Sighing, she thought about Harry and how she wanted to run her hands over his bare chest and back. This was not the first time for that thought and she began to wonder if this meant she was growing up or if there was something in the bond that was doing this to her. She was so lost in thought, she never noticed someone walking up to her.
"May I have this dance?" he asked politely.
Startled, Ginny looked up and saw a boy she thought was in Ravenclaw and in Harry's year. Donning as polite a look as she could, she said, "I'm sorry, but I'm only dancing with my date tonight."
He looked disappointed, but gave her a slight bow from the waist. "My loss I'm sure," he said before he turned and left.
The song ended a moment later and Harry returned and took Ginny out. He continued alternating for the rest of the evening.
When the Ball ended, Hermione led them back to the Gryffindor Tower, although she took a circuitous route. When they were alone and she passed one of the secret passages through the castle, she motioned them over.
"Ginny, will you guard the entrance for a moment? I need to talk to Harry and then I'll let him walk you back." She gave a pleading look to her sister mate.
Ginny quickly nodded, well aware of what Hermione was about to do. After all, she had been thinking about doing the same thing for half the night.
Harry looked a bit bewildered when Hermione led him behind the tapestry and into the secret corridor. Ginny walked over and stood in an alcove with a suit of armour on the other side of the corridor. As she waited, she determined she was going to have to talk to Hermione about these feelings she was having. Hermione was nearly two calendar years older, so she should have a much better understanding regarding feelings towards boys.
About five minutes later, Hermione stuck her head out and looked around. She smiled brightly when she saw Ginny, coming the rest of the way out. When Ginny walked over, Hermione whispered, "Don't take too long to come back so you don't get into trouble."
"Right. We need to talk soon, too. I've got, err, some questions."
"Tomorrow night." Hermione leaned over and touched her cheek to Ginny's in a quick hug before walking away.
Ginny walked behind the tapestry and into the dim light that lit the secret passageway. Harry stood leaning against the way with a very happy look on his face. She rushed over to him and pressed herself to him, enjoying the solidness of his body - the result of many hours of exercise. As he wrapped his arms around her, she put her hands on his chest and slowly slid them up until she got to his head. Threading her fingers into his hair, she pulled his face down slightly as she leaned up. The next few minutes passed in a passionate blur.
"I think we need to head back," Harry softly croaked, barely able to talk.
"Probably." Ginny kissed him once more before she pulled back.
"You're going to kill me that way one day, Ginny," he quietly but fervently told her.
Ginny took a deep and happy breath. "If so, I can't think of a better way to die," she said impishly.
Harry chuckled and led her out. Fortunately, the corridor was clear and they hurried back to their common room.
When they walked in, a yelling match greeted them. They were one of about a dozen couples in the room staring at Ron and Hermione screaming at each other. There were more people on each of the stairways watching too.
"Well, why wouldn't you?" Ron yelled. "You go out with him!"
"I told you before!" she returned. "You're not that kind of friend! Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, am I not good enough for you?" Ron pressed. "Do I need more money? Or do I need to get another girlfriend first so you can rule over her?"
Harry was so shocked he just stood there, not believing what he was hearing.
Hermione had no such problem, being in the middle of it. Her right hand came around quickly and slapped the left side of Ron's face so hard, he stumbled backwards in surprise, hit the side of a chair just above his knees, and fell backwards into the chair. The chair was also unexpected, causing him to twirl to his right and fall out of the front of the chair, landing on his chest and face.
"You bastard!" Hermione screamed before she turned and ran up the girl's stairs.
Hermione's exit kicked Harry into gear. Knowing he could not go up the stairs after her, he looked at Ginny. "Please go take care of her since I can't."
"Right after I do something." Ginny pulled her wand as she marched over to Ron, who was pushing himself up off the floor. When he got to his knees, with his back to her, she reached down and grabbed his collar and yanked backward, so he was looking straight up at her angry face and her wand.
"Ronald Weasley," she said angrily and fiercely over his gurgling. "If you ever yell at her or say anything like that to her ever again, I swear, I'll cut your willie off and Vanish it. Chiroptera Mucosus!" She threw his head forward as little greenish gray bats came out of his nose and started attacking his face, causing him to give a little scream in pain.
Harry watched Ginny run up the stairs after Hermione to comfort her. He stood there for a few seconds in cold anger watching the boy he had thought was one of his better male friends. Deciding that he needed to be careful, lest he seriously injure him, Harry shot a full body bind at Ron before walking over. The little bats continued to claw at Ron's face, scratching him, and the redhead could not do a thing about it.
In a cold, quiet, and fierce voice, Harry said, "Ron … if you ever do anything like that again to Hermione or Ginny, I swear I'll…"
A hand grabbed Harry's shoulder and pulled him back.
Harry looked back to see the seventh-year boy's Prefect.
"Potter, I know you're fightin' angry, but give it a rest until mornin'. Ya don't wanna be sayin' something you'll regret later."
After a long few seconds, Harry replied, "I can't imagine anything I'd regret at the moment. You better keep him away from me tonight."
"Aye, that I can do. I think a Cushionin' charm on my floor will do for him tonight. Ya headin' home tomorrow, aren't ya?"
"Yeah."
"I'll keep 'im with me until ten. Go on now."
Harry nodded, but before he left, he shot a glaring look at Ron. "Never again - Weasley," he said venomously.
On the stairs, he saw the Weasley twins. They gave him sympathetic looks and a pat on the back, which he appreciated. He realized they could have held that against him.
