The Silent Siege

Chapter 14

The Season of Giving

Ginny walked into the Gryffindor common room the following night to find Ron, Harry, and Hermione studying together at the long oak table next to the fireplace. Since there were many students walking in and out of the portrait hole at that time, none of them stopped to look up. She was about to greet them but then something made her stop. She found herself looking at Ron and Hermione for a moment with curiosity. They were both sitting very close together. Ron was peering over the top of Hermione's paper.

"Ron, just because we're going out, it doesn't mean you can copy the answers from my paper," Hermione was saying.

"I always copied the answers from your paper before we were going out," Ron protested.

"But you won't always be able to copy from me," replied Hermione.

"Why not?" Ron grinned sheepishly.

Hermione couldn't seem to find an answer for this but Ginny noticed that her cheeks went slightly pink.

Ginny also noticed that Harry, who sat across from Ron and Hermione with his back to Ginny, was alternately looking at a book and writing on a parchment. He did not appear to pay any attention to Ron and Hermione's conversation but Ginny found herself doubting he was really so disinterested.

Ginny's eyebrows arched significantly as Ron's hand moved to Hermione's knee.

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione said calmly, putting her quill down, and going even more pink. "If you think you are going to persuade me, then - "

But Hermione's own words were interrupted when she started to giggle and after a moment she and Ron were staring into each other's eyes. Harry looked up to see what had caused Hermione to stop talking and then quickly looked back down again at his own work.

"Hi," said Ginny suddenly, not quite succeeding at repressing a giggle.

Ron and Hermione looked up startled. Ron immediately took his hand away from Hermione's knee and replaced it on his lap. Ginny recognized the look on his face from the time their mother had caught him stealing the Chocolate Frogs she had saved them all for Christmas. Hermione also went pink but still smiled up at Ginny. Harry turned around and smiled, too, but Ginny felt his smile looked much more forced than Hermione's.

"Hi, Ginny," said Hermione as Ron broke into a coughing fit. "Erm, so, how are you doing? We haven't talked in ages." Hermione gave Ginny a meaningful look and jerked her head, not very subtly, Ginny thought, in the direction of the girls' dormitory.

"Oh," replied Ginny brusquely, her smile fading. . "I'm afraid I have to study now. Maybe we can talk later."

Without waiting for Hermione's response, she walked quickly in the direction of her dormitory.

Hermione did not take the hint, however. Ginny kept walking and pretended not to hear her say to Harry and Ron:

"I think I've left something up in my room. Just be a minute."

Ginny increased her pace as she walked up the stairs but she could hear Hermione walking even faster behind her. She had almost reached the door to the fifth-years' room when Hermione tugged on the sleeve of her robes.

"Ginny!" she said in a stage whisper.

Ginny turned around, pretending to look surprised to see Hermione there.

"Hermione?" she asked innocently.

The expression on Hermione's face reminded Ginny of a struggling Mandrake.

"We have to talk!"

"About what?"

"Ginny!" said Hermione again. "I haven't seen you in two days. I heard you were with Harry, the night of the ball. How did it go?"

"Terrible," replied Ginny airily.. "I've given up on the whole thing, Hermione. He doesn't like me and I'm not going to hurt myself anymore by trying to like him. I should have listened to you the first time we talked."

Ginny broke free of Hermione's grip and went to open her door but Hermione grabbed her shoulder again.

"Ginny, wait! Was it that bad? I can't imagine Harry being that terrible to you."

"He wasn't terrible at all. He just made it clear that he wasn't interested in a relationship."

"Did you tell him you liked him then?" Hermione asked, her eyes widening.

"Well, not exactly, but - "

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Then how do you know he doesn't like you? He just said it, out of the blue? That doesn't sound like him."

"Because - " Ginny started to speak but then stopped almost immediately and sighed. "It would take too long to explain."

Hermione responded by opening the door to the empty sixth-year's room and inviting Ginny inside.

"I think the fortune queens are out with Trelawney," she explained.

Ginny hesitated.

"Come on, Ginny," said Hermione. "You owe me this much."

Reluctantly, Ginny followed Hermione into the room and Hermione closed the door behind them.

Hermione sat down on her bed and tried to look calm but Ginny noticed she kept fidgeting with her hands. Ginny was not quite sure where to begin but started off by saying:

"Well, before you say anything, you should know about what happened at breakfast the morning after. He - "

"Breakfast the morning after? No, Ginny, begin at the beginning."

"But - " Ginny started and then sighed. "OK."

And so Ginny launched into the full account of her evening with Harry. Hermione managed not to interrupt although Ginny could see it was not without great effort on her part. Ginny did not tell Hermione about the nightmare, however, and changed the story slightly so that Neville had started talking to them about the dance instead of leading them down to look at Ron and Hermione kissing. Hermione's eyes widened like large orbs when Harry asked the question about the Valentine and Ginny could see she was on the point of interrupting so she quickly launched into the epilogue of her conversation with Harry at breakfast the day before.

Hermione looked at Ginny with a puzzled frown on her face and asked:

"And that's all?"

"Yes," replied Ginny. "I've hardly seen him since then except at Quidditch practice."

"So nothing else happened?"

"No." Ginny's shoulders sank.

Ginny expected Hermione to look disappointed but instead she jumped up from where she was sitting on her bed and broke into a cheer. She then jumped up and down on her bed several times like she was practicing on a trampoline and ran around the room in her best impression of a three-year-old.

"I didn't know you would be so happy to see things go sour," remarked Ginny.

Hermione responded by jumping on top of Ginny and grabbing her into a hug with such a force that Ginny fell backwards onto Lavender's bed.

"Hermione!" she protested.

But Hermione's smile did not fade. She took hold of Ginny's hands.

"Oh, but Ginny! Don't you see? He likes you! I wasn't sure of it before but now I know he must do."

"What gives you that idea?"

"He asked you about the Valentine. He never would have done that if he wasn't interested in you. He wouldn't have cared whether you'd sent it him or not. Not Harry. He wouldn't want to know otherwise."

Ginny was very confused. "But Hermione, if he likes me, why did he try to take back what he said?"

"Well, he doesn't know he likes you, of course," replied Hermione as if it were obvious. "And, of course," she added pensively half to herself. "He's probably not comfortable with the feeling."

"I'm not sure that sounds much like liking someone to me."

Hermione drew a deep breath. "It's nothing about you, Ginny. It's just because he's afraid of getting too close to anyone right now. Like we talked about before. And it's so much that he can't even admit to himself that he likes anyone. Any feelings like that he buries as far down as he can now to protect himself and, I suppose, to protect others."

"I told you I understand what he's feeling!" Ginny protested. "Why can't he see that it's safe to open up to me?"

