Blood is Red

Disclaimer: I take credit for this plot and my own characters, but everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Note: I never liked authors who tried to answer all our questions, because there’s some things readers need to wait to understand, and there’s some that should be left to the imagination. I’ve never answered a single question about this story or Unsung Hero, but I figured I owed some explanations to you guys because you’ve been so wonderful to me.

Don’t make too big of a deal out of Ginny and Neville. I’m not quite done with the H/G factor just yet. You begged for Hermione, and I gave her to you, but I need the rest to happen gradually. I know the H/G is frustrating, but I need you guys to trust me that it will work out in the end. As for Lily and the whole Muggle/wizard situation...Muggles and wizards are supposed to be completely segregated. Wizard women are capable of magic, but the society is male-dominated and they’re restricted from practicing much. Lily’s secret of being a Muggle, as well as how Hermione managed to sneak into Diagon Alley, are answers I will give you eventually. I need to hold your attention somehow. :-) Oh, and I know I take a while to update between chapters, but didn’t anyone see a parallel between Dumbledore’s story of Lily’s mother and the Prologue? =-O

Finally, a lot of you have told me I should make this into a book so the updates are more regular, but I like to hear your feedback. Those questions you ask that I never answer...I get a lot of ideas from them. Whenever I run into writer’s block, I look at my reviews for what you guys want to see. That way we’re all satisfied in the end.

ENOUGH TALKING! ON TO THE READING!!! It’s a shorty, but I hope you like it anyway. I spent two days writing it in school...my teachers nearly killed me. -J

Chapter Seven

A Little Bit of Magic

Harry sat in his father’s study three days later, peacefully adding figures in the Potter’s ledger, all thoughts of Dementors and Muggles and women who knew magic erased from his mind, when a knock sounded from the other side of the door.

"Master Harry has a visitor in the green sitting room," Dobby announced with a sweeping bow. As Harry got to his feet and straightened his jacket, he tried to remember who he had invited over for that afternoon. Nothing stuck out in his memory. He ran his fingers through his hair as he followed Dobby down the hall. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t invited anyone; his family was noble and his parents were social. Unexpected company was therefore part of protocol.

Dobby opened the door and bowed Harry through. Under normal circumstances, Harry would’ve thanked his house elf, but as he had just laid eyes on his visitor, his heart had made its way into his throat and was blocking his voice. Her hair was a vivid red against the emerald of the walls, and he was certain his face matched her crimson mane as his memory settled on their last encounter. He nervously cleared his throat as she rose to her feet and stared at him. He knew better than to wait for a curtsy from Ginny, so he crossed the room and offered her seat back and took one for himself that was a fair distance from her without being across the room.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked after she had made it obvious that she wasn’t going to begin the conversation. Ginny’s eyes glanced at the floor as if she was unsure of something. He watched as a cloud passed over her face and her brows knit together. She glared up at him, from the epitome of demure to the definition of hellcat in less than a heartbeat.

"Harry James Potter, did you tell anyone that I practice magic outside of the handful of spells and charms allotted to women?" she demanded. Harry looked at her in confusion.

"No, Ginny, I didn’t. I gave you my word that I wouldn’t tell a soul. Why?"

"That means I can trust you, is that correct?" she asked firmly.

"I hope that’s what it means, yes. Why?"

"Because I don’t really feel like erasing your memory, and I need someone on my side."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, thoroughly confused now. Ginny’s eyes darted back to her hands; clearly, she was uncertain about whatever she had come to tell him. He watcher her patiently, hoping he was coming across as a calm, understanding friend and not the emotional train wreck he was inside.

Ginny made several failed attempts to speak, and on the third try, a shimmer of movement over her left shoulder caught his eye. Instinctively he looked up, and Ginny, seeing his sudden motion, followed his gaze to where it had settled behind her. When she turned back to him, her eyes were round with fear.

"Harry..." she began, but he wasn’t listening. He pulled out his wand.

"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" He said. There was a yelp as the figure of a young woman appeared, seemingly out of thin air. The cloak fell in a silvery pool at her feet. Neither women said a word; both stared at him with a mixture of fervor and terror as he ravaged his memory.

"...Harriet Grudger?" he asked the new woman in a perplexed voice. She scowled at him and planted her hands on her hips; Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Hermione Granger, Harry. The book store in Diagon Alley, don’t you remember?"

Harry looked back at Ginny, more befuddled now than before. "Of course I remember, but how do you remember? And why is she standing in my sitting room?"

