Chapter 18
"Norbert and Sarah"
Hermione and Ginny screamed. Harry and Ron, meanwhile, just glared at Graham and covered the two girls from the Death Eater's sight. They all didn't dare expose their backs to Graham, who was striding slowly at a short distance, pointing a wand at them.
"Is this what you're looking for?" said Graham, smiling mischievously. He was holding up Harry and Ginny's robes and threw them as far as he can where they couldn't reach for it. "Your wands are in there, but you'll have no use for that. Oh, Nice big dragon you have here."
"If you don't get out of here, he'll crush you," Hermione warned.
"Ah, don't worry, I already made sure he can't do that, miss," said Graham. Norbert had woken up, but Graham had conjured gigantic ropes tied tightly to all his four feet, and his jaws and nostrils covered with an oversized sack, preventing him to spit out flames. He was struggling to stand up, but with no success, and roared in helplessness. Hermione felt sorry for him and wanted to go over to him, but Ron stopped her, fearing Graham might curse her.
"Foolish of you to hang around on these grounds instead of high-tailing out of here. Now you've given me a big favor," Graham said, seeing the dragon behind him couldn't do any harm anymore. "You've made my job much more easier."
"What do you want from us?" said Harry furiously. "We haven't done anything against you - why don't you just let us be?" Ginny looked frightened behind Ron; dreading Graham might hurt them, neither all of them wanted to make any sudden moves.
"Oh, yes, you have," said Graham, his face frowning. "You see, I'm the only bounty hunter in the wizard world with such an unblemished reputation - nobody gets away from me when I do my job tracking them; I always turn in the goods to my employers. Aside from serving the Dark Lord, I was more than glad to accept the job from Deadelus to capture you - he contracted to pay me top-Galleon when I deliver you to him so that he could take all the credit of being the one who could bring Harry Potter to You-Know-Who.
"But I didn't expect you to be that slippery to threaten my perfect record. You don't know the pains I take to keep it up, and I won't accept anything than a hundred-percent success rate! Daedelus is getting impatient and is threatening to fire me - now that I've spent so much time and energy looking for you."
"So?" said Harry, his hands balled into fists. Hermione was reaching for her wand behind Harry's back, but Graham spotted her.
"Expelliarmus!" Graham grunted, and he caught her wand as it flew towards him. "Nice try, girl, but I do have eyes like an eagle," he said, waving a threatening finger at her. "Don't do anything silly again or you'll be regret it." He threw Hermione's wand to the heap of robes.
"So," he continued on as if he wasn't interrupted, "I'm here to finish what I started. Then I'll get paid and my success record remains faultless."
"So you're going to bring us back to Voldemort, four innocent kids, all for the money and your silly career?" Harry said contemptuously, and Ginny tapped his shoulder nervously.
"H-Harry, p-please don't wind him up," she whimpered. Ron was just staring on at Graham, obviously trying to figure out something what to do on his own.
"Correction - only you, Potter," replied Graham to Harry's question. "Only you. Your friends are worthless and they will have to die."
Harry looked back at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and now they looked paler than normal.
"And there's one more important thing I'd like you to know: I won't forgive you for what you did to me back there in that stupid bloke's hotel, Potter! I've never been out-witted by anyone in my whole career - ever! No Sir! Much less than a fifteen-year-old wet nosed wizard!" He then cursed silently, gritting his teeth.
"Worse, my business rivals are now happily talking about that very humiliating incident around in every pub! AND THAT MAKES ME REAL MAD!" he spat, looking suddenly deranged. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who were literally sticking to each other, gulped and jumped a step back.
"H-He's an obsessed lunatic!" whispered Hermione alarmingly.
Graham fixed his contorted face back to normal and went on talking. "Ah, that felt good. Where was I - ah, yes - what I want now is your head no less on a platter, Potter. I got to show them I'm still the perfect bounty hunter! They'll eat their words for making fun out of me! And your friends - your bloody little friends - I'll bury their mangled bodies in this very hollow, and nobody will ever know what happened to them! Haha! Yes!"
