Harry Potter and the Guardian of Lost Souls

Chapter 8:

"Ginny! Have you seen my wand?"

"Yes! It´s on the kitchen table!"

"Mum! Where are the extra quills?"

"In the cabinet in the living room, dear!"

"Hey Ron! Did Bill leave you the Quidditch balls?"

"Yeah! He said he got them for us anyway!"

"Mother! Can you please tell everyone to be quiet?! I have to finish this paper on customizing book sizes and fonts! It´s very important!"

"Mum! Can you please tell Percy to stop being a bigheaded prat?!"

Yes, it was another average morning at the Burrow and everyone was preparing to leave for King´s Cross Station. The train was scheduled to leave in another two hours and though everyone had packed the day before, there suddenly seemed to be a remarkable number of things that still needed to be done. No one was ready, and the Burrow was practically upside down.

Harry found that he was actually reluctant to begin school this year. All in all, he'd had a wonderful summer, not including, of course, certain, er, events. It had got off to a rocky start with the Dursleys and the attack in Diagon Alley had been horrible but besides that...The only summer that even remotely neared this one was the summer before Harry's first year when he'd found out that he was a wizard.

Harry finished packing all of his last minute things and closed his trunk. He gave Ron's room one last wistful glance before dragging his trunk downstairs. He left it next to the front door and then sat down at the kitchen table for breakfast. He seemed to be the first one besides Ginny, who had finished first.

"G´morning," he exclaimed glumly, resting his chin in his hand.

Ginny grinned. "Someone´s cheerful this morning. So upset to go back to school?"

Harry sighed. "It´s not that I´m upset to go back to Hogwarts, it´s just," Harry paused, looking for words, "All in all, I had a better summer than I´ve had in, well, forever, and now it´s ending. Back to school and people gawping at me. It´ll probably be even worse this year after what happened..." Harry trailed off, the memory of Cedric´s death and the circumstances by which it came to pass fresh in his memory.

Ginny looked at Harry in understanding. "Yes," she said, "it is going to be harder than usual." She paused and took a deep breath, as though trying to find courage for what she was going to say next. "Voldemort´s back. Everything is changing. Believe me, Diagon Alley wasn´t the only attack this summer. It may have been the worst but it wasn´t the only one."

Harry had started when Ginny said Voldemort´s name. Having been brought up in a wizarding family, Ginny understood the horrors that the world had gone through fifteen years ago, understood the fear that remained. But now Ginny´s face was set in grim determination. Harry marveled again at the strong-willed, redheaded girl that was Ginny Weasley. She´d managed to surprise him every day since she´d returned from the hospital and didn´t look as though she was going to stop any time soon.

"He´s got a lot to answer for, hasn´t he?" Harry said.

"You and I both know it, Harry. We know it better than most." She gazed at him penetratingly, her eyes burning into his. Harry knew she was right. She´d had her fair share of nightmares because of Voldemort. Slowly, he nodded, making a promise to himself. He´d try as hard as he could to make those nightmares go away. He also wouldn´t let anything happen to her ever again.

Ginny smiled. "Eat your breakfast and stop worrying about everything," she said unexpectedly. "You´ve got me, Ron and Hermione. We´ll stick with you no matter what, so there´s no point in going hungry." She passed him a plate stacked with pancakes and busied herself with her porridge.

There was no doubt about it. Ginny Weasley certainly was something.

~*~

Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione rode to King´s Cross Station squished into two Muggle taxis (which Mrs. Weasley had ordered from the telephone in town) along with all of their trunks and animals. It was not a pleasant ride. Harry sat scrunched in between Ron and Ginny, Hermione sitting in the front. Crookshanks had somehow managed to escape the confines of his cage and had snuggled into his lap, digging his claws into his legs every time they made a turn. Pigwidgeon was tooting and twittering about happily in his cage, sending little fluffy bird feathers everywhere and Hedwig kept shooting him disapproving looks and hooting unhappily. If Ginny had had an animal as well, the Muggle taxi driver would have gone insane. As it was, Harry wasn´t entirely sure that he wasn´t mad. The man sped along at breakneck speed, making sharp turns without slowing down in the least. Harry muttered several embarrassed "sorrys," as he continued landing on Ginny in unpleasant situations.

