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

Author: MyGinevra

Story: Losing Each Other

Part: 12: New Magic

Rating: Young Teens

Status: Completed

Reviews: 9

Words: 6,487

Updated: June 15, 2009, 11:10pm

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12: New Magic

Harry and Ginny picked their way back across the clearing to the lane, and the stag vanished as soon as Harry turned away. Alastor Moody poked at a few of the Dementors’ remains, but then followed them. Everyone from the Burrow was standing at the edge of the clearing except Ginny’s parents and Hermione. They watched in silence as Harry and Ginny approached.

“Where’s Hermione?” Harry asked Ron.

“Her folks got here just as those things started flying over, and she and Mum stayed in the house with them. They were terrified, poor blokes.” Ron shook his head. “Dad went back to head off the fire department.”

Everyone stared at Harry, but he said nothing. He was exhausted, and didn’t want to answer any questions.

“Shouldn’t we clean this up?” Bill gestured around the clearing as Moody arrived, looking grim.

“Not yet,” Mad–Eye growled. “Someone from the Ministry will be here soon, you can bet on it. Shacklebolt or Tonks, I hope. They should see this. Wait, Potter!” he called to Harry, who had started up the lane toward the Burrow with Ginny and Ron. “You need to be here when they come.”

Harry stopped and turned. “I’m about to fall asleep on my feet, I’ve been up for more than two days, my foot’s hurting again, and I’m hungry. If they want to talk to me, they can come to the house.”

“Come on.” Ginny put her arm around his waist and urged him on. “We all need breakfast.”

“I’m not talking to anyone from the Ministry except your father, Kingsley, or Tonks,” Harry declared as they approached the Burrow. “I’ll never trust Scrimgeour.”

“Wait till you hear what happened after Dumbledore’s funeral,” Ginny said. “I never told you.”

Harry stopped outside the door. “What do you mean? I know you walked around the lake and your feet got all messed up. Was there more?”

“I was standing by the lake and Rufus Scrimgeour came out of the woods and started asking me questions. About you. I tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let me go. He actually grabbed my arm and pulled his wand on me.”

A look of fury came over Harry’s face. “That son of a —”

“Let me finish,” Ginny interrupted, and she told him about the centaurs and the mermaid. “I’m sure it was the same mermaid we saw in the fog.”

“Why did the centaurs do that? They don’t care anything about us.”

Ginny glanced at Ron, who was listening avidly. “Let’s go eat,” she said, and pushed Harry into the Burrow.

Arthur Weasley was about to go out the door, but he stopped when he saw Harry. “Is everything all right?” he asked. “What was that stag? How did it get there?”

Mrs. Weasley was standing in front of the stove, and she had turned to look when they came inside. Hermione was seated at the table with her parents, but she jumped up and ran over to Harry. “It was some kind of Patronus, wasn’t it? I mean, from what Mr. Weasley described, it must have been.”

Harry nodded wearily. “Yeah, it was a Patronus, but I don’t know why it was so... so strong. I’m sorry. I can hardly stand up. I need to eat. So does Ginny, and we need to go to bed, too. I mean —” He looked quickly at Mrs. Weasley, but she just turned back to the stove. “I mean, we both need some sleep. I’m babbling.”

Ginny squeezed his hand and led him to the table. “Merry Christmas, Dr. Granger, Dr. Granger,” she said to Hermione’s parents. “Did my dad tell you that the Dementors are gone?”

“Oh, no!” Ron, who had just sat down, stood up. “I completely forgot! It’s Christmas.”

Hermione jerked him back into his seat. “Relax, Ron. Your presents will still be there in an hour.” Ron turned red and busied himself with a bowl of porridge.

Harry felt more and more drowsy as he ate, and Ginny watched as his head drooped lower and lower. “You need to sleep,” she finally said, and hauled him out of his chair. “Mum, Harry’s foot’s bothering him again. Where’s that potion? I’ll take it upstairs.”

“Ginny, you may not use magic in this house,” her mother admonished. “You’ll get your father in trouble.”

“All right,” Ginny grumbled. “Hermione can do it.”

