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Author: buzzzz Story: The Gryffin Councilor Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 6 Words: 56,992
AN: All characters belong to Ms Rowling… ………………………. Harry Potter sipped on his butterbeer and looked around at the people enjoying themselves. The party at The Burrow was drawing to a close and he watched as one by one all the families went up to Arthur and Molly Weasley, said their good byes and left. All in all it had been a great party, even after the little episode between him and Malfoy. The music by the latest wizarding band, Skeletons on a Tin Roof, had been great and he had seen most wizards and witches dance at least once. Molly had outdone herself with the food, which, despite the family’s protests, she had prepared herself. Lively talk over expensive wine had been the norm after dinner and most guests had been impressed. Harry could see that Arthur was going to be a rather popular Minister. He turned his gaze to a small group of red heads who were obviously arguing. He could see Ginny waving her arms wildly, her face flushed, obviously angry about something. The twins stood by Ron as he took on the full brunt of Ginny’s anger. It was obvious what they were fighting about. In fact, he had been amazed how the two of them had managed to be civil to each other all through the party after what had happened. Following Harry’s little outburst, where Harry had threatened and then let Malfoy go, Malfoy had left The Burrow and Ginny had been furious. Fortunately for Harry, it had seemed as if he had jumped in only when Ron was in extreme danger, and his interference seemed legitimate. Of course his display of power was going to make the front page of tomorrow’s papers, but that did not worry Harry. If anything, it was just going to increase his image as a wizard powerful enough to control the Castle. Being such an unknown, Evans needed all the good publicity he could get. What worried Harry more were the exact words he had used. He knew Hermione would spend hours figuring out why he had said those exact words. If only he could gather the courage to tell her who he was. If only it was easy to tell one of your best friends that her husband had lied to her for ten years and that you had intentionally excluded her from your life. Harry sighed and focused again on the group. He saw that Hermione had now joined them and was speaking to Ginny. He saw the rest of the Weasley family walk up to them and realized that he was the only guest left. For a moment he had forgotten that he was also a guest and needed to leave. With that thought, Harry got up and walked over to Arthur to say his goodbye. ……………………….. The last of the guests and family members had finally left The Burrow after the Weasley family reunion, leaving Hermione and Ginny to clean up the mess. Both witches were exhausted from the festivities, but that hadn’t stopped Hermione from talking non-stop. Her chatter was irritating Ginny no end. “Would you just stop Hermione? You are giving me a headache!” Ginny exclaimed finally. That made Hermione stop banishing left over food and glare at Ginny. “I can’t believe no one is excited about the fact that Evans may be Harry!” She said, looking furious. “Oh Merlin!” Ginny threw up her hands. “Will you ever quit, Hermione? There is no proof that he is Harry!” “Of course there is proof…” started Hermione, but Ginny interrupted her. “Oh yeah!” She exclaimed, “Like what?” “If you had been listening for the last half an hour, you would know!” huffed Hermione and then sat down on the couch. Ginny stopped what she was doing. “Hermione,” she began in her most convincing voice. “You have nothing to even suspect it. Personally, I think the Council got some powerful wizard who the public would not accept, got him to change his appearance and are just leaving obvious clues to make people think he is the Boy-Who-Lived back from the grave so that he can get the respect and awe the Headmaster of Hogwarts needs.” Hermione looked at Ginny thoughtfully and then, getting up from the couch, she began to pace the floor. She spoke again after what seemed to be a long silence. “Why didn’t I think of that? I always wondered why someone would choose such an obvious name if they wanted to hide!” She went on, obviously excited by the idea. “And it must be someone powerful, maybe even a wizard who was dark.” She stopped and furrowed her brows “But it still doesn’t explain how come we don’t know him if he was in Gryffindor with us!” “You read the records Hermione!” said Ginny. “It seems he was given a special room by Dumbledore. He must have been very powerful even back then.” “But if his name is not Evans, those records would not be his, would they?” asked Hermione. “Maybe they changed the name on the records too,” said Ginny, shrugging. Hermione