He went up to his room upset that a wonderful evening had been ruined. Inside, Neville also gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, mate. I was up here and they were going at it before I could stop it. Didn't think stepping in afterward would do anything but make it worse ... and probably get me punched."
"Don't worry about it," he said tiredly. "It wasn't your fault. 'Night."
"'Night, Harry."
Harry got undressed and slipped into bed. As he lay there, with the last fifteen minutes of the evening churning in his head, he hoped he would be over this by the time he got back in the New Year. But even if he did, Harry knew he would never trust Ron the same way again. First the troll and now this; what would he do next time if given the chance? He did not think he wanted to find out.
It took a long time to get to sleep that night, even if the room was quieter without Ron's snores.
The next morning, Harry's alarm went off at half seven. He shut it off with a groan, being tired from the previous physically and emotionally exhausting day. As he went to the bathroom to get ready for the day, he mentally thanked Hermione for making him pack yesterday. Once he was ready, he went downstairs and threw himself in a chair that faced the girl's stairs.
Since he was having trouble staying awake, he felt fortunate the girls came down soon after he did. He gave Ginny a thankful smile before he quickly gave Hermione a hug. "Are you doing all right this morning?" As he looked closer, he realized that Hermione did not look quite like her normal self. She was wearing more makeup than normal. Usually she wore just a touch.
"I'll be fine, as long as he stays away," she said sullenly.
Harry kept one arm around her shoulders and started walking her out of the common room and towards the Great Hall. "After you and Ginny left, McWilliams, the Prefect, told me he'd keep Ron in his room until ten. So as long as we make it to McGonagall's office by then, we won't have to see him until after we get back."
She nodded slowly. "Thanks, Harry."
He squeezed her shoulders a little in support. Looking the other way, he saw Ginny dutifully walking with them. "You all right this morning too?"
Ginny gave him a small but real smile. "I'm fine, other than wanting to hex my brother into little pieces. I think it will help all of us to get away from here for almost a week."
"I think you're right," he said as he reached out and squeezed her hand. She smiled gratefully, even if the show of concern was for only a moment.
They had breakfast in a mostly empty hall. The table with the most students was Ravenclaw, but that was because any from that house who were going home were to leave from between nine and ten. Gryffindor was not scheduled until from ten to eleven. Harry hoped to be at McGonagall's office a little before ten.
No one said much during breakfast, so they ate quickly. That allowed them to return to Gryffindor Tower by nine. They grabbed their book bags, which were acting as their travel bags, and took a seat in front of the fire. There, they softly talked and just enjoyed the closeness of each other's company. Everyone left them alone, for which they were grateful.
At a quarter to ten, they picked up their bags and headed out. They found Professor McGonagall's office door open and walked in. She was sitting at her desk in front of her fireplace.
"Good morning," she said in her usual no-nonsense manner as she checked their names off her list and started writing on a small piece of parchment. "You're a few minutes early, but that shouldn't be a problem. Professor Flitwick is at the Leaky Cauldron and you must check in with him before you leave." She held out the small parchment to them.
Harry took it and saw that it had their names on it and her signature. "Thank you, Professor."
"Do not fail to remember that you must return to the Leaky Cauldron between noon and two in the afternoon on the first of January or you will be serving detention with me," she said as she fixed them all with a stern look.
"We understand, Professor. We'll be there," Harry assured her.
"Before you go, Potter, I understand there were spells cast in anger in the common room late last night." Her look made it very clear she wanted an explanation.
"Yes, Professor. I felt it best to put Ron into a full body-bind to prevent further fighting. That was the only spell I cast." Harry did his best to give her a steady look, hoping for no punishment.
"I too cast a single spell at Ron, Professor," Ginny said in the long pause that followed. "I would appreciate it if you would consider it a family matter."
McGonagall's eyebrows rose almost to the top of her forehead. A"family matter" was something that was supposed to be ignored, as if the deed had happened at home. Ginny could only request that because Ron was her brother.
"I see," McGonagall said slowly. After a moment, she said, "Be that as it may, I still do not condone fighting of any sort in my house, particularly when spellcraft is involved. You must learn to settle your differences without physical acts. Five points each from Gryffindor for you, Mr Potter, and for you, Miss Weasley. Please try to find some peace in the holiday."
"Thank you, Professor," each student quietly said, glad they had not received a detention. They each took some Floo Powder from the jar that McGonagall held out and used it to leave the school.
At the Leaky Cauldron, they came out of the fireplace and saw Professor Flitwick. Harry handed the man the parchment.
Flitwick quickly read it. "Thank you, Mr Potter. A Happy Christmas and New Year to all three of you. Please don't forget to be here before two on the first of January."
"Thank you, and the same to you," Harry told him.
The trio went out the door and into Muggle London. To the right, they saw Dan and Emma standing in front of the bookstore, looking at the books in the window.
Despite being fifteen, Hermione ran over and cried, "Mum, Dad!" They turned and opened their arms, Emma hugging first. Harry walked faster than normal into Dan's arms first.
Ginny casually walked up behind them. She was surprised when Emma hugged her after Emma had finished hugging Harry. "How's my exercise partner?"
"Good. Harry and I have been exercising three mornings a week, but it will be fun to be back and doing exercises with you," Ginny told her. She looked up when Dan patted her lightly on the shoulder instead of hugging.
"Hello again, Ginny," Dan told her warmly. "All right everyone, let's go find the car." A few minutes later, Dan was taking them all home.
