Broken Fate

Chapter Fifteen ~ Future's Tale

"We don't have to tell you anything," Shay said sharply.

"Shay," Will sighed. "They deserve to know. Would you rather they know the truth, or get things confused by coming to their own conclusions?"

Shay pressed his lips tightly together and didn't answer.

"Right," Will said heavily. "Well..." He didn't seem sure where to start, either.

"All right, then. Here's a question: how are you related to us?" Ron motioned himself and Ginny. "And how is she related to Harry?" He gestured at Jamie.

"Harry's your father, isn't he?" Ginny asked, an odd note in her voice.

Jamie shot Harry a look and looked at the ground, nodding.

Harry's heart caught in his throat. No way. This isn't happening...I don't have a daughter! I can't have a daughter!

Ginny was still staring at her intently. "And your mother?" she asked quietly.

Jamie looked at her miserably, and then back at the ground.

"Potters and Weasleys--should have known they'd intermingle," Malfoy's voice rang through Harry's mind again.

Ginny took a deep breath and let it out. "That's what I thought. I'm...I'm your mother, aren't I?...oh, that sounds so odd to say!"

"You're her mother?" Ron laughed. "But that's..." he trailed off, silenced by the solemn looks of Will, Jamie, and Shay. He threaded his fingers through his hair, and peered at them from underneath his hands. "Harry and Ginny? I mean..." He shook his head, not saying exactly what he meant.

Harry had some idea what he must be thinking. "Potters and Weasleys..." Malfoy's voice echoed once more. Later, Harry, he told himself. Think about it later. Hear the whole story first.

"I...I don't know what to say." Ginny shook her head. "Except...how on earth did Harry and I get together?" She sounded almost indignant. "You know, for four years I had a crush on him! Four years I acted like a blithering idiot around him, and then last year, I finally got over it and got to be friends with him, and now this?" She looked around helplessly, and Harry felt as overwhelmed as she looked.

"And you?" Ron demanded of Will. "How are you a Weasley?"

"Don't you know?" It was Hermione who spoke this time, in a strangled voice. Ron gave her a puzzled look, and she said, "He's ours, Ron. Aren't you?" she asked Will.

"What?" Ron's head jerked toward Will. "But he...he can't be..."

That's why I thought Will looked so familiar...he's a combination of my two best friends! Harry thought, head spinning.

"I don't know why I didn't see it before...probably because it wasn't something I would have ever expected," Hermione said conversationally. "Look at him, Ron! He has my eyes. And my nose. But...your face, and your freckles...definitely not your hair, though." She suddenly giggled. "This cannot be happening."

Ginny and Jamie both looked at her, their eyebrows raised. The similarity between that expression struck Harry, and it must have had an impression on Hermione, because she giggled all the more. "This...is...insane!" she gasped, calming down. "Sorry...but it is." She took a deep breath. "And I suppose you're Neville Longbottom's son?" she asked of Shay.

Shay crossed his arms and said nothing.

"Shay," Jamie prodded.

Shay glared at her, but gave a sharp nod.

"And your mother?" Ginny asked.

Shay shook his head. "She doesn't go to Hogwarts," he told them.

"Yet," Jamie put in, staring hard at Shay.

"And that's part of the story of what happened in our future," Will said.

"All right, then. Let's have the story first, then," Hermione said, sounding much calmer.

"I don't think we should tell you," Shay said obstinately.

"Is it really going to matter now, Shay?" Jamie asked tiredly. "They're not going to tell anyone. And maybe they'll be able to help us."

"Help us how, Jamie? They couldn't help in the future; what makes you think now will be any different?" Shay snapped.

"Because now they're alive, Shay!" Jamie's voice rose.

Another piece of information. In the future, they were dead. Chills swept through Harry, and he closed his eyes, trying to get a grip on all of this.

"The truth, Shay, remember?" Will said quietly.

Harry opened his eyes, looking between the three time-travelers.

Shay stared hard at him for a moment, and then said huffily, "Fine!" He plunked himself down on one of the chairs and glared around the group.

"Right, then," Jamie began, taking a deep breath. "Well. It all started in the future--the end of this year, actually, when Dumbledore was murdered."

Shock ran through Harry. Dumbledore...dead? Hermione's mouth dropped open, and Ginny exclaimed, "What?"

