The Awakening Power

Sib

Story Summary:
Complete! Challenges fill Harry's busy sixth year: growing powers, Snape becomes defense teacher (and Harry's not in the mood for abuse), a new Potions teacher, a girl with a new crush on him, Quidditch, Voldemort, and a certain redheaded girl named Ginny who may help him through all of it. What are the goblins up to? Will Ron win Hermione back? And what exactly is Voldemort's diabolical plan to kill Harry and plunge magical society into anarchy? Lots of romance, drama, action and humor! Voted Phoenix Song's Best Novel-Length Story (along with Best Harry and Best Kiss).

Chapter 17

Chapter Summary:
Harry’s powers are growing very strong, and Dumbledore is worried about his control. Meanwhile, Snape has become the new Defense teacher, and Harry resolves not to take his abuse this year… Will Harry notice Ginny? Will Ron win Hermione back? Who has a new crush on Harry? Who is the new Potions teacher? And what exactly is Voldemort’s diabolical plan to kill Harry and plunge magical society into anarchy? Lots of humor, drama, action and romance as all these questions are answered and much more in Harry’s busy sixth year.
Posted:
06/03/2004
Hits:
4,889
Author's Note:
Harry’s sixth year, after OotP. H/G, R/Hr, PG-13 rating.

Chapter 17: Ginny's Dream

* * *

Harry walked down an odd, dark corridor, the high walls at strange angles relative to the floor, almost seeming to curve claustrophobically over his head. Angry looking portraits lined the walls, causing him to feel fearful as they gave him strange leers, some even calling out to him.

"Why are you here?" said one. "This is a sacred place."

"You do not belong here," said another sternly.

Harry continued walking slowly, the words making him flinch. He wasn't certain why he was there, but he knew he needed to move forward, ever forward. To go backward was out of the question.

He passed an enormous portrait, with curtains in front. Suddenly the curtains snapped open, revealing Mrs. Black. She screeched loudly, causing pain to flair in Harry's ears.

"Mudbloods! Half-bloods! Muggles! They're all the same! Kill them all... String them up with the rest of the traitors!" she screamed. "You! Boy! What are you doing in my house? Did you come to kill more of my family?"

Harry felt extremely angry. He suddenly realized he was holding the knife that Sirius had given him, the knife that had melted in the Department of Mysteries.

"Filthy boy! Dirty half-blood! You soil my house... my house! The sacred house of the Blacks... how dare you despoil it, when you killed the last of them! Did you kill him just so you could inherit my house? Did you kill him for our money?"

Harry screamed in anger, a primal noise. He lifted the knife in both hands and plunged it into the painting. Mrs. Black shrieked as blood poured out of the painting, drenching Harry. Still he continued cutting the painting, pushing his way into it. He finally broke through, entering a chamber - the death chamber. He saw the ragged curtains of the arch... he felt a strange attraction to it... maybe he could enter it and find Sirius...

Abruptly Harry felt an extremely odd shift, the world seeming to spin around on a bizarre axis. He flew through a tunnel, lights flying past him as went on a long journey...

He dropped onto the ground. He smelled grass under his nose, and then noticed he was in a very pleasant forest. Sunlight was streaming through the trees, and he thought he could hear a babbling brook nearby. He felt extremely confused; in fact, he felt confused that he was even aware of feeling confused.

Am I dreaming? he thought vaguely, before even that thought left him as he got up from the grass. The brook sounded nice, so he headed in that direction. The sun was warm... so warm in this place. He recalled having been somewhere else recently, but the memory of that place was fading quickly, and somehow he knew that was good, although he wasn't certain why.

He heard wonderful singing ahead. He smiled, enjoying the sound of the music. He crept up, wondering who was there. Peeking around a tree, he saw a girl with long, red hair bathing in the brook. He felt extremely shy, and turned away, just listening to her sing.

He heard her exiting the brook with a small splash, feeling tempted to look, but resisting. One must be chivalrous about these things. 'Chivalrous?' he thought dimly. When do I ever use that word? The thought left him as he continued listening. He reckoned she was getting dressed, as he heard the rustle of material.

When he thought it was safe, he peeked around the tree again. The girl with the long, red hair was dressed in a rose-colored, flowing gown. Her delicate, fair-skinned shoulders were visible, framing her graceful neck. Harry was enraptured looking at the incredibly beautiful lady that was before him.