Emma twisted in her seat so she could talk to them as usual. Like the other times, she noticed that they sat in the same order. With an amused smile, she asked, "Do you always sit that way?"
"What?" Hermione asked, perplexed.
"Like that … Harry is always in the middle, you're on his left and Ginny is on his right. You sit like that on the couch at home, too," she pointed out.
The three looked at each other and shrugged with an amused look. "I, err, I guess it just happens," Harry finally answered.
"All right," Emma drawled and looked at Dan. He gave her a "whatever" look, so she returned to the children. "So, tell me about this term."
Hermione took the lead. "The term went quite well, Mum, except for the obvious problem. We've learned a lot, Professor Snape has left us alone, the strange Professor Moody has turned out to be a surprisingly good teacher if you ignore his gruffness, Harry didn't get hurt in the first task, we know what he's going to do for the second task, and our French lessons are going very well."
"I see." Emma looked out the window and gauged they had at least twenty more minutes before they got home. A glance at her husband showed him to be taking great care in the traffic which was heavier than normal. She did not know what to do now. The circumstances were not quite as she wanted them. She looked back to the back seat.
Hermione saw that her mother was uncomfortable and it was obvious it was not from what she had just said. Then she saw her mum glance at Ginny and she understood. "Mum, we know what you want to talk about and you can talk about it with all of us."
Emma's sight zeroed in on her daughter. She suppressed a sigh. If anyone would pick up on what was going on, it would be Hermione. The role reversal did not help the woman feel any more comfortable. "Hermione, now may not be the best time." How did she say this, she wondered.
"Mum, it's all right. We can talk about this with Ginny. She's our best friend and will continue to be so."
Harry took over where Hermione left off. "She's right, Mum. We're all best friends. Where one of us goes, we all go."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but it doesn't really work that way," Emma tried to explain. "Ginny's family may not see things the same way we do, and they may have a different decision for her." She tried to give a caring smile to the redheaded girl and was surprised to see a genuine smile coming back to her, as if Ginny was a lot more confident about all of this than she was.
"Don't worry, Mum, I can convince Mr Weasley if I need to," Harry said confidently. "We'll cross that bridge if required."
Emma was not sure what to think of that. Then she remembered the conversation at the end of the summer where Harry said he could bring Ginny into his family. Emma thought she understood, but had some trouble accepting the Wizarding custom.
"Go ahead and ask, Mum," Hermione told her. "You may find that we think the same way you do."
"You might as well, dear," Dan Granger said.
Emma nodded. "Very well." She looked at all three of them and saw that they were all looking at her intently, but without any worry. "Dan and I are really worried about you staying at Hogwarts, and we want you to change after this year." There, she had actually said it for the first time and it was a relief to finally bring the subject up. Everyone had talked about this possibility, but no definite decisions had been made. She and Dan had tried to avoid pushing too much, but she felt it was time to be more direct.
Harry chuckled, surprising both adults. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it Mum?"
"But…" Emma started to argue, then realized he was teasing her.
"Actually, all three of us really agree, Mum. We weren't joking or only trying to make you feel better when we said we wanted to change schools as soon as we could in our letters," Hermione told her, shocking both of her parents as if reading their minds. "As the Headmaster explained to you, Harry has to continue in the Triwizard Tournament or suffer magical consequences. If not for that, we would be willing to change schools right now between terms."
"Just like that?" Dan asked as he pulled onto the major motorway.
"Yes, Dad. We would be sad to leave friends, professors, and the school we know behind, but as long as the three of us are together, we think we can handle it. But…" Hermione looked at Harry.
"But there's a slight problem," Harry quickly took up the argument. "I may need to stay here in Britain for the spring term. Do you remember us visiting the Ministry last Christmas?"
"Yes," Emma answered. Her husband nodded as he drove.
"We have a meeting with them tomorrow to find out the status of a project we're working on with them. I found out it wouldn't be best for me to leave until that project is done, and we're not sure when it will be done," Harry explained. "However, I have the hope it will be completed sometime this summer, or we hope to make arrangements with them to do things from elsewhere."
"And because Harry has to stay, we'll all stay," Ginny said. When Emma looked at her, Ginny smiled. "They are my best friends and I'd do anything to help them, as they'd do anything to help me."
"Why?" Dan asked. "Why is that project so important?"
Harry took a deep breath, not really wanting to say this, but he knew he had to. "The man who killed my birth parents, and who tried to kill me as a baby … did some magic to sort of cheat death. A few of the Ministry officials and the Headmaster are letting us work with them, and we think we might have figured out what he did so we're trying our best to undo that." When Emma started to object, Harry quickly added, "They're doing the physical work, but we're helping with research and other easy parts. We have to do this right, or that Evil Wizard will fully return to life one day and restart his war. That's why life is difficult for me and why I have to stay at this time. Once that task is done, or they tell me I don't have to do anything else, we can definitely leave and change schools. We might be able to go sooner, but we'll have to talk to them first."
"Of course, we may not have to change schools once the Evil Wizard is dead," Hermione added. "Most of our problems should go away with him."
Emma slowly let out a long breath as she tried to come to grips with the bomb of information that had just been dropped on her. "Dan?" she said weakly.
"I have two questions," Dan said, as they sped down the road. "I noticed some uncertainty in your explanation, like: "trying", "most", "believe"… Is the outcome not certain? And why are we just finding out about this?"
"There is some uncertainty because we're having to work a problem backwards, Dad," Hermione explained without hesitation. "However, we all believe we have the answer, it's just a matter of finding all the pieces and putting them together. We will be successful; the only real question is if we will finish our tasks before the Evil Wizard gets a body back to restart his war. If he gets his body back, then it makes it more difficult for us, but we can still win."