"You told me, Ginny, but did you tell Harry?"

"Well, not directly, but we've been spending a lot of time together, that was up until the ball. I would have thought by now that he could see - "

But Hermione was shaking his head. "He's not going to see, Ginny, believe me, not unless you tell it right to his face. That's just the way he is."

Ginny sighed and nodded. She knew in her heart that Hermione was right. If she wanted Harry to know that she cared for him and if there was any chance he would care for her in return, she would have to say it to his face. That was a lesson she should have learned a long time ago.

"And t-there's another thing," Hermione went on, a little haltingly. "Something I didn't know about when we talked before. I don't know if I should tell you but - "

"If you're talking about the prophecy, I already know. And, no, you shouldn't have told me."

Hermione looked up surprised.

"Did he tell you himself?" she asked, a little hopefully.

Ginny shook her head. "I was there, the night he told you. I was sitting by the fire and no one saw me. But I came out after you and Ron left and Harry and I talked."

Hermione let out a breath and spoke very fast as though she was afraid she wouldn't finish her sentence otherwise. "OK, Ginny, so then you must realize that Harry isn't going to want anyone to get close to him because he's afraid that he's going to die and he doesn't want to have to leave anyone behind."

"Doesn't he know it's already too late for that?" said Ginny, exasperated. "Does he think no one will miss him when he's gone? And does he think that some prophecy changes the fact that he isn't the only one with a score to settle with You-Know-Who?"

"I know, Ginny," said Hermione, as gently as she could. "I've tried to tell him that but - "

"No!" Ginny was shouting now. "You didn't try to tell him that at all! I was there! You got in some stupid little fight with Ron and then went up to bed! You didn't say anything - "

"Ginny, I'm trying to help you!" Hermione retorted. "And him! Why do you think I worry so much that Ron and I being together will make him feel even more alone? Why do you think I want the two of you to... "

Hermione's voice trailed as she realized the direction her own logic was taking her but Ginny's eyes were already wide with realization.

"So that's why you were so eager to find out what happened to Harry and me. You're guilty, Hermione. Goddess, you've been guilty for years."

Hermione flinched as if she had been struck across the face. "I'm not guilty," she replied. "Guilty about what?"

But Ginny didn't seem to have heard her. "You didn't tell Ron that you liked him for years because you were afraid to leave Harry alone."

"No, Ginny, that's not how - " Hermione started to protest but in her mind, she could already see herself talking to Ron in Dumbledore's office, saying that now that Harry was dead, they could be "honest with each other."

"But then after he asked you to the dance, the potion was out of the bottle, wasn't it?" Ginny went on as Hermione found out harder to look at her. "It must have seemed very fortunate that I had already told you I had feelings for Harry again. And wouldn't it be nice if Harry and I could get together? And then all four of us could all be friends and live happily ever after? All the guilt would go away. Isn't that what you're thinking, Hermione? But suppose Harry doesn't want that? Suppose he doesn't want to be with anyone at all? Or suppose he wants to be with someone else?"

"He does want you, Ginny," said Hermione with conviction, forcing herself to look up at her younger friend again. "I know it. You've got to believe me. Y - you just have to, I don't know, don't let him forget about you. Don't make it easy for him."

Ginny looked at Hermione thoughtfully, then after a long pause said:

"OK, I'll see how he reacts to a little encouragement. But I can't go on like this forever. I feel like I'm being pulled up and down like a yo-yo. First I felt good after the dance then I felt rotten the next morning."

And then there were the nightmares, too, Ginny thought, but said nothing about this to Hermione.

"You'll have to show a bit more than encouragement, Ginny. You're going to have to tell him directly - "

"I know, I know." Ginny clenched her fists. "It's - it's just not so easy to say it right out. I will, though, eventually, I promise." She looked imploringly back at Hermione. "Look, I'm sorry about all the things I said. I know you're trying to help."

Hermione's face softened. She knew how Ginny was feeling. It wasn't long ago that she hadn't been very open about her feelings to Ron. She put her hand on Ginny's shoulder. "It will get better, Ginny, I promise. And if he doesn't show you anything back, I won't say anymore. Now, come on. They'll wonder where we've got to."

Hermione took hold of Ginny's hand and guided her out of the door ahead of her. Ginny went to her room to get her bag and Hermione walked down to sit next to Harry and Ron.

Ron looked up at Hermione a little suspiciously. "You were a long time."

"I was looking for a parchment but it seems to have disappeared."

Several days before, Ron would not have been satisfied with this answer but when Hermione smiled and took hold of his hand, his doubts and questions seemed to vanish like a mirage.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked back down at their work. After a few moments, Ginny walked over with her bag and, without any apparent hesitation, sat down next to Harry.

Ron immediately took his hand away from Hermione and frowned at Ginny. Ginny tried to ignore him at first but Ron kept looking up and scowling at her.

"Am I bothering you?" his sister asked coolly.

"Your friends aren't around?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Actually, they're over there." Ginny pointed to a table at the other end of the room where Amanda, Catherine, and Colin were sitting.

Ron looked at the other table, then back at Ginny again.

"Look, Ginny, I - "

"I don't mind if Ginny studies with us."

It was Harry who spoke. Her cheeks flushing slightly, Ginny looked up at her brother and said:

"Ron, I'm not going to hex you if you hold hands with Hermione."

Ron's face turned the color of a strawberry but Hermione put her hand back in his. Ron pretended to shrug nonchalantly, then tried to pick up his quill but realized that his right hand was still locked with Hermione's. He looked from hand to quill thoughtfully and was surprised to see both Harry and Ginny suppressing giggles.

"Bet he wishes he was left-handed," said Harry to Ginny conspiratorially.

And then Hermione smiled, too. Slowly, the four of them settled down their work, Ron reluctantly uncoupling his hand. Every so often, Hermione looked over at Ginny. She could see that, while Ginny's smile had faded, her eyes remained bright and her cheeks slightly flushed for the remainder of the evening. She knew that Harry's approval of her studying with them and their shared joke about Ron had done much more than any of the things she had said to Ginny in her dormitory to convince her that Hermione had been right.

***

December came much sooner than anyone seemed to have expected. Hagrid was seen dragging snow around the hallways, much to Filch's consternation, occasionally humming Christmas carols as he brought in gigantic holly wreaths from outside. Harry continued his Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons with Nevins once a week, still trying to master the Levitatus charm. He was grateful when a blanket of thick snow covered the ground during the second week of the month, which made his bumpy landings somewhat less painful. After their fourth session, Harry finally managed to land a few mid-air jinxes at the straw Death Eaters Nevins had conjured on the ground.

