PhoenixSong.net :: A Harry/Ginny Fanfic and Fanart Archive

Author: MyGinevra

Story: The Hog's Head

Part: 17: Chocoballs Via Owl

Rating: Teens

Setting: Pre-OotP

Status: WIP

Warning: Sexual Situations

Reviews: 6

Words: 7,856

Updated: May 1, 2008, 6:07am

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17: Chocoballs Via Owl

Ginny lay in bed for a long time after she woke up the next morning. She had slept soundly, and she had dreamed, but she couldn't recall them clearly. She could remember being with Harry, and being very happy; they had done things to make each other laugh. In her dreams there was no need for anything or anybody else.

She stared at the canopy over her bed. The yearning she had felt in her dreams echoed in her waking heart. Could it be possible that she needed only Harry to be happy? If so, what was she doing here? Why did she need to be at Hogwarts sleeping alone in her bed in a room with two people she might never see again after graduation? She could walk out of school and walk down the lane to the village, up the stairs to the flat, and Harry would be there. Their life together would begin, and everything would be perfect. She felt the locket next to her skin and put her hand on it.

She pushed back the hangings and sat on the edge of the bed. Bailey was clucking in her cage, ducking her head up and down. Ginny got up and let her out the window, then watched her circle up until she disappeared over the castle in the direction of the Owlery. She would be happy there, and maybe McPherson would visit her, and the two owls would get on with their lives.

Ginny sat on her bed again and stared at nothing as the emotional backwash of her dreams ebbed and flowed. She knew that she couldn't just leave school; her parents, her friends, even Harry would not want her to do that. Luna and Keesha would wonder how she could do such a thing after all the excited conversations they had had about the upcoming school year; they might even be hurt.

She took the locket out and smiled back at Harry, then she glanced at the window. He was coming. She threw open her trunk — she had not unpacked it last night — and quickly dressed. She heard her roommates stirring behind their hangings, and hurried out before she had to start listening to the morning's news report about last night's social activities in the common room, including all the new romantic pairings. She hurried downstairs, out the portrait hole, and came down the marble staircase into the entrance hall just as Harry was closing the great oak door behind him.

Ginny stopped on the bottom step and grinned. He beamed back and walked over to her; students were coming down on their way to breakfast, but they gave Ginny and Harry a wide berth, nudging each other and whispering.

"Good morning," Harry took her hands. "You didn't eat breakfast yet?"

Ginny shook her head and moved closer until they touched. "Did you?"

"Yeah, Winky insisted, but I'll join you." They walked into the Great Hall and Harry sat on the end of the bench with his back to the table and his elbows resting on it. Ginny sat next to him and started serving herself.

"I had a dream last night," she said.

"Oh?" Harry grinned again. "About what?"

"Us. When I woke up I wanted to leave school and go to the flat."

"Our flat. Why didn't you?"

"Harry, I have classes." She took a slice of bacon and slowly chewed it. "It did cross my mind, just to drop out and... and go to our flat."

Harry nodded to Professor McGonagall as she passed on her way to the staff table. He saw Professor Pester, who was already there, eating breakfast with his head buried in a large notebook. "Looks like he's boning up. Do you know yet when you have his class?"

Ginny glanced at Pester. "No, but I expect I'll be getting my schedule pretty soon. So..." she took a sip of pumpkin juice, then put the glass down and looked at Harry. "What do you think of my idea?"

"I think if you had shown up I would have opened the door, pulled you inside, and dragged you to the bedroom. But I don't know what would have happened after we woke up."

"Neither do I." She pushed her plate away, and Harry rubbed the back of his hand against her arm. She leaned toward him and their lips came together. They heard giggling, and looked up to see Emma and Claire sitting down across from them.

"Hello," said Harry, and the twins giggled again and squirmed in their seats. "You're Emma and you're Claire, right?"

"No!" Claire laughed, "you got us wrong, just like she did." She nodded at Ginny.

"Okay, well, I'm Harry Potter. Ginny told me you both got Sorted into Gryffindor. Welcome."

They blushed. "We know who you are," said Claire. "We've seen you snog Ginny twice now."

"Claire!" Emma frowned. "Don't say things like that."

Harry laughed. "So," he arched his eyebrows, "that's how you know who I am, because I snog Ginny?"

"Of course not," Claire replied. "Aunt Hermione showed us your picture in the Daily Prophet, and we can also see your scar."

Emma poked her ribs. "Shush!" she whispered. "That was rude."

"No, it's all right," said Harry. "It is my scar. I didn't put it there, but it will never go away."

While the twins considered this, Ginny said to Harry, "They also told me that they wanted to be Gryffindors because of you."

