The Awakening Power

Chapter 6: Pensieve Dreams and Stranger Things

* * *

Harry sat across from Ron over the chessboard, his attention wandering. His pieces were looking at him accusingly, causing Harry to look about the room rather than meet their disappointed stares at his moves so far. Hermione was reading some sort of enormous, heavy textbook, which caused him to idly wonder if Hermione's ultimate goal was to read a book as large as she was.

Harry was losing badly, but he wasn't really concentrating much about the game. He was thinking it was time to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy. He had been trying all day to work up the nerve, but he always seemed to find an excuse to avoid it instead.

"Checkmate," Ron said, as his pawns began applauding the performance. He didn't look too pleased by the win. "Harry, I don't think your mind was too much on the game. It was easy, even by my normally devastating standards."

Harry sighed. He'd better get it over with. "There's something that we need to discuss. Something that Dumbledore told me at the end of last year. Something bad."

Hermione looked up at that, alarmed. "What is it, Harry?"

"Not here. I think the Pensieve can help with this. You can see it for yourself," said Harry.

"All right, Harry. Shall we go down to the lake?" said Hermione.

"Yes, I think that would work. Also - I think I would like Ginny to hear this as well." Harry looked away, somewhat embarrassed.

"Ginny? Are you certain?" said Ron.

"Yes," Harry said. "This, er, concerns Voldemort. And how he has to be defeated. Ginny fought her own battle with Riddle. And after the Ministry last year, I think she has a right to know this. Where is she?"

"In her room, I think," said Ron.

"I'll get the Pensieve and let her know," said Harry.

Harry walked up stairs and picked up the satchel containing his Pensieve from his room. He then walked to Ginny's room, which was open. "Ginny?"

Ginny was lying on her bed, reading a textbook. Harry peered a bit closer and noticed it was a defense book. "I didn't know you've been reading defense books. That looks fairly advanced, actually."

"I have to get ready for your D.A. meetings, don't I?" she said, smiling. "What's up?"

Harry had been smiling, but now his face grew serious as he remembered why he was there. "Well, something happened at the end of last year. Dumbledore told me - something. I haven't told anyone. I was going to tell Ron and Hermione, and - I want you to know as well."

"You want me to come along?" she said carefully.

"Yes." Harry looked around, as if someone might be listening. "It's about defeating Voldemort. You fought your own battle with him, and I - think you deserve to know this. Ginny, it's not good news, er, for me."

Ginny looked concerned. "Harry, whatever it is, I'm certain you'll meet it, like you always have."

Harry smiled weakly at her. "Shall we go? I'm going to show you all using the Pensieve, and we're going to go down to the lake."

Ginny got up, and they headed downstairs where they met Ron and Hermione, who both had grim looks on their faces. They all walked out the door and hiked down to the lake in silence, the hot mid-afternoon sunshine streaming through the trees. They found a spot next to the water and sat down. Harry pulled out his Pensieve and broke the tense silence.

"All right. Dumbledore told me something in his office after the Ministry last year. Something - hard to take. It concerns the prophecy that was destroyed in the Department of Mysteries. Dumbledore told me what the prophecy said."

"How could he tell you if it was smashed?" Ron said.

"Because Dumbledore was there when the prophecy was made. It was made by Trelawney," Harry said.

"Trelawney?" Ron said dubiously.

"This wasn't one of her tea leaf readings. It was one of her real ones. Dumbledore believed it."

"Okay. So what did it say? What's so bad about it?" Ron said.

Harry sighed. "You had best hear it for yourself."

Harry brought his wand to his temple and placed the memory into the Pensieve. He touched his wand to the odd substance, as he gave the incantation to show the memory above the Pensieve. Trelawney began to speak, repeating the prophecy.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat stunned as they listened to the prophecy. A long silence ensued, as they tried to assimilate the words.

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry," said Hermione, finally. "You've been living with this all summer?"

"Harry, mate..." Ron said weakly. He didn't seem to have any words.

Harry squirmed. He knew this was going to be the reaction. He hated pity.

Ginny, however, seemed to have recovered and looked thoughtful. "It's - interesting, isn't it?"

Harry blinked at her. "Well, that's not quite the word I would use, but..."

"Harry, don't you see? It's good news, from a certain point of view," Ginny said, with a resolute look.

"Good news?" Ron said incredulously. "Have you lost your mind? Did you hear what it said? It's either Harry or You-Know-Who to the death!"