looked deep in thought once again and then spoke softly to herself. “It still doesn’t explain…” “What?” asked Ginny. “It still doesn’t explain what Malfoy did in the ring, or what Evans said to Malfoy today,” said Hermione, but suddenly realized that she had spoken out loud and covered her mouth in surprise. Ginny eyed her suspiciously. “What did Malfoy show him in the ring?” she asked. “You saw it too, didn’t you? Inside the ring, you would have!” “It was nothing Ginny,” said Hermione averting her eyes. “Oh, you are not getting away that easily! Tell me what you know,” Ginny said adamantly. Hermione looked for a moment as if she was debating with herself, but then she sat down and threw up her hands in defeat. “Oh well, I guess I can tell you. Come and sit down and I'll tell you the rest.” Ginny walked up to Hermione and sat down beside her on the couch, folding her legs under herself. Hermione was fidgeting as she began. “Erm… I want you to know Ginny that I feel you have a right to live your life in anyway you want to, and despite the fact that I do not approve of your relationship with Malfoy, I do not approve of Ron’s fighting over it either. If you are happy with Malfoy I will support your decision.” “What does this have to do with Evans and Malfoy?” Ginny asked suspiciously. “Well… Malfoy showed Evans a scene of you and him… you know… doing it,” said Hermione, now blushing red. “Me and Malfoy...” Ginny began to shake her head, but continued. “Oh, no… that git! There is nothing between me and Malfoy. He was just another one of the many...” Ginny suddenly stopped and looked back at Hermione suspiciously. “… but why would Malfoy show that to Evans?” she asked. “And why do that in the middle of a duel?” Hermione took a deep breath and ploughed on. “I am guessing that Malfoy went there for the same purpose as I. He obviously suspected Evans to be someone that cares for you. Maybe he even suspected him to be Harry. What I didn’t know till today was if Malfoy got a rise out of Evans in the ring.” “What do you mean you didn’t know till today?” asked Ginny, scooting closer to Hermione. “You know now?” “At the party when Evans stopped the curse from Ron, he said something to Malfoy,” replied Hermione. “He said that he had warned Malfoy that if Malfoy hurt your family or if he insulted you again, Evans will kill him” “And… how does that tell us anything?” asked Ginny, her brows furrowed. “He said that he had already warned Malfoy. And he said Malfoy was insulting you again,” Hermione spoke the two words with extra emphasis “… I'm guessing that the first time was when Malfoy showed him that scene. I think Evans and Malfoy had already exchanged a few words on that incident.” Hermione turned to Ginny and looked at her with an excited gaze. “I think Evans is someone who cares for you Ginny,” she said. “And why does that make you think it’s Harry?” Ginny spat back. “Harry never cared for me. Don’t you remember what happened?” “He cared for you Ginny,” said Hermione in a knowing voice. “I think it’s you who doesn’t remember what happened. Also it surprised me how close Evans and Ron got at the party today. They were inseparable. Ron doesn’t make friends that fast.” “Evans saved Ron’s life today,” Ginny countered. “...and come on Hermione... if Ron knew it was Harry wouldn’t he tell you?” “I am not sure he would, Ginny,” Hermione said, looking very thoughtful. “In Harry's case I am really not sure.” But Ginny was on a roll now; she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Hermione. “And then Harry and Dumbledore died three years ago!” she exclaimed. “Wouldn’t the Ministry tell everyone if Harry was alive? On top of that, Ron and Harry worked together as Aurors for nine years and did not meet. Why would they be so close all of a sudden?” “The Ministry hasn’t said Harry died, just that he disappeared,” explained Hermione. “And while researching Harry’s career for my book, I came upon some records at the Ministry that didn’t make sense at all. Harry wasn’t an ordinary Auror. He worked as a sort of on-contract person for the Ministry but did most things on his own. I couldn’t get how he managed that with the Ministry, but what I did find out was that his contact with the Ministry Aurors was strictly through selected people.” Ginny began to understand what Hermione was getting at. “So you mean that Ron and Harry never met because Harry was never with the Aurors…” Hermione looked at Ginny strangely. “Either that, or maybe Ron was his point of contact,” Hermione said, confirming Ginny's suspicions. The two witches were silent in thought for a long time. Finally, Ginny got up to leave. “Hermione,” she said. “I think you are speculating too much. It’s likely that it’s not Harry. I'm sure we will find out who it is eventually. Stop obsessing over it and get some