With Ron and Hermione helping, and with only surreptitious glances from her mother, Ginny led Harry up into Ron’s attic room. A snowy owl hooted from a perch near the window as they entered. “Hedwig!” Harry smiled. “When did you get here?”

He stumbled over to her and stroked her back, and she clucked and nibbled his hand. Then he stumbled back to his camp bed; there was a pile of Christmas presents on it. He pushed them onto the floor, fell onto the camp bed, and was instantly asleep.

“What’s with Mum?” Ginny asked Ron as she pulled off Harry’s boots and socks; his right heel was bright red. “I expected another lecture about being with Harry.”

“The folks had a little talk this morning, right before the Dementors came over. You were still upstairs. I couldn’t hear everything, but I think Dad told her to back off you two.”

“Wow! Dad told her that?”

“Well, Harry saved half the family’s lives, after all.”

Ginny was kneeling next to the cot, applying the potion. She knew that her father had not said that simply out of gratitude. Last spring, when he had explained the centaurs and the mermaid to her, he had been smiling when he said that she was “Harry’s girl.” Well, now she really was Harry’s girl. She squeezed his hand, and he mumbled inaudibly in his sleep.

Ginny wiped up the potion, and Hermione waved her wand over his heel. The skin slowly turned a healthy pink.

“Excellent, Ginny!” Hermione whispered. Ginny covered Harry with a blanket and kissed him. A tiny smile passed over his face, and he mumbled again.

They went quietly downstairs, and Ginny stopped outside her room. “I need to go to bed, too, but stop in for a minute.” Inside, she pushed the trunk out of the way and climbed onto her bed. “People from the Ministry will be here soon,” she said, “and we need to keep them away from Harry, at least for today. You heard him say he won’t talk to anyone except Dad, Kingsley, and Tonks?” she asked Ron.

He nodded. “And I hope Percy doesn’t show up, either, for his sake. After what happened in the clearing, I expect that Fred and George will let him have it.”

“That’s his problem. What Harry did today is going to turn everything topsy-turvy, and Percy’s on the wrong side again.”

Hermione sat on the bed and leaned toward Ginny. “Tell me what happened. Your dad said it was a fiery Patronus.”

Ginny thought back on the incredible scene in the clearing. “Yeah, and Moody said he never saw anything like it. It’s new magic, Hermione. His stag was flying around the clearing, and every time it touched a Dementor, it blew up. It was brilliant, and scary. Flames came out when it stamped its hooves. And then Moody said, ‘You just won the war for us, Potter.’” She shook her head and put her hand over her heart. “Can it be true?”

“What about the Horcruxes?” Ron asked. “Even if Voldemort got burned up, he’d still be alive.”

Hermione nodded. “I think what Alastor meant was that if the Dementors start taking orders from the Ministry again, Voldemort would lose his main weapon. People wouldn’t be so terrified anymore. He’d have to rely on Death Eaters to do his fighting, and there just aren’t that many of them.”

She turned to Ginny. “Did Harry tell you how he did it? It wouldn’t do much good if he was the only one who could conjure them.”

The question embarrassed Ginny, but she took a breath and answered. “Just before he went outside, we were in here, and I, uh, showed him how the sun comes in through the window at dawn. I like to sit on the sill and watch it. When my shadow falls on the wall over there, the sun makes kind of a halo around my hair.” She giggled. “It sounds stupid, I know, but I like it, and so did Harry. And that’s what he said he saw right before he conjured the stag.”

Hermione frowned. “But that’s just like conjuring a normal Patronus. You think of a happy memory. Something else happened that made it different.”

Ginny thought. “He told Mad–Eye that he felt as though he was about to lose something that made him happy. Me, I suppose.” Hermione smiled and got off the bed.

“That still doesn’t explain it,” she said. We’ll have to wait until he wakes up. You look like you need sleep, too. And I don’t want to leave my parents alone. And you,” she turned to Ron, “you need to open your Christmas presents, don’t you?”

“I’d sure like to,” he replied earnestly. Hermione laughed and pulled him out of the room.

It was late afternoon when Ginny awoke. She went straight upstairs and peeked in Ron’s room; Harry was still asleep. Downstairs, she found her mother, Hermione, and Hermione’s parents in the kitchen, and a confrontation of some kind going on in the yard. There were raised voices from several people; her father’s was the loudest.