"That's very flattering," Harry said to the girls, "but you must be true Gryffindors because the Sorting Hat put you here. I didn't have anything to do with it."

He was saved from further revelations of the twins' involvement in his personal life by the arrival of Professor Flitwick, who was passing out class schedules; he handed one to Ginny.

"I'll be in my office at ten," he said to Harry. "Will I see you then?"

"Yes, Professor. I just came to the castle a little early to, um —"

Flitwick laughed, a high, tinkling bell–like sound that caused nearby students to turn and look. "A very good reason to be here," he chuckled. "I'll see you then. And I'll see you in class tomorrow morning, Miss Weasley." He waved his hand and two schedules floated over the table to the twins, who snatched them out of the air and began looking them over. He proceeded down the table handing a parchment to each student.

"So what do you have?" Harry turned around and looked over her shoulder as she examined her schedule; he put his hand on her thigh under the table and began moving it up her leg.

"Harry, not here, please, I have a nine o'clock Herbology."

He leaned so that his chest was pressed against her back. "I dreamed about you, too," he whispered. "I can't tell you here, but I'll show you on Friday." He moved his hand again.

Ginny smiled at the twins' bemused expressions and took the errant hand firmly. She pushed it away but didn't let go, and stood up. She stepped over the bench, then leaned down and put her mouth next to Harry's ear. "Go get your cloak before you see Flitwick," she said in a low voice. "I'm free from noon until two. The hammocks must still be there. I'll meet you in the entrance hall." She quickly moved away and was out the door before Harry could do more than open his mouth; he watched her figure disappear around the corner.

He glanced around and saw the two girls watching him raptly. He cleared his throat. "When's your first class?"

"We have Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall in fifteen minutes," said Emma. "What were you and Ginny talking about?"

"Nothing," Harry coughed and stood up. "I have to get back to the inn now. Have a good class. It was nice meeting you."

In an hour Harry was back with his Invisibility Cloak tucked inside his pocket. He went up to the seventh floor and waited outside Professor Flitwick's office, his mind wandering back to that frustrating day–long search for Ginny the day after the battle, and the passion of their sleepless night in the hammock. He sat on the floor leaning against a pedestal on which stood a suit of armor that made occasional creaking noises as it shifted its legs or moved its head. Harry stared at the opposite wall and could not divert his thoughts from the upcoming rendezvous with Ginny. When Professor Flitwick arrived and stood in front of him, he had to tap Harry's knee with his wand to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry, Professor," Harry awoke from his reverie and jumped up.

"That's all right, Harry; I'm running a little late, and I have another class in less than an hour, so why don't we get to work." He led the way into his office.

Harry had never been in it before. It was located in a high corner of the castle and had large windows on two sides. One of the windows extended up into the ceiling, creating a skylight. It gave the room a high, open feeling, which Harry found interesting, given the Professor's tiny stature; it also reminded him of the Ravenclaw common room. The walls were covered with dozens of small picture frames, and those that were occupied contained portraits of fairies that flitted in and out of the frames and chattered constantly in high, melodious voices. As Harry walked past, he thought he saw more than one wink and blow a kiss at him.

Where there was empty wall space there were bookcases reaching to the ceiling and crammed with books. At first Harry wondered why Flitwick would stack shelves so high — he couldn't reach anything more than four feet off the ground — but decided that a wizard as talented as he could either levitate himself or Summon any book he wanted.

The room was dominated by a large frame hung on the wall behind the cluttered desk. In it, Rowena Ravenclaw sat in a throne–like chair and watched Harry as he approached. Flitwick ignored her and climbed onto a stool behind the desk, and waved Harry into a chair that suddenly appeared right behind his legs. As Harry sat, he was very conscious of being inspected by the portrait.

Flitwick peered at a parchment sitting on the desk, then pushed it aside and looked up at Harry; he noticed Harry's furtive glances at the portrait. "Ah, yes," his blue eyes twinkled under bushy brows. "She's been impatient to meet you ever since last spring." He glanced back. "But we can talk later, if you don't mind, my dear. Harry has some urgent business with me, and my time is limited."

Ravenclaw frowned, nodded curtly, and walked out of the frame; she had not spoken a word.

"Don't mind that," the Professor said. "She has a rather haughty nature, and maybe resents the fact that a non–Ravenclaw found her lost diadem. But no matter, I think when you do talk to her, you'll find her charming and, it goes without saying, very intelligent."

Harry nodded; he wasn't sorry that Rowena Ravenclaw had left. Her eyes seemed to penetrate his thoughts, and since they consisted mostly of a jumble of Ginny and a room full of hammocks, he would just as soon not have anyone read them.