"Yes, it did. And what else is new? In case you haven't noticed, You-Know-Who has already tried to kill Harry four times, before we even knew about the prophecy. Did you think he was suddenly going to stop? We already know that he wants Harry dead." Ginny grimaced and turned to Harry. "Sorry, Harry, I don't mean to say it so baldly."

Harry would have smiled if the subject weren't so grim. "No, you're right. It's not exactly big news. But what's the good news?"

"The good news is that the prophecy says that you can defeat him. Harry, There's no doubt any more. It's not a question of whether you can defeat him. You can. You have a power that the 'Dark Lord knows not'."

"But Ginny, it doesn't say that he will defeat him," Ron said.

"He will," Ginny said confidently. "Look, how many people have escaped from You-Know-Who four times? Much less by the age of fifteen? Not even counting Harry defeating Tom Riddle. Doesn't it seem like there is some sort of - fate - at work here?"

Harry felt a bit embarrassed at her assurance. But somehow he did feel better. He hadn't thought about it that way - what really had changed? Voldemort was trying to kill him anyway, but now he knew that it was possible to win. The prophecy said so. He just needed to figure out how. He still might die, but there was a chance.

"I agree with Ginny," said Hermione. "But the question is, what is this power that Harry has? Did Dumbledore tell you, Harry?"

"No, not in so many words. He just said that there is a room at the Department of Mysteries that contains whatever my power is, and Voldemort doesn't have it at all. He also said something about 'my heart' having saved me when Voldemort tried to possess me at the end of the battle."

"Is this why Voldemort tried to kill you as a baby?" said Hermione. Ron flinched at the name, and she shot him an annoyed look.

"Yes, but Dumbledore said Voldemort only heard the first part of the prophecy. Only that I would be born, but not the part about the 'power the Dark Lord knows not.' That's why he wanted to hear the rest of it," said Harry.

They all grew silent, considering. Harry thought about mentioning that Neville had been another candidate, but it didn't seem relevant and technically it was really Neville's business anyway. Dumbledore had already told him that there wasn't any doubt that he was the subject of the prophecy.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do," said Harry. "It's been very frustrating this summer."

"Well, Harry, Dumbledore must have a plan for all this. I guess we're just going to have to trust him," said Hermione. "Perhaps when we return to school, we can learn more."

Trust Dumbledore. Harry knew it was a bit unfair, but the whole idea of Trust Dumbledore had taken a hit after the Ministry battle. Dumbledore had always seemed so perfectly all-knowing, like he had matters well in hand. His admitting weakness had started Harry wondering whom or what he could depend on.

Last year he felt like a cork on the ocean, being tossed about at the whims of Voldemort, The Order and his Professors. He had come to the realization that he could no longer depend on others for his protection. The prophecy said he had to kill or be killed, and therefore there was no ultimate protection that could ever be offered.

And frankly, he was tired of being manipulated by others. The Order could do what they wanted; he didn't care anymore. Maybe Dumbledore would tell him what's going on and maybe he wouldn't. But Harry was going to take control of the parts he could take control of, and for certain he was going to make sure he was prepared for the next battle.

Harry noticed that they were all looking at him while his mind had been wandering.

"Yes, well, we'll see," said Harry finally.

"Shall we head back?" asked Hermione.

"You all head back. I think I'd like to be alone and think for a while," said Harry.

"All right, mate. Catch up to us later," said Ron.

Looking worried, Hermione and Ginny both nodded at Harry.

* * *

Ron sat in his bedroom, several weeks after Harry's admission of the prophecy. Everyone had just gone up to bed, but too many thoughts were swirling in his head to get to sleep yet.

After Harry's admission of the prophecy, Harry had been disappearing for long stretches of time. Ron wasn't certain what was going on with him, but figured that when he was ready, he would come back. Harry's admission of the prophecy had been shocking, but Ginny was right. It's not as if Harry didn't already have You-Know-Who trying to kill him.

Since then, Ron and Hermione had been spending a lot more time together. The tension had been slowly building up in him, and he was about ready to go over the edge.

He normally had a lot of fun with Hermione, and still did, but this year it was different. He wasn't exactly certain what he was feeling, but he resolved to himself that he would find out. This brooding is making me nutters. I don't know how Harry manages to do it so much, he thought.

He was carefully mapping out his strategy, like a chess game. Evaluate your opponent. Watch their strategy and adjust accordingly. That was key in chess. What this meant in Hermione's case was that he needed to find out exactly how she felt. It would take subtlety and clever tactics to wheedle it out of her without her picking up on what he was doing.