Even though their next match wasn't until the following term, Harry continued to drive the Quidditch team to practice several times a week. He only postponed one practice, with great reluctance, when a snowstorm made it impossible for him to see what the team was doing out of his glasses. Even Hermione's Impervius spell seemed to have no effect on clearing them.

Their lessons also seemed to settle into a somewhat manageable routine. Beethoven, who turned out to be female, had given birth to puppies which seemed to scream even louder than their mother. Parvati had to be sent to the hospital wing, crying that her left ear had gone deaf after one of the babies had jumped on top of her head when she wasn't looking and trumpeted into it.

Professor Nevins continued to keep the regular Defense Against the Dark Arts classes on their toes and maintained his strange rapport with Ron. He remained somewhat distant to Harry in class, however, in contrast to their private lessons in which he behaved like a close mentor.

By the far the most feared lessons, however, were Potions. On one occasion, a dense cloud of blue vapor had erupted unexpectedly from out of the top of Professor Dibble's cauldron and eaten a hole in the ceiling large enough for a frightened first-year boy to fall down from the Transfiguration classroom above onto Dibble's desk. Rumors flew around the school that Snape had only been asked to take on the headmaster's job at the last minute and that they hadn't had time to find a proper replacement for him. The fifth years were seen to be particularly anxious as this was their O.W.L. year and it seemed they hadn't learned anything in Potions the whole term, although they did admit that the class had afforded them several unexpected opportunities to practice their new Defense Against the Dark Arts skills. No one dared approach the subject with Professor Snape, however, and not even following the most gruesome failures in Professor Dibble's classroom was any student (other than the Slytherins) heard to pine for his return. The acting headmaster himself seemed in two minds as to how to treat Harry when the two would occasionally pass in the corridor. There were times when Snape almost seemed to smile at him, albeit with great difficulty. But just when Harry had gotten used to Snape's new regard for him, he found himself met with the cold stares to which he had become accustomed in five years as Snape's student.

As the weeks passed, Ron and Hermione became much more comfortable in each other's company. They continued to hold hands nearly everywhere they went, although Harry noticed that Ron no longer behaved as if he thought Hermione would run away forever if they let go. In all the time he had known his friends, Harry couldn't recall things ever having been so quiet. It almost seemed like Ron and Hermione had said all they needed to say to one another (at least while Harry was around). They still seemed to disagree on nearly everything but neither was inclined to keep an argument going for very long as if the rows, as Harry now strongly suspected, had always been a kind of elaborate courtship ritual whose usefulness was now at an end.

Ginny continued to study with them on occasion, always sitting next to Harry. She sometimes talked to the three of them but mostly concentrated on her own work. Harry wasn't quite sure why she was doing this. He thought perhaps she might want their help since they were a year older than she was. Harry offered Ginny some advice on one or two of her parchments for Defense Against the Dark Arts which Ginny seemed to accept gratefully, but looking over at her work, Harry could see that, most of the time, she didn't seem to need the advice. But just when the reason for Ginny's proximity seemed to vex Harry to the point that he even thought of asking her why she was sitting with them, he would enter the common room to find her studying with her fifth-year friends as if nothing had changed.

Harry was pleased that he had managed to steer clear of Malfoy lately. In the past, Malfoy would never miss an opportunity to goad him during any of their shared lessons, especially Care of Magical Creatures. But now Malfoy seemed strangely sullen and withdrawn. He occasionally gave Harry a dark, almost calculating look but turned away as soon as he saw Harry watching him. He was still flanked by Crabbe and Goyle in class, whose own behavior seemed to have changed little, but on the several occasions Harry had seen Malfoy walking around the corridors, he often seemed to be alone. Harry could see that Snape still hadn't given him back his prefect badge and wondered if this was the source of his withdrawn behavior.

Malfoy had also started to stare at Ron and Hermione and his eyes fell on more than one occasion to their coupled hands. It didn't take long for Ron to grow annoyed at this and so, one day, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving the Great Hall after lunch at the same time as Malfoy and his gaze rested again on the two lovers, Ron decided to take action. Without letting go of Hermione's hand, he called over to Malfoy.

"Is there something I can help you with, Draco?"

Malfoy stopped walking and took a hesitant step closer to Ron and Hermione who held their ground.

"Nothing at all, Weasley," he scowled in reply, his eyes wandering again to Ron and Hermione's hands.

"Feeling jealous, are we?" asked Ron. "What's the matter, Malfoy? Pansy playing hard to get?"

Harry looked over and noticed that Hermione was staring at Malfoy just as defiantly as Ron. Before Malfoy could respond, Ron had pulled Hermione into a long kiss that earned giggles and whistles from a crowd of passing third-years. After they finished the kiss, they continued to hold onto each other and Hermione started to run her fingers almost casually through Ron's hair. Both of them stared at Malfoy, daring him to make a remark.

Malfoy's face turned a pale, almost green color, as he advanced slowly on Ron and Hermione, his lips very thin. At the last minute, he seemed to ignore Hermione as if she was not worthy of his attention and drew himself up inches from Ron's face.

"You know, Weasley," he said, almost in a whisper. "I must admit I've never had much respect for you or your family as it is. But at least you were still pure bloods. That you can just stand there and exchange your bodily fluids with that thing - "

Wham!

Before anyone knew what had happened, Ron's right hand had left Hermione's hair and connected hard with Malfoy's jaw. Malfoy fell over and landed on the ground. When he looked up, Harry saw blood coming out of his mouth from the same wound Ron had opened earlier that term when Malfoy had taken Harry for a ride on his broomstick. Harry looked at Ron and saw his face flushed with rage and his knuckle still clenched. From years of experience with his best friend and their past altercations with Malfoy, Harry had the sense Ron was going to strike again and was about to move forward to restrain him when he heard a distinctly thick Scottish accent cry:

"RONALD WEASLEY!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up in trepidation to see Professor McGonagall making her way down the corridor toward them with surprising swiftness. The three Gryffindors and Malfoy froze as McGonagall advanced on Ron.

"What in Merlin's name do you think you are doing?"

"He - he," Ron started to protest, pointing down at Malfoy who began to groan and clutch the side of his face.

"I don't know how many times this is going to happen before you can get it into your bloody thick skull, Mr. Weasley," cried McGonagall, her face scarlet. "I don't care what he does to provoke you, you can't go around hitting him like that. You're not a child anymore, Mr. Weasley. You're supposed to be a prefect! What kind of example do you think you are setting for the younger students? Fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor for your shameful act!"

"Fifty points!" protested Ron.

"And a detention," added McGonagall firmly. "You will meet me tonight in my office at 8:00. And, naturally, your prefect privileges are hereby suspended."

McGonagall unfastened Ron's prefect badge only slightly less viciously than Snape had relieved Malfoy of his earlier on in the year.