"Is there anything I can do about those Dark Marks, Professor?" he said as he tried to put the distracting images of Ginny out of his head. "I'm starting to think that it's not anyone from Hogsmeade, which means that it's a lot bigger than a nasty prank. And whoever is doing it is pretty talented."

"I agree with all that." Flitwick leaned back and put his stubby legs up on his desk and his hands behind his head. For an instant Harry feared that he would topple backward onto the floor, but a backrest appeared on the stool and Flitwick smiled. "But those are questions for the Aurors. How strongly do you want to protect the building? There's a trade–off, you see. The better it's protected, the more difficult it is to enter the building, or even find it. The most effective protection is the Fidelius, but that prevents almost anyone from finding it at all. And you've seen what can be done with multiple layers of protection, which is what Professor Dumbledore put on your house at Grimmauld Place."

"Well..." Harry was unsure how to answer. "Can't we put something up that will just keep the Dark magic off? Or maybe just detect when someone writes something on the wall?"

"Now that's a sound idea," Flitwick nodded. "The problem, as I see it, is that some of the vandalism has been caused by non–magical methods, like painting graffiti. If you put up a spell to prevent that, every bird that perches on your chimney would set the alarm off. But..." He thought for a moment. "Yes, it should be simple enough to detect something's being written on an outside wall." He jumped down from the stool, and walked past Harry into the center of the room.

"Come here," he beckoned. "Stand next to me." Harry came and stood by the Professor and took out his wand; Flitwick was already holding his. "It's a type of shield charm that surrounds and covers something, like the wall of your inn. It warns you when something touches it, like a paintbrush or a stone being thrown. When that happens, the wand that cast the protective spell — yours, in this case — will vibrate, or warm up, or cool off, or light up. You can set it to whatever kind of warning you like." He made a circular motion with his wand. "Proeido!" The window he was pointing his wand at glowed a dim bluish color, then cleared. Flitwick took a quill from his robes and handed it to Harry. "Write something on the window."

Harry took the quill, dipped it in an inkpot that was sitting on the desk, and went to the window. He wrote The Hog's Head Inn, and a moment after he was finished he heard a low humming sound. Professor Flitwick held his wand up. "The type of notification is determined by the hand movement. The incantation is the same." He pointed his wand again and said, "Finite," and for a moment the window glowed again. "Now you try it."

Harry moved away from the window and pointed his wand, but before he could move it or say anything, one of the panes in the center, where his wand was aimed, glowed. "What happened?" he blurted.

Flitwick was staring at the window, then he looked up at Harry. "Were you going to say the spell? Was it in your mind?"

Harry wished that this had not happened. It was another example of his phoenix wand's new potency that was, he was certain, a result of its being repaired by the Elder Wand. He wanted to keep it a secret, and had told no one but Ginny. He hesitated to talk about it even to Ron, because of what Ron had said and how Ron had acted when Harry had decided, in front of Professor Dumbledore's portrait, that the Elder Wand was going back into the Tomb. And because he couldn't tell Ron, he couldn't tell Hermione.

Keeping it a secret bothered him; he knew he should trust them. How many times had he trusted them both with his life? But the Elder Wand had a sinister history full of deceit and treachery, and he simply would not do anything that might tempt Ron in the slightest. Now, he had revealed his wand's power to a very powerful wizard, and as much as Harry also trusted Professor Flitwick, he knew that telling one person meant that he would lose control of the secret. With Ginny, there had been no question of not telling her. He needed someone to confide in, and nothing felt better than having Ginny in his confidence; there was always a sense of enveloping security when he was in her arms.

These thoughts passed through his mind in an instant. He raised his wand again, and before Professor Flitwick could react, he made the circular motion and said, "Proeido!" This time the entire window glowed, as it had for the Professor. Flitwick tilted his head and peered up at Harry, then took the quill and went to the window. He stood on his tiptoes, reached up, and wrote Wand magic and Harry heard his wand hum in his hand.

"Well," Flitwick climbed onto the stool behind his desk and tossed the quill down. "You're a fast learner, Harry, but then you always were."

"I guess I was," Harry said; he tried to think of something to get Flitwick's mind off what had happened. "So do you think it will work on the entire inn?"

"I think you can make it work," Flitwick said wryly. "If you take a look at Fillmuck's Portable Spellery you'll find all the wand motions in it, as well as some refinements that should keep animals from setting it off. Well," he looked at his watch, "it's time for my next class. Do you still want to take lessons from me this fall?" He had a questioning look that made Harry uncomfortable.

"Uh, yeah, I do, Professor. I missed my last year of school, and I don't have the brains that Hermione has to learn things by myself, so yes."