Jamie proceeded to tell them about Tonks' disappearance, Dumbledore's death, and his body being stolen on route to St. Mungo's.

"Wait--you said no one knew how he died, and that's why he was being taken to St. Mungo's," Hermione broke in. "So how do you know he was murdered? How do you know he didn't just...have a heart attack or something?"

"Because he was cursed," Jamie said. "His body looked as if it had been burned from the inside. The Ministry officials who came to get him realized right away that he had been murdered; they just weren't sure how." She proceeded to tell of the discovery of the connections in the Gourl. When she spoke of the Gourl, Ron sat up straight, but said nothing. Jamie continued, telling of the belief that Tonks' had been a spy for Voldemort and had killed Dumbledore.

"Tonks, a spy and a murderer?" Hermione said in disbelief.

Harry was in like mind with her--he couldn't imagine Tonks working for Voldemort. Of course, he had never imagined Quirrell was being possessed by Voldemort...he had never imagined that Scabbers was an Animagus...he had never imagined the Fourth Year teacher Mad-Eye Moody was an imposter...he had never imagined a lot of things, and they had all happened, anyway.

"Well, she's not...but I'll get to that. Let me continue with what everyone believed," Jamie said. "After Dumbledore's death, everything started to go downhill. Voldemort got away with things he wouldn't have been able to otherwise. He had to get rid of Dumbledore, don't you see?

"Well, one of the first things that happened was the attack on Beauxbatons," Jamie continued. "Hogwarts was still somewhat safe, even with Dumbledore gone, so all of the Beauxbatons students were moved to Hogwarts and Sorted into the different Houses, including Shay's mother." Here, Jamie hesitated, and everyone turned to look at Shay, who sat with his lips pressed tightly together.

Harry had the distinct impression that Shay didn't like talking about his mother, and he didn't look pleased that the subject had come up. He glared at Jamie, who narrowed her own eyes in return. "They're not going to tell anyone, Shay," she said.

"That's not the point," Shay retorted. "I can protect myself. She can't properly defend herself--not in this time. She's too young."

Something unspoken was passing between the two, and Harry had the distinct impression there was something about Shay's mother, besides her identity, that Shay didn't want known. "Only the name," Shay finally said in a tight voice.

Jamie nodded in agreement. "Only the name," she agreed softly.

Yes, they were definitely hiding something about Shay's mother.

After a long moment, Shay sighed. "My mother was Gabrielle Delacour."

Ron's eyebrows went up. "Fleur's little sister? The girl that we met during the Triwizard Tournament? But she's..."

"Young," Will broke in. He took over the story. "She was just starting school when Beauxbatons was moved to Hogwarts. She was a First Year when Shay's father--Neville--was a Seventh Year. Now, everything was going crazy in your Seventh Year. People were panicking because Dumbledore was dead. Things went from bad to worse. The giants began attacking towns and cities--even Muggle cities. Dementors were on the loose. The prisoners in Azkaban escaped. Try as they might, the Ministry didn't have the power to cover it up anymore. Muggles began learning of things. At Hogwarts, you--" he nodded at Harry "--were determined. You knew you had to be one to destroy Voldemort. The prophecy--"

"What prophecy?" Hermione and Ginny asked together.

Harry sat straight in his chair. He hadn't told anyone about the prophecy...he hadn't wanted to talk to them about it...hadn't wanted them to know that one day, he would have to kill Voldemort, or Voldemort would have to kill him. That was something that he had to face. Not Ron, not Hermione, not Ginny.

All eyes were now fixed on him. "Harry?" Hermione asked.

It was Harry's turn to sigh. It looked like there was no way out of it. He was going to have to tell them. "The one that was destroyed in the Ministry," he said.

"But...you said..." Ron began.

"I said it was destroyed," Harry said firmly. "But...the prophecy was originally given to Dumbledore. He told me what it said."

"And you didn't tell us?" Hermione asked indignantly.

"I didn't want to!" he snapped.

"Why not?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Because it's none of your business!" Harry said loudly.

"Well, it is now," Shay retorted. "If you want the truth, anyway."

Harry turned his glare on Shay, who narrowed his own eyes in return. Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "Fine." Quickly, not wanting to dwell on it, he quoted the prophecy to them. He couldn't have forgotten it if he wanted to--the words were forever bored into his brain.