He strode confidently from his hiding spot. "Fair lady," he said. "May I introduce myself? I am Harry, Prince of a neighboring realm, and a knight errant." Harry bowed deeply to her.

"Good sir, I am Princess Ginevra, daughter of King Arthur," she said, curtsying. She gave him a sly look. "You wouldn't spy on a princess such as myself, now would you?"

Harry looked scandalized. "Never, your highness!"

Another thought forced itself into Harry... am I dreaming? This is a really odd dream, he thought, as his consciousness faded away again...

"Well, then you may escort me through the forest, if you like," she said, giving him a warm smile.

She held out her hand, and Harry walked up and dropped to one knee. He took her hand in both of his hands, kissing it, and rose back to his feet fluidly. "It would be a great honor to escort such a lovely princess as yourself."

She lightly took Harry's arm as they began walking through the forest.

"Such a beautiful place this is, my Princess," Harry said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"It is indeed. I must confess, however... I feel much safer with a brave knight like yourself escorting me. One never knows what is in these forests..." she said, smiling coyly.

"It would be the honor of a lifetime to defend you from any evil, my Princess," Harry said valiantly.

Harry again had a fuzzy feeling, something about this world felt foreign to him...

"A man like yourself seems most capable, good sir," she said. "I'm certain you could vanquish any evil most handily."

"You are too generous in your praise of my humble talents. However, if the need arose, I would do my very best to protect you. If my death would enable you to live, then I would gladly make the sacrifice, for such rare beauty cannot be allowed to be extinguished by the mere wickedness of the world," Harry said sincerely.

"You flatter me, good sir, but I must say it would be a shame indeed to sacrifice such a handsome face. Promise me that you shall not die today?" she said, smiling.

"I would be most happy to make you that promise, for I cannot imagine that the world could be so cruel as to take my life on the very day that I meet such a vision of splendor," Harry said.

"Your silver-tongued words beg me to believe, but how may I trust your sincerity?" Ginny said, tilting her head provocatively.

"Your loveliness demands only truth be spoken. Can there exist such a rogue that could lie to so perfect a face? Your hair is like a fire that could consume a man's soul, yet I would gladly allow mine to be consumed if I could have the merest touch," Harry said, as he strode confidently along the path.

Ginny laughed musically as she reached up and took a lock of her hair in her hand flirtatiously. "Well, good sir, I'd best keep my hair to myself. It would disappoint me greatly to have your soul consumed so soon after meeting such a bold and charming gentleman as yourself."

"And yet, I would gladly take the risk, for the reward is beyond any riches a man could endeavor to acquire in a long lifetime," Harry said.

The words seemed to flow so easily from Harry's mouth, as if they were coming from some place other than himself. He marveled a bit at his smooth delivery as his thoughts floated away again...

They walked into a clearing, and Ginny broke into a run, laughing. "If you can catch me, perhaps I will allow a touch," she called over her shoulder, her fiery red hair flowing behind her in the wind.

Harry immediately gave chase, laughing. "The mere possibility of such a gift torments my poor spirit."

Ginny laughed as she ran into a bank of trees, Harry following closely. She ducked behind a tree, keeping it between herself and Harry. "You must earn your gift, gallant sir," she said teasingly.

Harry saw her run away from the tree and enter another glade. Suddenly he heard a loud scream, and he ran quickly after her. Breaking out into a large grassy knoll, he saw that Ginny had fallen in front of a huge dragon that was looking at her hungrily. She screamed again.

Without thinking, Harry pulled a huge sword from a scabbard on his belt. A part of himself wondered distantly exactly when he got the sword before his conscious mind left him again. The broadsword felt feather light in his hands as he swung it through the air. He ran into the knoll, standing between Ginny and the dragon.

"Go! Hurry, get up and go!" he exhorted her. Ginny got up and ran away. Harry turned his attention back to the dragon, who looked very angry at losing his prey. The dragon opened his mouth, preparing to send a blast of fire. Harry waiting a split second for the dragon to commit itself, then stepped quickly to the side as a blast of fire burned the ground where he had been standing.