“It’s that man, Rufus Scrimgeour,” Molly said angrily. “He poisoned Percy’s mind against his family, he threatened you, and now he wants Harry to show him how he killed all those Dementors. Ginny, come here, I’d like to talk to you.”

Ginny wanted to go outside, but she followed her mother into the parlor, not knowing what to expect. Molly sat on the sofa and beckoned Ginny to sit next to her.

“I’m certain you’ve been annoyed with me,” she began, “and I understand. I talked to your father and some of our other friends, and they told me I should be a little more trusting.”

Ginny nodded. “I think so too, Mum.”

Molly smiled. “Well, you’re right. You know how much I love Harry, and how badly I felt because of how he was treating you, not just for your sake, but for his as well.” She fidgeted and glanced up as more loud voices came from outside. “You’ll be seventeen soon. All of my children will be grown. I don’t know if I’m ready for that, I suppose that’s why I did those things.” She dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her apron.

“It’s okay, Mum. It’s all working out for me and Harry, and you helped, you really did. All those times I wanted to talk, you listened.”

“Oh, Ginny!” Molly hugged her. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you and Harry... I mean, it’s wonderful for everyone. And look what it did for Harry’s magic, just like I thought it would. Oh!” She jumped up, tears flowing down her face, and ran out of the parlor. Ginny heard her go upstairs and into her room.

Ginny shook her head and smiled. She knew that it was Tonks and Remus whom her mum “had talked to.” She and Harry could be a little more discreet for the next few days; after all, they would be back at Hogwarts in a week....

There was shouting from the yard, and Ginny looked out the window. Her father was face–to–face with Rufus Scrimgeour, shaking his finger at the Minister of Magic. Ginny hurried outside. Tonks and Kingsley were back from London, and Percy and two other wizards from the Ministry stood outside the yard, looking as though they were witnessing a disemboweling. Remus, Moody, and the rest of the Weasley family, except for the twins, were gathered around the main combatants. Fred and George stood menacingly near Percy with their wands out, tapping them in unison against their open palms.

Mr. Weasley and Scrimgeour stopped shouting when they saw Ginny. Scrimgeour stepped back from Arthur, looking somewhat abashed.

“He wanted to see Harry,” Ron whispered to Ginny, as the Minister began a conversation with Tonks and Kingsley. “Then Dad asked him what happened at the lake after Dumbledore’s funeral, and they started yelling. I guess Dad never brought it up at the office.”

Ginny stared at Rufus Scrimgeour, and he glanced at her. “You can’t see him!” she said loudly. “He’s sleeping.”

“I see.” Scrimgeour watched as Arthur and Bill moved to stand near Ginny. He smiled; he was a handsome man, Ginny thought, and glared at him fiercely. His smile widened. “Miss Weasley, I’m here because I want to ask Harry Potter for his help. I just saw the amazing results of this new magic of his —” he waved in the direction of the clearing — “and I’m hoping to get a chance to ask him to share it with the rest of the Wizarding world.”

“He’s asleep. It kind of tired him out, as you can imagine.”

“I do appreciate that, but maybe you could —”

The door to the Burrow opened, and Harry stepped out, looking disheveled and sleepy. “I heard shouting. It woke me up.” Ginny scowled at Scrimgeour.

“Harry.” The Minister was not quite unctuous, and not quite pushy. “Can we talk?”

Harry turned to Moody. “Alastor, please tell the Minister of Magic that I won’t speak to him until he apologizes to Ginny Weasley for his behavior toward her after Professor Dumbledore’s funeral.”

But then Ginny spoke. “Also tell him that I won’t accept his apology until he tells Harry he’s sorry for his behavior last Christmas.”

Moody looked at Scrimgeour. “Rufus, Harry Potter says —”

“I heard him!” Scrimgeour snapped.