"I'm not sure how he can survive without a body, but I'll take that on faith that it's possible with magic. The rest of the explanation I understand. Now, why are we only just now finding out about this?" Dan asked sternly.
"Because it's a secret and we really shouldn't be telling you, but we can see that you need to know and it's highly unlikely the bad guys would come after you," at least at this time, Harry mentally added to himself, not wanting to scare his parents more. "The three of us talked about this and decided it would be for the best to tell you," Harry said evenly. He looked at Dan in the mirror as the man thought about it. Emma had turned around and was sitting with her head against the head rest while staring out the front window as if unable to believe it all.
"So you hadn't planned on telling us?" Dan asked.
Harry could tell his "father" was getting more upset. "Dad, please understand that no one else is supposed to know, because if that information reaches the wrong people, they might bring the Evil Wizard back faster and prevent us from stopping him. We're not helping beyond research and planning, but you can help even less and it would be hard for you to protect yourselves from them. We had also hoped that we'd have solved the mystery and taken care of him before you found out. We didn't want you to worry."
Dan did not say anything for a moment as he pulled off the motorway and into the area where they lived. When he could glance back, he saw the kids look at one another and shrug or make gestures, having a silent conversation. After a few minutes, he asked, "So, if you didn't have this task to do, you would change schools right now?"
"Yes, Dad." "Yes, Dad." "Yes."
"We would do our best to find a way to work on this project to defeat the Evil Wizard while at our new school," Harry added.
The fact that he got three affirmatives made him feel a little better, even if he still did not completely understand what was going on, nor how Ginny fit into the picture. "We don't like this, but it appears we can't do much about it."
"That's OK, we don't like it either and we want it to be over with as soon as possible," Harry said, surprising the adults.
"Will you at least keep us informed?" Dan asked, cooling off a little.
"When we can," Harry agreed. "We have a meeting at the Ministry tomorrow morning. After that, we may not know much more until summer."
Dan turned onto their street. "I suppose that will have to do for now. Thank you for telling us."
"We're sorry we had to hold this back, Dad, but it is really, really secret. You can't tell anyone about this, not even Professor McGonagall when you meet with her," Hermione said, trying to impress upon him how special this was.
"I understand." Dan turned into their driveway and parked the car. "Please take your things in and unpack. If you could amuse yourselves for a bit, that would be helpful."
"Of course, Dad." Hermione took the keys from him so they could get their bags out of the boot and go into the house. She understood that her parents, and especially her mother, needed time to deal with this. She, Ginny, and Harry could keep themselves occupied for hours if required.
They had all gone to bed about fifteen minutes ago and the house was quiet, so Ginny got up and tip-toed to Hermione's room and shut the door quietly before going over and lying on Hermione's bed. The two looked at each other in the low light from the window and giggled.
«Do you suppose Harry knows we do this?» Ginny asked with a grin.
«I think so, especially after the time last year when he caught us talking in the common room, but I think he likes to pretend it doesn't happen.» This was one aspect of the bond that Hermione really liked: having a sister. Ginny was nicer than she ever expected, too. «So, what did you want to talk about?»
Ginny's fun expression turned serious very quickly. She also fingered the bed covering to study the texture carefully for a moment as the two girls laid on their side facing each other. «I … my feelings have been changing lately. I don't understand if it's just me, our bond, the fact that I'm getting older, the Tournament, or what, and … well, I'm a little scared.»
Hermione reached out and grasped Ginny's hand between them. «Tell me.»
Ginny smiled gratefully and felt a little better just talking about this with her scarily smart friend. «A couple of months ago, about the time the Tournament started, I started to feel a little differently about Harry. I…» she paused as she felt her face grow warm and stared at her hand. «I, I've been wanting him so bad when I'm with him. A few times, it's been hard to stop myself from touching him in some way and running my hands through his hair. When I'm with him, I want to kiss him, and I want to be with him - a lot. I don't have that tingly feeling like when we first bonded, but the feeling of closeness I have when I'm near him now is sort of like then. Do, do you feel like that with him?» She finally looked up and was happy that Hermione had a pleasant look and was not angry or jealous.
«I don't think anything is wrong,» Hermione told her as she gave the younger girl's hand a squeeze. «I think the timing with the Tournament is a coincidence because I haven't felt that way.»
«Good,» Ginny said gratefully. «That's one possibility down. Do you have any idea why I've been feeling this way?»
«I think it's you getting older. Maybe you're even subconsciously starting to look for a mate…»
«But I already have one.»
Hermione giggled. «I know, but that doesn't stop your feelings from thinking 'I'm growing up and I need a mate'. You are thirteen and heading onto fourteen. It wasn't uncommon for girls to be married at fourteen as little as hundred years ago. In fact, it's been that way for most of recorded history.»
Ginny considered that and had to admit that Hermione was right about the historical perspective. The laws governing marriage in the Wizarding World had hardly changed over the last couple of hundred years. She still had doubts. «What about you? Did you have thoughts like this last year?»
Now it was Hermione's turn to blush. «Some. I told myself it wasn't important, but I will admit to starting to notice Harry more and wanting to be near him about the time I turned fourteen. Harry had just turned thirteen, so he was starting to change and starting to look more grown up.» She smiled to herself. «While I do come to help protect you two while you exercise, at times, I do find myself ignoring my reading and just watching Harry exercise.»