He ran up to the dragon and with a mighty stroke, he cut off the head, causing it to fall with a huge thud next to him. The body seemed to continue walking for a few seconds before it, too, fell to the ground with a mighty crash.

Harry swung the sword in one hand in a huge arc before he returned it to his scabbard with a flourish. He looked back and saw Ginny peeking through the trees at him, her face frightened, but giving him a look of awe. Harry swelled with pride at her attentions.

"My brave knight!" she called, running back and embracing him tightly. "You saved me from a horrible fate."

"There, there, my Princess," Harry said, embracing her back. 'Twas nothing. I gave you my word that I would defend you, and what sort of knight would I be if I did not keep my word?"

Harry whistled, and a white horse suddenly appeared in the meadow.

"You have had a terrible fright," Harry said. "May I have the honor of taking you back to your castle?"

"Please, my brave sir," she said, looking up trustingly with her beautiful brown eyes. "I give myself into your care."

Harry lifted her effortlessly onto the back of the horse, then climbed up himself. Ginny wrapped her arms around him as she sat side-saddle behind him. Seeing a castle off in the distance, they galloped off over the grassy field away from the slain dragon. He could feel Ginny sitting closely behind him; her body feeling warm against his.

I must be dreaming, he thought hazily. Again, the whole thing felt oddly exotic to him, as if he wasn't quite in his own body. The rational thoughts faded out once again...

They reached the castle, Harry dismounting from the horse with a graceful leap. Harry held out his arms and Ginny slid off the horse, Harry catching her and gently placing her on the ground.

"Thank you so much, my brave and noble knight," she said, looking at him with a sultry gaze. "I must admit... I still feel a bit ill at ease. Would you be kind enough to escort me inside? It would mean so much to me."

"It would be a great privilege, my Princess. My mind will never be at ease until I am certain that you are safe," Harry said.

Ginny took his arm again as they walked across a large drawbridge and entered the castle. It had a beautifully rich interior, with fine rugs on the floor and walls. Ginny led Harry to a sitting room off the main hall, furnished with fine furniture.

"Your castle matches your own loveliness, I must say," Harry said gallantly.

"Thank you, good sir," she said, giving him a warm smile. "Perhaps some music to ease our minds a bit?"

She walked over and touched her wand to a box, which started playing a familiar waltz. Harry dimly recognized it as the Sleeping Beauty waltz...

Ginny held out her hand. "Dance with me?" she said.

Harry bowed to her as he took her hand. He had another odd feeling as his feet seemed to move in strange, elegant ways that felt utterly bizarre to him while he waltzed with Ginny. Wait, he thought... something about... a dream spell...The recollection faded as he lost himself in the music and dancing with Ginny, spinning about the room gracefully.

Ginny's head rested on his shoulder as he heard the lyrics to the waltz being sung from the music box...

I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream.
I know you
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam
And I know it's true
that visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you, I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
the way you did once upon a dream


As the song ended, Ginny looked up at Harry, her eyes giving him all the permission he needed. He leaned down and kissed her. Her arms slipped around his shoulders as he could feel a heated passion building between them as the kissing deepened... her body felt incredibly soft against his as his arms held her strongly... Harry felt her hands roaming fervently over his back ...

He suddenly reached down and swept her into his arms. She began kissing his neck as he boldly carried her across the room, somehow knowing where to go. There were a pair of double doors at the end. Harry raised his foot and kicked the doors open as he could hear Ginny's breath catch.

"Oh, Prince Harry..." she said breathlessly.

They entered a large bedroom, with a beautiful white four-poster bed. Harry carried her and gently placed her down on the soft comforter. Ginny looked up at him ardently as he gazed down at her. He took off his scabbard and sword with a flourish, watching Ginny's chest rise and fall from her breathing. She looked incredibly beautiful with her red hair splayed over the pillow...

Harry sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss her again, Ginny meeting him eagerly as they kissed passionately... He could feel the fingers of her hand stroking his chest, underneath his suddenly unbuttoned shirt...His fingers slipped underneath the back of her dress, feeling her very soft skin ...

Wait, Harry thought vaguely... I remember now... a nightmare spell... OH NO... Is this Ginny's dream? IS GINNY SEEING THIS!? Wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP I NEED TO WAKE UP...

* * *

Ginny's eyes snapped open as she awoke. She sat straight up in her bed, looking around the room in shock, as morning daylight streamed through the windows. Her hands suddenly clutched her head in horror.