“And Ginny Weasley says —”

“All right!” Scrimgeour shouted, and began to limp out of the yard. Then he stopped, paused for several seconds, and turned back. His face was red and his teeth were clenched, but he bowed his head to Ginny. “Miss Weasley, I apologize if I have ever offended you. If I did, it was only because I felt so strongly that you could help us defeat our common enemies. Harry, I also offer an apology to you. You and I have our disagreements, but they shouldn’t keep us from cooperating in whatever way we can, likewise to defeat our enemies.”

Ginny did not believe a word of it, and it seemed that it took a great effort for Scrimgeour to utter those words. But she looked at Harry and assented with a small nod.

“Apologies accepted,” Harry said. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well, perhaps we could have a more private conversation somewhere.”

Harry shook his head. “I won’t say anything to you about what happened this morning, except in front of everyone.”

“Very well,” replied Scrimgeour, clearly not happy, “if that’s the only way the official Wizarding world can find out. Maybe you can tell all of us exactly what happened, and how. That is, if you know.”

“What makes you think he doesn’t know?” Ginny demanded.

Scrimgeour looked at her cooly. “Nothing, yet.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you exactly how I did it,” said Harry. “First of all, I’m not sure myself, and second of all, some of it’s personal.”

“Then what good is it if you’re the only one who knows how to do it?”

“Rufus,” Mad–Eye cut in, “you know damn well that if he can do it, someone else can, too. You’ve got two of your best Aurors right here —” he gestured at Tonks and Kingsley — “and I’ll give you fifty Galleons if they can’t duplicate the trick an hour after Potter here tells them what he did. Harry, go ahead, tell him what happened.”

Harry looked gratefully at Mad–Eye. Percy took a small, leather–bound book and a quill from the wizard standing next to him. The twins glared, but he cleared his throat and ignored them. Everyone moved closer to Harry.

“Go get Hermione,” he said to Ginny. She hurried inside and in a moment reappeared with Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Hermione’s parents. Ginny and Molly stood next to Harry; Molly patted Harry’s shoulder and glared at Rufus Scrimgeour, then smiled at Percy, who ignored her. Fred muttered something to George, and Percy took a step away from them.

“Muggles?” Scrimgeour looked from the Grangers to Arthur Weasley.

“My parents,” Hermione said angrily.

“And my guests,” Arthur added. “If you don’t want to associate with them, you can leave now.” He turned to the Grangers, who were looking uncertainly at the crowd in the yard. “I apologize. It won’t happen again.”

Harry described the events of the morning, beginning with the appearance of the swarm of Dementors, up to the moment he was lying on the ground with one of them hovering over him. “I had a memory of something... happy, very happy. And then I felt that I was going to lose what was in that memory. And then the stag came out of my wand.”

“That’s it?” Scrimgeour sounded dubious.

Everyone could hear Percy scribbling in the book. Fred flicked his wand, and the inkpot being held by one of the wizards exploded, splattering ink all over the page, as well as Percy’s robes. He made a snarling noise at Fred, and the wizard hastily repaired the damage with his wand.

Harry glared at Scrimgeour. “That’s it, as far as what I’m going to tell you.” He turned to Molly. “Mrs. Weasley, can I get something to eat? I didn’t have much at breakfast.”

“Of course, Harry dear. Why didn’t you ask before? It’s almost dinner time anyway.” She bustled into the house. Harry nodded to the Minister, and followed with Ginny. Several conversations broke out in the yard.

“Well, sir,” Arthur smiled icily at Scrimgeour, “we’re about to eat dinner, so if you’ll excuse us.... It’s Christmas.” The Minister gestured to Percy and the two wizards, and stalked out of the yard. Percy glanced nervously at the twins, then hurried after Scrimgeour. They Disapparated a few yards down the road.

Harry slumped into a chair in the kitchen and Ginny helped her mother put Christmas dinner on the table. The rest of the company soon joined them and the room buzzed with talk about the Minister’s visit. Remus sat next to Harry.

“That can’t be all of it,” he said to Harry in a low voice. “There must be something else. The kind of magic we saw out there this morning...” He shook his head. “Harry, do you have any idea how powerful that was? Something new like that might not come along for another hundred years.”

“I can’t explain it,” Harry said. Then he grinned. “Except...” He grabbed Ginny’s arm as she was passing with a gravy boat in her hand. She yelped, and barely managed to land the dish on the table.

