Storm Clouds

Spring Fever

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"I can't believe that we're stuck inside on a day like this," Ron griped, glancing toward the common room windows, through which bright sunlight was streaming. They could hear happy voices drifting upward from the grounds; seemingly all the students but fifth and seventh years were outside enjoying the spring air.

"Maybe we should take a break," Harry suggested, slamming shut 1,001 Magical Herbs and Fungi. He'd spent the last ten minutes trying to memorize all the uses of wolfsbane in potion making, and his eyes were starting to cross from the strain. He looked around the room, taking note of all his classmates.

Seamus and Dean were seated at a nearby table. Dean was reciting the definitions of the various Mobilus charms. Seamus, judging by the dazed expression on his face, was studying Divination. Neville was curled in one of the armchairs, leafing through a stack of parchment and occasionally gnawing on his fingernails. Lavender and Parvati were on the other side of the common room, revising levitation charms; several cushions were floating in front of the fireplace.

The Gryffindor seventh years were all seated together on the opposite side of the room from the fifth years, and looking every bit as stressed. They appeared to have banded together in one, mass study group. Oddly enough, Fred and George formed the core of the crowd and seemed to be directing its efforts. Although he couldn't hear what was being said Harry judged by the serious expressions on their faces that they weren't planning the Hogwarts prank-to-end-all-pranks.

Of course, with the twins you could never know for certain.

The portrait hole slid open and Ginny came in with her roommates, Becky Stinson and Liza Hart. All three were laughing over some private joke, and Harry felt his own lips curve into a smile in response. Since the incident of the botched Patronus lesson he hadn't seen Ginny looking very happy. He knew that she came back from her renewed lessons with Morgan wan and tired because he'd taken to waiting up for her in the evenings. It had raised a few eyebrows amongst their housemates, and no doubt the rest of the school by now, but he didn't care. Ginny was too important, both to the future of the wizarding world and to him.

The implications of his vision quest couldn't have been clearer. Harry had fudged the truth of what he had seen when Morgan had asked about it; simply making it clear that he was expected to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He hadn't mentioned anything about the Order's messenger being Godric Gryffindor himself, let alone the hints dropped that confirmed Ginny as the next Guardian.

Hints, hell, he said to himself. More like outright statements of fact.

He'd also been doing an excellent job of avoiding Ginny since that night. In truth he was afraid to tell her what he had seen. She'd been putting up a good show of not caring about being the Guardian, but Harry knew better. She was still upset by all the circumstances that were pushing her in directions she didn't want to go. He knew this because it was a tendency he recognized in himself.

Ginny seemed to sense his gaze on her, because she broke off mid-speech and turned her eyes toward him. He blushed and groped for the Herbology book he had set aside mere moments before. His fingers fumbled for a good, long minute before he got a grip on the errant text.

Ron and Hermione both noticed, and exchanged a meaningful glance.

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"And today's final score is Gryffindor 270 - Hufflepuff 140. With this victory Gryffindor takes the lead for the Quidditch Cup, with the final match against Slytherin in three weeks time. For now this is Lee Jordan wishing that all your Bludgers will always be beaten. Good night!"

Harry's feet hit the soft grass of the pitch to a joyous greeting from his teammates. It had been a hard fought game; the Hufflepuff Chasers had performed exceptionally well and Ron had not been at his best. A nasty head cold that had resisted every dose of Pepper Up potion administered by Madame Pomfrey had made him drowsy and sluggish around the goals. It all came out all right in the end, however, when Harry had beaten Ernie MacMillan to the Snitch by a wide margin.

His vision was suddenly obscured by a cloud of red hair as Ginny threw her arms around him in a celebratory hug. When she drew back her eyes were bright with happiness and her face flushed from the heat of the afternoon.

"That was fantastic, Harry!" she enthused. "Really amazing!"

Ron sneezed behind him. "It sure was," he added, his voice deep and scratchy. "Thanks for pulling me out of the fire, pal."

Ginny disengaged herself from Harry to give her brother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It wasn't that bad, Ron." She reached up with one hand and mussed his hair. It brought a smile to his face as he gently pushed her away.

"Get off!" he growled playfully. Then, in a gesture so uncharacteristic of him that Ginny nearly fainted Ron caught his sister's hand in his and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss. "Thanks, Ginny," was all he said before he moved away. Harry glanced in that direction and saw Hermione crossing the pitch. He had to grin; the relationship was proving good for Ron in a lot of different ways.