rest.” With a hug for her sister-in-law, Ginny Weasley went up to bed. It had been a long day. ……………………… Hogwarts had always been like a home to Harry. It was, therefore, hardly surprising that every moment back in the school brought back memories of his student years. He could see the reflections of his friends in several of his pupils, his relationship with Snape was as bad as ever, and teaching classes was almost like teaching the DA. Harry had fallen into a routine within a few days of starting work at Hogwarts. He ate his meals early then sat and watched the staff and students come into the Great Hall -- he especially enjoyed the hustle bustle of a school meal. He held his classes in an empty room adjacent to his quarters and spent his free time visiting Hagrid or rediscovering the Castle. Professor McGonagall had appointed him the Head of Gryffindor House and, of all his responsibilities as the Head, he had taken Quidditch the most to heart. Gryffindor had not won the cup for several years now and he was determined to change that. He had not yet started flying, being as he was in hiding, but he was nevertheless pressing his students to the limit. This particular day had started off just like any other day. Harry had watched the Gryffindors in their early morning practice and had eaten breakfast before the rest of the staff came down. He had then taught a double class to the second year Gryffindors and Slytherins and was now sitting in an empty Great Hall eating lunch. The class, however, had been far from regular. It had been all right till the very end. He had been teaching the students a few blocking spells and had paired them up to practice. At the end he had asked some of the better students to duel. It was when the two best students of the class had walked up that things had gone downhill. Jack was Seamus’ and Lavender’s son. He was a Gryffindor and by far the best student in the class. He had been paired with Benjamin Barky, a smart Slytherin. Both of them were strong wizards and knew several spells that regularly surprised Harry. Their duels were always a learning experience despite the fact that Harry had to use all his skill to stop things from getting out of hand. Today’s duel had started of as usual; however, it was soon obvious to Harry that the two were more aggressive than usual. A few heated words told him that they had had a fight the previous night and were out for revenge. Things were getting out of hand and Harry was about to stop the fight when a completely unexpected thing happened. Ben had cast an extremely complex and powerful mass fear hex that had taken Harry completely by surprise. Images had begun to flash across Harry’s mind. Flying a broom with black cloaks chasing him... a dying Ginny... Aurors dying around him... a purple mist... a Castle unlike any he had seen before. It had taken a moment for Harry to realize what it was that he was reliving, and he had been furious at himself for letting go. The Castle had sensed his urgency and its magic had kicked in. Harry, still learning to control it, had lost control for a moment and mayhem had occurred. The two students had been hung upside down in the classroom. It seemed to Harry that the Castle had a thing for hanging people upside down. The other students had watched, horrified, as a blast of light had ensued from Harry and covered them. By the time he had regained control and sent the students out, the damage had been done. McGonagall had been furious with him, even when Harry had explained that the light was protective magic and the Castle would never hurt a student even when in control. He had not argued much. He knew the fault lay with him. Harry had lost control because reliving the images had been extremely painful to him. He had been told in his training that for total control on the Castle he would have to come to terms with all his fears, pains, and disappointments. He would have to find closure from all of them and move on, otherwise they would haunt him at the worst of times causing him to lose control. After all, it was his emotions that joined him to the Castle. If the emotions were not in control, the Castle could never be. He had always known that actually getting over all his pains and fears would be his toughest challenge. He had many memories that he had never allowed himself to relive. With a sigh, Harry looked out the window and began to remember the memories that had flooded him in the class. He did not know why it was that particular week which he had found so painful to recollect. After all, the time he had spent running with Ginny just after they had escaped from the battle in the Ministry of Magic was among his more happy memories. He had not known then, but the only reason he had survived it was because of his concern for her. …………………….. Harry felt something shift