"What?" croaked Ron. "Professor McGonagall, please, no! When my Mum finds out about this - "

"You should have thought of that earlier, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall coldly. "Mr. Malfoy." She looked down at Malfoy ignoring Ron's expressions of shock. "Please come with me to the hospital wing."

Malfoy suddenly stopped groaning and looked threateningly at Ron. "If you don't mind professor," he said. "I think I can see myself there."

"Mr. Malfoy," said McGonagall, her tone still polite but her smile slightly more forced. "I think I'd rather accompany you if you don't mind. I wouldn't want you to get lost on the way." She looked up at Ron meaningfully.

Malfoy frowned again as McGonagall helped him to his feet. He made no effort to wipe the blood from his face which had now splattered down the front of his robes. Although Malfoy continued to glare at Ron, Harry thought he would leave without incident but just as McGonagall led him past Ron, he leaned over to him and said in a loud whisper:

"Enjoy her while you can, Weasley. Her days are numbered. I'm warning you. You'll see." His eyes flashed.

"Mr. Malfoy!" shouted McGonagall. "That is enough! One more word and I'll take points from Slytherin, too." She grabbed his arm and took him off to the hospital wing.

Harry looked at his two friends, who were now standing in the middle of a circle of onlookers. Ron still looked red with fury and stared after Malfoy as he left but made no move to follow. Hermione, on the other hand, had suddenly turned very pale and looked down at her shoes thoughtfully.

***

That evening, Harry and Hermione waited together in the common room for Ron to return from detention.

"Look, Hermione," Harry said. "McGonagall was right. He's just trying to goad us on. He always says that."

"But, Harry!" Hermione protested, looking anxious. "Things are different now, don't you see? He's in with them. They're planning something. He knows what they do."

"Whatever it is, Dumbledore will handle it."

Hermione rounded on Harry. "Do you really believe that?"

"Well, I don't know," he admitted, sighing. "But what can we do? Follow him around the school all day? I don't think we can use Polyjuice Potion again. Besides, I don't think Crabbe and Goyle know very much. You notice how he isn't always with them now?"

Hermione looked thoughtful. "Pansy Parkinson has been telling everyone who will listen about how Malfoy was left all by himself at the dance."

"I thought Malfoy fancied her," said Harry, realizing that Hermione was not very concerned with Malfoy's love life, but knowing he would have to take small steps to tease out whatever theory she was working on.

Hermione did not reply to Harry's statement but said instead:

"Harry, do you remember in the Shrieking Shack, when Malfoy and Lucius were talking? He said they were planning something for the night of the ball."

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, he wouldn't want a date for the ball, would he? She would get in the way."

"But he must have been there. Pansy saw him."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "And he must have known she would tell everyone!"

"So he would have an alibi!" finished Harry, catching on.

Hermione looked back at him eagerly. "And he could have easily slipped out without anyone noticing."

Harry frowned. "But why? Where would he go? Surely someone would notice if he left the castle? He doesn't have an invisibility cloak, does he?"

"I suppose we wouldn't know if he did," said Hermione, sighing. "But still, suppose he didn't leave the castle at all. Suppose he went somewhere in the castle where the Death Eaters were planning something."

"But Hermione, Death Eaters can't just walk into the castle. It's protected. And besides, whatever it was they were planning didn't work, did it? Sirius and Dumbledore stopped it. Whatever the Malfoys were planning they already knew about, didn't they?"

Hermione looked very pensive. "I don't know, Harry," she said quietly. "What if something did happen? What if something happened but nobody knew?"

"Of course everyone would know, wouldn't they? I mean I'd probably be dead for one thing."

"But what if it was something very small, very subtle? Something no one would know about. Something that no one would see right away. Something that no one will know about until it's too late!"

"I think Dumbledore knows," said Harry, trying to sound much more convinced than he felt. "You can't tell me Malfoy knows something he doesn't!."

"I don't know, Harry, don't you see? He's not some school rival anymore. He's a Death Eater himself! I'll reckon he has the Dark Mark and everything!"

"And Dumbledore knows that," said Harry, "and if he thought Malfoy was a threat, he wouldn't let him stay at Hogwarts."

"You have too much faith in Dumbledore, Harry," was all Hermione could say.

The truth was that Harry was feeling just as uncertain as Hermione but he wasn't sure what else he could say to make her feel better and he was sure he was not going to say something that would get his friends nearly killed again. If Dumbledore was wrong, the only person who should have to suffer was Harry.

Harry was spared having to explain this to Hermione, however, when the portrait swung open and Ron staggered into the common room looking like he was just learning how to walk. With a painful groan, he slumped into the armchair next to Harry and Hermione.

"Horrible," he murmured. "She made me clean the whole first floor hallway, without magic."

Hermione immediately rushed over to his side. From long experience, Harry expected her to chastise him about the loss of house points, how he should have ignored Malfoy instead of hitting him, and how he probably deserved the punishment Professor McGonagall had given him. But Hermione said none of these things. Instead she looked at Ron with an expression one might have saved for a stranded kitten and began running her fingers through his ginger-colored hair.

"Oh, Ron," she said without a hint of sarcasm. "You poor thing. Let me make you feel better." She undid the front of his robes and the top two buttons on his shirt and began massaging his neck and back.

Harry blinked and shook his head. He looked around the common room to see if there was anyone who could tell him he had just slipped into an alternate universe, but all of the other Gryffindors had gone to bed.

"It was horrible," Ron was groaning. "My back is so sore. I - " He suddenly stopped.

"Yes?" said Hermione, close to his ear, in a tone that sounded like a purring cat.

Ron suddenly grinned. Hermione took his robes off and began to massage his back through the back of his shirt.

"O - of course," Ron went on. "I - it was for a good cause. I mean w - we sure got Malfoy, didn't we?"

Hermione nodded, continuing to smile, and moved further down his back.

"A - and," Ron went on, now unable to wipe the smile off his face. "I - I - it wasn't s - so bad, I suppose."

Hermione smiled and moved lower still.

"You know," Ron went on, now in a high-pitched croak. "I think the Gryffindor common room needs a good scrubbing, too. Who needs magic after all?"

Hermione's hands had reached the end of Ron's lower back.

Harry stood up. "I think I'm going to bed," he announced.

Hermione looked at him with a confused expression on her face, as if just waking up from a dream. Her hands returned immediately to Ron's neck and shoulders. "Really? But - actually, Ron, Harry and I were talking about Malfoy," she said, if just remembering, "and - "

"That's OK," said Harry. "I'm really tired now. Perhaps we can talk more about it over breakfast."

Harry saw not sure why but as he walked past Ron he winked at him behind Hermione's back. He found himself enjoying a kind of malicious pleasure when Ron's face went completely white, and did not lose that smile until he had gotten into bed and fallen asleep.