"Good." Flitwick smiled. "It will be interesting." He nodded again, and Harry said goodbye and left.

He headed down to the library to look up the book that Flitwick had mentioned, but he also wanted to think about his wand. He hadn't done much serious magic with it since the battle, mostly fun things with Ginny during the summer. When he had tried to Stun the vandals behind the inn, the spell had flown high, and he was sure it was because he was not used to controlling the wand. He needed someone to help him learn how to do that, but he hadn't thought it out too well, because now he might have to tell Professor Flitwick about it. But maybe he could come up with another fib for why his wand was so different. He had told Saliyah Ushujaa last summer that it was because Riddle had passed more powers to him with the Killing Curse in the Forest. He doubted Flitwick would believe that, just as he had seen skepticism in Saliyah's face. He had a couple of weeks, though, to think of something better, and he could get Ginny's help.

That thought put his mind on a different track, and he forgot completely about his wand and the Charms book. He found a deserted aisle and slipped under his cloak, then made his way back to the entrance hall. He had to wait only a few minutes until classrooms began to empty, and people began streaming into the Great Hall for lunch. He spotted Ginny coming up from the dungeons with Luna and Keesha; she said something to them, and they went on into the Great Hall, while Ginny stood near the marble staircase.

He walked over to her and called her name. She looked around, then smiled briefly as Harry stuck his foot out from the cloak so she could see it. She glanced around; nobody was looking and she ducked under.

He kissed her, which was not too comfortable because her book bag was between them. "How were your classes?" he whispered, as they started climbing the stairs.

"It's going to be tough," she said. "I just had Potions, and Slughorn's having us do the last five chapters of Advanced Potion Making all over again because the term ended early last year. We'll have to catch up and finish this year's textbook." She sighed and looked down.

"I'll help, if I can," Harry said; he put his arm around her waist.

"That'll be nice."

They didn't speak until they were standing in the seventh–floor corridor in front of the wall where the door to the Room of Requirement would appear. Harry waited until two Ravenclaw girls had passed, then squeezed Ginny's waist and grinned. "Here we go." They started walking up and down, and on the third pass they stopped. Nothing had happened.

Harry's brow furrowed. "What's wrong? I was asking for the same thing I did after the battle." He started walking again, pulling Ginny along. Again nothing happened. "Maybe it's this cloak," he looked down the corridor; no one was in sight, and he took off the cloak. He began walking again as Ginny watched, but no door appeared.

"I don't get this," he said irritably. "Why doesn't it work?" He stopped and looked at Ginny; she had a blank expression on her face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

She said nothing for a moment, then seemed to make a decision, and came and put her hands on his chest and he put his on her shoulders. "Harry, it's me. I... I don't feel right about this. I'm sorry," she said quickly as Harry's hands dropped and he looked at her in dismay. "I shouldn't have said what I did at breakfast. You... I... You were making me crazy, I wanted you so much when you touched me and... and I said something I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

"But I've been thinking about you all morning! Why don't you want to? What's wrong?"

"Harry, love, nothing's wrong. No, that's not true," she shook her head, "something is wrong. We shouldn't be creeping around like this, under your cloak. I love you too much. I'm not saying we should advertise it, but I don't want to sneak off someplace every time we make love. And," she hesitated. "Harry, I have to concentrate on schoolwork. If I don't, I'll fail every class. Please, don't be angry."

Ginny reached to put her hand on his crestfallen face, but Harry took a step back. He lifted his hands in a shrug, then let them drop to his sides. He looked away from her down the corridor, and when he looked back he was scowling. "I really wanted this."

He abruptly started to stride away. Ginny was speechless for a moment, but before she could hurl angry words, he suddenly stopped, then turned back. Her anger vanished when she saw his eyes. "Ginny," he said in a strangled voice, "what am I doing? That was so stupid. Of course you're right." He held his hands out to her and she came. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "You're always right. I'm sorry, I've been stupid all day."

She smiled up at him. "You weren't stupid, you were gallant, and it was partly — no, mostly my fault. I shouldn't have said what I did, and how could I expect you not to jump at it?"

"It would be impossible." He looked down. "I'd have to be dead."

"Harry, don't say that. Listen, I'm still free until two, so let's have a quick lunch and go for a walk down by the lake. It's beautiful out, and I need to clear my head before Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Ah, the peacock Pester," Harry laughed. "Ask him about the owl I sent yesterday." He put his cloak back in his pocket and they started down to the Great Hall. "I got a spell from Flitwick to use on the inn. But," he glanced around and lowered his voice, "my wand went crazy and he noticed it, of course. I still want to take lessons from him, but I don't know what to tell him about the wand. Here, give me that."