“Sorry.” Harry smiled. “My muse,” he said to Remus, pulling Ginny next to him; she put her arm around him.

Lupin appraised them. “Listen, let’s enjoy dinner. It’s a great holiday, and there’s a lot to celebrate. After dinner we’ll talk.”

Harry let Ginny go, and chewed his lip. Remus watched him. “Would that be all right with you?”

“It would be all right if it was just you and me. Well, Ginny and Ron and Hermione, too. It was so... so intense. It was like my insides jumped out. I don’t want to talk about in front of everyone.”

Remus smiled and nodded. “That’s fine, Harry, We’ll do that.”

The meal began, and even as it was happening, Harry and Ginny both felt that it was the best Christmas they had ever had. Harry was starving, and ate more than Ron, to everyone’s amusement. Ginny sat next to him; his right leg was entwined with her left under the table. Everyone talked loudly. Moody got drunk on mead, and Tonks discovered that she could completely befuddle him by changing her appearance, then introducing herself as a different witch. Soon the entire table was engulfed in laughter.

The meal ended, and Molly shooed everyone out of the kitchen. Harry stopped Hermione and Ron as they headed for the parlor. “Come upstairs,” he said. “I’m going to tell Remus what happened this morning, or what I think happened.” He led them and Ginny and Remus up to Ron’s room.

“I know I have to tell as much as I can remember,” he began, sitting on his camp bed; Ginny joined him, and the others sat on Ron’s bed. “I did not want to tell Scrimgeour anything. He’ll just use it for his own purposes.”

“Harry, that’s not fair,” Lupin objected. “Rufus Scrimgeour is very political, but he is on the right side, you know. He does want to defeat Voldemort.”

“Fine,” Harry said reluctantly, “but I don’t credit that apology he gave one bit. You’ll be telling everything to Tonks and Kingsley, so Scrimgeour will find out from them.”

Remus nodded. “Go ahead, then.”

Harry took a breath; Ginny held his hand, and he looked at her. “This morning, Ginny sat on the window sill in her room, and I watched the sun come up behind her. I never saw anything like it. The sunlight came through her hair and it was like it was on fire. It was like she was on fire, but not burning up. It was so beautiful....” He leaned toward her, then caught himself and grinned at the others.

“I started walking toward her, and I tripped on something and fell on the bed, and that’s when her mum came in. I got us both in trouble.” He smiled. “I went outside and walked down to the clearing. When the Dementors came, I tried Expecto Patronum, but it didn’t work. I guess I was too scared, there were so many of them.” Harry’s voice had dropped to a whisper; Ginny put her hand on his shoulder.

Now Harry spoke with more difficulty. “One of them grabbed me... and pulled me down. It was right over me, and there was... a shadow around it. I think I figured I was going to die. And then, Ginny just flashed into my mind.” He turned to her. “You were there in place of the Dementor, and you were on fire, just like you were sitting on the sill in your room.”

Lupin leaned forward, an eager look on his face; his eyes were almost ferocious. “I think I see where you’re going, Harry, but continue.”

Harry looked at him. “It was total joy. Ginny had come to save me again, but I knew that she couldn’t. I knew that I was going to lose her forever. And then it became total rage. It just came up from inside me and filled me. I’ve never been as angry as that.” Once again he faced Ginny. “It was just so unfair that I had seen you like that once, but I would never see you like that again. At that moment I would have killed anyone who was between me and you sitting on that window sill.”

“Go on,” Remus whispered.

“I think I stuck my wand in its face, but I know I didn’t say anything. And then my stag shot out of the wand, and... and you saw the rest.”

They were all silent. Ginny put her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his. “Harry,” she spoke softly into his ear. “I love you.”

He turned bright pink. “Yes, I... I—” Ginny laughed and kissed him quickly.

Remus stood up; he smiled broadly, and Harry could not remember ever seeing him look so good.

“Harry, you don’t mind now if I tell the others, do you?”

Harry shook his head; he did not trust his voice at the moment.