Everyone was silent, contemplating these words. "So you have to kill Voldemort," Ginny said thoughtfully. "Or he has to kill you. 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord...'" She shook her head. "No wonder you didn't tell us. That's some pretty heavy stuff."

She had no idea. He had to live with the fact that he either had to kill, or be killed. And on top of what happened with Sirius... Harry shook his head. No. He didn't want to go there. Not now.

"Anyway," Jamie resumed, "There were those students who helped Harry--they were trying to raise up a resistance, you see, even in the school. Gabrielle was only eleven, but she had a lot of spunk. She was determined she was going to help, and she ended up involving herself more deeply than anyone could have guessed. She learned everything Harry and the others were willing to teach her. Well, by the time her Third Year rolled around, there was no Hogwarts anymore. The wizarding world was in such a disarray that even the school wasn't safe. Gabrielle's parents and sister had all been killed, and so she just stuck with your group. When she was sixteen, and Neville Longbottom was twenty-two, they got married. Some people probably thought it was scandalous, but I'm sure most people were worried about other things--and anyway, Gabrielle and Neville didn't care what anyone thought. Besides, for Gabrielle, sixteen wasn't so young anymore...she--and everyone else, for that matter--had been forced to grow up too fast."

That made such a strange picture in Harry's mind. Right now, Gabrielle was a little girl... And even as far as looks went, Neville was round-faced and a bit clumsy, and Gabrielle Delacour was part Veela. If she grew up to look anything like her sister, she would be gorgeous and graceful.

Of course, it also explained where Shay got his looks. Thinking about it now, he did look very, very much like Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour.

"Gabrielle got pregnant right after she and Neville were married. Shay was born in December of 2003." Jamie cast her eyes in Shay's direction.

He met Jamie's eyes for a moment, then said brusquely, "I never knew my father. Neville Longbottom died six months before I was born." It seemed that was all he was going to say, so Jamie picked up the story again.

"He was killed defending a bunch of Muggles from Death Eaters," she said sadly. "A month after that, Seamus Finnigan died protecting Gabrielle...he took the curse meant for her. That's why Shay's full name is Seamus Neville Longbottom."

"As for you four," Jamie said, looking uncomfortable about discussing their futures--even possible futures--with them, "You got married pretty young, too. You--" she nodded at Hermione "--were the first to get pregnant. Will was born in August of 2004. He was named after Uncle Bill. I was born on Halloween of that same year...on the anniversary of the night my grandparents--James and Lily Potter--died. When I was born, everyone thought I was going to be a boy. I was supposed to be named James. Instead, I wound up being Jamie...except to Will. He still calls me James." Jamie's eyes crinkled in a smile.

"I was born on Halloween of that same year...on the anniversary of the night my grandparents--James and Lily Potter--died." Those words sent another chill through Harry. James and Lily Potter were his parents, and the thought that they meant something to this girl he didn't even know was very disquieting.

"Things went on for a while...constant battles...people being drafted to your side, or to Voldemort's. It was hard work, and a lot of good people died." Jamie looked down at her hands. "It wasn't until my father died that everyone really gave up hope."

"Harry...died?" Hermione must have expected this, but her voice sounded numb.

I died...Voldemort must have killed me...the prophecy came true, and I lost.

"Without him, the wizarding world was lost. Voldemort killed him, and that couldn't happen--Harry had to defeat Voldemort. He's the only one that can do it." Jamie's mouth pressed in a thin line. "You--" she nodded at Ginny "--you died, too. My parents died fighting side-by-side."

Ginny looked stricken. "That's horrible! What a horrid future!" She looked very disturbed, exactly how Harry felt. "How old were you when...er...we died?"

"Three," Jamie replied softly. "I...I barely remember my parents. I remember little things...like when they taught me to use the Knight Bus in case I had to get away fast...that was when it was still running. And I remember them talking about Dumbledore, saying he always seemed to know everything, and things might not be as bad if he was still alive...other things, too..." She was quiet for a moment, and then picked up, "When Mum and Dad died, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione took me in."

Ron started, and shot a look at Hermione. Uncle Ron? he mouthed.

"Shay's mum--" here Jamie cast a discreet look in Shay's direction "--died when he was seven. She was killed in a fight with Draco Malfoy--he murdered her with the Killing Curse," Jamie said.