All in all, the four were relieved beyond belief when the car parked in front of the entrance to King´s Cross. Mrs. Weasley and the twins hadn´t fared much better, it seemed. Fred and George had enjoyed themselves immensely, but Mrs. Weasley looked rather green.

Harry gave Ginny a hand with her trunk, as she was till rather weak; and they passed through the barrier in pairs.

"Wonderful," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in apparent satisfaction. "There are still ten minutes until the train leaves. Go put your trunks away and then come back to say good bye."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny found an empty compartment towards the back of the train and left their luggage there. When they returned to the platform, they found a very teary-eyed Mrs. Weasley hugging Fred and George.

"Mum! Geroff us!" they cried in unison.

"Someone might be watching," Fred exclaimed indignantly, but gave his mother a quick peck on the cheek all the same. George followed suit.

"Now, you behave yourselves," Mrs. Weasley said severely. "It´s your last year at Hogwarts. You have your N.E.W.T´s this year. For heaven´s sake, try your best."

Fred and George grumbled their consent then traipsed off to where Lee Jordan was waiting for them.

Mrs. Weasley turned to the four of them, sniffling. She hugged Hermione good bye and kissed Ron, wiping off a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Harry couldn´t help but snicker at his friend. Then she turned to Ginny.

"Oh, my sweet-heart," she said softly, "come here." She gave Ginny a big hug, as though afraid to let her go.

"I´ll miss you Mum," Ginny said, hugging her mother back just as tightly.

"Take care of yourself, love. Don´t forget to give Madame Pomfrey that note."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mum." Ginny had note explaining her condition to the school nurse. Upon receiving said note, she´d exclaimed in irritation that she didn´t think she needed it and had tried repeatedly to burn, tear, hide or damage it in any way she could. Nothing helped, though. Mrs. Weasley had charmed it.

Last, Mrs. Weasley hugged Harry. He blushed a bit, but as usual was rather pleased that she did. Mrs. Weasley always treated him like one of her own, and he was always grateful.

"Take care of my little girl, Harry," she whispered quietly in his ear, so that only he heard her. "Please, promise me you won´t let anything happen to her."

Harry pulled away. "I promise," he said quietly and nodded. He didn´t tell her that he´d already promised himself the same thing.

They went back to their compartment, hanging out the window, waving as the train began to move away. Soon, Mrs. Weasley was only a dot in the distance and then, she was gone.

Harry sat back with a sigh. "Well, back to school, I guess." He grinned. "I suppose things could be worse."

"Oh?" Ron asked glumly, clearly as upset about returning to school as Harry was.

"Yeah. Remember the end of last year? On the train?"

A grin spread slowly across Ron´s face as he remembered. "Ah, yes," he said in satisfaction, sitting back, a dreamy look on his face. "Where is Malfoy, anyway?"

Ginny looked confused. "Malfoy?" she asked. "Draco Malfoy? Why would you care about him?"

Hermione couldn´t help smiling. "Well, we´re just wondering if he´s recovered yet."

Harry and Ron exploded in gales of laughter. Ginny was still confused.

"What do you mean?"

Ron gasped for breath. "He was being a bloody git as usual-"

"Ron!" Hermione cried, more out of habit than anything else. They´d all grown quite used to Ron´s swearing by now... Ron ignored her and continued. "But he messed with us at the wrong time. We cursed him, Crabbe, and Goyle, and it just so happened that Fred and George were passing by and they gave us a hand."

Ginny covered her mouth with her hand, trying unsuccessfully to stifle her giggles.

"What happened?" she asked in awe.