***

Large white flakes of snow fell in puffy balls from the sky as the second Hogsmeade weekend arrived and Ginny and Luna made their way down through the school grounds and out toward the village while most of their fellow students were still in bed.

"Do you think he'll mind?" said Luna anxiously, glancing at her watch.

"I thought you said you weren't going to meet him to leave until ten? We'll be down and back well before then."

"Yes, but what if he wants to go early?"

Ginny could help smiling. Luna really did like Neville a great deal. She just hoped she was giving her the right advice about how to go about dating him.

"He won't. Don't worry, Luna."

Luna quickly seized on another concern.

"What if he doesn't like me in the dress we buy?"

"He will, trust me."

"You want me to wear something plain, Ginny, don't you?"

"Well, not exactly 'plain' Luna," said Ginny, choosing her words carefully. "Just something a little bit cozier than that paper maiché outfit you wore last time."

"He said he liked me being different; I don't think I should just dress to look like anyone else."

Ginny considered this carefully for a moment. Luna had a point. Neville did like her because she was different, she could see that. But she still couldn't get Neville's horrified face out of her mind when Luna had turned up wearing The Daily Prophet on their last Hogsmeade weekend. Somehow there had to be a happy medium.

Luna was already racing ahead with her own ideas.

"I wonder if it's too early for them to sell swimwear. I heard there's one you can buy with a spell that makes it turn invisible whenever it comes in contact with water."

"No, Luna," said Ginny patiently. "It's snowing. I don't think you should wear a swimsuit, especially not a transparent one no matter how much Neville might like it."

"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack wears nothing on its back all winter but the feathers nature gave it."

"But you don't have feathers, Luna."

Before Luna could argue any further, Ginny said:

"When you picked out your dress the last Hogsmeade weekend, Luna, did you choose what you'd normally wear?"

"Well, no. He said he liked me being different, so I - "

Ginny stopped walking and turned back to face Luna. Luna stopped walking herself and looked up at Ginny with surprise.

"No, Luna," said Ginny, pleased to have seized on the crux of the problem. "He liked you being yourself. Being different is what you are. There's no need to try and change it."

Luna looked back at Ginny a little vacantly which Ginny hoped meant that she was thinking about what she had just said. She nodded almost imperceptibly and then continued to walk on, followed by Ginny. The two friends traveled in unusual silence for a few moments, then Luna said:

"So has Harry lost any more of his horns?"

"Well," said Ginny, smiling very slightly. "I suppose things are a little better than they were the last time we talked. Hermione thinks he likes me but, I don't know, she has her own little plans."

"Have you tried singing to him?"

"I want to but I'm afraid I might sound out of tune."

"The Spiny-footed Kuku Bird is never out of tune."

Ginny started to laugh but stopped suddenly and winced, clutching the side of her head.

"Ginny?" Luna asked, her eyes even larger than usual. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," replied Ginny, her head clearing. She looked up and saw that she and Luna had just passed under the winged boars at the entrance gate to the school.

"The same thing happened when I went out for the first Hogsmeade weekend," she said. "Harry reckons the entrance gate might still cursed by Umbridge."

Ginny tried to smile but somehow her lips could not seem to move out of a straight line.

"Cursed by the extra-dimensional beings who control the fields around this castle more like," said Luna, her eyes narrowing. "You must be very sensitive to their aura. You should be careful; if they know you can feel them, they might try to harm you. They're xenophobes, you know."

Ginny nodded vacantly.

"Do you want to go back?" Luna asked.

"No, let's go on. I'll be all right."

The two girls walked on and Ginny soon put the headache completely out of her mind. Luna launched into a detailed description of the xenophobes and the various measures she felt Ginny should take to protect herself. Ginny didn't have the energy or the inclination to ask her to stop and kept nodding at regular intervals so the Ravenclaw would think she was still listening. The snow falling down around the thatched cottages and cobblestone street made Hogsmeade look like a picture from a fairytale that day. Ginny soon started to imagine strolling along the street with Harry, holding his arm, laughing with him at all the strange people walking by, waving cheerfully at Lord Ravenhurst, and going Christmas shopping for Hermione and Ron who would be off together somewhere far away. She let this vision carry her in through the door of Trans-figuration where Luna immediately stopped talking and started looking at a collection of hats that were chatting away to each other, stopping only to make faces at the two girls in an apparent attempt to sell themselves.

"What do you think?" Luna asked, holding up a bright orange hat more than half her own height that seemed undecided whether it was best to settle into a smile or a grimace and finished up appearing to look in considerable pain. "My green one's getting to look bored all the time."

Ginny shook her head.

"We're here to buy you a nice winter outfit and a spring one while we're at it, remember?"

Ginny tried to pay attention as Luna made her way over to a Wintry Witches display and tried on several robes but the mental arithmetic of picking out robes that Ginny wouldn't have been caught dead in herself but fell short of terrifying Neville soon proved too much and she found her thoughts wandering back to Harry again. She absently agreed to a bright pink set of robes that clashed horribly with Luna's blonde hair. On their way out to pay for the robes, the two girls passed through the men's section. Ginny stopped and looked thoughtfully at some long black school robes emblazoned with the Gryffindor lion.

"I wonder if I should buy these for Harry," she said frowning. "His robes look very worn out. I suppose I could just about afford them."

"Well, perhaps," said Luna vacantly. "But I rather thought that pair of glow-in-the-dark pants I noticed on the way in might suit him a little better; they're just his size. I - oh, dear, Ginny, are you all right?"

Ginny had suddenly fallen to the floor where she stood, clutching the side of her forehead and wincing in pain. The shop seemed to blur and close in on her like she was seeing the world through a pair of fogged up glasses. She was vaguely aware of shouts all around her. The long crooked nose of a hag peered into her face.

"Are you feeling all right, dearie?" it croaked.

Ginny felt the pain clear slowly away from her head. Her vision gradually improved and she looked up the hag, slightly startled. "I - I'm fine, thank you. Really, I'm OK."

***

Voldemort slammed the diary hard onto the ground in anger. He sincerely hoped that by severing his link so suddenly he had caused Ginny Weasley no small amount of pain. He cursed his fate that he should be so dependent on such a pathetic little creature.

The confidence Voldemort had felt the night he had first broken through the magic shield that surrounded Hogwarts several weeks before had eroded considerably. First, he had tried on another occasion to break through the magic link surrounding the castle and into Ginny Weasley's dreams but, on this occasion, he had not succeeded. He had brewed the potion as he had planned, formed the link with his Death Eaters, but he had not been able to penetrate the barrier. He knew that the potion was extremely delicate and that, somewhere, one of his Death Eaters had failed. He had taken out his frustrations on several of his followers but he still wasn't sure himself how he had not succeeded and, more importantly, how he could be sure that he would not fail again.