A giggle escaped Ginny. She gave her friend's hand a squeeze. «Then it's nothing strange?»
«I don't think so, Ginny. You're just growing up.» Hermione's look turned more conspiratorial. «If it makes you feel better, I've noticed Harry checking you out sometimes when you exercise.»
Ginny smiled and blushed deeply. «I've seen him stare at you when you're reading sometimes, sort of like he's daydreaming about you. He gets the cutest smile when he does.»
Hermione blushed again. «We're all growing up.» She looked at her clock and saw that it was getting late. «You'd probably better go back.»
«OK. Thanks Hermione!» Ginny gave her sister-mate another hug before she crept out and back to her own room.
The next morning, Ginny heard the music coming from the room under her. With a smile, she jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed in her exercise clothes. Grabbing her miniaturized exercise step and her wand, she momentarily stopped by Harry's room before she hurried down and joined Emma as the woman was finishing stretching.
"Hi Ginny, I'm glad you're still doing this."
"I love doing it," Ginny told her enthusiastically. "Beside this, Harry has me doing callisthenic type exercises too."
"Good for him. By the way, where is he?" Emma asked good-naturedly.
"He should be here in a minute. I woke him up on my way down." Ginny blushed a little but kept on stretching.
"Hmm, will you stand for a minute please?"
Ginny complied. Harry came in at that time in shorts and a short-sleeved T-shirt, unlike Ginny's spandex outfit. He also had his shrunken step.
"'Morning, Harry."
"'Morning, Mum," Harry said, then happily gave her a quick hug.
Emma looked back at Ginny. "You've definitely filled out. I assume you've gained some muscle weight?"
Ginny blushed, and then harder when she noticed Harry was looking at her very appreciatively. "Yes. I weighed myself last night, and compared to the end of August, I've gained almost fifteen pounds. I also know I've grown almost a full inch too," she said proudly.
"I can tell." Emma squeezed Ginny's arm and looked down at her legs. "Yes, you're not so stick thin any more. It looks good on you." She looked at Harry. "You've bulked up a little as well."
"I think I've added a little more than ten pounds. I don't think my height has changed much," he told her.
"You're both growing up," the mother told them with a smile. "Stretch, Harry, and then we can get started."
The two teens enlarged their steps back to the proper size and then spent the next hour exercising with Emma. At the end, Harry and Ginny took a breather and then started doing push-ups and then crunches.
Emma watched them and marvelled at how many they did. "No wonder you two are putting on muscle."
Harry chuckled. "Dan took me to get a fitness book the day before we returned to school, and we've been following that. I usually conjure a pull-up bar and stand, and we have my small weight set, but I won't bother with that for the few days we're here."
When they finished, Harry said, "I'm going to grab a shower first." He quickly ran off, leaving Ginny chuckling. She stretched a little more, since she had the time.
Emma decided this was a good time to talk to the girl. "Ginny, can I ask you a few things."
Ginny was not too nervous. She felt she could avoid most of the troublesome questions with vague answers. "Uh, sure."
With a smile, Emma said, "Hermione said you got to be Harry's official date at the Yule Ball the other night. How did that go?"
The girl grinned as if she has won a special prize. "It was wonderful. Of course, I might have been his official date, but Hermione got to dance with him about half the time. We all had a great time."
Emma was pleased with that answer, because it led her to the question she had been seeking an answer to for some time, but had yet to get a good answer. "I'm glad you all had a good time. So tell me, how does that work with the three of you? Doesn't it cause fights between you and Hermione when you make Harry choose between the two of you?"
Ginny knew what Emma was trying to ask, and it was time for one of those vague answers. "It's not really a problem for us. We're all best friends and we have a good time together."
"But, what about choosing?" Emma asked in confusion.
"We don't. We enjoy the time together as it comes. Harry asked me to be his date because if he hadn't, then I couldn't have gone because I'm one year too young," Ginny explained as if it should have been obvious.
"But…"
"Emma, we really don't care since we're friends. We know decisions will probably have to be made some day, but we also know we have time before that becomes an issue. So for now, we just enjoy our time together as it happens." Ginny watched Emma trying to work through that and smiled to herself. They were going to have to tell the Grangers something soon, she thought.
The woman tried a different tack. "All right, that's now, but what about later, say in five years?" Emma's eyes suddenly went wide. "Please tell me they don't allow for multiple wives. I thought Sirius said they don't do that anymore."
Ginny chuckled and thought: If you only knew. "Generally, no, it's not common anymore - or at least it's not in Britain amongst wizards and witches."
Emma exhaled and smiled in relief.
"On the other hand, my brother lives in Egypt and he's told me that in that country, you can still find sheiks who live in tents and have multiple wives. That's probably true for some other countries, too. Hermione told me that some of the Muggles still do that all over the world, though, depending on their religion or something."
"You mean like a harem?" Emma's voice went up in great surprise.
"I suppose. We used to allow multiple wives here until about a couple of hundred years or so ago," Ginny told her, enjoying the many looks of confusion and then surprise on the woman.
"But, that's just - so outdated…"
Ginny chuckled. "You have to remember that we're at least several hundred years behind you. Think what it was like five hundred years ago here, when kings, dukes, and knights were normal. Men had multiple wives then. Now, some still do, even if they try to hide it and call them mistresses," she said a little sadly and shook her head in disparagement.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, wondering how that worked.