He looked back towards Ginny and had to stifle his laughter at the puzzlement on her face. "Who was that and what has he done to Ron?" was all she said.

"I think he's starting to grow up," was Harry's response, and even as he said it he realized how true it was. In the months that had passed since Christmas Ron had changed quite a bit, becoming more thoughtful, considerate, and even respectful of both Hermione's and Ginny's feelings. It was an amazing example of transformation, and all done without the aid of magic.

"You think so?" Ginny asked. "Well, it's about time I'd say!" Her face grew suddenly serious. "Well, now that we've figured out what's up with my brother do you want to tell me what's up with you, Harry?"

"Nothing's up with me," Harry replied, working to keep his expression neutral as he shouldered his Firebolt and started from the pitch.

Ginny was so surprised by his sudden departure that she didn't move for a moment. She rushed to catch up to Harry, finally reaching out and getting a hold of one of his arms. He spun around at her touch.

"WHAT?!?! I told you that there's nothing up with me. Can't you just leave it at that?"

"Right. Of course. Nothing's wrong with you." In contrast to Harry's sudden anger Ginny's voice was glacially calm. "So I'm guessing you just spontaneously decided that life as a hermit was a good idea?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry mumbled, knowing exactly what Ginny's point was.

"Well, let's go over things, shall we?" Ginny asked. "In the last couple of weeks you've withdrawn from all sorts of human contact. You all but ignore your two best friends unless you happen to be studying for O.W.L.s with them. You're withdrawn and detached at meals, and if what I've heard is true you're hardly even participating in class. . ."

"I rarely participated before," Harry said, grinning slightly.

Ginny sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know what I'm saying." She took one of his hands between both of hers. "You've been withdrawn and distant with everyone since the night of your last detention with Morgan. I know that something happened, and I know it has something to do with the Order of the Phoenix." She paused and took a shaky breath. "You told me months ago that we needed to look out for each other. That's even truer now in the wake of everything. So why don't you tell me exactly what is going on?"

Harry took a deep breath and stared up at the bright sky for a moment. He sighed and then looked down, meeting Ginny's eyes. "Let me change clothes and stow my broom, then we'll go for a walk around the lake, all right?" Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand to silence her. "I mean it, OK? This will take some time."

It was nearly forty minutes later when Harry emerged from the locker room. There had been the usual after-match captain's responsibilities, then he had taken an extra long shower in an effort to coax some of the aches from his muscles. When he emerged he quickly spotted Ginny standing to one side, arms folded, foot tapping, impatience visible in her stance.

"Took you long enough," she muttered under her breath as they set off toward the castle. When they reached the lake shore Harry took her hand and turned to the right, skirting the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go, so Ginny followed placidly behind. She trusted him to tell her everything once they reached their destination.

When they arrived Harry scrambled up on the flat boulder, reaching down a hand to help Ginny up. As soon as she reached the top she understood why this was a favorite place of his.

The trees of the forest thinned as they approached the lake, but in this one spot the leafy canopy spread as thick and verdant as ever. The flat-topped boulder on which they stood offered a perfect view of the castle and the Quidditch pitch beyond, but without being easily visible. Someone would have to know exactly what they were looking for to find this spot.

Harry cast a number of cushioning charms on the rock, then invited Ginny to sit down. At her quizzical glance he smiled. "I said it would take some time, didn't I? No point in being uncomfortable." When she had sat Harry settled himself beside her and took a deep breath. "There's really no easy way to tell you this," he began.

"Harry, stop worrying about easy," Ginny said. "Considering everything that's happened thus far this year I imagine I'm pretty well immune to shock anymore." She grinned. "All I ask is that you tell me straight and tell me honest. Anything less is unacceptable."

Tell me straight and tell me honest. Ginny's words echoed in his head, and Harry knew he had no choice. She deserved complete truth. Anything less would be a disservice to himself and an insult to her. He took a deep breath.

"Ginny, you are the next Guardian of the Phoenix."

Her eyes widened at the definitive tone of his voice, but she held her tongue and waited for him to explain. "My last detention with Morgan wasn't really a detention. I had to go through a vision quest of my own, just like you did. Morgan chose that night because it was the Vernal Equinox. . ."

"Sounds about right," Ginny commented. "That's when you started ignoring everybody."

"I haven't been ignoring anyone!"