“Good, good!” Remus rubbed his hands together, as though anticipating another feast. “This is wonderful, Harry. This is everything I hoped for when I first saw what you did out there. This is truly a gift.” He paused at the door. “It may sound strange, but James and Lily were truly blessed to have you, Harry. And so are we, all of us.”

After Remus left, they sat and talked. “I’m gonna try it first thing in the morning,” Ron declared. “A dog can be very fiery, don’t you think?”

Ginny grinned. “So what would make you deliriously happy and enraged if you lost it? I mean, besides food?”

“Well, there is that, but I’m sure I can think of something else.”

Hermione smacked him. “You’d better!”

Ron pushed her down on the bed and started tickling her. “Does this make you happy? Or furious?” Hermione pulled him down and rolled over, but the bed was too narrow and they fell onto the floor with a thud. They got up laughing.

“Oh, no,” Harry exclaimed, sitting up suddenly; he and Ginny had been half–reclining on the camp bed. They all looked at him in alarm. “No, no! It’s not horrible. I just totally forgot your Christmas presents.”

“Oh, Harry, don’t worry about it,” Ginny said. “No one needs presents from you.”

He grinned. “Well, it so happens that I already know what I’m getting you, so it’s too late.”

“In that case,” she laughed, “wake me up early — for the sunrise. And then give me your present.”

The conversation went on. Harry started yawning, and then they all did. They walked downstairs, and Ron and Hermione went on down to the first floor; people were still in the parlor, and the wireless was on, playing Muggle Christmas carols. But Harry and Ginny stopped outside her room.

“I mean it,” she said, as Harry took her in his arms. “Come down before dawn. I want to show you something.” She giggled.

Harry looked into her face; with his finger he traced her cheeks, her brow, her freckled nose, her lips. He ran his fingers through her hair. He kissed her softly and pressed her against him.

“Ginny,” he whispered. “I love you.”

They stood for a long time on the landing, not talking much, but saying everything. Finally, Harry walked slowly away and up the stairs. He got into bed and slept like a lover who knows that his love is also sleeping.

Harry awoke while it was still dark out. Ron was asleep, and Hedwig was making scratching noises on her perch. Harry opened the window for her. “Don’t go far,” he said as she crouched to take off. “I’m going to need you before breakfast.”

She hooted softly and vanished into the night. Harry dressed and tiptoed downstairs. He listened at Ginny’s door, then knocked softly. “Harry?” came a sleepy voice.

“It’s me,” he said quietly.

“Wait a sec.” He heard her climb out of bed, and then the sound of her trunk opening and closing. In a moment the door opened.

Ginny was peeking from behind the door; her hair was tousled, and when she smiled sleepily at him, Harry suddenly lost his bearings; he stared at her with a befuddled look.

“Close your mouth,” Ginny giggled. “You’ll drool all over the floor.”

“M—Maybe I shouldn’t come in,” he stammered.

“Nonsense.” She yanked him inside. Just as she closed the door, Harry thought he heard another door down the hall also close quietly. They kissed, then Ginny pushed him away as he started to pull her closer. “I thought you were here to see the sunrise.” She giggled again.

Harry took a deep breath, then several more. “Yes, the sunrise.” He took more breaths, and grinned. “Will it save my life again?”

“Every time.” Ginny glanced at the window; the east was starting to grow light. She sat in the sill, and looked at Harry standing in the dark. “So where’s my Christmas present?”

Harry laughed, and walked to the wall next to the door. “Hedwig has to take the orders to Diagon Alley. She’s hunting, but I told her to be back before breakfast.”

“Diagon Alley, hmm. A big pot of gold from Gringotts, or another hair clip from that old witch? Which one is it?”

“Neither, and don’t ask any more questions, or you won’t get anything.”

Ginny leaned against the frame and looked at Harry with a small smile. “I love you,” she said.

Harry started to walk toward her, but she pointed her finger at him. “Uh, uh. Against the wall.”

“You’re mean,” he grumbled as he backed up to the wall. “Maybe I should forget about your present.”

Ginny smiled again, and turned to watch the sun rise. It broke over the horizon, and they could see that the sky was clear. There was no overcast and no mist. Ginny turned so that she was sitting square in the window. The sun climbed, and the golden–red light around her head flooded into the room. Harry stood as though stunned; it was even more beautiful than yesterday. Ginny was more beautiful than yesterday.