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, looked strangely blankly ahead, like they had lost their will to talk after hearing what Graham had said. They were now inching back very slowly, trying to get more distance away from him. The Death Eater found this very amusing and he cackled triumphantly.
"That's right, kids," Graham growled, with a cruel laughter, pressing on his psychological advantage. "I know, it's really natural for anyone to really think my claim for perfection was just a tall story at first. But they'd always realize it sooner or later like what you're doing now - you've obviously learned how to fear me! My face will bore deep into your minds as your worst nightmare, that is if you live that long!"
Still wearing the same terrified faces, the kids didn't make any further sound - they all whipped around at the same time and ran towards the side of the forest a few dozen yards away, looking positively horrified. They had reached the forest, hid behind some trees and looked back at Graham, who was still standing alone in the middle of the hollow. Norbert kept on fighting to break free from his shackles, crying loudly.
"Ah, you want to play hide and seek with me, huh?" said Graham, who strangely didn't curse them at all. "Also perhaps throw in a game of tag - that's my favorite specialty. You can run away wherever you like around here - I can still find you all. Four to one - it doesn't matter. It'll surely be more fun if the odds are against me -"
Thump, thump, thump -
Graham fell silent when he felt something massive behind him move, shaking the ground beneath him. He couldn't believe the dragon had gotten loose with his inescapable bounds - he had made sure it couldn't. He checked the spot where he thought Norbert was lying down just to be certain. And surely enough, he was still there. "That's odd," he gulped, and he had summoned up the courage to look behind his back. What he saw made him scream like a chimp -
Another menacing dragon, much bigger than Norbert (oddly with eyelashes), was glaring down at him at the tip of her nose. She looked very furious while Norbert had fallen silent. Graham was petrified with fear, still screaming and completely forgetting he could do magic. In a split second, the dragon bit Graham whole, shook his body wildly around, and tossed him vertically up the air. While the Death Eater was in mid-air the dragon spit an extraordinarily hot ball of fire, hitting and cooking him instantly before swallowing him for lunch.
"Ewwwww!" Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sounded at the same time behind the trees. They all shut their eyes, cringing with their hands or arms on their faces.
"Did you see that? That was real gross!" Hermione said, extremely revolted. "Come to think, that almost happened to ME!"
The dragon heard her, and snapped its head at everyone threateningly. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny flinched and hid deeper in the forest, hoping it wouldn't consider them, too. "Where d'you reckon did that come from?" Harry asked Hermione. She didn't answer him yet as her eyes were still transfixed at the new dragon, a Hungarian Horntail she reckoned, which now turned its back against them and its attention to Norbert.
"Oh, no, no, please - my wand, my wand," moaned Ginny. The dragon was stomping its four feet fiercely on the ground, within inches of the heap of robes where their wands were.
"I think we can't do anything else but to wait until it leaves," said Harry, worrying about his wand, too. Hermione, however, wasn't worrying about hers. From her view, she couldn't tell what the new dragon was doing with Norbert, and it looked like it was about to start eating him, too.
"NORBERT! NORBERT!" she cried, trying to get out of her hiding place and run to him. Ron and Harry caught Hermione by her arms and pulled her back. "Let me go! Norbert's in trouble!"
"H-Hermione, stay still!" grunted Harry, tugging her. "No! You'll get - yourself - killed!" Hermione was about to go hysterical, and screamed as the Hungarian Horntail began biting and ripping off Norbert - they actually couldn't see what was going as they could only see the dragon's back, and Norbert was lying down looking oddly in peace behind the Horntail.
Ginny looked on in terror - she was thinking of running over to her wand and cursing it for all the good it could do, but she knew it was stupid and decided against it. There was a tense moment that passed when Hermione had lost her voice, and the others looked on helplessly. Then, the Hungarian Horntail flapped its wings and rose up a few dozen feet into the sky - and they could now see Norbert free of the ropes that bounded him.
"H-Hey, look!" said Harry to Hermione, who was still trying to break free from his hold and couldn't see anything ahead because of the tears welling on her eyes. "I don't believe it! Norbert's free - the dragon helped him!"