Then, informed by his sources of the date of the next Hogsmeade weekend, he had taken care to establish a link with Ginny as soon as she had left the Hogwarts grounds. The Dark Lord had felt his sense of confidence restored as he followed Harry and Ginny together around Hogsmeade in his mind. He had found himself thinking of new plans: if he could not attack the castle then perhaps he could attack Harry Potter in Hogsmeade after all, more risky, to be sure, but it might still have worked. He would have used Ginny to tell him exactly where Harry was, just as he had thought she had done on this day.

But even this secondary plan had collapsed almost as soon as it had formed. When Ginny had walked into the clothing shop to buy a present for Harry, Voldemort had realized that she hadn't been with him after all. He was somewhere else and Ginny did not know where. The image in Ginny's mind of walking through Hogsmeade with Harry had been very real to her but in the end it was not real at all: it was merely her own immature fantasy. And Voldemort had not known the difference. He imagined the humiliation of massing his Death Eaters to attack Harry exactly in the spot where Ginny stood and finding only a dreamy school girl and her friend. And worse, he knew that he would have to bide his time before he tried to enter Ginny's mind again. Her friends had already remarked on her strange headaches and he couldn't risk that she or they might discover what he was up to. Voldemort looked down at the diary with renewed rage. He would not be taken for a fool by a stupid little child.

There was a rustle of robes in the forest. Voldemort's eyes flashed as his most faithful servant appeared in front of him, calmly adjusted the sleeves of his robes so that the Dark Mark was exposed, and then strode slowly over to the Dark Lord with a long black wooden box in his hand.

Voldemort stood up. "I trust you have some good news for me, Severus. For I am much in need of it at the moment."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Your plans to monitor the Weasley girl have been unsuccessful?"

"I thought she was with Potter but she is not. It was only her stupid fantasies I was hearing." Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Surely you could have made sure they were together again, Severus?"

But Snape did not flinch. "I cannot always make sure they are together on visits outside of the castle. To suggest anything of the sort would easily arouse suspicion."

Voldemort looked down at the box. "You have it?" he asked.

Snape nodded, a satisfied sneer dancing at the end of his lips. He gave the box to Voldemort.

Voldemort opened it. Inside, resting on a soft velvet case was a wand. Voldemort took the wand out of the case. There was a sudden rush of wind. Birds cried in alarm. A tangible energy seemed to swirl around Voldemort and Snape and coalesce in the hand that was holding the wand.

Voldemort smiled for the first time since severing the link with Ginny. "Yes, yes," he hissed. "I can feel its power, its energy. Just think what this wand will do, Severus. The order it will bring. And our dear Mr. Potter will have no means to protect himself this time."

Voldemort turned his ghastly face to Snape and then suddenly froze. He stared at his servant for a moment, the wand still clutched in his hand.

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, then Snape said:

"You have found a problem with the wand, my lord?"

"The wand is perfect, my friend, as you well know." Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "But I wonder. A man does not always speak with his lips. There was something in your eyes just then. Something I have not seen before."

"Indeed?" asked Snape neutrally.

"Almost a kind of hunger," Voldemort added, "or determination. Is there, I wonder, something you wish to tell Lord Voldemort? You needn't fear. You have done very well and he is very pleased with you. And surely you would never lie to me, Severus?"

"Only the hunger of being in your service, my Lord," replied Snape. "And might I suggest that I take a more direct role in your next plan to break into Miss Weasley's thoughts?"

Voldemort looked thoughtful. "Very well, Severus. Perhaps I would have done well to have left more in your hands before. I will let you know when I plan to proceed again."

Snape gave a curt nod and disapparated.

***

The end of term rolled around more quickly than anyone expected. Hermione no longer objected to having Ron copy her notes. Harry didn't ask for her help himself at first but on several occasions he caught her looking over and even by reading his parchments upside down, she became distressed at the number of missing or incorrect facts.

"No, Harry!" she said one day. "The goblin rebellions took place in 1572 not 1725! And Ron," she said, moving over to his notes, "you're reading your Tarot card upside down."

"I wondered why my fortune was so rotten," muttered Ron. "That's amazing, Hermione. You're not even in Divination!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry noticed that she was no longer unwilling to criticize Ron, although she never did so when anyone other than Harry was present. She also seemed less likely to stop whatever she was doing and giggle at him. She had started up regular meetings of S.P.E.W. again although it seemed to Harry that she was delegating more tasks to her fellow members than before. Ron hadn't been heard to criticize her, however.

Ron was hardly in much of a mood to enjoy his relationship, however: despite his early assertion that he would rather do it all over again to receive another of Hermione's backrubs, he had since become increasingly anxious that Mrs. Weasley would discover that he was no longer a prefect. His dread mounted until one day, Professor McGonagall called him into her office. As Ron explained afterwards to Harry and Hermione, who had been waiting for him anxiously in the Great Hall at lunch, McGonagall had agreed not to inform his parents about the matter but said that she would continue to suspend his prefect privileges until Easter.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" said Hermione.

Ron groaned until Hermione put her arm around him and then groaned even louder so that she would leave it there.

"Mum will find out though. She always does."

"I don't see how," said Hermione. "Fred and George aren't here to tell them. And we're not going to say anything."

Harry nodded encouragingly.

"Ginny will then," said Ron despondently.

"No, I won't."

Ron, Hermione, and Harry looked up to see Ginny walking past them. Ron seemed about to say something when his eyes caught a shiny scarlet and gold badge pinned to front of Ginny's robes.

"Y - you - " he started.

"I've just been in with McGonagall," Ginny declared, once again seeming to suppress a giggle with difficulty. "And I've decided I'm having too much fun to let Mum know anything that might make her change her mind."

She walked purposefully past them and went to sit down with her roommates, exchanging a very quick wink with Harry who suddenly found it difficult to stop smirking himself, especially when he saw the strange mixture of shock and mirth on Ron's face.

But even this new found relief of Ron's did not last long. Hermione had had plans to go skiing with her family during the Christmas holidays. Ron had decided once again to stay at Hogwarts with Harry, who was still not allowed to leave the castle. That was, until one day at dinner, when Ron and Harry had been sitting alone and Hermione quickly ran up to sit beside them and announced with excitement that her parents had invited Ron along on the skiing trip with them. Ron smiled at the news but Harry noticed he suddenly looked very pale. Hermione then turned to Harry and looked slightly crestfallen but Harry quickly reassured her that he didn't mind in the slightest and that he was really much happier at Hogwarts than racing down Alpine slopes at high speeds. Ron looked even paler at this but Harry could see that he didn't have the heart to disappoint Hermione. He quickly disappeared after dinner, however, claiming that he needed to do some extra studying in the library. Hermione remarked with a sense of satisfaction about the good influence she was having on him and Harry did not voice his skepticism.

