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Author: Gridley Story: Harry Potter and the Bond Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 8 Words: 22,128
"Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter must wake up!" Harry was able to identify that voice easily enough. Dobby was here. Now all I have to do is figure out where 'here' is. He tried to sit up and realized there was a weight on his chest. One of his arms was trapped under it too. Reaching around vaguely with his other arm, he encountered soft hair. The shock of realization brought everything back. Remus. Ginny. The Room of Requirement. They had linked again. Then they had passed out. As his brain ran through all this, his hand had started absently stroking Ginny's hair. Stop that. "Harry Potter, sir! Everyone is looking for Harry Potter and Miss Weasley!" How long were we out? "Hello, Dobby." Ginny's voice was slightly muffled, because her face was in Harry's chest. She lifted it and looked fuzzily into Harry's eyes. She smiled. "Hello, Harry." She slid forward and kissed him. Harry was fully prepared to let the kiss go on, but Dobby had other ideas. He shook Harry's shoulder frantically, hard enough that Ginny lost her balance and slid off Harry with a squeak. "Please, Harry Potter, sir! Albus Dumbledore is saying he needs to see Harry Potter at once!" "Right, right, I'm up." Suiting actions to words, Harry stood, reaching down a hand to help Ginny off the floor. "Where's Dumbledore?" "Dobby will get him, sir!" Dobby sounded relieved and vanished with a sharp crack! "Dumbledore...Harry, we linked again." Ginny sounded fully awake for the first time. "Um, yes. What did you see?" "All of us on the Hogwarts Express - the day we met Professor Lupin. Then you talking to him about...Sirius...then the time in class when Colin asked about people who'd used Unforgivables. Then you and Lupin again. Then...in the Shrieking Shack at the end of my second year, when Ron's leg got broken." Ginny took a breath and met his eyes. "That's all I remember. What did you see?" Harry was surprised. They'd never seen the same thing before. "I saw...I mean," he shook his head and started over. "Those were what I saw, too." She nodded slowly. "So this really was different, then. I wonder." Harry was puzzled. "Wonder what?" "How we linked without making eye contact." Harry opened his mouth, shut it again, then ran back through his memories. Yes. My eyes were closed. "You never told me you knocked Snape out cold," she accused him. "I'm sorry. Sometimes it's hard to remember what you know and what you don't." "Well, it's alright. I'll take it out on Ron. My prat of a brother deserves it on general principles anyway. And he didn't tell me either." Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide. "For that matter, neither did you." Harry was puzzled. "I thought we just established that." Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry. You three knocking out Snape wasn't one of the things we saw when we linked, and you never told me about it. Nor did anyone." "So you're saying...you're saying you got a bit of my memories somehow." Harry blushed. There were plenty of memories he really hoped she didn't get. There was a knock on the door - or rather the doorframe. Dumbledore stood in the doorway, eyeing the shattered remains of the door with a twinkle in his eye. "Your work I presume, Miss Weasley?" Ginny blushed until her face was almost as red as her hair and nodded once, jerkily. "Well, I think we can forgo any loss of house points under the circumstances. I was rather forceful in insisting that Mr. Potter be found." Footsteps came thundering down the corridor. Hermione, Ron, and Dean skidded into sight behind Dumbledore, looks of relief on their faces as they spotted Harry. The twinkle faded from Dumbledore's eyes at his next words. "I think you should know, Harry, that Remus passed away very shortly after you left. I know this is not what you wish to consider, but I must ask if you intend to honor his last request." Harry squeezed his eyes shut. No, I don't want to do this now. I can't do this now. So? Since when has that mattered? You always wind up doing the impossible. It isn't fair! Neither is what happened to Remus. Harry's whole body shook, but his voice was steady. "All right. I'll do it." Ron, Hermione, and Dean looked at each other, looked at Dumbledore, then turned to Harry, and in perfect unison said, "Do what?" ~~ Harry watched Hedwig soar off. He hadn't wanted to use her. She'd been his first friend after Hagrid, his constant companion even more so than his school friends, for she'd been with him through the summers. But Pettigrew wouldn't be easy to find. If any owl could find him, it would be her. He'd offered to use another owl, explaining it was dangerous, but she'd glared at him and snapped the message out of his hand. He'd patted her head to soothe her, and she'd been willing to nip his finger affectionately before she flew off. "Come back to me, girl. Just come back," he whispered, watching her fade into a dot of white and vanish against the sky. ~~ Harry watched the ceiling closely the next morning, willing Hedwig to return - whether her message had been delivered or not. He didn't notice his hand being lifted, his fingers being closed around a fork, nor as his arm was pushed into a clumsy stab that speared a piece of toast. His eyes never left the ceiling as his hand was swung up, the toast at the end slamming into his closed lips. "Wha-?" Harry gasped, dropping fork and toast as his eyes jerked away from the ceiling. "I'm impressed," Ginny's voice answered from the right. "I haven't seen anyone that far gone at breakfast since the Cannons had an overnight match." "I was wearing a brand new Cannons shirt, too." Ron glared at his sister. "It