Ginny smiled and handed him her book bag. "Still the gallant one. You don't want to tell him about the Elder Wand?"

Harry shook his head, but didn't answer as they were now in the crowded entrance hall. They found seats at the Gryffindor table, and ate while Ginny fended off questions from Jimmy Peakes about the Quidditch team; he told her that the sign–up sheet had been posted just before lunch, and there were already twenty names on it.

"We'll talk about it this afternoon," she said. "I can't say anything until I see who's on it." She and Harry finished eating and left the Hall. They passed Emma and Claire on their way out, but the twins were having an excited conversation with four other first–years about the Wingardium Leviosa spell they had just learned, and didn't notice them. It was sunny and warm outside, and Harry and Ginny walked down the crowded lawn to the lake. Harry noticed that she steered them away from the path to Hagrid's cabin; he didn't say anything, but he knew that she was avoiding the place where Elizabeth Derby had died.

They found one of their favorite secluded spots at the edge of the Forest not too far from the White Tomb, and when Ginny pushed him down on the soft grass, Harry wondered for a moment if she had changed her mind; she kissed him passionately and moved her hands under his shirt. But after a moment she rolled off and took a breath. She lay on her back and Harry leaned on his elbow and caressed her face. She looked at him and started to speak, but he put his hand on her mouth.

"I'm fine waiting until Friday," he said, and grinned. "We'll have a dinner party, just the two of us, catered by Winky. And it'll last all weekend, what do you say?"

She took his hand and kissed it. "That sounds like a very nice party. Should I bring anything?"

"Dessert. I mean, yourself."

"Yum." She laughed and started to pull him down again, but Harry stopped her.

"No, I mean it. You have work to do, your classes, and organizing the team. You'll have to deal with everyone who thinks they're the next Viktor Krum. Here, sit up."

He sat behind her and started running his fingers through her hair. "Wait," she said, and reached into her book bag and took out a comb. "Use this."

Harry combed her hair as she sat between his legs. They didn't speak, but listened to the leaves rustling in the breeze. After a moment Ginny turned and looked at him. "I love you so much," she said.

Harry smoothed her hair with his hand. "Your hair is the second most beautiful thing in the universe. When we have kids, I want them to have your hair."

Ginny laughed. "Ordering up your children already? Okay, I want them to have green eyes."

"I'll do my best if you will."

"That means lots of desserts." She leaned back against him and closed her eyes; Harry put his arms around her, and they were still, until Ginny finally sighed and sat up. "Come on, my mind is as clear as it'll ever be. I think I'm ready for Morequest Pester." They got up, but he stopped her as she started to walk.

"I didn't get to tell you that I love you, too." They kissed, and then Harry picked up her book bag and they walked back to the castle. They parted on the steps outside, and Harry waited until she started up the marble stairs in the entrance hall, then he turned down the curving drive, wondering how he was going to survive until Friday.

Professor Pester had put his own decorative stamp on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, just as all of his predecessors had. Ginny walked in and saw posters lining the walls, but these were not photos of tortured, agonized victims of the Dark Arts like the ones Professor Snape had used. These were famous Aurors from the past and present. The first one she noticed was Alastor Moody, whose disfigured face glared at her from behind the desk. Rufus Scrimgeour was there, as was Kingsley Shacklebolt with his gold earring. She recognized a few others, but most were unknown to her, and she could tell from the style of robes some wore that they had served in the distant past, maybe even thirty or forty years ago. She looked for Nymphadora Tonks, but her friend was not there: too young to have been noticed by Morequest Pester, Ginny assumed.

She sat next to Keesha, and soon Luna wandered in and joined them. "Hi, Ginny. Hi, Keesha," she looked at the posters and smiled. "I'm glad it's redecorated. I hated all those Death Eater masks that the Carrows put up. Did they stay up for the whole year? I wasn't around, you know."

"They stayed up," Keesha said, "until Harry got here." She smiled at Ginny. "I heard that you already met Professor Pester."

"Yeah. He seemed to be very impressed with himself, but I think he does know his stuff. You know, Gilderoy Lockheart with brains." Keesha laughed, and Luna stared at the posters.

Ginny looked around at the other students, and saw, to her displeasure, that Jace Kleinhead was sitting in a back row with a few other Slytherins. He didn't look at her, even after she deliberately stared at him for almost a minute. As she was turned, the door opened and Professor Pester walked in. The room fell silent as he walked to the front, placed the notebook Ginny had seen him with at breakfast on the desk, and turned to face them. He did not smile, but had a very serious, business–like expression.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Professor Morequest Pester, and I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts. This is a N.E.W.T. level class, and I'll have N.E.W.T. level expectations of all of you." He looked slowly around the room; his eyes paused on Ginny, and he nodded to her. "The subject matter will be from a seventh–year textbook, but it will be liberally supplemented with material from my own extensive and excellent experience as a professional Dark wizard hunter. We have a problem, however."