"Well," Harry replied, "let´s just say quite a few muggles thought something escaped from the zoo that day... Must have been a lot of fun to have muggles laughing at him. I´m sure he quite enjoyed it..." He smiled belatedly.

Ron was ecstatic. "He had mushrooms on his face, Ginny! Mushrooms!"

Ginny was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face. But her laughter abruptly turned into a violent coughing fit and Ginny sat, clutching at her chest, gasping for breath.

Harry scooted closer to her in alarm and held her by the shoulders, rubbing his left hand over her back, soothing her until it passed.

"Sorry," Ginny whispered shakily after catching her breath.

"Shhh, it´s all right," Hermione soothed.

Harry looked over Ginny´s head at Ron. He´d turned very pale and looked worriedly back. Harry nodded his head towards the door. Ron took the hint.

"I´ll go get you a glass of water," he said, standing up abruptly.

"No, don´t bother. I´m fine, really."

"No, Ginny, you´re not," Ron replied stubbornly. "Hermione, come with me?"

Hermione nodded and they left, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

They sat in silence, Harry still rubbing her back gently. Suddenly, Ginny turned around and buried her face in his shoulder, clutching at his robes.

"Harry, I can´t take this anymore!" she cried softly, her voice muffled. "Every time I think it´s passed, the whole thing blows up again. If I get too worked up, I go into awful coughing fits and I--"

"Wait," Harry said abruptly, sitting up. "You mean to say you´ve been having a lot of them?"

Ginny looked sheepishly at the floor. "Yes," she said in small voice, "when you weren´t around. If you were, I ran up to my room. I didn´t want everyone to see how weak I really still am. You don´t know, Harry," she said vehemently, "you don´t know what it´s like living with six older brothers, always trying to protect you, but only driving you insane instead!" Ginny coughed again, leaning forward, waiting till it passed.

Harry sat, his face wrought with lines of worry. "Ginny, why didn´t you tell me about this?" he asked softly.

Ginny looked away out the window, sighing. "Only Mum and Dad know. In Diagon Alley, while- while I was being cursed, I must have been hit with something else and it- well, it punctured one of my lungs."

Harry felt the blood drain from his face.

"They mended it at St. Mungo´s, of course, but it was pretty bad. I didn´t want people to treat me as more of a baby than they already were." She looked up at Harry desperately, her eyes shining. "I´m sorry, I should have told you. I--I´m sorry."

Harry shook his head. "Don´t be. It´s ok. I understand. But, Ginny, shouldn´t you be better by now?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose. The past two days have been almost completely clear, but last night, I woke up at about three in the morning, coughing so badly I had to wake up Mum." Ginny looked worried. "Harry, I don´t know what´s happening to me." She gripped his hand tightly. "Mum doesn´t want to show it, but she´s more worried than she´s letting on. I´m more worried than everyone thinks. I know it´s probably nothing. The doctors didn´t say how long it would be before I was completely recovered after all..." Ginny trailed off.

Her hand felt warm in his and he held it tighter, trying to comfort her. "Ginny, I think your right. It probably is nothing." He hoped that was true. "But just in case, go to Madam Pomfrey tomorrow and have her check you out. Believe me, I´m sure she´ll be thrilled to have a patient..." Harry smiled.

Ginny hesitated, clearly not happy with the idea. "All right, but I´ll only go on one condition."

Harry nodded. "Sounds fair."

Ginny took a deep breath. "Don´t tell anyone about this. My coughing fits, the curse, the hospital wing. Nothing."

Harry opened his mouth to protest. Ron was his best friend after all and Ginny´s brother, but Ginny´s eyes looked up at him pleadingly and he found himself agreeing to her terms instead.

"Thanks, Harry," she said in relief, hugging him tightly. Harry felt his stomach wriggle and knew he was blushing, but he controlled himself and hugged her back. She needed a friend now.

He heard someone clear his throat in back of him and turned to find Ron in the doorway, looking anywhere but at the two of them. Harry blushed even harder and Ginny turned scarlet. They both moved away from each other abruptly and Ron and Hermione entered, Ron handing the glass of water to Ginny as he sat down.