"You can address me as if I exist, thankyouverymuch." Hermione seethed. Harry shot her a look that said he wasn’t exactly sure if she did, in fact, exist, then looked back to Ginny.

"Would you care to explain what’s going on?"

"It’s a rather long story, Harry," Ginny began uncertainly, and Harry took her words as a cue to sit down. A rather aggravated cough reminded him that he had left Hermione standing. He looked back at up at her, still amazed that she was in his house.

"Oh, I’m sorry...please, have a seat..." his voice trailed off as Ginny combed her fingers through her hair. Hermione gave a rather ruffled "harrumph" and sat down heavily in an uncomfortable armchair. She scowled as Ginny began her magic trick.

"Hermione and I met by accident a year ago. I was shopping in London and I got separated from my mother. I ended up wandering into a Muggle marketplace, and I ran into Hermione at the produce stand. As soon as I started speaking to her, I realized I was on Muggle land, and in return, she recognized me as a witch. We worked quietly together to get me back to our part of the city, and when we realized we were intrigued with each other’s peculiar lifestyles, we struck up a friendship. I usually Apparate to her flat and we talk there, because it’s less likely for us to be caught. I told her about Diagon Alley last week...I assume her curiosity overcame her and she decided to explore. You know the rest of the story."

"But she’s a Muggle...she shouldn’t be able to even see Diagon Alley, let alone enter it. How did she possibly get in?" Harry demanded. Ginny shrugged.

"I didn’t tell her how to get in, I just told her about it. How she entered is beyond me."

"Ahem," said an irritated voice a few feet away. Ginny and Harry turned in unison. Hermione made no attempt to gentle her expression. "I went in the Leaky Cauldron and I followed a wizard in. He...well...he held the...wall open for me."

"But that’s impossible!" Harry sputtered, spinning around to face Ginny. "Wouldn’t someone have recognizes her as a Muggle?"

Ginny sighed. "Luckily, you were the only one. I’m not sure how it happened, Harry, but it did, and now we need to tie up to loose ends."

Harry’s eyes traveled warily from Ginny to Hermione and then back again. He was not a fan of the diabolical plans concocted by women.

" ‘Tie up the loose ends’?" he echoed, afraid of what he was about to learn.

"You were the only one who recognized Hermione," Ginny began, "but everyone in Diagon Alley saw her there. If someone who had seen her in Diagon Alley spots her on some Muggle street and puts two and two together, our authorities will not hesitate to arrest her -- or worse. So, our choices are brainwash the entire wizarding community...or pass Hermione off for a witch."

Certainly, he had heard her wrong.

"I’m sorry," he said, lost beyond belief, "but what did you say?"

"Harry," Ginny said softly, placing a delicately gloved hand on his knee. "We’re going to make Hermione a witch. We’re asking you for your help."

Harry looked over at the young woman in the chair. Her arms were crossed defiantly across her chest, her face set in a determined scowl...but she couldn’t hide the yearning, pleading look he was in her eyes. From his perspective, she was a one-way ticket to exile, a pest that needed to be exterminated at all costs. But through her eyes, this was a chance to escape the discrimination she had been shown all her life, the opportunity to rise above the odds and live a life she had never even dared to dream of. Tom Riddle’s words whispered their menacing reminder in his ears, but her eyes burrowed into his heart. without looking away from her, he spoke to Ginny.

"If we’re caught, the punishments will not be pleasant. Are you prepared to take that risk?"

A deafening silence descended on the three as they realized the gravity of the situation. Harry could sense Ginny weighing her options, but he was consumed by the blazing fire he had found in Hermione, a determination second only to that of his mother.

"I am," Ginny said from somewhere behind him. Harry nodded slowly and managed to tear himself away from Hermione’s gaze.

"What is it you will have me do?"

"Dig up some old wizard families that no longer exist. Find a niche Hermione can fit into. We’ll create a foolproof alias for her and spread rumors...and we’ll introduce her at the first ball of the season."

"Can we create a person in two weeks’ time, Ginny" Harry asked skeptically.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "All we need is a little bit of magic," She stood on her toes and kissed him swiftly on the cheek. "Thank you so much, harry. I’ll never be able to repay you for this. Contact me when you come up with an idea."

Harry nodded and moved to let her pass. Hermione got to her feet and strode over to him. She stopped at his shoulder.

"Thank you," she stiffly told the ground. She moved to pass him, but Harry grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked up at him questioningly as he slowly pressed her hand to his lips.

"You’re welcome."