He got up and started walking around the class, his hands clasped behind his back. "As far as Defense Against the Dark Arts is concerned, you're last year here was a total waste. The person who taught it was a criminal who tried to teach criminal behavior." He stopped in front of the Slytherins in the back row; everyone else was craning their necks to look at him. "We will have to cover two year's worth of material in one year. Don't expect any slack time here, and don't expect me to tolerate even a hint of anyone's practicing Dark Arts." He said the last directly to the Slytherins, and Jace Kleinhead glowered at him.

Pester turned on his heel and marched back to the front, looking at each student as he passed. He paused next to Luna, who was gazing serenely up at the ceiling. "Excuse me, Miss, are you listening to me?"

She blinked and fixed her bulging eyes on him. "No, not at this moment, because you aren't saying anything."

A titter passed around the classroom, and Ginny could see Keesha's sides shaking as she suppressed a laugh. Pester gave Luna an annoyed look and continued on to the front; he went behind his desk and sat down. He opened his notebook and ran his finger down the first page. He paused a moment, then looked directly at Luna. "Non–verbal incantations. Who can tell me what they are? Miss Lovegood?"

Luna smiled at him. "Is this a trick question?"

Pester stared at her for a moment. "I can assure you, Miss Lovegood, I don't ask trick questions. Can someone answer?"

"It's where you say the incantation in your head," Hector Freeman called out.

"Yes, that's right," Luna said before Pester could continue. She turned to look at Hector. "Ten points for Ravenclaw!" She was the only one who laughed; she turned apologetically back to the front. "I'm sorry, Professor, I was only trying to lighten things up a bit."

"Wands out!" said Pester sharply. "Pair up! I want you to take turns using Expelliarmus and Protego on each other, non–verbally."

Ginny nudged Keesha. "You take Luna," she whispered, "otherwise no one will." Keesha nodded and tapped Luna on her shoulder. Luna turned with a surprised and then a pleased expression. "Thanks, Keesha," she said, and smiled.

Ginny paired with a Hufflepuff girl who she knew only from classes, Ruth Madison. She wasn't very good at first, and Ginny had no trouble Disarming her almost every time she cast the spell. She wasn't sure why she herself was so adept with a non–verbal spell, though. She had a tiny suspicion that it had something to do with Harry, who was very good at it. Professor Pester was walking around the room, giving out instructions and correcting hand movements. When he stopped to watch Ginny and Ruth, Ginny glanced at him, and he nodded to her with the same sardonic smile he had used behind the inn. Ginny frowned, and at that moment Ruth cast her first successful non–verbal Expelliarmus and Ginny's wand flew up into the air and sailed across the room onto the floor, where Jace Kleinhead sneered at her and kicked it under a cabinet.

"Never let yourself be distracted, Miss Weasley," Professor Pester said, and walked away.

Ginny looked ruefully at him while he was helping two other students and ignored her. "Did you see where my wand went?" she asked Ruth.

She nodded toward the cabinet. "Under there. Kleinhead kicked it."

"Give me your wand for a second," Ginny said quietly. She walked with it to the side of the room where the Slytherins were attempting to cast their spells; they all smirked at her. Without taking her eyes from Jace Kleinhead, she pointed Ruth's wand at the base of the cabinet. "Accio wand," she said inside her head, and when it was in her hand, she pointed it at Jace, smiled sweetly, and the next instant he was thrown across the room against the wall. He slid down and thudded to the floor, and lay there looking at her fearfully.

"I didn't realize you were paired with Mr. Kleinhead," Professor Pester said from behind her. "It does seem as though you've mastered the technique." He walked to the Slytherin boy, who was gasping for breath, picked up his wand and pulled him off the floor by his arm, then handed him his wand. "Protego," he said loudly. "That's the shield charm. Are you familiar with it?"

Kleinhead nodded curtly, then pulled his arm away; he glared at Ginny and went back to his seat, where he was joined by the rest of the Slytherins who looked daggers at Ginny until she met their eyes, and then they averted theirs.

"Seats, everyone!" Pester called, and Ginny and Keesha grinned at each other as they sat. The Professor continued. "The first part of today's homework assignment will be to read the first four chapters of your text, and write twelve inches summarizing them. By the end of next week everyone must be proficient at non–verbal spells, so we can move on."