Harry did not see Ron again until he returned to the dormitory that night and it was time for them to go to bed. They had turned the lights out and Harry had just dozed off when he thought he heard someone calling his name. Still half-asleep, Harry rolled around sleepily in his bed and groaned when he heard the voice again, a little louder this time. He opened his eyes and could hear that most of his roommates were asleep. Ron, however, was sitting up in his bed wide-awake, looking at him.

"Harry," he said.

"What is it?" Harry asked sleepily.

"How could you stand living with Muggles all those years?"

"Not very easily, I assure you. Good night." He rolled over on his other side.

"Harry!" Ron reached over and shook him.

"What is it?" asked Harry, a little annoyed. He could see in the dim light from the moon outside that Ron looked frightened.

"I - I went to the library and read up about skuh - skuh - skiing. It's barbaric! They tie these great wooden broomsticks to their feet and then slide on the ice down the mountain. And some of them die! A - and we won't be able to use magic at all!"

"Some people die playing Quidditch."

"But - but, Harry, what if there are trolls? My mother always told me never to go near a mountain. I don't wonder what she's going to think when she finds out about this."

"Trolls don't go near mountains where there are lots of Muggles."

Harry tried to go back to sleep again.

"Harry," said Ron insistently.

"What?"

"D - do you think Hermione would mind if I - I didn't go?"

"Yes."

Ron whimpered.

"Ron," added Harry. "You've got to do this. You got to kiss her and now you have to meet her parents." Harry was glad Ron couldn't see the smile on his face. He closed his eyes. He felt fatigue wash over his mind. He knew he would be asleep again very soon. It would happen before he -

"Harry?"

"Ron!"

"I - I'm sorry. Just one more question, I promise."

Harry sighed.

"Harry, what if they don't like me? What if they think I'm some kind of f - freak?"

"They'll like you, Ron. They've met you before, haven't they? And their daughter's a witch. Who did they think she would date? Believe me, if they thought that about wizards, they would never have let her go to Hogwarts."

Ron was silent for a moment, then said: "I suppose."

"Satisfied now?"

"Yes."

"Good, now good night."

Harry rolled over on his other side and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

***

The next morning, however, Ron had resolved to owl his mother with the news and announced happily to Harry that he felt certain she would not approve of his going because it would leave Harry alone and then he could explain to Hermione that he had no choice. To his dismay, however, his mother had thought it was a wonderful idea that Ron should go on the skiing trip with the Grangers, but she had also told Ron that she intended to ask Dumbledore if she, Mr. Weasley, and the rest of the family could spend Christmas at Hogwarts together with Harry since he could not leave.

"No," Harry said automatically, on hearing this.

"No?" repeated Ron as if hearing the word for the first time. "I don't think it's a choice, Harry. Once she's got an idea, no one's going to stop her."

"Ron, please tell her I said no."

"But why, Harry? Fred and George will be here, too - and Ginny. It'll be fun. I wish I was staying," he added gloomily.

Harry sighed. In truth, he could not say for sure why he did not want the Weasleys to stay with him over Christmas. He was touched, not for the first time, by Mrs. Weasley's thoughtfulness. Ron was right; with Fred and George around and the run of the castle to themselves, not to mention no lessons to have to worry about, it would be fun. But something about the whole thing still made him feel very queasy and, strangely, the more he thought about how much he would love to spend Christmas with the Weasleys, the more queasy he felt.

"I - I just, no, Ron, please tell your Mum I just don't want her to go to that trouble. It's bound not to be fun for her to spend Christmas away from home. Just because I have to stay locked up in here doesn't mean that she - "

"Oh, she won't mind! Bill might have even come, too; I bet he knows loads of passageways we haven't even found. And Charlie and Perc - "

Ron quickly closed his mouth but it was already too late.

"Percy?" said Harry incredulously. "Did you say Percy?"

"Yeah, w - well he, er, I mean, Fudge is all on Dumbledore's side now, and, well, Dad's doing better in the Ministry, and, well, so - "

"So Percy's coming to home to make up, just like that?"

"W - well, yes, well, Mum asked him back for Christmas and he said yes."

"Well, I'm not spending Christmas anywhere near Percy," Harry declared darkly. "Not after what he did; not after what he said."

"Yeah," said Ron, looking very uncomfortable. "Ginny said she isn't going to speak to him until he apologizes."

"I don't blame her!" replied Harry, aware that he was starting to raise his voice. "I don't think I'd speak to him even if he did apologize! Didn't you say he was the biggest git ever or something like that?"

"Yeah, yeah, I did say that," admitted Ron, looking very evasive. "I - I suppose I didn't think much about what I'd do, I mean, I won't be there, will I? Not to say that - "

"I'm sorry, Ron," said Harry flatly. "Tell your Mum no."

Ron sighed. It was obvious to Harry he was afraid to push things any further. But while Harry had told the truth about not wanting to be in the presence of Ron's estranged elder brother, he could not help but feel grateful to have been able to seize on the excuse of Percy. In truth, Harry didn't want the Weasleys near him at Christmas for reasons that he was far from willing to admit to Ron - or, for that matter, to himself.

***

The end of term exams were not nearly as awful as the sixth years had feared. Even the Potions test was unusually orderly. Finally, it was time for the Hogwarts Express to return to London and most of the students were taking their trunks out to the front entrance of the school. As usual, however, Ron had left things until the last minute and was still frantically stuffing clothes into his case perilously close to the hour that the Hogwarts Express was due to leave.

"Here, I'll help you." Harry started taking some of Ron's things out of the wardrobe and handing them to his friend. Ron then started taking the pillows off his bed and tried to stuff them onto the top of his overflowing trunk.

"What do you need those for?" demanded Harry.

"Mum thought I should use a sticking charm and attach them to the inside of my cloak in case I fall on the mountain."

"No, Ron," said Harry, taking out the pillows and putting them back on Ron's bed. He took hold of Ron's shoulders. "You'll - be - fine."

Ron nodded but still did not look convinced.

"What's it like, mate - really?" Harry asked suddenly.

Ron looked at him in surprise, then broke into a grin. "Honestly, Harry," he said. "It's like Christmas every day. I just get up in the morning and go to find her. I - " He stopped, his smile fading slightly. "Don't worry, mate. I'm sure you'll find somebody soon. They're not all like Cho, you know. "

"I don't think so," said Harry, but kept smiling. "It's all right. I'm not really sure I'm the type of person who ought to - well, it's - it's just different being me, I suppose."

"Different? How?"