"W-What?" Hermione sobbed. It was now Norbert's turn to flap his wings and go up to the sky. He sped to the waiting Horntail that was hovering high up in the air, and when they met in mid-air, they did a spectacular dance in formation flying. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny ran out of the trees to take a better look.
Ron goggled at the incredible sight. "I think Norbert has a - girlfriend!" he said. Ginny was overwhelmed with giggles and was hopping up and down on the ground. Hermione was speechless, wiping off her tears from her cheeks, and she was now laughing.
"I bet Graham made her angry by tying him up!" said Harry, who had his hands on his sides, watching the spectacle. About a minute later the dance stopped. Norbert dove again to the ground back to the hollow and landed softly in front of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Norbert just stood still while the kids ran up to him with joy. Hermione, however, knew by the look in Norbert's eyes that he was saying goodbye to them, and that somehow made her heart heavier. She was getting very attached to him.
Norbert looked up to the Horntail, and it glided back down to the ground. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny became nervous at first because of what they saw it do earlier - they were thinking of going back to the forest to hide. But the Horntail landed somewhere at a distance to keep them calm. And like a ballerina, she walked slowly and gracefully to Norbert and settled down beside him.
Hands shaking, but knowing it was now okay to approach her, Harry and Hermione reached for her leg (which was the only most reachable part of her anatomy) and ran their hands to feel her hide. She didn't mind at all, and looked tame like Norbert. Harry said "Thanks for helping, uh, what's your name?"
"I think she doesn't have a name yet," said Ginny, leaning on Norbert's foot. "Any suggestions?"
"Sarah?" said Hermione quickly. Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked at her at the same time, and she shrugged.
"Yeah, that's excellent," said Ron. "Isn't it, Norbert?" Norbert rumbled his voice gently in agreement.
"I think that's a yes," said Harry, laughing. "Er, please take it easy on Norbert, huh?" he told Sarah, winking. The Horntail just blinked her eyes in quick succession.
"Norbert and Sarah!" said Hermione, inhaling proudly. "I think I like the sound of that."
Upon hearing Hermione's voice, Norbert bowed his head, looked up to the sky for a few seconds and back to Hermione. Even without saying any words, Hermione knew what that meant.
"Yeah, I guess, this is goodbye," she said sadly. She went closer to him and ran her hands on his very wide chest. "Thanks for everything, Norbert. You've been a real big help. You've saved a lot of lives today an' I don't know what would happen to us if we hadn't found you at all. Hagrid will be so proud of you."
Harry, Ron, and Ginny all said something in concurrence. Hermione couldn't hug him completely, and she had to make do by pressing herself on his chest. As she broke away (with a new wave of tears again) Sarah had flown off, and Norbert began to flap his wings. Harry and everyone else backed off to a safe distance to watch Norbert rise back to the blue sky and soar off to the horizon, until he disappeared with Sarah behind a very long mountain range.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny kept on staring at the spot where the dragons were last seen for a while, not knowing what to say next. Hermione was sobbing, missing Norbert already, and comforted by Harry. It was Ginny who finally broke the silence.
"Who said being a knight with shining armor were for men only?" she said, even surprising herself. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at her for a few seconds, and laughed.
"That was an amazing scene all right, Sarah rescuing Norbert," said Ron. "It'd be too embarrassing for me, though, being rescued by a girl - " Ron stopped when he saw Hermione glaring at him, and he said "Sorry, didn't mean to say that - "
"Let's go home, I think we've stayed here long enough already," said Harry next. "I say I have about had enough with this escape and evasion business."
"Yeah, me too," said Hermione, still missing Norbert.
"I think your dad is now really worried about us, Ginny."
"Oh, yeah. Dad," said Ginny, suddenly remembering him. "Not only worried, but probably furious, too. I admit he now scares me now more than You-Know-Who. He'd be breathing smoke through his nose."