against his leg, causing him to wake up and he sat up with a jerk. The motion made him wince in pain and he fell back, his whole body aching. He felt something close to him again, and made a move towards his wand. A cry left his lips as pain shot through his shoulder. He laid back, his breath coming in gasps and took in his surroundings. It was a bright chilly morning and all Harry could see was tall grass around him. Panic began to fill him and he began to thrash his arm when he felt something or someone lying beside him. He turned around to see a body with its back towards him. The red hairs were covered in blood and a blanket was wrapped around it. It was only when he recognized who it was that reality struck him. He was here with Ginny. They had flown out of the Ministry of Magic, both half conscious, and had kept flying for a long time. He recalled being chased and fighting several Death Eaters on the way. He had been in a daze and had lost consciousness several times and Ginny had probably been the same. They had been flying recklessly and randomly, each taking over when the other lost consciousness. He could not believe that they had made it in that state. In fact, he recalled, when he had finally crashed into the ground, he had thought he was dead. He heard Ginny stir, saw her struggle to wake up, and noticed her dazed look as she realized where she was. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to stay strong. He had promised himself that he would get Ginny out of this alive and he would not give up on her. “Aaah …” Ginny’s cry made Harry turn around and take stock of their situation. He checked himself and determined that though he had lost some blood it was probably not much. His body ached, but other than his right shoulder he only had a few minor bruises. His shoulder however was another matter. He could barely move his arm. His whole right side throbbed with pain every time he tried. “It’s not as bad is it probably feels...” said Ginny, observing him as he peeled away the cloth layering his wound. “If you can get me up, I can help with that wound.” Harry turned to look at Ginny. He could immediately see that she had lost a lot of blood. Her shirt was soaked red. He pulled away her hair and saw a deep gash right across the back of her neck. The bleeding seemed to have stopped, but the cutting curse had gotten her quite bad. He checked the rest of her, and found that she had at least a sprain on her wrist and her knee had swollen to twice its usual size. As he touched her knee lightly to check how bad it was, she began to giggle. He looked at her, surprised, and saw that her face was flushed. “I look horrible…” she began but then stopped, looking even more self-conscious. Harry blinked. It took a moment for him to register why she was saying that. Then he began to laugh. She looked between him and herself before breaking into a loud laugh herself. It was several minutes before they became quiet again. “Oh God, Harry. I thought I was going to die!” she exclaimed in between her laughter. Harry’s face turned serious, as if he had just realized their predicament. “You aren't going to die, Ginny,” he said. “I'm going to get you out of here.” With a determined look Harry pushed himself up and managed to stand without wincing. He began to analyze their situation. “We can’t do any magic,” he said. “We don’t know if the fight is over, or who won. Someone might track us. I don’t remember where we flew to, but I guess we couldn’t be very far from some civilization. We need to find a town and get some news. Then we’ll see how we can get back. Come on.” Harry watched Ginny as she tried to get up but cried out and fell back. She tried again with a more determined look, but before she could hurt herself, Harry gave her a hand and balanced her. It took them several minutes to find the broomstick and, by then, they were sweating with pain. “This isn’t going to work!” exclaimed Ginny in a distraught, pained voice. “We need food and medicine and rest. How do we know we are not being chased?” “Let’s do all the magic we need to at once and then leave,” said Harry. “Hopefully, it will be the good people who track us.” Harry picked up his wand, and began to mutter several incantations. He conjured food and several supplies and transfigured a log into a bag which he filled up. Ginny had caught on and, after several charms on their wounds, some work to clean and repair their robes, and a few other spells she thought may help, they climbed on to the broom and shot off. Harry and Ginny survived like that for several days. They had realized within a few hours that they were being pursued. They had seen several broomstick riders looking around the spot they had flown off from and from the looks of it, they didn’t seem friendly. So the two of them had taken to flying only