Four mouths dropped open. "Malfoy?" Hermione squeaked.

"So he just got worse after Hogwarts, did he?" Ron said darkly.

Harry shot a quick look at Shay, who stared back at him defiantly. Malfoy killed his mother... Harry had always thought he had reason to hate Malfoy, but he could only imagine how Shay--who had been forced to live in the same dormitory as Malfoy--must feel. He remembered Blaise telling him that after numerous confrontations between Shay, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, Shay had finally been moved out of that dormitory.

"So after Gabrielle died, Shay came to stay with us, too. We were always moving...always looking for somewhere else to hide...always trying to gather forces to fight Voldemort, but it was never enough. It was after Shay's mum's death that Aunt Hermione--you--" Jamie's sharp green eyes fell on Hermione "--decided to build a Time-Turner. You see, everything had started with Dumbledore's death. That was what you wanted to stop. If that could happen, he would be able to help Harry along, to help him fight, and maybe Harry would have a better chance of defeating Voldemort."

Will picked up the tale, "You worked on it for years, but you never told us about it. Then, in February of 2017, my little sister was born. It wasn't expected--no one ever tried to have kids; why bring them into a world filled with darkness?" He sighed. "She was named Molly, after our grandmother. In September of that same year, when my sister Molly was seven months old, the Time-Turner was completed. Unfortunately, before you had the chance to use the Time-Turner, the place where we were staying was attacked." He paused, and in his eyes, Harry saw the pain of memories he didn't want to think about. "We were there when it happened...it was so quick, we barely had time to hide. We used Jamie's invisibility cloak--the one passed onto her from her father--to hide under. Mum and Dad made us do it...there was nowhere for them to hide. They fought brilliantly, though. There were at least a dozen Death Eaters, if not more...they took out half of them before they were disarmed. Molly...Molly was upstairs sleeping, and before we could try to get to her under the cloak, the Death Eaters found her."

Harry could almost see all of this happening...an older Ron and Hermione facing Death Eaters, the three children hiding under the cloak...someone bringing a screaming baby down the stairs... He could only imagine what the Death Eaters would have done...he didn't want to imagine it. Not to Ron and Hermione, not to a baby...

Will seemed unable to speak, so Jamie took over again. "The Death Eaters wanted information, and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione wouldn't give it to them. So the Death Eaters...they used the Cruciatus Curse on Molly."

Harry spared a glance at his friends. Ron looked stricken, tears ran down Hermione's face, and Ginny clenched her hands into fists, her freckles showing starkly on her pale face.

"We saw it all happen...we saw it, and we couldn't stop it. We didn't have our wands...we never made that mistake again. We always have our wands with us," Jamie said tightly. "Unless they're taken from us," she added as an afterthought, looking at Hermione.

Hermione swiped her tears away. "Oh, yes. Here." She dug Jamie's wand out of her pocket and passed it to the girl, who tucked it into her pocket.

"The Death Eaters couldn't get information. They used the Cruciatus Curse on Molly until she passed out...and then they tried using it on Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. They finally decided it was a waste of time and then..." Jamie broke off and looked at the ground.

"And then they killed my parents," Will finished, wiping away tears of his own. "They left Molly as she was...thought it was quite funny...figured she'd die anyway because there'd be no one to take care of her." He shook his head angrily. "Molly was never the same after that. She never cried anymore, never laughed...she's never spoken a word in her life. Sometimes I wondered if she was just insane, but she understands things. I know she does. She plays with toys, and she recognizes familiar faces. She learns things. I just don't know if she'll ever be 'normal,'" he said.

"Has she ever been looked at by a Healer?" Hermione asked.

"A Healer? Where we're from? Or rather, when we're from? I don't think so. Healers are very hard to come by," Jamie spoke up.

"She's in the hospital wing now, though," Ginny said. "Right?"

Will nodded. "She has pneumonia."

"She's been staying in the Shrieking Shack with me," Jamie put in. "But now we're going to stay with our grandparents--your parents," she told Ron and Ginny. "That's why I was in Dumbledore's office. He explained to them who we are, and asked if we could live with them."

"Of course they said yes," Ginny said.

Jamie nodded. "They also died when I was very little, so I don't really remember them."

Silence hung in the room for a moment, and then Ron burst out, "Well, that's great! You were going to tell our parents who you were, and not us? Why?"