-o0o-
And how right Ginny was. Not only was smoke coming out of his nose, but his ears were steaming, too. They were back in the Burrow having used Harry's Pocket Portkey - Mr. Weasley was beside himself with rage as Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat silently on the large couch. Olga Gargarin and her Aurors were back, listening in to Mr. Weasley's tirade from the kitchen, while Mrs. Weasley was sitting beside Ron, going through his cuts, bruises, and injuries.
It seemed that it was Ginny who Mr. Weasley was venting his anger to most of the time, but Harry and Hermione knew they were also being scolded the same because they had a direct hand with all of this. Ginny was sobbing and shaking out of fear of her father.
"You could have died with that stunt you pulled, Ginny," Mr. Weasley roared. "You don't know how worried we got when we found out the real Portkey was missing - and we couldn't find you - all three of you! I looked like a real idiot holding and waiting for the Portkey to set off, and the next thing I knew I was holding a teacup!"
"I-I did the switching, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione nervously. "I t-transfigured the teacup into a bowler hat and - and exchanged it with the Portkey over the fireplace. This was all our idea - "
Mr. Weasley stared at Hermione with disbelief. Somehow he couldn't make himself to shout at her, though he was shaking with anger. "H-Hermione -" he said incredulously.
"And I staged the diversion, Mr. Weasley," said Harry slowly next. "I stepped on my broken ankle to steer your attention to me while Hermione switched the Portkey." He drooped his head as soon as he stopped talking.
"I-I don't believe the three of you," said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head, not knowing how he could answer that, because all along he thought that was all Ginny's work. "You all did something very reckless - you kept something from me, and worse, no real qualified wizard had gone with you. What if you all got killed and we'd never ever find you?"
"Well," said Harry, glancing quickly to Hermione and Ginny, "You-Know-Who almost made it - "
"You-Know-Who? You mean to say You-Know-Who was out there?" Mr. Weasley said, growing pale. Harry just nodded.
"Wait, I don't understand it - I thought Ron was just kidnapped because some madcap wanted you for whatever reason -"
"It wasn't just a loony like you thought it was, Dad," said Ron. "It was really You-Know-Who, and I-I met him, too, Dad." Ron for the first time started to feel scared of recalling the frightening experience he had. "And if it weren't for Harry, Hermione, and Ginny's help, I might be (ulp) dead right now."
Mrs. Weasley looked up at her husband, her mouth open, feeling truly alarmed with what she heard. Mr. Weasley looked back at her, his forehead now positively sweating. Olga Gargarin and all five Aurors present, entered the sitting room from the kitchen, keenly interested to hear Harry's story.
"And you saw him, too, Ginny?" asked Mr. Weasley. She nodded without looking up at him. Hermione then said, "I got separated from Harry and Ginny early on, Mr. Weasley, so I didn't get to see You-Know-Who."
Mr. Weasley walked around the furniture set, blowing out a nervous breath and wiped off his sweaty brow. He was obviously rattled after realizing that he almost would have met Voldemort if he had gone after Ron by himself, and Harry had the impression Mr. Weasley was never really prepared for that. It could have been quite a nasty surprise for him.
"Harry, can you - could you tell us what happened out there?" said Olga carefully. "If you can - if you want - "
Harry nodded and told them everything from start to finish. He was used with this, recounting a very harrowing experience when nobody could ever do, or refused to. Dumbledore had given him that courage last year after his third meeting with Voldemort, and the old man was right. It was better to talk about it than keeping it all in.
Everybody went silent as Harry told his story - with the occasional help from Ginny, then Ron and finally Hermione. Olga was so interested she hadn't moved an inch from where she stood all the while, and her Aurors frenetically took notes like they had struck gold. Harry had told them information that was very new to them, and what interested them so much was Xanthius, the castle Voldemort built. Mr. And Mrs. Weasley stared at the four kids in amazement.
"That was truly amazing," said Olga when Harry had finished with his story. "And are you really sure Graham Denton and Jack Chadron are dead, Harry? Are you absolutely positive? You will have to give testimony for that to make their death official."
"Yeah," said Harry. "I couldn't think of any way for Graham to survive the dragon's stomach." He didn't know why he felt happy for Graham's demise, but not so much for Jack's although he had learned to hate him.