took Mum ages to get the porridge out." "Well, someone had to make sure you ate. You're just lucky you have such a generous, caring sister." Ginny smiled sweetly at her brother, then turned back to Harry. "Or girlfriend, as the case may be." "I was just watching for Hedwig," snapped Harry irritably, dabbing with his napkin at the butter stains on his lap. Ginny's smile faded, and she put her arm around him. "I know, Harry, but starving yourself won't make her come any faster." ~~ "Harry was very distracted at breakfast. He kept looking up at the ceiling, and his eyes tracked every owl that came in." "Did he talk to his friends at all?" "Yes, but I was too far away." "You couldn't hear anything of what they were saying?" "No. But Harry was definitely watching for owls. He must have been waiting for a message." "Interesting. There are very, very, few people he could be writing to, outside of Hogwarts. Keep an eye on him. Let me know at once if he receives any messages." "Of course." "And now, go quickly. You have done well, but it would be better if others didn't see you here." ~~ It was two days before Hedwig returned. She soared in, landed in front of Harry, casually dropped a note on his plate, turned, spread her wings, and was seized and pulled close to Harry in a completely undignified hug. Hedwig squawked in protest, attempted to fight her way clear with her wings, then gave in and accepted the gesture. Harry released her after a moment. She gave him a look that said quite plainly that she appreciated his concern, but would never admit it, stole his bacon, and flew off. Harry reached for the note, but Hermione grabbed his hand. "I don't think you should open that, Harry." "What's Harry supposed to do? Ask Professor Trelawney what it says?" Ron's voice became high pitched and mystical. "Oh, Harry, getting a letter on your plate is a sure sign that your death is near...." "She's right," Harry put in. "I'll take it to Professor Dumbledore." He stood up and walked towards the head table. Dumbledore simply nodded when Harry held up the roll of parchment, stood and gestured for them to precede him towards his office. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny trailed after them as they left the hall. In his office, Dumbledore placed the parchment carefully on what looked like a silver scale. He inspected it for a moment, then nodded and handed the letter to Harry. "There is no magical signature. No spells have been cast on it." Harry opened the parchment with some anxiety. Harry, I suspect it was as hard for you to write your letter to me as it is for me to write to you, though for different reasons. While you may not believe it, I am sorry I was not able to warn Remus in time. The Dark Lord had originally wanted me to kill him, but I persuaded him that, even with my silver hand, I was not powerful enough to beat him. Partially, that was because I didn't believe I was. But mostly it was because I didn't want to fight him. I found out he had given the task to someone else at the last minute. I am not strong enough to stand against the Dark Lord either. But perhaps my Animagus form can show me the way. The Dark Lord is planning a new attack. The vampire and Dementor attacks are merely distractions. He is planning to attack the families of your closest friends. I think he hopes to bring you out into the open, and at the same time, frighten those who might oppose him into submission. I do not know when the attack will take place, but perhaps knowing it is coming is enough. I must also warn you - Serverus is back with Voldemort. I saw him clearly six days ago, in the late evening. He had taken his hood off, and he Apparated away an instant later, but I saw him clearly. Peter Without saying a word, Harry held out the letter to his friends. Ron took it, Hermione and Ginny reading it over his shoulders. Ron then passed it to Dumbledore, who looked up once he had finished. "You have done a good thing today, Harry. Peter has made the first, and hardest, step on a long road. In the end, that may matter a great deal. Now if you will all excuse me, I need to contact the Ministry. It is important that they have this information." "Professor," Hermione said hesitantly, "Isn't it possible it's a trick? That Voldemort knows what Peter wrote?" Dumbledore nodded. "It is possible, Miss Granger. But I think it unlikely. Had Peter written this letter at Voldemort's direction, I think he would have signed it differently." "Wormtail," offered Harry quietly. Dumbledore nodded. "Exactly. Voldemort has long known the names the Marauders used to call themselves. He would wish to emphasize that link, in hopes that we would believe the message more. Peter, I think, had other motivation." Harry turned and walked out, leaving the letter behind, wishing he could leave it all behind. He stopped outside the office and pressed his face into the wall, wishing he could burrow into the stone and hide there. Ginny came up behind him and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. He covered one of her hands with his and squeezed it gently. Neither one said anything. Neither one needed to. They were together. For the moment, that was enough. End Chapter 4 Author's Note: I am heartily sorry about Remus. One of the teething plot bunnies in my head is a Remus-heavy story, particularly after watching a few bits of PoA on the silver screen - the Dementor training scenes, to be precise. I'm also sorry about the long delay between the last chapter and this one. For some reason this chapter was very difficult to write, and I was sidetracked by a plot bunny which became an entry in the Summer Angst contest. The next chapter will also be a while in coming, as I have this little wedding to attend (my own).
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