"There you go," he said. "Are you ok?"

Ginny looked towards Harry.

"Yeah," he replied, "she´s fine. Just swallowed something the wrong way..." Ginny smiled gratefully and drank her water.

They spent the next two hours playing exploding snap and wizard´s chess. Ginny beat Ron in ten minutes and Harry had laughed himself silly.

He was pleased to see, though, that Ginny didn´t cough even once that whole time, even though she seemed a bit pale to him, but that might have been his imagination.

Fred and George had stopped by for a bit with Lee, but they hadn´t stayed long. They´d said something about going off to torture the girls instead.

The old lady with the cart appeared at noon and Harry treated everyone to Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott´s Every Flavor Beans and Pumpkin Pasties. They sat exchanging wizard cards and betting who could catch a Bertie Bott´s Bean in their mouth from the opposite side of the coach. Most of the beans ended up flying out the window...

All in all it was a pleasant ride and Harry found himself looking forward to going back after all.

The sky outside the window turned a light purple as the sun set behind the clouds off in the distance. Harry watched it sink slowly, marveling at how peaceful he felt. The compartment had long ago fallen silent. Hermione was curled up in the corner of her seat, breathing deeply. The book she´d been reading had slid to the cushion next to her, and Ron´s head was in her lap. Ron was snoring so gently, Harry barely heard it over the creaking of the train.

Harry sighed contentedly. Ginny had fallen asleep first and her head had drooped onto his shoulder. She´d snuggled up quite close, in fact, and Harry took the opportunity to study her features. He´d noticed for the first time the faint circles she had under her eyes, but that was the only worrying thing he found. But he knew the train ride had exhausted her more than she´d admit. Weasleys were so stubborn... It was one of the things he liked most about them.

The train rocked rhythmically from side to side and the breeze from the open window above him played across his face. He found himself slowly drifting off and was all for a short nap when he heard the compartment door slide open.

"Well, well. What have we here?" came the familiar cold drawl from behind.

Harry´s jaw went rigid as he felt fury well up inside him. He was wide awake now. Harry slowly turned around, not wanting to wake Ginny and trying to keep his emotions from showing on his face. "Get out of here, Malfoy," he said, his voice as cold as steel.

Malfoy, flanked, as usual, by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, ignored him and continued his taunt. He stared pointedly at Ginny. "Girlfriend, Potter?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, his anger flaring. How dare Malfoy even look at Ginny?! "I said, Get. Out."

Malfoy shook his head. "Ooh, touchy, touchy Potter. What´s the matter, bad summer? I heard what happened in Diagon Alley... What a shame." He leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets, clicking his tongue. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.

Harry´s face contorted in anger. Malfoy didn´t know haw lucky he was. As much as Harry wanted to kill him right now, he didn´t dare wake Ginny. She needed to sleep, so he stayed where he was.

"You´re disgusting," Harry replied quietly. "Get out of my sight."

Malfoy just laughed, and Harry nearly jumped up to strangle him.

"What are you going to do, Potter? Have me thrown off the train? I don´t think so." He stepped closer to where Harry and Ginny sat. Harry felt his hair stand on end.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, brilliant green against piercing blue, then Malfoy reached out a finger and drew it gently down Ginny´s cheek. Ginny frowned in her sleep and shifted uncomfortably. Harry´s heart beat at an abnormal pace, his breathing grew shallow.

"You know," Malfoy whispered, smiling evilly, "she´s actually rather pretty, in a disgusting, Weasley, Mudblood loving way."

Fire flamed up from somewhere deep inside Harry, burning uncontrollably with his anger. His shoulders shook with it as he glared at Malfoy, hating him with every fiber of his being. The only rational thought in his head at that moment was that Malfoy was within ten meters of Ginny and that was unacceptable! The fire grew and grew, roaring in Harry´s ears. There was no end to it, the smug look on Malfoy´s face fueling it even more.