"Oh, God!" she cried, with a bit of a shriek.

Hermione suddenly sat up as well, looking panicked. "What? What happened? Is everyone all right?" she asked anxiously.

Ginny buried her face in her hands. "Please, Hermione. Just kill me now. Pull out your wand and make it a quick death."

"What!?" Hermione asked.

Ginny shook her head, unable to talk. Hermione got out of bed and went to Ginny's bed, sitting on the edge next to her. "Did you have a nightmare?" Hermione asked, concerned.

Ginny looked up and laughed bitterly. "In a manner of speaking."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked.

Ginny rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked over the fingertips. "It wasn't... that kind of nightmare. Not about the Chamber," she said.

"What then?"

Ginny paused for a long time. "All right." She looked around the room, as if there might be someone listening in. "Hermione, I made a big mistake. A horrible, horrible, awful mistake yesterday."

"It can't be that bad," Hermione said consolingly.

"Oh, trust me, it was bad," Ginny said, nodding her head.

"Go on..." Hermione said.

"I, er, wondered if Harry might have nightmares, you know, staying here at the house," she started.

"Sounds reasonable so far," Hermione said.

"I found a spell in a book, a nightmare remedy..." she said, trailing off, looking at Hermione out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes?"

"And... and... it worked," Ginny said.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"Because I saw it work," Ginny said.

Suddenly Hermione's jaw dropped and she looked at Ginny with a look of alarm. "Er, what was the spell you used?" she asked slowly.

"It was Annecto Somnium," said Ginny miserably.

Hermione eyes widened. "Oh, Ginny... that one... it joins your subconscious to his! Did you read about the side effects?"

"Well, it just said that the two should be very good friends..." she trailed off.

"Yes, because it causes you to dream about the other person! And Harry would have seen your dream!" Hermione said.

"I thought it meant that we had to be good friends to get it to work," Ginny said, her eyes tearing up a bit.

"Erm... Ginny... It wasn't that bad... was it?" Hermione said in a small voice.

Ginny looked like she wanted to crawl under the bed and disappear. "Oh, Hermione... it was awful. It was so embarrassing."

"Don't feel like you have to tell me... but... can I ask...?"

Ginny gave a long pause and turned beet red. "God, Hermione, I was a princess! And... and... Harry was a prince! And he saved me from a huge dragon... and he slew it with this big sword... he took me to a big castle on a white horse...."

Hermione gave a small snicker before she screwed her face back into a serious, consoling expression.

"It's not funny!" Ginny said angrily. "How can I face him ever again? It was so bad, Hermione. It was just like these fairy tales I used to read, mixed with some sappy romance novel. I've tried so hard to make him see me as a normal person. And I just threw everything out the window. He'll think I'm a silly little girl!"

"Ginny," Hermione said comfortingly. "If you're this mortified, Harry is at least ten times as much. He'll never say a word about it. He won't think it through that far. It's just an embarrassing dream to him."

"Do you really think so?" Ginny said, looking desperate to be convinced.

"Come on, Ginny. You know Harry. What's he going to do, sit down and psychoanalyze it with you?" Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Suddenly she stopped and looked at Ginny suspiciously. "Unless there's a bit more to this than you're telling me..."

Hermione's eyes grew very wide. "You and he didn't... er... you know... in the dream, did you?"

"No!" Ginny said loudly. She then bit her lip and paused, looking very bashful. "No. But..." she held up her hand with thumb and index finger close together. "it was close. I think that's what caused us to wake up. It was a very odd dream, really vivid. Sometimes I could even think sort-of lucidly..."

"Yes," Hermione said knowledgeably. "since you have two brains creating the images, the dream tends to be extremely detailed."

Ginny nodded. "Anyway, we kissed a bit... well, a lot... and then... Harry was... er, carrying me into this bedroom in the castle..." Ginny was blushing again profusely. "and then I realized what was happening, and the fact that Harry might be seeing it, too... and fought myself awake."

"Well, thank Merlin for that," Hermione said, relieved, and then giggled. "Then I might have had to kill you."

Ginny gave her a sour look, but then giggled a bit herself.