Ginny snorted. "OK, if that's what you want to believe. So," she continued. "How exactly do you know all of this? Me being for sure the next Guardian and all."

"Gryffindor told me," was Harry's simple response.

Ginny started to laugh. "Great, Harry! Pull the other one?"

"I'm serious."

Ginny's giggles slowly petered out as she caught Harry's expression. "My God! You are serious!" She started to twist a lock of hair around one of her fingers. "But it wasn't real. I mean, it was just a vision, right?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Things got kind of mixed up there for a bit. I mean, he appeared as Fawkes, for pity's sake! If that's not reality intruding on a vision I don't know what is!"

"What exactly did he say?" Ginny asked.

"That I was to become a member of the Order of the Phoenix. That my blood was the last piece needed, to reunite the blood of the last Hogwarts founder with the Order." Harry sighed, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "He also said that I've done a lot in the fight against evil, but that more would be asked of me. I can refuse, of course, but he specifically said that the Guardian would need me to give her extra strength for the final conflict."

"The Guardian? He meant Morgan, right?"

"Not exactly." He glanced at Ginny, meeting and holding her gaze. "I asked the same question. His response was 'I like her; her hair is the same color as my feathers.'"

Ginny's eyes widened and her face paled. "Well, I know that Fawkes' plumage is not black, so I'm guessing Gryffindor likes me because I'm a redhead."

"Ginny, I'm -"

"Don't!" She held up a hand to stop him speaking. "Don't apologize. Besides, it's not like this comes as a complete surprise. All the signs were pointing to me, weren't they? This is just the last thing; the blinking neon sign that says GUARDIAN in big, bold letters." She laughed nervously, then suddenly her eyes filled with angry tears and her emotion burst forth.

"I hate this! Why me? It's not bad enough that I was possessed by evil when I was only eleven years old, but now I find out that I get to spend the rest of my life battling that same evil. Why? It's all fine and well and good for everyone to talk about being the Guardian, but does anyone really understand what it's like to have your entire life mapped out for you? What it's like to have everything you're expected to do laid out for you in advance? What it's like to have no choice in anything?"

"I understand what all of that is like," Harry said quietly. "It probably won't help at all, but I want you to know that you're not alone in this, Gin. I didn't let you down three years ago and I won't now."

"Harry, I -" Ginny gulped once, and just as suddenly as they had started her tears changed. The anger was gone, only to be replaced by genuine grief; grief for the life she could have had, grief for the things she would never have a chance to do. It was also tinged with oppressive fear; fear of the powers that would be bestowed to her and fear of what would threaten her for the foreseeable future.

Harry didn't know how to react to her sudden change of mood. He tentatively reached out a hand to pat her shoulder. As soon as he touched her Ginny twisted and threw herself at him, burying her face against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her while she cried.

It seemed an eternity before the storm of tears abated. So much so that the cushioning charms cast on the boulder were starting to wear off. Harry shifted uncomfortably, silently cursing his lack of skill in that particular area. Ginny gave one last, loud sniffle and raised her tear-streaked face from his shoulder.

"Sorry," she whispered. "It all just hit me right then."

"It's OK, Ginny. Believe me, I understand." Harry reached out a hand and brushed her tangled hair away from her face. Ginny gave a small smile and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Does Morgan know? About what you saw, I mean."

"Not exactly. I told her about what Gryffindor said about me, but I kept the rest of it to myself." He pushed a hand through his hair. "Honestly, the full meaning of what he said didn't hit me until hours later, so it's not like I deliberately hid the information."

"But she suspects, doesn't she? That you didn't tell her everything?"

Harry nodded. "She hasn't pressed me about it, but I can feel those damned eyes of hers everywhere I go." He glanced at his watch. "Come on, we'd better get back to Gryffindor Tower sometime before dinner or Ron'll think I've kidnapped you."

"It'd serve him right if you did!" Ginny exclaimed, standing up and brushing off her jeans. "He's been an absolute prat since Christmas; always hovering around me and being the most over-protective - " Her voice trailed off and she grinned. "I probably shouldn't finish that sentence."

Harry laughed. "Probably not the best idea." He jumped down off of the boulder and held out a hand to help Ginny down. She took it in hers and hopped down without incident. She didn't release Harry's hand immediately however. He only realized she was still holding it when he started to walk back to the castle.

"Ginny, what - ?"