Harry's face darkened. "I don't know."

But Ron did not seem to take the hint. He looked furtively back and forth between Harry and the door to their otherwise empty dormitory.

"Look, mate," he said, in a low anxious voice. "I was going to say anything but, you know, I mean, well - "

Ron seemed to hope that he had already made his meaning clear but Harry was forced to inform him that he was sadly mistaken.

"Well, I mean, have you, well, have you ever thought about, well," Ron's voice dropped to a whisper, "asking out Ginny."

"Ginny?"

"Yeah, you know, my sister, Ginny."

"I know who Ginny is!" snapped Harry, starting to feel a little irate. "Why?" he said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Has she said something to you?"

"Well, no," Ron hastened to add. "I - I don't suppose she would. It's just, well, she's always fancied you a bit, really, and now she's ditched Corner and Thomas and I just thought maybe, well - look, it's like this, mate." Ron straightened himself. "I don't know what those other blokes are after but I trust you; I know you wouldn't hurt her."

If Harry was impressed by Ron's sentiment, he didn't show it.

"Don't you think she can make up her own mind who to trust?"

"W - well, of course. But if you, you know, showed her a bit of interest, then maybe - "

"And suppose I'm not interested?"

Harry was vaguely aware he was starting to come very close to shouting again but he quickly decided that it no longer bothered him.

"Well no one said you were, mate, I just thought - "

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG! I'M NOT AND I'M NOT GOING TO BE!"

"All right, Harry, no need to shout, I just - "

"I'm going downstairs to check on Hermione," announced Harry and left the dormitory, closing the door behind him rather loudly. He soon found, however, that he did not mind that, either. What was Ron thinking now? It was bad enough that the Weasleys wanted to follow him everywhere for Christmas. Now Ron wanted him to be mated into their family, just so that he could keep an eye on his sister? Didn't anyone understand that Harry just wanted to be left alone?

Hermione was sitting in the common room. Harry strode over to purposefully over to her, daring her to make some remark about his obviously disagreeable mood but when he arrived at her side, he found that she was preoccupied with something else entirely.

"Not good," she announced, dropping a copy of The Daily Prophet down in front of him.

Harry quickly glimpsed an upside-down Fudge, looking very furtive, next to the headline: Fudge Faces Inquiry in Claim of You-Know-Who's Return.

"Bad news?" asked Harry, suddenly forgetting about his argument with Ron.

Hermione sighed.

"They're saying that Fudge made up the story of You - of Voldemort's return. They say they only have his word for it - and Dumbledore's - and, of course, no one has seen or heard from Voldemort or the Death Eaters so they're starting to wonder whether he made the whole thing up so Fudge would have a reason to hold onto office since he's not done anything else right lately; they're saying that Dumbledore got to him or something."

"But there were loads of witches and wizards at the Ministry that night! They all saw him!"

Hermione sighed wearily. "Probably. But none of them seem quite so eager to admit it anymore. Funny that Fudge is getting a taste of his own medicine especially after he covered up the Death Eater break-out. He can't use that in his defense, of course."

"Strange how I'm not laughing," said Harry hollowly.

Hermione's brow furrowed. "Still, I'm surprised Voldemort hasn't made some sort of attack. What is waiting for, after all this time?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Harry gloomily. "He's waiting for me. He wanted to start off his return by killing me the night of the Triwizard tournament, but then that failed. Then he tried to get the prophecy from me at the Ministry and that didn't work either. He tried to kill me at the Dursleys but now he can't while I'm here. He's just biding his time. He wants his new war to start on his own terms - with my death - and he's determined not to have it any other way. And after he gets his wish, just wait and see."

"Harry, don't talk like that!" said Hermione, but it was obvious from the look on her face that she found it hard to argue with Harry's logic. She was spared the effort of responding further, however, when Ron made his way down the stairs with his trunk. He seemed to avoid making eye contact with Harry and Harry for his part felt too morose to settle their earlier row. He simply walked with Ron and Hermione and their belongings out of the castle and down to the train platform as they had agreed. He gave both of his friends one last wave before turning around to go back to the castle alone when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around. It was Ginny.

"Hi, Harry," she said.

"Hi, Ginny."

Harry immediately felt himself stiffen, thinking of his recent conversation with Ron about her but something about the way Ginny looked at him made him feel a little calmer. It wasn't her fault after all; she'd probably be livid, too if she knew what Ron had said. Perhaps he should tell her, Harry wondered, and let her give it to him on the train, but instead he said simply:

"Going home then?"

"Yes," said Ginny, looking down at the ground. "Won't you let us stay with you?" she said gently. "It's not too late, you know."

"N - no, I, I don't want to," said Harry, feeling a little defensive again. He knew that Ginny wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind and braced himself for her reaction but the youngest Weasley just looked up at him a little sadly and nodded.

"Then I wanted to give you this."

Ginny took a scroll of parchment out of her robes and handed it to Harry.

"Open it."

Harry took the parchment with curiosity and unraveled it. Scrawled in elegant black handwriting were the words:

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of the Weird Sisters' latest song spell JINXING THE BLUES featuring the new hit single CONFOUNDED. To activate the spell, brew a simple potion of gillyweed and wolfsbane, add a single sparrow feather and say: "Apparecium Symphonia."

The caption was followed by a picture of the Weird Sisters jostling for position and appearing to hit each other on the head with their guitars. Underneath the picture were written the words:

Warning: Unauthorized distribution of this song spell is strictly forbidden. If you try to give it to your friends without buying another licensed copy, the curse that follows will be very nasty indeed.

"Don't worry," said Ginny as Harry frowned at the last line. "I paid for it."

Harry looked up from the parchment, smiling very brightly. "This is wonderful. Thank you, Ginny!"

He put the parchment away in his robes and then reached down and pulled Ginny into a hug. He let go after a few moments, the smile still hovering on his lips as if uncertain whether to break out again or withdraw into a frown. Splashes of color had risen on Ginny's cheeks to match her hair, her eyes had a strange, almost glazed over look, and Harry was sure she was having difficulty catching her breath. He suddenly remembered the look on Ginny's face when they had hugged the day he'd returned to Hogwarts and his expression settled more definitely into a frown. Suddenly, the thought of sharing righteous indignation with Ginny at Ron's plans for getting the two of them together seemed very far away indeed.

"I - I'm sorry, Ginny," he said finally. "I'm afraid I haven't given you anything."

"But Harry," said Ginny, looking down at the ground. "Don't you realize? You just did. Happy Christmas." She looked up at him very briefly and then turned to run onto the train which was just leaving.

Harry watched the train pull into the distance, his mouth open slightly. He stood there for several minutes as though glued to the spot, then slowly turned around and made his way back to the castle.