Hermione got a mischievous look on her face as she smirked a bit at Ginny. "So... other than it was a terrible, horrible nightmare... how was the dream?"

Ginny looked aggravated for a second, but then a laugh finally forced itself out of her as she looked down at the bed. She said in a low voice, "It was the best dream I've ever had in my life," she said, with a small smile. She then looked up and said with a glare, "But don't you dare tell Harry that!"

Hermione started laughing loudly, and after a few seconds Ginny joined in despite herself. The laughter broke away the rest of the tension as Ginny gave a heavy sigh.

"Oh, it'll be all right, Ginny. You'll probably both have a good laugh about it someday," Hermione said. "Why don't we go down and get some breakfast."

"I'll be down in a few minutes. I just need to pull myself together for a little bit," Ginny said.

"All right," Hermione said, giving her an encouraging look as she pulled on some clothes. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Thanks, Hermione," Ginny said gratefully. "I'll be okay."

Hermione smiled encouragingly as she walked out of the room, closing the door and leaving Ginny by herself. She moved over to the window, sighing again as she looked out at the gray morning clouds. Hermione is right, she thought. Harry will never say a word about it. Somehow that didn't help when she knew that Harry knew they had both experienced it.

She slowly dressed, trying to delay the inevitable meeting with Harry. She had no clue what she could possibly say to him after that dream. Just act normal, she thought. Maybe if I act as if nothing happened, Harry will think that I didn't really see it.

Ginny nodded vigorously to herself. Yes, that's it, she thought. This never, ever happened.

She pasted a somewhat usual look on her face as she went to the door and took a deep breath. Normal, she thought. You did not just have a fairy tale dream of Harry.

She opened the door and tried to act confident as she walked down the stairs. She spied Ron sitting in the living room reading a magazine, apparently waiting for breakfast.

"Good morning, Ron!" Ginny said, her voice a little too bright and high pitched.

"'Morning," Ron grunted. "Watch out for Harry. He seems really odd this morning."

"Er, odd?" Ginny said carefully.

"Yeah. I dunno what was wrong with him. Guess he had a nightmare or something, because he just sat up in bed with this weird look," Ron said. "But it doesn't usually affect him as much as this one seemed to. He hardly said a word. He looked like he didn't even want to leave the room."

"Where is he?" Ginny asked, wondering if it was too late to hide back in her room again.

"He's in the kitchen. He really wanted to help Mum, for some reason," Ron said, shrugging.

Ginny sat down on a sofa, nibbling on her fingernails, feeling afraid to go in the kitchen as Ron went back to reading his magazine. She had resolved to herself to pretend nothing had happened, but she felt her control slipping away.

She was just considering whether she should try and make a run for it when Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready!"

Ron put down his magazine and headed to the kitchen enthusiastically. Ginny followed him, moving very slowly, feeling like she was walking to the gallows.

She entered the kitchen, seeing Harry sitting at the table, carefully looking down at his breakfast. Also seated around the table were Mr. Weasley, Lupin and Hermione. Ginny gave as standard a greeting as she could muster to everyone, including Harry, as she took her place at the table.

She saw Harry glance up, blinking at her, before looking back down, apparently wondering if she was affected by last night's events. She tried to think of something to say, but somehow nothing came to mind with Harry sitting in front of her. Images from the vivid dream kept coming back. Harry really looked good with that sword, she thought, before she angrily pushed the thought out of her head.

The others chatted as she and Harry ate silently, her plan seeming to come apart at the seams. Fortunately, no one appeared to notice the tension between them, although Mrs. Weasley shot Harry a few worried looks, apparently thinking that his mood was because of being at Grimmauld Place. And that probably does have something to do with his mood, she thought.

Suddenly a tinge of guilt rose up in her. Great Merlin, she thought, how selfish am I? In all her worry about the dream, she had forgotten the reason they had done the dream spell in the first place, and that made her feel even more awful. She had meant to try and ease Harry's pain a bit and ended up making everything worse. He doesn't need more problems, she thought.

Angry with herself, she looked boldly at Harry until he looked up. She smiled at him, a regular smile, until he smiled back shyly. They seemed to exchange some unspoken words, and Harry gave a small sigh, looking a bit steadier.

Seeing him feeling a little better helped her to feel better. It still wasn't all right, but a lot of the tension between them leaked away. Harry was even looking around the table a little bit instead of keeping his eyes locked on his breakfast.