"Of course, we're talking Hermione here, the observation queen. How am I going to do this without her knowing?" he said aloud to himself.

He suddenly smacked his fist into his palm. "Tactics! It's just like a chess game. Need to make my moves. Be subtle. Don't advertise the overall strategy."

He walked over to his desk, opened the drawer, and pulled out his picture of Hermione.

"Do you really like that git?" he asked the photo-Hermione. She just smiled back at him and hugged a book to her chest.

He put down the picture and started pacing the room. Hermione thinks I can't be subtle, but I can be, he thought. I'll find out what I need to know. I'll find out if it's really serious with Vicky Grouchy Krum.

"And if isn't, then I can see if she cares at all about me," he said morosely. A little voice went up in head. You really think there's a chance for someone like you? Doesn't she deserve - better?

"Bloody hell," he said sullenly. "I'm not that bad. I helped win the cup last year, didn't I?"

But you know Hermione doesn't care about Quidditch. How many OWLs do you think you got, Weasley?

"I might not have done that badly," he said gloomily to himself.

Uh huh, right, Weasley. Let's face it, you're not going to be Percy with his 12 OWLs, said his little voice.

His voice dropped to a whisper. "But she asked me to ask her to the next ball, didn't she?"

Yes, but she was angry, wasn't she? She didn't really mean it. And you weren't exactly nice to her that night, were you?

"Sod it. I guess we'll just have to find out."

* * *

The next morning, Hermione was in her room, getting dressed to go downstairs. She was worried about Harry, who was spending an inordinate amount of time by himself with his Pensieve. He spent some time with his friends, but during those times his mind seemed to be elsewhere. He didn't look all that willing to talk about what he was doing when he was away, so she fought the urge to pry.

She hoped that he would snap out of it soon, whatever it was. She dreaded the thought of confronting him about anything. Yet, if he withdrew any farther, she felt it was her duty as his friend to intervene.

Her thoughts drifted to her other problem. Since Harry was occupied, she found herself spending a lot more time with Ron alone. Ginny was right; he was different, but if his problem involved feelings for her, it was difficult to tell. If anything, they seemed to be having more arguments lately, not less.

At times everything would seem normal, and they would play games or just sit and talk about the next year at Hogwarts. At other times, he appeared nervous and jumpy, and he would make some sort of comment that led to an argument.

She sighed as she headed downstairs, where she saw Ron already sitting, reading a Quidditch magazine.

"Good morning, Ron!" she said brightly.

"'Morning," he grunted. Ron didn't look like he was completely awake.

"Hi, Hermione!" Ginny called from the kitchen.

Hermione smiled and waved a hello.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione said, turning to Ron.

"Where else? He sneaked out early this morning. I haven't seen him at all," Ron replied, still reading his magazine.

Hermione sat down next to Ron. "We're going to need to talk to him about all this soon."

"If he wants to talk, he'll talk to us. Why should we try and force him?" Ron said, annoyed.

"Ron! We're his friends! You saw what happened last year. He gets in these moods, and starts thinking all kinds of things, like when he was worried that everyone was afraid of him attacking them," Hermione said, getting a bit annoyed herself.

"Well, he hasn't seen anyone attacked lately, has he?" Ron said, trying to read his magazine again.

"How do we know? He isn't talking to us," she said sarcastically. "Ron! Put down that magazine and listen to me!"

Ron sighed, dropping the magazine into his lap with a thud. "All right, maybe you ..." Hermione glared at him, and Ron continued quickly, "er, maybe we can try talking to him later when he comes home. Happy?"

Hermione beamed at him. "Yes, thank you. It's for the best, you know it is!"

Ron looked unconvinced.

"Breakfast is ready!" Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen. They both got up and went to the kitchen to eat.

After the meal, Hermione felt ready to take on the day. She had a stack of books that she had been dying to start in on, and it looked like a good time while they waited for Harry to return.

"Come on, Hermione, let's walk down to the lake," Ron said.

She looked hesitantly at her stack of books. "Well, I did want to get started on some of my Arithmancy work..."

Ron frowned. "It's a great day outside - you don't want to waste it in here!" Hermione glared at him. "Er, not that studying is a waste, but well, maybe you could take your books down to the lake."

She sighed. "All right, let me gather my work. Ginny, do you want to come with us?"

"No thanks. Mum and I are going into town to pick up some stuff. You two have fun," she said, with a smile at Hermione.

Hermione gathered her books and some parchment, as well as a blanket to sit down on at the lake.

"How about if I bring down the chess set?" Ron said.