"I just wanted to thank you. For any number of things, but especially for not telling Morgan everything you saw in your vision. I don't think I could handle that as well. At least this way I can break the news to her myself."

Harry smiled. "You're welcome, Gin. You know I'd do just about anything for you." Ginny grinned slyly, causing Harry to blush to the roots of his hair. "I didn't - I don't - You know how I meant!"

"Yes, Harry, I did. I just wanted to get a rise out of you." Her face grew serious again. "Thank you," she whispered, and leaned closer to kiss him on the cheek. Harry chose that exact moment to turn his head in order to get his hair out of his eyes, and instead of his cheek Ginny's lips landed on his.

They each froze, lips together and eyes locked. They were so close that Harry could count the flecks of gold in Ginny's caramel colored eyes; he could feel her forehead pushing his glasses slightly askew -

Ginny jerked away from Harry as if she had been administered an electric shock, dropping his hand and taking a pace back. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She looked too shocked to speak.

Harry for his part didn't think he could string two coherent words together. A part of his mind was rationally reminding him that he was fifteen years old and a budding interest in girls was perfectly normal, while another part was screaming This is Ron's sister! at the top of its lungs. But voices or no voices, Harry couldn't ignore the fact that her lips had been soft against his, that her freckles looked like gold dust up close, and that she smelled of a combination of spices that made his head spin.

"We'd - umm - best head back," Ginny said, finally making her voice work. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting a bit hungry."

Harry only nodded, still not trusting his voice to work properly. He deliberately kept himself more than an arm's length away from Ginny on the walk back, uncertain what might happen if he touched her again. His resolve was strong until they reached the edge of the forest. Someone was moving stealthily through the trees, and Harry caught Ginny's arm and ducked behind a tree, using his body to shield hers.

"Harry, what - ?"

"Shhhhh!" he admonished her, covering her mouth with his hand for good measure. Her eyes flashed with anger, but before she could express the feeling (in a way that was sure to be painful for Harry) she heard what he had. Her eyes widened and she gave the slightest of nods. Harry lowered his hand and the pair moved around the tree, trying to see who was sneaking through the brush.

They could barely make anything out, the thick overhanging trees and the setting sun made it darker in the forest then on the grounds. The sounds of someone moving were unmistakable, however. With curiosity and fear equally strong Harry took Ginny's hand and started after their unknown companion.

It felt like they had been walking forever before they came upon a small clearing. They ducked behind a large rock and peeked out over the top of it.

Professor Lupin was pacing the clearing, obviously agitated. It was the first time Harry had ever seen him so uneasy, and he was struck by the resemblance to the animal that Lupin became during a full moon. The professor pulled a watch out of his pocket and sighed.

"Who do you think he's meeting?" Ginny asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Sirius, maybe? They'd have to keep that completely secret."

The crack of a branch made both teenagers jump, and they quickly ducked out of sight.

"You used to be more punctual than this," Lupin spoke suddenly. "I'm surprised you're late, especially since you asked to have this conversation." When he got no response he continued, his voice sounding strained. "What is this all about? I have other things I could be doing."

"I thought that we should talk."

Harry glanced at Ginny and saw the same expression on her face. Morgan? she mouthed. Harry nodded and the two straightened up enough to see over the rock again.

Morgan was standing in the center of the clearing, still wearing her black and white Quidditch referee robes. Her hair was untamed after spending time in the air and she still held her Silver Arrow in one hand. The other was fisted at her side, a sure sign of nervousness.

"Why would we need to talk?" Lupin asked, moving a step closer to Morgan.

"Don't you know? Don't you feel anything anymore?"

Ginny tugged on Harry's shirt, intent on pulling him away from what was clearly a personal conversation between the two teachers. He shrugged her off, just as intent on hearing what was going on.

"I do feel," Lupin responded. "I've just never been sure about you. Your reaction to Sirius' revelations to Harry gave me a pretty good clue, however."

"I never stopped, Remus. It just seemed impossible at the time." Morgan's voice sounded shaky, as if she was fighting back tears.

"And now? What's different now?" Lupin asked

"I need to try," was Morgan's simple reply

"Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are in Quidditch gear?" Lupin asked, taking a final couple of steps and closing the gap between them.

"Even when I used to have a bat in my hand?"

"Especially when you had a bat in your hand."

Harry and Ginny turned away just as Lupin and Morgan melted together in a passionate kiss.