between the trees, staying hidden from open view, and had followed a straight path hoping to run into some road or other sign of civilization. They had done magic in batches, running off every time they did it. It was soon apparent their magic was being tracked from the fact that after each of the times when they had used it, they had found some sign of activity around them. But, thankfully, they had run into Death Eaters only once. They had been scouting for a place to stay, had taken a turn on the jungle trail they were following, and almost ran into three men eating in a clearing. They had hidden in a bush and had realized soon enough that the men were Death Eaters. They had learned that the battle was over but no side was a clear winner. They had also learned that a few Aurors and several other wizards linked to Dumbledore, which they assumed would be members of the Order, had been looking for them. They had silently moved away. The news had been bitter sweet. Over the next few days they did find roads and lanes and some smaller villages several times, but there were always broomsticks circling the places even before they reached them. It seemed to be some kind of a cordon. They had avoided these places hoping to run into a bigger town where they could hide among the crowd. Soon they fell into a routine. They would spend their mornings hiding traces of their activity, would walk or fly all day long trying to get into a hut or a small town, and would begin to look for a suitable place to stay when night approached. They had to sleep on open ground and could rarely light a fire or do magic. Fortunately, the summer was dry and warm. Harry would not let Ginny do anything and would stand watch over her. At first Ginny had joked that he was treating her like she was pregnant, but soon the treatment had begun to irritate her. After one particularly nasty dinner where Harry kept fussing over her, Ginny had lost it and they had had a big row -- at the end of which Ginny had threatened to leave if Harry kept on smothering her. That definitely changed things somewhat and, while Harry still tried to take care of her even when she didn’t need it, he tried hard not to make it obvious. The days were hectic and filled with dread. They could never relax their guard and were constantly on edge. The talk was mostly over what they should do but they never came up with anything new. They discussed the attacks in detail and how Voldemort had managed to break Harry’s protection. They slept in shifts, one of them always awake. A few times they had packed up and left in the middle of the night when they had thought that someone was approaching. After four days of hiding in the open, they had finally found an abandoned farm and a hut. After some scouting they had decided it was a safe place to rest. Harry remembered that night vividly. They had eaten food they had found in the hut and Ginny had cooked a hearty meal. They had laughed and joked for the first time in several days. He guessed that it was probably the feeling of being inside after so long on the run that had given them a sense of security. They had then lit a fire and had sat down in front of it, letting the heat warm them before they retired for the night. After sitting there quietly for a long time, Ginny had begun to sob. Harry had moved over to her protectively and let her cry her heart out. She had begun with her fear of not making it back. She had cried over her family, not knowing if anyone was alive. As Harry held her and rocked her back and forth, she had gone on to tell him of her fear of snakes, of her time with the diary, of how she felt about being the youngest sister as well as lots of things she had never spoken out loud before that night. Harry had held her tight all through it. Finally, she had looked up at him -- a look that Harry had never forgotten. In those dying moments of the night, she had asked him to be a friend who supported her and not a brother who smothered her. He didn’t know what it was that had brought it on but all the walls that Harry had built had come crashing down, just looking at her asking for a friend. The happenings of the last few days had made Harry forget the tragedy he had left behind. The realization of what was going on hit him full force. He remembered Mustang and everything else. He had broken down and it had been his turn to completely let go. He had told Ginny about the prophecy and how he wanted to live and that he was afraid to die. He admitted to her, and to himself, that he didn’t think he was capable of holding the weight on his shoulders. He told her of Dumbledore’s duel with Voldemort and how in comparison he was a mere boy. She had held on to him through it, just like he had her and had cried with him. Surprisingly though, she had agreed with him on everything and had