"Don't you see, Ron?" Hermione asked. He looked baffled. "Obviously not. They didn't want to ruin the way our relationships would go...isn't that right?"

Affirmative nods came from Will and Jamie, but Shay shrugged. "My parents probably won't get together if we change the future," he said. "Because the Beauxbatons students won't be moved here."

"And now it looks like we messed it up anyway," Jamie sighed. "Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione didn't start dating until the end of their Sixth Year, so--"

"Well, that certainly changed," Ginny broke in. "They started dating yesterday, didn't you know?" She directed this question to Will, who lived in Gryffindor House.

"Yes, but I didn't have time to tell Jamie. And I still don't understand why. I mean...not why are you dating...but what changed?" He looked at Jamie and Shay. "What made you start dating?" he asked Ron and Hermione curiously.

Ron and Hermione exchanged almost bashful glances. "Well...Ron--blithering idiot that he is," Hermione began affectionately, "finally realized how he felt about me."

"When?" Will asked Ron.

Ron's face was turning tomato-red. "Um...last week..." he muttered. "When Hermione was charming something for the Society of Slytherins. It was the middle of the night, and...well..." he shrugged. "I just realized that I...er..." he cleared his throat. "That I love her," he said, more firmly.

It was Shay, surprisingly, who spoke next. "That's what changed." He glanced at Hermione. "I joined the Society of Slytherins and told Blaise Zabini that you knew how to do a Protean Charm."

Understanding dawned on Hermione's face. "And Blaise asked me to do the Charm, which I did, and that's when Ron found me in the common room in the middle of the night."

"And as for my parents," Jamie began.

Harry looked at her with trepidation, not sure he wanted to hear anything about him and Ginny. How was he ever going to be able to look at Ginny the same way again?

"They didn't get together until my father's Seventh Year, and my mother's Sixth."

Oh, good. That gives me a whole year to think things over, Harry thought irrationally. He suddenly understood Hermione's earlier giggles. This was ridiculous. He half-expected to wake up and find he had been having a ludicrous dream, but he knew it wasn't going to happen.

"Anyway, back to the story," Jamie said. "After Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione died, we were pretty much on our own. Most wizards and witches that had opposed Voldemort were dead, in hiding, or under the Imperius Curse. We took everything we learned and carried on, moving from place to place, trying to keep out of the way of Voldemort and his minions. Witch, wizard, Muggle...it didn't matter anymore. Everyone was under his thumb. I think the longest we ever stayed anywhere was at the Burrow. We went there after Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione's deaths. It was rundown, and everyone avoided it. We lived there for almost a year. We didn't know what to do."

Harry couldn't imagine that kind of life. What would it be like, to live only for the sake of running and hiding and trying to stay one step ahead of the enemy? To not experience school, or Quidditch? To be entrusted to take complete care of yourself at thirteen, and to have a baby in your care as well?

No wonder Will's eyes always seemed older than his years. No wonder Shay was so defensive. No wonder Jamie seemed so lonely.

"Then, a little over a year ago, we found Aunt Hermione's journal," Jamie said. She glanced at Will, who took over.

"It took us a while to figure out how to read it--it was spelled so that no one could see what was written--but it turned out that all it needed was my thumbprint to unlock it," he said. "There weren't many entries...but the one that grabbed our attention was the one where you recorded information about the Time-Turner," he told Hermione. "As I said, it had taken years for you to make...and unfortunately, you had been wearing it when you died. We hadn't known about it, and so we hadn't taken it. We...we hadn't had time to bury you...or anywhere to bury you, for that matter." Will looked ashamed. "So then came the task of tracking the Time-Turner down. It took us a year. We did a lot of sneaking and searching...we paid bribes and did everything we could to find it. When we did find it, we had a hard time getting it. Turns out it had wound up on Hogwarts grounds."

"Hogwarts had become a place crawling with Death Eaters," Shay spoke up again. "They thought it was safe, because of all the protections around it." His blue eyes glinted in amusement. "Will and I used Jamie's cloak to sneak onto Hogwarts grounds and get the Time-Turner. We couldn't Apparate or Disapparate, obviously, but we got the Time-Turner. The Death Eaters never knew about it."

