her with one hand, then disappeared. Ginny looked wildly around the room, then gave a sob, picked up her book-bag, and fled out the door.

Harry just stood there, staring at the door as though he could still see Ginny through it, until Hermione and Brenna walked over to stand in front of him. They stood in almost identical poses, hands on their hips, glaring at him.

"Well?" Brenna said. She looked like she was about to start tapping her foot at him, but he just watched her in confusion. Did girls really do this sort of thing? And why had Ginny run away?
"Well, what?" he finally asked, when it became obvious that she wasn't going to say anything else.

"Well, aren't you going to go after her?" she asked.

"Why? She...she didn't seem to want to see me."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, removing her hands from her hips and reaching out one to him. "Of course she did. She's hoping you'll run after her and comfort her."

"She is?" Harry asked. He looked around at Fred, George, Theo and Ron, who all nodded. He didn't want to look at Remus and Moody - it would be too embarrassing.

"That's what girls do, mate," Fred said. "Even normally rational ones like Ginny. And don't tell her I said that."

Harry would never understand girls, not if they did completely nonsensical things like running out of a room, but expecting a bloke to follow them. When he wanted to be alone, he wanted to be alone, with none of this mixed-messages stuff. But if Ginny expected him to follow her, follow her he would. He knew just where she'd gone, too, especially if she expected him to follow her.

"All right, I'll go find her," he said, gaining himself smiles from Brenna and Hermione. Without bothering to take his book-bag, he left the room, and made his way slowly through the corridors towards the front doors. He wanted some time to think, before he faced Ginny again. It made perfect sense, now that he thought about it, that her Patronus would be him. He'd been the one to rescue her from the worst experience of her life, after all. But he could also understand why she'd run out of the room when she'd seen it. It just felt so...so intimate. And so permanent. Her Patronus would always be him, no matter how she felt about him. He certainly didn't want to think of a time when they wouldn't be together, but they were only fifteen. He just hoped that this wouldn't change her feelings towards him right now. He didn't think that it would - he thought what they had together could survive much worse than this - but he couldn't be sure until he talked with her. He hastened his steps, until he reached the front doors, and pushed them open.

Sunlight poured over him, almost blinding him, until his eyes adjusted. He made his way towards the lake and Ginny's favorite bench, shading his eyes from the glare as he walked. He expected to see her hair from far away, but even when he reached the bench, he didn't see her, because she wasn't there. Her book-bag was, though, and her school robes. Harry snatched them up, looking around wildly for any glimpses of coppery red. When he didn't see any, he looked back down at the bench, noticing for the first time that there were roses strewn all over it. He picked one up and stared at it for a moment, before feeling the familiar tug behind his navel. He had only time to think just how stupid he had been, before the Portkey pulled him away.