CRACK!

The glass pane in the compartment door shattered, pieces of glass falling to the floor. Malfoy turned around abruptly, the smile disappearing. He took in the shards on the floor and the jagged edges left above the door. When he turned to Harry again, he suddenly looked unsure of himself and backed away a bit.

"I said, leave."

Malfoy stared at him for a moment, with a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, but then his sneer returned. "This isn´t over," he growled and barged out of the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle following right behind.

Harry took a deep breath and then another, calming his anger. He´d done it again. Made something explode, just like in the hospital. It wasn´t so odd. He´d made things blow up out of anger before. But this time, he´d known it was coming. He had known he was going to do it. He never had before.

Harry looked down at Ginny. She was still sleeping peacefully, but the peace Harry had felt before had been shattered. Harry smoothed his thumb over Ginny´s cheek, where Malfoy had touched her, as though to wipe away any trace of him. He shuddered at the memory of what had just happened.

Ginny gave a small cough in her sleep but didn´t wake up. She snuggled closer, shivering. Harry wondered at that since the compartment was actually quite warm. He held his hand to her forehead and sighed. She had a fever. It wasn´t a bad one but it was a fever all the same. He carefully reached for his wand and then muttered a heating spell, pointing it at Ginny. He didn´t make it too warm. He knew from experience that that could make matters worse. Harry then pointed his wand at the shards of glass on the floor.

"Reparo," he whispered. The window put itself magically back together and Harry magicked the door closed. He then settled back in his seat, his anger replaced by fear. Mrs. Weasley had asked him to watch over Ginny. How could he? He knew Malfoy would now start bothering her as well as Ron and Hermione, simply for being around him. He was afraid of the things Malfoy was capable of. Harry knew where he came from and where he was going. Malfoy was waiting for the day when he could be just like his father. A Death Eater, one of Voldemort´s supporters. The thought made Harry sick to his stomach.

And then there was Ginny´s illness. He´d be watching her like a hawk since what she´d told him and he´d drag her kicking and screaming to Madame Pomfrey if he had to. Harry would be taking no chances with this, not after the way he´d seen her coughing. He hoped it was really nothing, as Ginny had said it was. Of course, Ginny didn´t seem so sure it was nothing herself...

The rest of the journey was mercifully uneventful, Ron and Hermione waking up some time before they reached Hogwarts, Ginny sleeping on. Ron and Harry talked Quidditch as they trundled along and Hermione, disgusted, returned to her book. Needless to say, Harry did not tell them about the incident with Malfoy.

As the train began to slow, Harry shook Ginny gently.

"Hey, Ginny, wake up, we´re almost there," he muttered. Ginny stirred and then opened her eyes. She sat up groggily and yawned.

"How long have I been sleeping?" she asked, looking around the compartment and out the window, taking in the black sky outside.

"Two hours," Harry answered, rubbing his shoulder, pinpricks shooting up and down his arm, which had fallen asleep quite a while ago.

"Two?!" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. "It didn´t feel like any more than a few minutes..."

"Well, you must have been very tired then," Harry replied. Ginny just shot him a "look". He grinned and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"You´re impossible," she stated simply before preparing her things.

It was a clear night outside, a cooling breeze ruffling everyone´s hair as they climbed into the horseless carriages. The students were all much quieter and subdued than usual in light of recent events and Harry caught more than one worried glance around for signs of danger. He also caught more people staring at him than usual, some with fear, others with mistrust. Despite what Dumbledore had explained to everyone the year before there were still many students that refused to believe Voldemort had returned. Cornelius Fudge certainly hadn´t helped matters claiming that Harry must have finally cracked and was probably mentally unstable. He wondered if anything had come out in the press about him over the summer.

The lights from the castle came into view, and soon they were walking through the front doors and into the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. The Hall was filled with floating candles and twinkling lights and the sky above was covered with stars. The four sat down at the Gryffindor and Ginny looked upwards, sighing.