never questioned his feelings. As he thought of that night, Harry realized that it had not been a romantic one at all. They had become friends, and there had not been any stronger feeling. He was sure it had been the same for Ginny. They had held each other and had not realized when they had gone to sleep. It had been their first and last calm night of the journey. For those few hours the fear of being stalked had completely left them. When Harry woke in the morning he had found himself cuddled up with Ginny. The fire had died out and red embers gave a glow to her hair. Ginny opened her eyes and smiled at him. He had just closed his eyes and let himself be safe for some time. An hour or so later they were up and ready to go. The moment they had stepped out, the feeling of safety was gone and things had been like the days before. Tension filled the air and Harry knew that something was going to go wrong. That was the day they had finally found a town. It had appeared rather unexpectedly. They had been following a road hoping to hit something on the way, when they had come upon a high fence which seemed to protect a forest. They had walked around it thinking it was another forest or a farm, but it had just been a small patch of trees and as soon as they had circled it, they had both stood stunned. A fairly large town stretched out in front of them and when the shock had passed they had whooped with joy. They had debated and finally decided to use magic to improve their appearance. Their current state would be very conspicuous in a Muggle town. Now all they needed to do was find some sign of wizarding life. Harry had already decided to call the Muggle police in case they did not find anything magical by the end of the day. They had first looked up the Muggle papers, which spoke of a heightened terrorist activity all around England and the liberation from the terrorists of a large area near London. It seemed that the terrorists had taken control of a few cities and cordoned off a large area controlling all entrances and exits to it. They had found that their current town was at the edge of that area, and had been the site of a heated battle for the last few days before finally being liberated. They had found several officers from the Muggle police and other forces, but no wizards. They had walked around the city till lunch, not finding anything, and Harry was about to give up when they had seen what was obviously a wizarding family coming out of a house. They had followed the family for hours and it was late evening when they got some reward for their efforts. The elderly witch had thrown out some trash covered with a wizarding paper. They had picked it up excitedly and had found it was the front page of the Daily Prophet from two days ago. The reports referred to the events of the day they had left the Ministry only as part of more recent stories. But what they had found out heartened them. The attack at the Ministry had been successfully defended, as were the attacks at the press offices and several communication centers in London. However, several smaller cities and towns far from London had also been attacked and many had been completely destroyed. They also learned that the terrorists occupying the cities mentioned in the Muggle papers were, as they had suspected, Voldemort’s men, and the area had now been mostly liberated. They had, however, found no mention of any of their own people, of Hogwarts, or even of the Boy-Who-Lived, which was surprising to Harry, but Ginny thought that Fudge wasn’t likely to divulge that he had lost Harry when there was war going on. They had found nothing useful enough to help them get back ,and Harry had decided to approach the family they had been following. He and Ginny had walked up to them hoping to find a fire to Floo from or at least an Owlery, but the moment they had interrupted the wizard, he had recognized Harry and, screaming, he had taken hold of his family and activated aPortkey. Harry and Ginny had been left standing with their jaws hanging. They couldn’t understand what would evoke such a reaction from the man. They had been in such shock that they sat down on a bench nearby, forgetting their rule of leaving all places where magic had been used. It had been about half an hour since the wizard had left, and Harry and Ginny had been eating some food when they had heard pops around them. Harry had jumped on Ginny and thrown her to the ground just as a curse hit the bench. His wand out he had pushed her behind the bench and jumped to the side trying to avoid the curses coming at him. Within minutes several more pops brought wizards Apparating around them in Auror robes. Hope coming back to him, he had tried to reach Ginny who was caught in the middle of the Death Eaters, but several Aurors had jumped on him and tried to stop