"We traveled back in time the next day," Jamie said. She proceeded to tell them how they had gone first to the Burrow, looking for the Gourl, how they had received letters inviting them to Hogwarts, how it had been decided Jamie couldn't go. Will and Shay had gone to Diagon Alley for school supplies...

"And that's where I met you," Ginny said, sounding amazed. She shook her head. "I had no idea...it puts a whole new perspective on things."

Will finished up by telling them about stealing the Gourl from Ron, giving it to Dumbledore, and then learning that he had ruined Tonks' undercover operation for Voldemort.

"So that's what Lupin and Tonks were talking about the other day!" Hermione exclaimed. She frowned. "Ahh...and now you don't know what to do, right?" She looked at Will, Jamie, and Shay. "You came back to stop Dumbledore from being killed...and you don't know who killed him."

"And speaking of Lupin, where does he fit into your future?" Harry asked.

Harry couldn't fail to notice that both Will and Shay looked at Jamie, who, at the mention of Lupin, had ducked her head so he couldn't see her face.

Eyes still on Jamie, Will said hesitantly, "He stayed with us a lot when we were little. He was one of the few people that opposed Voldemort that was still alive and in hiding. During our search for the Time-Turner, he helped us track it down."

"He died helping us track it down," Jamie said fiercely, her head snapping up. Tears swam in her eyes, and a mixture of emotions played across her face. Guilt? Regret? Harry couldn't quite place it, but the pain was evident. "He...he was like a father to me...or a grandfather," she said hastily, shooting a glance in Harry's direction.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He wondered just how Lupin had died, but decided against asking right now, especially as Jamie looked like she was about to break down if they continued on this subject. He didn't know if he could deal with any crying girls right now.

"It's so strange...being here, seeing people who are supposed to be dead..." Jamie said miserably.

"Yes, well, it's just as strange being here and seeing people who shouldn't be born," Ginny pointed out.

"So what are we going to do next?" Ron asked. He looked around at the others' expressions. "What? We can't just sit around and let that future happen!"

Hermione shook her head. "After all I learned during my Third Year about not changing the future..."

"Hermione, you were the one who made the Time-Turner," Ron pointed out.

"No, the future me did it." She sighed heavily. "But you're right. We can't just let it happen. And as has been pointed out, things have already changed. I'm certainly glad I didn't have to wait until the end of this year before you decided to come to your senses about me," she told Ron.

"So what do we do next?" Ron asked.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"What I am going to do next is go to bed," Ginny said firmly, standing to her feet. "There's been a lot said, and there's a lot that I need to think about. When I've processed all of this, I'm going to want details on everything you know that happened this year. I'll help--we'll help--in finding Dumbledore's killer as much as we can, but we're going to need details."

Hermione nodded. "Ginny's right. We're going to need to look into anything suspicious. And since things have changed, we need to keep a close watch on Dumbledore. We have the Marauder's Map--"

"We have one, too," Will broke in.

"Well, then. We have two Marauder's Maps, and we can keep an eye on the names for anything suspicious. If we had looked at it sooner, we would have certainly noticed William Weasley and Seamus Longbottom. When are you leaving for Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys'?" Hermione asked Jamie.

"Tomorrow, when Molly gets out of the hospital wing," Jamie replied promptly.

"Or as soon as Madam Pomfrey lets her go," Will sighed. "And speaking of Molly, I need to get back down to her. She needs someone familiar there if she wakes up."

"I'd like to come with you--if you don't mind," Hermione said quickly.

Will hesitated, then shook his head. "You can come."

"Ron?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

"Erm...I think I'm going to go with Harry and Ginny." Ron looked pleadingly at Hermione. "I...just need to think about this, too."

One by one, they stood to their feet. Hermione turned the Marauder's Map over to Harry, and then she and Will left for the hospital wing. Shay took off for the dungeons, and Jamie went next door to meet Professor McGonagall in her office. Harry, Ron, and Ginny headed back to the Gryffindor common room in silence, watching the map to make sure they didn't run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, since Harry didn't feel like being crammed under the invisibility cloak with Ron and Ginny just now. He needed some space to think.

Harry's mind swarmed with the strange events that had happened this night, and as he walked, he carefully looked everywhere except at Ginny. "This," Ron finally said as they neared the Fat Lady's portrait, "has to be the strangest night of my life. And that's saying a lot. How is this possible?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, the question is, who's going to tell Neville that he has a son staying at Hogwarts?"