"How about after breakfast, you children decorate the tree?" said Mrs. Weasley. "I brought over our decorations."

"That sounds like a good idea!" said Hermione, apparently trying to lighten to mood.

"All right, that will be fun," said Ginny. Maybe a bit of decorating would help restore some normality between them.

After breakfast, the four went into the living room where the tree was set up, along with several boxes of decorations. Harry still hadn't said a word all morning, but he came in dutifully with everyone, looking as though he really wanted to find a place to hide. Ginny still felt embarrassed herself, but was determined not to make Harry more uncomfortable in the house.

Ginny carried out a box of paper and glue that her mother had brought for garlands. "Here, Ron, why don't you start making paper chains," she said, handing the box to Ron.

"All right," Ron said, plopping down on a sofa.

"Why don't I help you, Ron?" Hermione said, sitting down next to him.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other and then at the boxes of ornaments that needed to be added to the tree. Ginny sighed as she realized what Hermione was up to - they would be hanging the ornaments together.

Ginny tried desperately to put a natural expression on her face as she opened up the box of ornaments. She pulled out a glass bulb out and walked over to hang it on the tree. Harry waited for her to finish as he moved over to get an ornament as well.

"Ron! You're not doing it right!" Hermione said authoritatively.

Harry sneaked a look at Ginny before turning away, grinning, trying to hide the expression from Hermione.

"What?" Ron said peevishly. "How the bloody hell can I do it wrong?"

"Watch your language, Ron," Hermione said primly.

"So what am I doing wrong?"

"You're putting on too much glue. You need to do it carefully," Hermione said.

Ron looked at her incredulously. "What difference does it make?"

"If you put on too much glue, it slops over the side. The rings might stick together," Hermione said.

"Did you read this in a book somewhere?" Ron said, annoyed.

"No, it's common sense!" Hermione said, growing heated.

"Well, my way is easier. Who cares if the rings stick a bit?" Ron said, putting a large glob of glue on a strip of paper.

"It will look nicer. Then you won't have glue all over the rings," Hermione said, carefully putting a small amount of glue perfectly placed in the center on the end of the strip.

"Barking mad," Ron mumbled under his breath.

Ginny was trying desperately not to break out in laughter at the two of them. She picked up another ornament as she and Harry continued placing them on the tree. Listening to Ron and Hermione go on about paper chains had distracted her from Harry, but as a silence descended on the room, she could feel some tension between them.

The continued pulling ornaments out, Harry seeming to try and avoid hanging them in the same area as Ginny.

Ginny, feeling distracted, reached into the box and pulled out a doll ornament. She was carrying it to the tree when she suddenly realized what she had. She stopped and looked at it wide-eyed as a betraying blush formed on her face.

She was holding a princess doll. She suddenly remembered that they had a set of Sleeping Beauty tree ornaments.

Harry was moving back from the tree to the box when he halted, blinking at what Ginny was holding. They looked at each other; Harry appearing intensely embarrassed as he abruptly looked away. Ginny felt mortified at the painful reminder in her hand.

Ginny forced herself to walk to the tree to hang the ornament. They went back to hanging ornaments, the tension growing palpable.

She was moving back to the box when she noticed Harry stop with an ornament in his hand. He glanced at her, then quickly away, looking like he wanted to throw the ornament back in the box. Ginny looked down at what he was holding... it was the matching prince ornament to the princess.

Harry's hand shook a bit as he sighed resignedly and walked to the tree to hang it, as Ginny felt even more embarrassed, if such a thing was possible. This is going to kill me, she thought. There is no way I'll survive this day.

They went back to hanging ornaments, carefully avoiding the other's glance. She could see Hermione out of the corner of her eye looking worriedly at them.

Ginny pulled another ornament out of the box and felt another blush rising from her cheeks. It was a fairy castle ornament. She had a sudden urge to violently fling it away, but managed to control herself. Just when she was about to force herself to hang the ornament on the tree, she heard an odd sound, one that she couldn't identify at first. She suddenly realized with shock what the sound was: Harry had made a tiny snickering sound.

Ginny looked at Harry incredulously. Did he just laugh at the most embarrassing moment of my life? she thought. Ginny glared dangerously at Harry, causing him to look down with a small smile while he walked over to the box.