him. He had recognized a few them as Order members and shouted out at them to save Ginny. The Aurors had ignored his cries and continued to push him away to safety leaving Ginny alone in the middle of a large number of Death Eaters. Harry recognized one of them from his escort last summer. Just as the wizard had tried to give Harry a book, which Harry had recognized to be a Portkey, Harry had punched him full in the face and had run back right into the Death Eaters towards Ginny. Cursing, the Aurors had followed and the battle had become intense. Somehow in the middle of all this, Harry had managed to get on his broomstick and had flown straight to the bench, dodging curses. He had pulled Ginny up and had flown back to the Aurors. By the time he reached them, he realized that the Death Eaters were far too many and that the Aurors were surrounded on three sides. He had seen the Auror he had punched lying on the ground, the book lying beside him. He wanted to land right next to it, but a curse hit the broomstick and they had crashed, with Ginny falling away from him and laying still. He picked her up and panicked as he realized she may be dead. But she moaned and relief swept over him. He saw the Auror who had tried to give him the Portkey just a few paces away and jumped at him. He picked up the book and what seemed like a map from next to the Auror but before he could reach Ginny again he saw two Death Eaters over her. He had looked straight into her eyes and thrown the book at her, shouting “Activate” the moment it reached her hands. He barely heard her shout something before she had disappeared. Almost immediately, a huge blast hit the area, and he had seen Muggle police arrive on the scene. Harry knew they were in a very bad situation but he didn’t see how he could help the Aurors. He knew he needed to get out of there but he didn’t know where he could run off to, especially now that he was alone. Something on the map he had picked up caught his eye, and he saw a point on it marked as a Safe House. He jumped on his broom and flew straight towards the house. According to the map, he thought he would reach his destination within an hour. The smoke from the blast hid him as he flew out; he hoped the Aurors would survive and hold the Death Eaters long enough for him to reach somewhere safe. Harry followed the map and flew with a reckless speed. He made it to the Safe House in just over half an hour. What he saw there dashed all his hopes of safety. The roof of the large mansion was on fire with smoke billowing out of the windows on the top floor. The Dark Mark hung over the house. Hoping the Death Eaters had left and that he had enough time before the fire reached the lower floors, Harry walked in to see if anyone was in need of help. The door was broken, and he entered a magnificently decorated hall. This was obviously the house of some very rich wizard. He saw portraits of regal-looking wizards lining the wall and expensive furnishings lying shattered on the ground. He noticed a wizard lying face down next to a table at one end of the hall. Harry rushed over to the wizard, and even before he reached him, he knew the man was dead. He saw a large box lying beside him. It was obvious the wizard had been trying to reach for it at the time of his death. Without thinking of what he was doing, Harry walked up and opened the lid. A purple mist rose out of the box and Harry jumped back. The mist rose from the box and swirled around him. He felt himself getting sucked into it and felt a tingling sensation. Suddenly he was pulled off his feet and into the box which shut behind him. Harry fell on the ground and tumbled to a stop. Even as he was getting up, he realized he was not in the box anymore. A large Castle built with shining white marble loomed large in front of him. Purple mist rose from seven towers that surrounded the Castle. The reddish hues of the setting sun increased the Castle's grandeur. A huge gate, its metalwork painted a brilliant white bordered in gold and inlaid with large golden hands, rose upwards in front of him. As Harry approached the gate the hand imprints moved to the side and a new pair of imprints appeared in the middle. Tiny lettering began to form underneath them. As Harry watched with growing awe, the letters finished forming. Harry stood there transfixed looking at what was written. It was only when someone behind him read the words out loud that Harry breathed again. “The Council of the Wise welcomes Harry Potter, the new Gryffin Councilor, to the Castle of the Wise People.” Harry turned around and found himself standing before the man who would be his mentor for years to come. Councilor Matheran was smiling at him. “Mr. Potter, no one has ever managed to use the mist at such a young age. Great things await you. Welcome to your destination.” “Professor