"What is it?" Harry asked her quietly.

Ginny smiled. "I missed it, you know. The ceiling. It´s one of my favorite things about school. I´ve always wondered what it would feel like if I were to float up there and touch it..." she trailed off, a dreamy look on her face.

Harry found himself staring at Ginny as she gazed at the sky. Her eyes twinkled with reflections of the candles above and her cheeks were tinged rose. Her lips were curled up in a little half-smile and Harry suddenly found himself wondering what they would feel like on his own...With a jolt, Harry realized what he was doing and looked away quickly towards the staff table, not really seeing the people sitting there. A sudden call from Ron brought Harry to his senses.

"Harry!"

Harry jumped in his seat and turned to look at Ron. "What?" he asked in surprise.

Ron didn´t seam to notice that he´d scared him. He leaned across the table towards him. "Notice anyone missing from the staff table?" he asked.

Harry looked towards the front of the hall, his eyes roaming over the familiar faces. Hagrid was gone, but Harry knew he must still be with Madame Maxime wherever Dumbledore had sent them to. The place for the DADA teacher was empty as well. How unexpected. But besides that everyone seemed to be... "Hold on," Harry said suddenly, "where´s Snape?"

"Snape?" Ginny asked, looking over towards the teachers as well. Her eyes widened when she saw he was missing. Ron nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "Snape´s gone. You think he´s just missing the feast or not teaching this year?" Ron´s face suddenly lit up. "Maybe he got sacked!"

Hermione snorted. "Oh, come on Ron. You thought the same thing in second year right before he surprised you from behind."

Ron jumped and turned around in his seat, suddenly afraid of what he might find. Snape wasn´t there, to Ron´s obvious relief. Harry laughed at his friend´s discomfort, but only half-heartedly. He had a feeling he knew where Snape was and he wasn´t very happy about it.

"Ron, do you remember what happened in the hospital at the end of last year with Snape?" he asked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Of course, who would be able to forget that?"

Harry nodded and was about to continue when Ginny cut in.

"What are you talking about? What about Snape?"

Harry looked at Ginny in surprise. He´d forgotten that she hadn´t been present in the hospital wing when it happened. He felt a sudden wave of guilt. She must have been worried.... Harry sighed.

"Look, we can´t tell you everything here, barely anyone knows about it." Now Ginny looked even more confused.

"What are you talking about?" At that moment she was cut off as a hush fell over the crowd and McGonagall could be seen carrying a very dirty hat to the front of the staff table. A group of nervous first years stood in terrified silence, wondering what they were going to have to do.

"We´ll talk later," Harry whispered to Ginny as McGonagall explained what the hat was for.

Then the hat began his song.

"What you see is what you get,

But let me ask you this, my friends,

Is what you see what´s really there,

Or perhaps a meanings to an end?

I´m just a hat, or is it so?

Perhaps I´m more than what you find,

I have no eyes, yet still I see,

The thoughts that run around your mind.

I´m just a hat, I have no ears,

But no, I´m more than cloth and thread,

I hear your secrets and your fears,

The things you think inside your head.

I´m just a hat, I do not feel,

And yet, you´ll find I´m rather vain,

I know the feelings in your soul,

I sense the sparks within your brain.

So try me on, I´m just a hat,

Who´ll tell you where you ought to be,

In Gryffindor for brave of heart,

In Hufflepuff for loyalty.

In Ravenclaw for will to learn,

In Slytherin for cunningness,

So like I said, I´m just a hat,

I´m nothing more and nothing less."

The students erupted in wiled applause, Harry with them. He always enjoyed the Sorting, but wondered that the Sorting Hat always managed to come up with a new song year after year.

The Sorting continued as usual, and at the end, Gryffindor had eight new students. It was much less than usual. There weren´t nearly as many first years as there had been in years past. Harry didn´t need to wonder why.