"All right, but I do want to do some studying," Hermione replied.

They headed out the back door of the Burrow, and walked side by side down the path toward the lake. Hermione glanced over at Ron, who appeared to be in one of his nervous moods. It was a gorgeous day, with bright sunshine and small puffy clouds in the sky. They soon arrived at the lake, and Hermione spread out the blanket and set her books down. Ron began setting up the chess pieces.

"Let's play a game!" Ron said.

Hermione looked longingly at her books, which seemed to be begging her to open them.

"Oh come on, we have all morning. They're not going to grow legs and run away, unlike the chess pieces," Ron grinned.

She laughed. "All right, one game, and then some studying."

As they played the game, Hermione chatted about some of the places that she had visited on her vacation. Ron fidgeted nervously while she spoke and then abruptly seemed to switch subjects.

"Er, Hermione, so... did you have any, er, contact with any Eastern European countries?" Ron asked.

She looked puzzled at him. "No, you know we only traveled in Western Europe this trip."

Ron looked uncomfortable. "Yeah. But did you, er, learn anything new about Eastern Europe?"

She still couldn't figure out what he was driving at. "Well, I guess I did a little reading about Romania. I was reading a book about gymnastics. That's a Muggle sport. It's very popular in Romania."

"Romania, huh? Er, that's pretty near some... other countries, isn't it?"

Hermione looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Yes, Ron, most countries are near other countries."

"But I bet Romania is near some other, er, interesting countries, isn't it?"

Suddenly it hit her what Ron was circling around. Bulgaria was near Romania, and Ron was trying to get information about Viktor from her. She started getting angry with him, but decided to play with him a bit.

"Yes, Ron, as a matter of fact Romania is near some very interesting countries. In fact, it's near some of my favorite countries."

Ron's face fell. She would have laughed if she weren't so irritated with him. The truth was that she had not even written to Viktor at all over the summer, her final letter coming at the end of the previous year. She had realized that even though she had made it clear to him that her feelings were platonic, he was still holding out hope that her heart would change. She knew it wouldn't. Viktor was sweet, but it just wasn't going to go anywhere. It wasn't fair to him to string him along.

It then occurred to her that maybe Ron needed to hear that, in some abridged form. His jealousy irritated her, and she still asked herself what business it was of his if she had a pen pal that happened to be male. But was that really fair to him? Ron knew that Viktor had feelings for her. She hadn't really come out and told Ron that there was nothing. Just as Viktor had continued to hold out hope, Ron couldn't know where her heart really was. Maybe it was time to give him a little hint.

But that didn't mean she had to make it easy on him, the jealous git.

"Was there a particular country that you were interested in? I know quite a bit about that area," she said loftily.

Ron got a mulish expression on his face. "I bet you know a lot about that area."

"And just what exactly do you mean by that, Ron?" she said.

"I'll just bet Vicky told you all sorts of things about that area," he said.

"As a matter of fact, he did tell me quite a number of fascinating things," she said, raising an eyebrow, "about a lot of subjects."

Ron looked ready to explode. She thought it was time to let him off the hook.

"But he hasn't told me anything lately," she said.

Ron looked hopeful. "Not... lately?"

"No, in fact we haven't written to each other this summer at all."

"I guess you've been a bit too busy to write, huh?" Ron said, trying to look casual.

Hermione snickered to herself. He was so transparent. "Look, Ron. The truth is that there was never anything between Viktor and me. He wanted something more," Ron's eyes narrowed as she continued, "but I just never felt that way about him. I tried to keep it as friends and just write to him, but it seemed to give him hope. So I told him we couldn't write each other anymore at the end of last year."

Ron looked as though the Ministry announced that Christmas would be celebrated twice a year starting this summer. His face appeared to be fighting a battle between trying to stay casual and breaking out in a huge grin. The huge grin appeared to win, but she wasn't certain as he turned away to hide it.

Hermione felt the funny feeling in her stomach whenever Ron did something particularly noble. Maybe this is what he needed, maybe he will finally say something, she thought.

Ron turned back and looked at her with a slight smile. His eyes seem to be taking in her face, moving from her hair to her chin, drinking her in.

Her heart began thudding at the attention. Ron had never looked at her like this, studying her, like he wanted to memorize her features. He finally settled on her eyes and gazed at her for several seconds. His lips parted, and his breathing grew shallow as the long pause settled over them.

He abruptly looked away nervously. "Well, that's good. I always thought he was a bit of git. Grouchy, that one," he said finally.