He glanced at his watch. "We have about fifteen minutes left," he went on briskly. "I want to discuss the subject of Unforgivable Curses. Please take notes." Ginny perked up; was he doing this because of the dead weasel? She took out a parchment and a quill, and bent over her desk as Pester began.

"You all know what an Unforgivable Curse is, and you all know that it's illegal to use one. A few years ago, as I'm sure you all remember, an imposter disguised as Alastor Moody demonstrated them in this classroom, and he would have gotten into a lot of trouble if Headmaster Dumbledore had not supported him. Mad–Eye Moody was one of the greatest Aurors who ever lived, and he captured more Dark wizards than anyone, but personally I don't think what the imposter did here was right. Now, part of my job as teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts is –—"

He stopped and everyone looked up. He was staring at Luna, who was, again, gazing up at the ceiling. Her quill was lying on the desk; she had not written a single word. Pester cleared his throat. "Miss Lovegood, would you care to join us?"

She looked around. "Where are we going?"

Pester ignored the sniggering. "I've been talking. Can you recall for me what I said? It was important, I think."

She nodded. "You said, 'You all know what an Unforgivable Curse is, and you all know that it's illegal to use one. A few years ago, an ex–Auror named Alastor Moody demonstrated them in this classroom —'"

"Thank you, Miss Lovegood!" Pester cut her off loudly.

"You're welcome, Professor," she said cheerfully. "Is there anything else you forgot that you want me to tell you?"

"Class dismissed!"

Ginny and Keesha controlled themselves until they were out in the corridor with Luna, then they fell into each others arms, and couldn't stop laughing, until Professor Pester came out of the classroom and swept past them; he strode quickly down the hall and around a corner.

"Luna, that was brilliant!" Ginny chortled and wiped tears from her eyes. "I didn't know you could memorize things like that."

"Oh, yes," she said seriously, "I can remember all kinds of things. I learned how to do it from my dad."

Keesha burst out laughing again, and then Ginny did. Luna smiled uncertainly, but she also looked pleased with herself.

"You got us out of more homework," Keesha said, trying to catch her breath. "Like Ginny said, that was brilliant!"

"I did? That's probably for the best. He didn't seem to know what he was doing." Luna waved and turned up the spiral staircase that led to the Ravenclaw tower.

Ginny also waved to Keesha. "See you later. I've got to start organizing the Quidditch team." They parted, and Ginny headed for the common room. She came through the portrait hole and saw a small group of students gathered around the notice board; Jimmy Peakes saw her and beckoned. "Let me put my books away," she called. "I'll be right back."

When she returned the crowd had grown, and they all turned to her, then made a path for her to get to the notice board. She took down the Quidditch sign–up sheet and sat at a table. Jimmy, Demelza, and Ritchie also sat, and the rest crowded around. Ginny ran her finger down the list; there were only four experienced players, including herself, which was not necessarily bad, but she noticed that no one had signed up to play Keeper.

She looked at the faces around her. "No one wants to try out for Keeper?"

There was silence, until a small voice spoke from the back. "I will." Dennis Creevey pushed his way through, and smiled at Ginny.

"You're too small," Jimmy Peakes scowled. "You couldn't even block one goal, let alone all three."

"I am not too small!" Dennis exclaimed angrily. "Giulio Delucca on Napoli United is an inch shorter than I am, and he's the best in the Italian league."

"He's at least two inches taller than you, and that's the weakest league on the continent," Jimmy rejoined. "We need someone with a little range."

"Well," Ginny interrupted the argument, "if no one else is going to try out, then Dennis is the tallest Keeper we have. Quickness is just as important as reach."

"I'm extremely quick," Dennis said quickly, before Jimmy could object. "Small is quick."

Ginny chuckled. "And small is also feisty, like my brothers used to say. Okay, I'll pencil you in as Keeper." She looked around. "I want to get started with tryouts as soon as possible, since we'll have at least three new players on the team. I'll see about scheduling the pitch for this Satur—" She paused. "Um, next Saturday. Meanwhile, I'll keep the sheet up on the board. The more sign–ups we have, the better."

Ginny felt satisfied, except for the small difficulty she saw coming with her weekends. They could have short practices on weekdays, but they would need weekends for the longer sessions of intricate passing and blocking drills. She would also have to come from Hogsmeade to meet up with the team at the pitch on those days, since she was not going to impinge on the time she and Harry had alone.