"How about turning in Lucius Malfoy, Olga?" Hermione said. "I mean he's behind all of this, I'm sure."
Olga sighed. "I'm afraid we don't have enough proof of his involvement, Hermione. The note you handed in is just circumstantial, and the only thing we have is what you all heard from Jack Chadron, but he can't back it up since he's dead. And you really didn't see his face in that throne room with You-Know-Who - you need to positively identify him to make it count." Everybody around the sitting groaned in disappointment.
"Slipped again, that bloody bastard," said Mr. Weasley, who had it in for Lucius Malfoy.
"But we'll do keep a close eye on Deadelus Lowrie - I knew he was a freaking double agent," consoled Olga.
"Oh, there's also a Ministry wizard by the name of Cassius involved, too," said Hermione. "He had participated in the plot back in Hogwarts -I saw him with Jack Chadron that night in Dumbledore's office."
"Ah, that would be Cassius Wallace," said Olga delightfully, obviously having a grudge with him. "My, oh, my. I think we're all going to have a real shakeup in the London bureau, Arthur. We're gonna have some fun after all."
"I'm quite looking forward to it," said Mr. Weasley, echoing her enthusiasm.
"Oh, by the way, your staff in the Misuse office is eager to see you back at work. Minister Fudge has approved your reinstatement in light of the twist of events the other day."
Mr. Weasley nodded happily while Mrs. Weasley shed a few tears of joy. "Yes, I already heard about it, Olga, thanks. In fact I'd be reporting back in an hour. I have my old job back! I owe Hermione for that."
Everybody around was happy with the fact that the Weasleys would finally be going back to normal from their former state of despair brought about by the cruel subplot to destroy them. Even Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had managed to feel happy in the middle of their anxieties.
"Arthur, I can't express enough my admiration for what Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had done," said Olga, feeling that they had enough tongue-lashing already. "They're the bravest student wizards I've ever met in my life. They've been through a lot in the last few days, and nobody I know would dare step and face up to You-Know-Who. That's not even counting the trouble and distress they've experienced back in Hogwarts because of Jack Chadron. Without meddling in your family affairs I must say that you should be very proud of them." She smiled, and Mr. Weasley now, for the first time since Harry and his friends had popped in the Burrow, felt really relaxed.
"I suppose," said Mr. Weasley slowly. He looked at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who were still avoiding his eyes. He stood up and crouched in front of the couch where they sat.
"Yeah, I can't deny it, you've been through an extraordinary experience," he said, looking at Harry, Hermione, and Ginny one by one. "You all really did a very incredible thing - reckless, yes, but commendable. And it would really be cruel for me to keep on lashing out at you after the trouble that you have been through for Ron. Harry, Hermione - Ginny, I want to thank you at the bottom of my heart for saving my youngest son's life. You don't know how much it means for a father to have his son back alive and safe. I admit I couldn't do it myself - maybe not even the most qualified wizard could survive facing up to You-Know-Who.
"You've shown true bravery to get in there for Ron and admirable presence of mind to get out alive. Without those qualities, you wouldn't be alive talking to us right now. I'm very proud of you, especially you, Ginny. My little doll had already stood up to You-Know-Who when her pop hadn't yet!" Ginny raised her head and smiled broadly at her father.
"But - this doesn't mean you're off the hook yet," Mr. Weasley added quickly. "You got to realize the seriousness of what you have done, all three of you. I must ask you to promise me not to do such a stupid and reckless thing ever again. Do you understand? Can you promise me you won't do it again?"
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all nodded.
"Very good," said Mr. Weasley. "However, Ginny, you're grounded the whole of next summer - and I'll think of one other punishment for you on top of that." Ginny gasped loudly, but she just nodded again to accept her fate with severe disappointment.
"Hermione, I will talk to your parents soon and you need to explain to them whatever happened to you. I'm afraid I'm also responsible for what you did because you were in my care when you journeyed off. I might lose the privilege to host you in the Burrow, but I hope it won't get to that point. " Hermione then looked extremely worried.