The mood was shattered. Hermione felt her irritation returning, somewhat surprising considering the affection she had just been feeling. "He is very nice!" she said, before she could stop herself. She knew this wasn't the time to defend Viktor, but she couldn't help it.

"Hmph," was all Ron said. He didn't seem to want to cover that ground again. He reached out over the chessboard and made a move. "Check," he said.

* * *

Several days later, Ginny walked through the forest toward the glade that she knew Harry had mostly likely chosen. She had seen him heading in this direction and was certain that he was going to a particular place that she herself came to think on occasion. As she got closer, she started to walk more slowly and almost tiptoed up to the glade. She peeked around a tree and saw him sitting next to his Pensieve.

Ginny was startled by Harry's face, which had an oddly peaceful look on it. It was so rare to see Harry at peace. She studied him for several minutes, fascinated.

Well, might as well get this over with, she thought. She wasn't certain how this was going to go. Ron and Hermione had come up to her that morning in the Burrow.

"Ginny, can we talk to you?" said Hermione.

"All right. What's up?" she had replied.

"Harry, what else?" Hermione sighed. "We're worried about him. He's spending an awful lot of time with his Pensieve and we're concerned about him."

"I know. Have you talked to him?" she asked.

"Well, we tried. But he got angry, and, er, said some things." Hermione looked embarrassed. "It was like last year. He's pulling into himself, and I'm not certain what's going on!" Hermione said, frustrated. "Why did Dumbledore give him that Pensieve if it's just going to make him separate from his friends? I don't understand what he was thinking."

Ginny had been thinking about it. "Well, he's probably obsessing on old memories. Probably going back and forth between memories where he blames himself, looking for things he could have done differently, and ones where he doesn't have to think about any of it at all."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, that sounds about right. But he needs to not be so - isolated. Ginny, we..." Ron glared at her. "Er, I mean, I was thinking that maybe you should talk to him."

She was shocked at this. "Why me? You two are his best friends."

"Well, we tried. And frankly, Ginny, you did a good job last year pulling him out of his moods. Like just now, you understand him better than a lot of people," Hermione said.

She felt embarrassed at this. "Well, I don't know about that, but I guess I can try."

And now she found herself with Harry, not certain what to do. She walked over to him. "Harry," she said gently. He didn't move. Ginny frowned, and said louder, "Harry." Still nothing. She grew annoyed and then shook him, shouting, "Harry!"

Suddenly Harry seemed to shake back to reality. "Ginny! What are you doing here?"

She giggled. "Looking for you." She grew more serious and decided to get right to the point. "Harry, to be honest, we're all a bit worried about you."

Harry grew angry. "First Ron and Hermione, now you?" he snapped. "Why can't I be left alone in peace?"

Ginny felt her Weasley temper flaring. "Ron and Hermione may take that attitude from you, Harry, but I don't! You want to be left alone? Then fine! Stay there and brood by yourself!" She stalked off.

She heard Harry get up. "Ginny! Wait!" he called after her. Ginny slowed down a bit. "Please?" he asked quietly.

Ginny stopped, debating with herself. There was something about his voice that made her finally turn around. She faced him, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Well?"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Harry said, eyes downcast. "I know I haven't been very - sociable lately." He glanced up, looking embarrassed. "Will you stay - for a minute?"

Her anger melted away as she saw him open up and become a bit vulnerable. "All right, Harry," she said quietly and walked back. "Why don't we sit down?"

They both sat down next to the Pensieve. Ginny said nothing. She had a feeling that if she just stayed silent, Harry would begin speaking on his own, and it would be easier for him than if she tried to pry it out of him. They sat for several minutes, with Harry's face a mask. She just looked out over the view, waiting for him to find the words. Finally, Harry spoke.

"I know you are all worried. I'm a little worried about myself, too, I guess."

Ginny looked at him, but said nothing, letting him say it at his own pace.

"I've been looking at some of the battles. Reliving them. Trying to figure things out. I know it doesn't seem like it, but it's been - helping me. Somehow being able to look it over helps me to - come to terms with - things." Harry looked like the admissions were taking a monumental effort.

"We all would have understood that. Why are you - hiding - out here?" Ginny asked, sensing he needed a little encouragement after his confession.

Harry looked shy and deeply embarrassed. "That's not all I've been looking at."

"What, then?" Ginny asked.

Harry paused, a war seemingly being fought within himself about what to say. Finally he said, "I've been able to pull memories of my parents - when I was a baby."