When the sun had climbed above her head, Harry came and led her from the window. He kissed her. “I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes,” he said.

Hedwig was back on her perch, and Harry quickly wrote out two parchments and tied them to her leg. He told her where to deliver them, then dressed and hurried downstairs. He found only the twins in the kitchen; the rest of the house was apparently sleeping in. The outside door was open, and Harry could see a witch and a wizard who he didn’t recognize standing in the yard. Fred was blocking them from coming inside, and George stood behind him. They turned their heads as Harry entered.

“‘Ere, that’s him, i’nn it?” the wizard cried; the witch raised a camera, but Fred put his hand over the lens. Harry realized that they must be reporters from the Daily Prophet.

“I told you he’s still asleep,” Fred said. “That’s not him. That’s his long–lost twin brother, Henry Potter. They found him a couple of days ago in Surrey.”

The wizard frowned. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do yer?”

“Actually, I did. I said no pictures!” He pushed the witch back as a flash went off.

At that moment Ginny came down the stairs and stopped when she saw the strangers.

“Now, who’s that?” The wizard pointed his quill at Ginny. “That’s ‘is girlfriend, i’nn it? Miss Weasley,” he called, “was you the inspiration for Harry’s new Patronus? Were you with him when he burned up them Dementors?”

“Fred, let me talk to him,” Harry said. “They’ll never leave us alone if I don’t.” He stepped outside, and Ginny joined him. “Nothing about her, though,” Harry ordered. “I don’t want to see her name in the paper.”

“Harry!” Ginny poked him and glared. “Maybe I want to be in it.”

Harry looked at her for a moment. “You’re right,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”

The witch was taking photographs, and the wizard’s quill was writing it all down in a notebook. Harry took the wizard’s arm and pulled him away from the house. “Look,” he said in as cordial a voice as he could muster, “why don’t we walk down to the field where it all happened? Won’t that appeal to your readers?”

“I already got shots of that,” the witch said.

“Yeah, but not wi’ him,” the wizard replied. “‘At’s a good idear. Let’s go.”

Harry took Ginny’s hand. “That was the old me,” he said in a low voice as they proceeded down the lane. “I’m sorry.”

“I know.” she smiled. “Old or new, it doesn’t matter to me.”

The witch photographer ran in front and took pictures of them as they walked. Harry looked around the clearing when they got there; all of the remains had been Scourgified away, and only charred grass remained to show that the clearing had been on fire.

Harry started talking before the wizard could ask questions. He told the same story he had told Rufus Scrimgeour, and mentioned nothing of what he had said last night to Remus and the others. “So it was a combination of happiness and anger, but really, really raging anger, you might say. I felt like I was burning up inside, and I suppose that’s why my Patronus was fiery.”

“Innerestin’, very innerestin’. The readers are gonna lap this up.” The wizard grinned, then looked at Ginny. “So yer ‘arry’s girlfriend?” Ginny blushed, and the witch snapped a photo. “No need to answer that one,” the wizard grinned again. “Well, ‘arry, thanks, and we got to get back to London. Deadline’s in an hour for the afternoon edition. I ‘spect this’ll be front page.” He grinned again. The two stepped back and Disapparated.

“That article should be innerestin’,” Ginny said, “but I’m not sure I understand why you did it.”

“Well, people do have to know,” Harry answered. “And the more it gets around, the more Voldemort may think he has to do something. If people aren’t frightened as much, then he has less power, and I think that frightens him more than anything.”

“I think you’re right.” Ginny stopped and put her arms around him; they were only a few yards from the house. “It’s going to get very dangerous, isn’t it?” Harry nodded.

“Then I’m even more glad that you and I...” Ginny’s words tailed off, and they just looked at each other.

“Hey!” Ron called from the doorway. “Some presents came. One’s for you, Ginny. Come on, I want to open them!”

Three boxes wrapped in Christmas paper were sitting on the kitchen table. Two were long and narrow, and one was square. Hermione and Ron were standing impatiently; the twins and several others were sitting, speculating about the packages’ contents.