"Well, if they were truly multiple wives, like in the old days, it wouldn't be as bad as they would all have the proper status. But now, in some of the older and stupider families," Ginny said derisively, "the man will marry a woman for political or business gains, like to merge two families for more power. He'll use her to have an heir, then he'll take a 'mistress'," she said with air-quotes, "and spend most of his time with her because she's the one he loves. She may get time with him and he may buy her things, but that's all she ever gets from him. No name, no inheritance, and if she gets pregnant, she is looked down upon as something just above dirt. The Wizarding World is far from perfect."
Emma just blinked, not quite able to take that concept in at first hearing. "That's so bizarre as to be unthinkable. In our society, she wouldn't be treated so poorly, though people might think she made a bad choice in the first place to be a mistress, but they wouldn't treat that badly."
Ginny shrugged. "I don't like parts of it, but it's normal to me. I grew up knowing that." She stood, thinking Harry should be done with his shower by now.
"I don't think Hermione would do that." Emma looked at her carefully. "Would you ever do that?"
Ginny realized this was an opportunity not to be missed. She could prepare the way, so to speak. "Be a mistress? Nope. Be a second wife, a real wife? Generally not. But to someone like Harry who is a wonderful person and is so honest he'd never cheat on his wife, let alone think of abusing one? I'd give serious thought to being a second wife to someone like him…" She paused and flashed Emma an impish grin. "But what are the odds I'd ever have that chance?" she asked before walking out of the door.
Emma continued to sit on the floor thinking that through. The whole conversation was like adding two and two and getting five and a third. It did not compute. To make it worse, she thought Ginny was teasing her at the end, but what if she was serious?
With a shudder, Emma slowly got up and went upstairs to get ready for the day. As she passed the kitchen, she saw Harry starting to work on breakfast. He was happily humming to himself as he worked. Harry was a very sweet boy and was rapidly turning into a fine young man. The thought of him having two real wives, as Ginny put it, caused her brain to twist. She shook her head and started for her room again. What had they got themselves into when they gave birth to a witch?
Emma drove the teens into London and to the Leaky Cauldron. She had a set of "outer robes", which she donned when they reached the door to the pub. She also had Hermione's Modern Magical History, which said it covered the last four hundred years. She watched the three children take the Floo to the Ministry, while she gave Tom the bartender a Sickle and got a Butterbeer, and asked him to bring her another one shortly. Grabbing a booth that had a good view of the fireplace, she started reading, trying to find corroboration of what Ginny had told her.
The trio found Emma's actions that morning intriguing. She had insisted on driving them down and waiting for them. She had also requested one of Hermione's history books. Only Ginny had a clue as to why Emma was doing that, and she kept that information solidly to herself, amused at what she thought Emma was thinking.
They came out of a fireplace at the Ministry. This time, Amelia Bones was waiting for them. She escorted them down to Croaker's office. The man cast multiple privacy spells on the room.
"There, that should hold us. Welcome to my office again, and thank you for coming," the head Unspeakable greeted them.
"We appreciate you sharing information with us, unlike some," Harry said, unable to stop his dig at Dumbledore.
Croaker chuckled, but Bones passively sat there. "I assume you have not gotten the prophecy out of your Headmaster?"
"No sir, and to be honest, I've stopped trying. He seems to have his own view of the world that does not include sharing information with me. You've helped me understand what the main part of the prophecy most likely says, and that's good enough for me," Harry explained.
"That's certainly your choice," Croaker said with a slight nod of acknowledgement. "Well, I'm happy to report good progress. A little over a month ago, we concluded negotiations with the Goblins. With a few concessions on our part, that we at the Ministry really should have done years ago anyway, and by way of some trickery, Bellatrix Lestrange signed a letter of consent, which was the most important part … we were able to enter her vault where we found a cursed cup. We removed the curse right there and left, with the cup still sitting on the shelf."
"Yes," Harry practically hissed in jubilation, "another one down." The girls squealed and gave him a quick hug.
Bones smiled and Croaker laughed. "Well, if you're happy about that, I should also say that we found another yesterday."
"You did?" Harry asked amazed.
"We had guessed that Voldemort left one at Hogwarts, and I considered that those most knowledgeable about the castle were not the Headmaster, but the house elves..."
"Of course," Hermione said, sounding as if she was berating herself for missing the obvious.
"So," Croaker continued with a big smile, "we asked them and they retrieved Ravenclaw's diadem from some hidden storage closet and brought it to us. We removed the curse on it last night."
"Brilliant! So that's…" Harry counted mentally, "four. So, two more?"
"So Dumbledore thinks, at any rate. The problem is, we aren't really sure," Croaker said, not completely happy with having to say that. "However, there is yet one more piece of good news."
"Yes," Harry said, moving forward in his seat slightly. The girls looked just as eager.
"We found the hiding place of another, but it was empty."
"Wait," Hermione said with a puzzled look. "If it was empty, how do you know that a Horcrux used to be there?"
Bones chuckled at Croaker's chagrined look.
"You really must interview with us when you finish school, Miss Granger," Croaker said with a smile slowing coming over him. "We found a replacement and a note with the person saying they had the Horcrux and planned to destroy it. The obvious problem is we don't know if the person was successful."
"So it's lost?" Hermione asked him.
"At least at the moment, but we do have a clue. The note had some initials in it. Logic states that the person was most likely a Death Eater who turned betrayer. I've handed that problem to Amelia." Croaker looked at the woman.
"I, of course, have access to the lists of known and suspected Death Eaters from the last war. There is only one person who had matching initials," Bones explained.
The trio looked at each other and grinned, anticipating success.