She also felt excited. She had never been the Quidditch leader before; even when she played Seeker in place of Harry two years ago, it was understood that it was his team, and she was just playing his position, not captaining the team. And last year had been a joke, with the Carrows not allowing the teams to have captains, and controlling everything; they had rightly suspected that the Quidditch teams, except for Slytherin, were hotbeds of rebellion, perfect covers for subversive activities. Now she was running the show, and she already had ideas percolating in her mind: tactics, training methods, signals. She suddenly realized that, as much as she loved playing Quidditch with Harry, she liked the idea of running the team by herself.

It was getting toward dinner time, and she also had to check some Herbology and Potions books in the library, so she decided to eat early. As she was leaving through the portrait hole, she heard her name called, and saw Emma and Claire following her. She waited for them, and they went down to the Great Hall together. "How was your first day of classes?" she asked.

"Transfiguration was great!" said Emma. "I almost changed my matches, but they kept on lighting and burning up. Herbology was okay, but some of those plants she talked about were disgusting."

"I liked Care of Magical Creatures best," Claire chimed in. "I love Hagrid. He's funny."

"He is wonderful," Ginny agreed. "So it feels good to be learning magic?"

"Yes!" they said together. "There are two Muggle–borns in Hufflepuff, and I think we'll be friends," Emma added. "Even thought they're boys."

"Boys can be okay," Ginny smiled. "I grew up with six brothers. You just have to know how to handle them."

"Will you teach us that?" Claire was serious. "We don't have any brothers."

Ginny laughed. "I'll be happy to talk to you, but you're on your own when you're with them. They don't like it when someone's analyzing them."

"What's that mean?" Emma asked.

"Don't talk about them in front of other people, unless you're sure they won't find out. And that's all the advice I'm going to give you now."

They entered the Great Hall and Ginny looked at the staff table. Professor Pester was sitting by himself at the end, his head once again buried in his notebook. The teachers sitting near him — Madame Hooch and Professor Sprout — were engaged in conversation and didn't seem to notice him. Ginny wondered if he even wanted any friends here.

She ate and spent the next few hours in the library, working on her parchment for Pester and doing research for Potions and Herbology; she went back up to Gryffindor Tower tired from her first day of real studying in six months. She flopped down on her bed, pulled the hangings shut — both of her roommates were lying in their beds, chattering loudly to each other about a new liaison between a Hufflepuff fourth–year girl and a Ravenclaw sixth–year boy — and took out her locket; it was dark enough that she didn't have to cup her hands over the picture to see Harry's green eyes sparkle and glow. There were only two more days until she would be with him in his — their — four–poster. This had been an eventful day, but the thing that stood out in her mind was the look in Harry's eyes when he had turned back to her outside the Room of Requirement. He had been hurt — and very frustrated — but he had understood and had taken her face in his hands and kissed her. Her heart had utterly melted, and for the rest of the time they were together she would have done anything for him.

She pushed the hangings back and got up. She would go to the Owlery and send Bailey to him with a letter; at least she could tell him how good she had felt. But as she was slipping her shoes back on, there was scratching at the window, and she saw McPherson perched on the sill, a small bundle tied to his leg and a mouse dangling by its tail from his beak.

Her roommates were staring at the owl. "Eww, don't let that thing in here," Sarah made a face. "It's got a dead something in its mouth."

"It's a mouse, owls eat mice," Ginny said. She opened the window, but McPherson didn't try to come in; he extended his leg and Ginny took the package. "Is that tidbit for Bailey?" she said. The owl puffed his chest and hooted. As he flew off, Ginny called, "Come back later! I'll have a message for Harry!" She smiled and closed the window, then returned to her bed and closed the hangings, ignoring the curious looks of Sarah and Christina.

She opened the package; inside was a small box wrapped in pink paper with the Honeydukes label, and inside that were three Chocoballs. There was also a piece of parchment. Ginny bit into one of the Chocoballs and let the strawberry mousse and clotted cream fill her mouth; she closed her eyes and savored the heavenly taste.

The parchment was a short note from Harry.

Ginny my love,

This is my gift for you tonight, since I can't be with you. You are the most precious person in the world, and I love you so much I can't stand it. I will dream of you again tonight.

Love, Harry

Ginny leaned back on her pillow. Here, at the end of the day, she had the same desire to chuck it all and go to Harry that she had this morning. She reached out of the hangings and took parchment, quill, and ink from her nightstand and wrote.

Beloved,

Chocoballs are my favorite! As I am eating them, I imagine that I am in heaven, but I can never really be in that place unless I am with you, and that is where I truly am when we are together.

Tonight I will love you in my dreams.

Your dessert,

Ginny

PS — Don't forget to find me on your map.

When McPherson returned a half an hour later, Ginny gave him the note and went to bed, wishing that Harry was there to comb her hair and kiss her good night.

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