Suddenly it dawned on Ginny what had been going on with him. "Oh, Harry... I..." she stopped, not knowing what to say to that. Harry looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole.

"It's all right, Harry," she said gently. "Your parents were taken from you when you were so young. No one could blame you for wanting to see them, and for wanting to feel love from them again."

Harry looked downcast, and just nodded, unable to speak further. Ginny let him have his thoughts and waited for him to find his voice again.

After several minutes, he said, "Have you ever heard of the Mirror of Erised?"

"No," Ginny said.

"Ron and I found it in our first year. I think Dumbledore wanted us to find it. But anyway, it's a mirror that shows your innermost desires. I suppose it's not all that surprising what my desire is," he said bitterly. "It showed me my family."

Ginny watched him carefully as he continued. "I - went back, night after night to look in the mirror. Then one night, Dumbledore showed up. Do you know what he said?"

Ginny shook her head.

"He said, 'it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.' That's what I've been doing lately. At first, it helped so much to be able to go back there and just be with them. Watch them take care of me when I was a baby. But - it's not real. They're really dead, and they're not coming back."

"But your memories of them are real," Ginny said. "Memories can be a comfort, Harry. If the Pensieve helped to give you stronger memories of them, that can only be a good thing. It's what you do with the memories that are important. They can be used to grow weak and dependent, or used to keep you strong and tied to your roots.

"My memories of the Chamber used to make me weak until I came to terms with them. I used to obsess about how stupid I was, until I made a decision to just learn from them, and move on. And I think I have."

Harry nodded, looking a bit steadier. Another silence grew between them, but without as much tension. Harry appeared to come to a decision and said shyly, "Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Er, would you - like to see, er, my parents? In the Pensieve?" Harry seemed unable to look at her as he asked.

Ginny was stunned that he would ask her to share something that was obviously so personal to him. "Of course I would, Harry."

Without saying another word, Harry moved the Pensieve between them. He raised his wand up to his temple, withdrew a silvery thread of thought, and deposited it in the basin. He touched his wand to it and a clear window opened up above the Pensieve. Ginny could see a room through the window.

Harry looked at her with raised eyebrows. Ginny nodded, and they simultaneously entered the window.

Ginny felt the head-over-heels sensation, and then found herself standing next to Harry in a large living room. James and Lily were sitting on a couch, watching baby-Harry trying to crawl about the room, almost, but not completely with success.

James was talking to baby-Harry. "Come on, Harry! I bet Sirius you would be crawling by next week! You can do it, that's my boy!"

"You and Sirius and your bets. Let me guess - you also bet that Harry would be a star Seeker at Hogwarts, right?" Lily said, amused.

"Too right he will be, right Harry?" James gave him a big thumbs-up. Baby-Harry gurgled at him happily.

Ginny looked over at Harry, and he wore the happy, serene expression she had seen on his face outside the Pensieve as he watched his mother and father talk to the baby. Without understanding why, she reached over and took Harry's hand. It seemed a natural thing to do as they shared such a moment in time. Harry appeared to feel the same way as he gripped her hand back and gave her an unselfconscious smile. Somehow his shyness was held at bay in this place, in his home. Here he could be himself and all was right with the world.

They stayed for some time, watching James and Lily play with baby-Harry. Finally, Harry sighed and looked over at Ginny.

"We should go back," he said.

Ginny nodded, and she felt the flipping sensation through the icy blackness, and then found herself sitting next to Harry once again. She noticed that her hand was not holding Harry's outside the Pensieve, and she was grateful. She had a feeling that it would just embarrass Harry for it to happen here. The memory had been a special moment, but this was reality. It would mean something different here.

"Thank you for showing that to me, Harry," Ginny said, touched.

"You're welcome. I - I'm glad I - shared it with - someone." Harry looked away, his shyness seeming to double to make up for the moment in the Pensieve. "I think I'm ready to - move on. Perhaps I'll visit again, but Dumbledore was right. I don't want to 'dwell on dreams' anymore." Harry put his wand to the Pensieve and returned the memory to his head.

Ginny nodded and stood up. "Ready?" she said, putting her hand out to help Harry up.

Harry looked up and smiled. "Yes, let's go." He took her hand, let her help him up, and packed away the Pensieve into his satchel.

Harry laughed. "Let's go see what Ron and Hermione are doing. We shouldn't let them be alone too long. I'll race you!" He immediately took off running and laughing, and Ginny followed, also laughing.

"Have to cheat in order to win, eh, Potter?"

"Against you, probably," he said, running into the forest, and back to the home of his adopted family - his home.