She hung the ornament on the tree, her anger with Harry nicely replacing the embarrassment she had been feeling. She was walking back to the box when she saw Harry pull out another ornament... a white horse, which made him blush in embarrassment again. Ginny felt powerless as a snort of laughter escaped. Harry glared back at her, but finally chuckled a bit himself.

Ron looked at the two of them. "What's so funny?" he asked curiously.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. "Nothing!" they said together.

Ron shrugged as he went back to his paper chain.

They hung a few more ornaments until Ginny pulled out a dragon ornament that had belonged to Charlie. This time she held it up to Harry and they both gave a laugh that they tried to stifle, causing Ron to give them another fishy eye.

As they continued hanging ornaments, Ginny and Harry exchanged a few more glances, giggles seeming to escape of their own accord. She was hanging one of the last ornaments on the tree, opposite from Ron and Hermione, as Harry walked around next to her, blushing furiously.

"Um, no room left on the other side," he mumbled. He looked like he was trying to hide the ornament as he looked to find a place to hang it on the crowded tree.

Ginny pointed to a spot near her. "It can go there..."

Harry hesitated, but finally hung the ornament... a four-poster Sleeping Beauty princess bed. Ginny felt herself blushing deeply as the bed seemed to trigger the whole thing to finally burst out of her.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry about what happened," Ginny whispered to him, looking like she wanted to cry again.

Harry looked startled, like he didn't expect her to say anything that overt. "It's... it's all right," he whispered back.

There was a long pause, and then Harry spoke again. "And... it was better than the nightmare, that's for sure," he said with a small smile.

"I'm not so certain," Ginny said, with a small smile of her own.

"It wasn't that bad," Harry said, still in a low voice so that Ron and Hermione couldn't hear them.

"Yes, it was," Ginny said, nodding at him forcefully.

"Well, maybe a little bad," Harry said, snickering. Ginny giggled back at him, the whole thing feeling so awful that laughing seemed her only option.

Harry paused and said "But..."

"But, what?" Ginny said suspiciously.

"It was kind of fun slaying the dragon," Harry said quietly, with a grin.

"Thanks for saving me," Ginny said, quiet giggles bursting out of her uncontrollably.

"I liked the dress," he said, laughing again.

Ginny hit his arm with a playful glare. "You dance pretty well, too," Ginny said, outright laughing now.

"Well, I do when you move my feet," Harry said, trying desperately to keep his voice down. "Wait a minute... how do you know that song anyway? It's from a Muggle movie."

"Well, dad got it for me. You know him, he's always bringing home Muggle stuff. I used to love that song," Ginny said, laughing, but blushing a bit.

"Hey! What's going on back there!" Ron yelled from the sofa.

"Nothing!" Harry and Ginny shouted back, laughing.

"Is everyone going nutters this morning?" he grumbled. "I'm almost done with the garland. Of course, with Hermione's method, she's only half done."

Harry and Ginny exchanged a suppressed laugh as they could almost hear Hermione's glare.

They stood for a minute in silence while they both looked at the tree. Ginny felt a bit relieved that the incident was out in the open, but still very embarrassed. Harry turned to her and gave her a serious look. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to go down Ginny's spine as he stood very close.

"Seriously... your dream was much nicer than the nightmare," Harry said in her ear.

He backed up a bit, and Ginny felt herself turning to mush as his green eyes looked into hers. "Thank you," he whispered with a very sincere look. Ginny flushed, feeling very pleased.

Harry then hesitantly touched her arm slightly, before pulling his hand back and turning away, apparently embarrassed at opening up so much.

Ginny stood stunned as goose bumps rose from where Harry had touched her. She almost couldn't believe it had really happened; Harry had never touched her deliberately like that in his life.

Although the whole episode still felt incredibly humiliating, suddenly it felt very, very worth it.

Author notes: It was fun reading the different theories about where this was going to go in the reviews. There are obviously a lot of interesting ways to go with a shared dream spell; I hope you liked my take on it. Poor Ginny! At least she got a little kissing with Harry, even if it was only a dream. I’ll make it up to her later, though. I’m saving up all the good kissing action. :)

Thanks as usual to my beta readers Allie Kiwi and DM. Please review!

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