"Unfortunately, that person is known to be dead. He had one relative, who fortunately for us, is on our side and is not a Voldemort sympathizer." She smiled at him in anticipation of his reaction. "That living person is your godfather, Sirius Black."
Ginny squealed and hugged Harry. "He'll help us for sure. What are you looking for?"
"A heavy gold locket with a snake on the front." Croaker pulled out a drawing and showed the trio.
Harry's eyes went wide. "I've seen that. It's in Sirius's living room in a glass case."
Croaker looked very pleased. "That would be most serendipitous. Amelia?"
"Absolutely. Harry?" She looked at the boy with a charming smile. "How would you like to come with me to visit your godfather for a few minutes?"
He stood. "I'd like that, but you know it's going to be difficult to not tell him why you want it."
"Just leave that to me," she told him as she guided him out of the room and back to the atrium.
While they were gone, Hermione looked at the Unspeakable. "Mr Croaker? Do you have any idea what the last one is or where it might be?"
He blew out a deep breath. "I'm afraid I have to say no to both questions." He spoke with the girls for the next twenty minutes about various possibilities, based on what had been found so far.
Harry burst into the room very happy and plopped backed into his chair. "We got it!"
Amelia smugly walked in and placed a heavy gold locket on Croaker's desk. "I trust I can watch its destruction this afternoon?"
"Hmm, it may have to be tomorrow morning. Our curse breaker is out on assignment at the moment. Nevertheless, we're one closer." Croaker looked very pleased.
"So one more?" Harry asked, practically jumping.
"One more," he agreed. "However, as I was telling your good friends, we don't know what or where, but we will keep looking. In the meantime, keep training, Harry. Amelia and I will do our best to protect you and be there when he shows up again, but you will have some part in his destruction. That's all but guaranteed."
Harry nodded firmly. "I understand. We're training and I think it's going well. I thought being in the Triwizard Tournament was going to be bad for me. I suppose it has been, at least a little, but in some ways, having to train for it has helped me."
"I'm glad some good has come out of that," Bones told him.
"There is one potential problem," Hermione said hesitantly. When the adults looked at her, she told them, "At this time, we're planning on changing schools next year. So if we don't finish this by the end of the summer, we'll need to make plans on how to let us know if we need to return for Harry to finish off Voldemort."
Croaker and Bones shared concerned looks.
"I'm willing to finish him off," Harry said, "but we and our parents are tired of Dumbledore and his games."
"Will you return after you take your NEWTs?" Bones quietly asked.
"I don't know, but probably." Harry looked at his girls, but they did not offer any advice. "We haven't discussed it yet, but it will probably depend on whether Dumbledore and everyone else who wants to tell us what to do leaves us alone."
Croaker looked thoughtful at the answer. "Why don't we wait and see what's happened by this summer? Perhaps it will all work itself out by then. If not, I'm sure we can come up with something. Between the Director and myself, we have many resources available to us. I'm sure we can figure something out." He raised a brow at Bones.
"I'm sure we can work something out," she agreed pleasantly. "If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll escort all of you back."
The trio told Croaker good-bye. As Bones started to lead them back to the atrium, Ginny quickly spoke up.
"Madam Bones? Could you take us by my father's office? Please?"
Bones looked at her for a moment before she smiled. "I don't see why not, assuming he's in." She led them to the fourth floor and through a short maze of corridors to an office, where she knocked on the door.
The door was opened by a man with graying hair. "Director Bones?"
"Hello, Perkins, is Arthur in?"
"Yes, he is. Arthur?"
"Right here." Arthur Weasley appeared and opened the door further. "What can I … Ginny!"
"I'll let you escort them out," Bones said as she withdrew with a smile.
"Why don't you… No, that won't work." Arthur sounded a little frustrated. "Say, Perkins, can you take an early lunch?"
"Sure, Weasley. Will an hour work?"
"That would be wonderful."
Perkins grabbed his hat and left with a brief nod and smile at the children.
"Come in, come in," Arthur directed them enthusiastically into the small office. "It'll be a little cramped, but this is probably the best place for now." He conjured one chair, then stopped, not sure if there was enough space for a third.
"That's all right, Mr Weasley," Hermione said as she nudged Harry in direction of Perkins' chair. After he sat, she motioned Ginny to sit in his lap while she took the conjured chair.
Arthur raised an eyebrow at the seating arrangements.
"We're all only friends, Dad," Ginny said. "Hermione usually does this when we're a seat short because I'm the lightest."
"Right," her father said with a knowing smile. "I'm glad to see you, Ginny. How have you been doing since the last letter you sent me?"
"We've all been very busy, but we're all also happy. Harry took me to the Yule Ball at school. We had a lovely evening."
Arthur gave her a knowing look, noting again that his daughter was sitting in Harry's lap. "While I'm always happy to see you and your friends, what are you doing down at the Ministry?"
"I needed to talk to Madam Bones about some things that happened to me in the past," Harry said quickly. "I guess this is one of those cases where fame can open doors," he said a little shyly.
Arthur smiled knowingly. "I understand."
"How have you been doing, Dad?"
"Besides missing you?" he asked with a caring look. "Your mother and I have been rather well. I believe she's mostly over Percy's leaving, although she has looked rather down since none of you children came home for Christmas."
"But how about you?" Ginny asked.
He gave her a very pleased look. "I do miss you, Ginny, and the house is very quiet, but I'm doing well. I now have a secret lunch with Percy once a week," he told her with a smile just for her. "I also want to thank you for the book you sent me about how things work, explaining Muggle items. I've found it very fascinating."