Harry handed the square box to Hermione. She ripped the paper off and tore the box open. Inside was a small, leather–bound book. Embossed on the cover in gold lettering were the words Encyclopaedia Magica - Compact Edition.

“Oh, Harry!” she squealed. “This is wonderful! I’ve been looking at this in Flourish and Blotts for years, but I could never, ever afford it. Thank you!” She hugged him.

Ron opened the book and leafed through a few pages. “I thought there were twenty or thirty volumes to this,” he said. “It can’t be all in here, the print’s too big.”

Hermione took it from him. “No, Ron, it works like this. You touch your wand here —” she put her wand on a tiny owl on the spine — “and whichever volume you want is there when you open it. See? Volume eleven: Goblin Rebellions through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

Ron shook his head as Hermione dove into the book. “That’s the last we’ll see of her for a month.”

“Don’t you want to open yours?” Harry pushed one of the long packages to Ron, and handed the other to Ginny. “Merry Christmas, Ginny.”

She pulled the paper off and opened the box. Her eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. Inside was a red rose and a Firebolt broomstick. Her hand shook as she picked it up. “Harry, you shouldn’t have. They’re so expensive. It’s beautiful!”

“You really know the way to a girl’s heart, my boy,” George cracked.

“Shut up, George,” Ginny told him. ‘You’re jealous. Harry, thank you!” She threw herself at him, almost knocking him to the floor.

Ron, meanwhile, was staring at his own Firebolt as if he was worshiping it. Harry beamed while Ginny planted kisses on him. Both brooms were passed around the room for everyone to admire.

“I notice you didn’t get a rose,” Fred remarked to Ron. “Is that because you’re ugly or Ginny’s beautiful?”

Ron didn’t hear him. “Come on!” he said to Harry excitedly. “Let’s try them out.”

“Harry, you can borrow one of ours,” George said. Then he glanced out the window. “Who is that?”

In the ruckus over the brooms, no one had noticed two people Apparating in the yard. Ginny looked and gave a cry of delight. “Elspeth!”

Everyone spilled outside. Elspeth and Edward Pendragon stood together; Elspeth still had her hand on her father’s elbow, and in the other she held Harry’s Firebolt.

“We brought it back for you, Harry,” she called. “What a neat house! Is this the Burrow, Ginny?”

Harry and Ginny stood on the edge of the commotion, watching as different people told Edward about the events of the past two days. Edward looked at Harry. “You’ve had quite a week, haven’t you, Harry? How is your foot?”

“It’s fine, sir,” Harry said. “I have the best Healer in Britain to take care of it.” He grinned at Ginny. “Are you ready to fly?” he asked her.

They walked down the lane to the clearing; Elspeth was at their side, chattering away about the Hogwarts Quidditch team. Behind them came Ron and Hermione and the rest of the Weasley family and their friends. Harry marveled at the clear sky, at the girl walking beside him who was looking over her new broomstick with an expression of wonder and delight that filled his heart. But another sensation was growing in him, something new, something he had never felt before. When he looked at Ginny, it surged; the people behind him seemed like a tide bearing it along. The feeling had strength in it. He did not know what to make of it.

They entered the clearing and Harry and Ginny took off together into the cloudless sky. They soared around the clearing, whooping and shouting. Ron joined them. They saw their friends and family waving to them from below. They could see Hermione sitting on the ground with her head bent over the Encyclopaedia Magica in her lap. Harry and Ginny hovered and watched Ron maneuvering his broom as though he was defending a Quidditch goal.

“They’ll never score on me again! This broom moves even when you just think about it!” He was exhilarated.

“You know what?” Harry looked keenly at Ginny. “I want to go back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. I have a hunch we can find the fifth Horcrux there, and then we can take on Voldemort.”

Ginny was startled by Harry’s change of subject and change of demeanor. “That’s okay with me, but why all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sure. But something’s different.” He gave her the same keen look. “Ginny, I can feel something inside me. It’s hard to describe. I don’t know what it is, but it’s... strong. If we go back to Hogwarts, I can figure it out.”

Ginny was not sure what to make of it, but she remembered what she had told herself after the talk with her mum.

“Let’s go pack,” she said.

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