Dumbledore then stood up to speak. He held his arms out in greeting and smiled at everyone. "Welcome," he said warmly, "to another year. Before we partake of the wonderful feast to come, I have a few announcements to give out. First, a reminder to all students and a warning to the newcomers, the Forbidden Forest is just that: forbidden. Times are not what they used to be. I´m sure I don´t need to tell you what creatures live in the forest.

"Second, our caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch has come forward with an odd request. Any student to assist him this year in the capture of Peeves, our resident poltergeist, will receive a pass from all detentions that would otherwise have been given by him." Dumbledore´s mustache twitched.

"Third, one week from today, a memorial will take place in honor of the memory of Cedric Diggory, a student who was taken last year from our midst." Dumbledore´s smile had faded. "Any students interested in saying a few words should see their head of house."

Harry looked over at the Ravenclaw table at the mention of Cedric, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hadn´t seen Cho before and he didn´t spot her at the table now either. He furrowed his brow. That was odd....

Dumbledore let the silence sink in for a few moments and then his smile returned. "I would like to finish with the words of the great Torgen Twiggs: `Pray the dried ink won´t itcha dragon´s nose!´" With that he sat down, unaware that he sounded quite mad, as usual.

The food appeared and everyone dug in, but Harry wasn´t as hungry as he´d been. He sighed.

"What´s wrong?" Ginny asked him, putting a small spoonful of mashed potatoes on her plate.

Harry looked around him, at the vastness of the Great Hall and the splendor of Hogwarts, at the students busy with their meal and the teachers up front. Quietly, so Ron and Hermione wouldn´t hear, he mumbled, "Cedric´s never going to have this again."

Ginny stopped serving herself and turned towards him. "Harry, look at me."

Harry turned half-heartedly towards her.

Ginny´s face was stern but kindness shone through her eyes. She spoke gently. "You know that´s not your fault, Harry. You´re smarter than that, I know you are. You can´t save everyone and if you try, you´re only going to hurt yourself and everyone who loves you." Ginny blushed slightly but reached her hand out and touched his cheek. Harry felt heat rush to his face but shuddered inside when he realized it was the same way Draco had touched her on the train. He shook the odd feeling off and smiled.

"And you wouldn´t want that, right?"

Ginny´s blush deepened and she turned quickly back to her food, but not before giving a small nod. Harry´s heart skipped a beat.

The rest of dinner passed uneventfully besides for Dumbledore´s parting words, telling them all that quidditch games would continue as usual despite the conditions and tryouts would be held in two weeks time. Harry cheered, thrilled, while Fred and George stood up on the table and started to do a jig, earning them their first detention of the year. They took it with a smile. Then Dumbledore flicked his wrist and the words to the school song formed in the air before him. Harry groaned along with many of the other students but sang along to the tune of one of the Weird Sisters´ songs he´d heard over the summer.

Finally it was off to Gryffindor Tower. Harry was very grateful.

He, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were joined by Fred and George on the way up. They wanted to talk to Harry about the team´s prospects for the coming season but before they said a thing Professor McGonagall approached him.

"Potter?"

Harry´s heart sank. He wondered what he´d already managed to do to get himself in trouble. He swallowed nervously. "Yes Professor?"

McGonagall smoothed out her robes in a very business-like way before replying. "The headmaster would like to see you in his office. Now."

Harry wondered what this was all about. Ron and Hermione shot him questioning looks and Ginny looked rather worried. He wished them all good-night and followed McGonagall up the stairs towards Dumbledore´s office.

"Licorice Sticks!" McGonagall said when they reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore´s office. The statue came to life and jumped aside allowing them to pass. They alighted on the moving staircase, moving steadily upwards. When they reached the door McGonagall turned towards him.

"Goodnight, Mr. Potter. I trust when you´re finished you´ll return directly to Gryffindor Tower. After the Weasley twins´ preformance this evening the last thing Gryffindor needs is to lose more house-points." With that she turned briskly around and glided back downstairs leaving Harry staring apprehensively, if not a bit fearfully at the door before him.