"You're welcome," his daughter told him. "Hermione helped me find it when I came up with the idea."
"Then my thanks to you as well," he said, inclining his head towards Hermione.
"I hate to end this, but we should probably go before my mother gets too worried," Hermione told them.
"Of course, we wouldn't want that. Let me lead you back to the atrium. How did you get here?" He Vanished the chair after Hermione stood and then opened the door to take them out.
"Mrs Granger drove us to the Leaky Cauldron and we took the Floo from there," Ginny answered.
Arthur nodded. "That sounds very easy. Will you be home during Easter break?"
"I don't know yet. The Tournament has changed so many schedules," Ginny answered. "We almost didn't get to go to Hermione's house this week."
"I see." Arthur led them to the atrium in silence for a few minutes. "The Floo Powder is in the little pots next to the fireplace." His mask cracked and he suddenly looked sad as he pulled Ginny into a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, Ginny. Call me if anything goes wrong and I'll be there for you."
She hugged him back tightly. "Thank you, Daddy. I love you too."
When he let go of his daughter, he gave a kind smile and a pat on the shoulder to both Harry and Hermione before he quickly turned and strode back to his office.
"I think he's lonely," Hermione said softly.
"I think you're right," Ginny said a little sadly.
Harry grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze before he pulled her to the bank of fireplaces.
They each tossed some Floo Powder in, one after the other, and returned to the Leaky Cauldron. Back at the pub, Emma looked very relieved to see them.
In the car, Harry told her, "Mum, we have good news. You can tell Dad that good progress has been made on taking care of the evil wizard Voldemort. They are getting close to being done. Still, no one knows exactly when we'll be done."
"But it's good that you're getting closer, right?" she asked, hoping for a good answer.
"Yes, Mum," Hermione answered. "We're getting very close with only two tasks left and we're all excited about that. We also mentioned changing schools next year and they seemed agreeable to working with us when we do."
"Your father will be happy to hear that too." Emma continued to drive them to their next stop, not sure why they wanted to go to a sporting goods store. She was happy for their news, and yet she mentally cursed the destiny that had been given to the wonderful boy she thought of as her son.
That evening, Sirius stopped by for dinner with a medium-sized brightly wrapped box. "Hi, Harry!" he called to his godson as he wrapped the young man in a hug. "Have you had a Happy Christmas?"
"Yeah, it's been pretty good," he replied, ignoring what had happened with Ron.
"Well, here's your present. It's what you asked for, plus a little something special from Moony and me."
Harry took the box from him as he gave his godfather a questioning look. "How do I know it's safe now?"
Sirius threw both hands over his heart and gave a fake shocked look. "Oh, Harry! You wound me. Not trusting a Marauder?"
Ginny snorted; Hermione rolled her eyes; the Grangers chuckled.
"No," Harry said very succinctly.
Sirius laughed. "Normally you'd be right to be dubious, but not today." When Harry continued to look at the box with suspicion, Sirius sighed. "Honestly, Harry, you can open that without worry. Moony and I did add to it, but in a good way."
Knowing he did not really have any reason to delay any longer without hurting the man's feelings, Harry unwrapped the gift. When he opened the box, he saw that it contained three wooden boxes each about the size of a short loaf of bread. He looked up at his godfather.
"They're all the same, Harry."
Harry nodded and pulled them out, setting one in front of Hermione, one in front of Ginny, and finally one in front of himself.
"Is this the present you said would be coming later?" Hermione asked him.
"I thought we needed these," Harry said with a nod as he pulled his wand out and tapped the top of the little box. When he did so, it expanded and became the size of a normal trunk. He also noticed that one end had retractable wheels for easy rolling.
"Really?" Ginny said excitedly and pulled her wand out and expanded her new trunk too. Hermione followed suit.
"To key them to yourselves, put your hand on the latch and cast a mild Stinging hex on some other part of the latch." When Harry looked at him with a questioning look, Sirius said, "Yes, I mean it. We thought it was non-obvious. Once you do that, it's yours and it would take some very serious work to remove you from it."
The three keyed their trunk to themselves.
"Moony and I added several protections beyond the standard ones. If someone tries to break into your trunk, you'll know it. Now, open them up."
The teens looked in their trunks.
"You'll find a little lever in there. The position it's in determines which of the three compartments you access. Just move the lever, close, and reopen to lid to get to another compartment. It'll be like having three trunks in one," Sirius said, grinning as he watched the girls' faces light up.
Ginny was the first to try it. "Amazing…" She looked up at Harry who was watching her with a smile too. She launched herself at Harry, tackling him to the floor and hugging him. He started laughing as they rolled over. Hermione joined in by throwing herself onto the pile. The adults laughed as they watched the teens act like, well, like little kids.
When they broke apart, Hermione kissed Harry on briefly on the cheek. "Thank you, Harry. Now I can take all my books with me."
"And I can take all my clothes with me," Ginny quickly added before she kissed him quickly on the cheek.
"What are you going to put into your trunk, Harry?" Emma asked.
"A little of this and that, but I thought the girls needed it more, especially when we change schools," he explained. "I told Sirius what I wanted and he found them for me." He looked at his godfather. "Thank you."
"Any time, Harry, any time…"
(A/N: Surely, in the 3½ years they've been at the school, they've heard a Merperson at least once. Yes, I gave them a little help and had it happen "recently", but I do think the sound of a Merperson shouting about something should be recognizable because it's so different.)