Evans! PROFESSOR EVANS! HARRY!” Harry roused from his daydream with a start and saw everyone at the staff table staring at him, and a few of them trying to get his attention. “Are you all right, professor?” Ginny asked. “You seemed to be in a daze?” Harry turned towards Ginny and took a deep breath. “I'm fine now, Miss Weasley. Just not feeling very well,” he said, looking around at the others and trying to fake a smile. “Sorry for that, Professors. I reckon I should be getting back to my quarters.” “Mr. Evans, please visit Poppy in the hospital wing. And you may take the rest of the day off,” McGonagall said, giving him a very scrutinizing look. As Harry got up and turned to go she called out again. “Harry, it is all right to take your time in getting used to it,” she said. “Sometimes I forget how much you have to bear at your age.” Harry looked back at McGonagall and gave her his most thankful smile. Then he slowly walked out of the Great Hall. He did not miss the look of extreme curiosity on Ginny’s face. He smiled to himself. So Hermione had been discussing his identity with Ginny. He wondered what kind of curiosity Ginny felt and if she would be happy or angry when she found out he was Harry Potter. He decided that anger was almost certainly going to be her first reaction. He reached his office and was about to cancel his visit to Madam Pomfrey in favor of a shot of fire whisky, when a voice he had least expected to hear interrupted him. “I thought you were going to the infirmary, Professor? The Headmistress wouldn’t be happy to hear that one of her professors is ignoring her advice.” Harry turned around and replied with the same hint of mischief he thought he had heard from Ginny, who was now standing in front of him. “I find a shot of fire whiskey to be equivalent of Poppy’s awful potions,” he said smiling at Ginny mischievously. “Or for that matter, seeing certain beautiful young professors would also work fine.” “Someone would think you were flirting with me, Professor Evans,” Ginny said, moving up to his side as he unlocked his door. “That someone wouldn’t know the difference between good natured compliments and flirting,” said Harry, who had now walked through the door and was holding it open for her to enter. “And please, call me Harry. I hate these titles,” he finished. Ginny smiled even wider at that. “That just about sums up my feelings on being called Professor,” she said. “Please, call me Ginny.” He waited for her to cross the threshold, then led her to his desk and pulled out a chair for her. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company? And what would you like to drink?” he asked. “Lemonade for me,” she answered, “and I am sorry, Professor - ” “Harry,” he interrupted her, smiling. “I'm sorry... Harry,” she corrected herself, and smiled back. “But this visit does have a hidden agenda. My sister-in-law is writing a book on Harry Potter and she wondered if you would give her some of your time. In fact, she's hoping for an appointment as soon as possible.” “The Boy-Who-Lived indeed,” he laughed. “I take it your sister-in-law is the very intelligent Mrs. Hermione Weasley. But I don’t see how an interview with me would help her with the book.” “Well, you were one of the only two Aurors who were on some of sort of contract with the Ministry,” she answered. “The other was,” Ginny curled her lips in distaste. “Potter,” she continued. “She's trying to find out how that works, and she thought you could help. Actually, she was hoping that maybe the two of you had met in the line of duty. Did you know him?” Harry detected a clear sense of curiosity when Ginny asked that last question. He would have smiled if it hadn’t been for the amount of contempt that Ginny had exuded while saying his real name. “You may tell your sister-in-law that I would be most pleased to help in anyway I can,” he told her. “Mr. Potter was an excellent friend of mine, and I think your sister-in-law is probably the only one who knew him better than me. Also, let her know that I am quite sure Mr. Potter would have chosen her to write that particular book, when he would have come around to it.” With that he stood up. “I am sorry Ginny, but if you will excuse me now, I think I would take the Headmistress’ advice and visit Poppy. Tell Mrs. Weasley she can visit me at any time.” Harry let Ginny out with a smile and closed the door to his quarters. He stood back and calmed his nerves. This had been the closest he had been to that woman in a very long time. ………………………………. AN: So how do you like this chapter? This one has sort of come out in a flow and it says exactly what I wanted it to say. So I am quite happy :) AN: Thanks a lot once again to Arnel, Katie and KEDme who have helped me a great deal with this chapter.
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