"And Harry, I'll also have a talk with your adoptive parents, well, that is if they want to see me again after that mess in Privet Drive last year," Mr. Weasley said, frowning. "How could they ever forget those Ton-Tongue Toffees?"
"They'd be furious and disappointed at the same time, too," said Harry knowingly. "They'll just punish me for the fact that I missed the perfect chance to get killed."
Ron snorted.
"Oh, how's Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall now, Mr.Weasley? Have you heard about them?" asked Hermione, eager for some news about them, and trying to forget her newest problem.
"Ah, yes, they've recovered - just this morning," he replied. "That was one of the best news we had in days. It's a bit strange, though. They just woke up suddenly at the same time, and walked on like nothing bad happened to them."
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked at each other and found that weird, too. "So you mean Hogwarts is back to normal then?" said Harry expectantly.
"Yes, and that reminds me - tomorrow you're all going to ride the train back to Hogwarts. Dumbledore will be expecting you in the evening and he specifically asked for a meeting with the four of you in his office as soon as you arrive. A little debriefing, I reckon, to tie all the loose ends. Nothing to worry about."
"And to make my two-week detention official, I think," Ron groaned.
"That, too," Mr. Weasley said, jabbing a finger.
"You'll also have a lot of catching up to do in class," said Mrs. Weasley.
Mr. Weasley stood up. "Right, then, I think I'll go back to work," he said, kissing Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley. "See you all at supper tonight - Fred and George will be coming home and we'll all have a nice long talk. It's good to be back to normal. Olga, shall we?"
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us, too," said Olga, preparing to leave. "There's going to be mayhem back in the Ministry in a long time, I expect. I think it'll be over the Daily Prophet in the next few weeks." Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up courteously to see her and the Aurors off.
"As always, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and now Ginny, should you need me or get into trouble again - " she added smiling, and catching Mr. Weasley's roll his eyes, "just call my name." She all shook hands with Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Olga had a special relationship with Hermione, and they both hugged very tightly.
"Thanks," they all said at the same time, smiling back.
As soon as Mr. Weasley and his guests had gone, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sat back on the couch and fell silent, left to their own individual thoughts. The reality and dangers of their close calls with Voldemort and other events had finally caught up with them.
"Best if you all wash up while I whip you up some lunch, something delicious," said Mrs. Weasely, reading the look on their pensive faces. "Then you need all the rest and relaxation you can get. Don't stop yourself from ever discussing among yourselves what you have gone through. It helps a lot." Mrs. Weasley, like a loving mother hen, got up, kissed everyone on the cheek, and flexed her hands for some serious cooking ahead.
-o0o-
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny didn't really talk much about their latest experience like Mrs. Weasley had suggested, and after their delectable lunch they all separated, seemingly preferring to be with no one else for a while.
Harry knew how to spend his time alone and wrote Willard a letter up in Ron's room. He hoped was all right back in his inn, and he thanked him dozens of times in the same letter for his help. He'd written about what had happened to them after they last saw each other, and Harry was certain Willard would be quite shocked to know what they've been through. He ended his letter asking Willard to write back soon.
Fortunately, Mrs. Weasley had agreed to let Harry use Errol to deliver the mail to Willard. The owl was perched on Ron's windowsill, waiting for Harry to tie the envelope to his legs. When Errol had flown off with the letter, Harry saw from Ron's window that Hermione and Ginny were already talking together at the Weasley's picnic table under the shade of a large Yew tree. He decided that he wanted to join them and ran down the stairs towards the backyard. Ron was thinking the same thing, and he caught up with Harry as he was just walking out from the house. Ron had just returned from his secret hiding place near the river, and Harry believed he had used his time alone to pull himself through, too.
Hermione and Ginny smiled when they saw Harry and Ron approach, and it felt good for everybody to be back together again, hopefully feeling much better than they were a few hours ago.
"You both okay?" said Harry as he sat down on the bench beside Hermione.
"Yeah, I miss Norbert a little, but I think we're okay now, thanks," said Hermione, managing a very pretty smile. Harry somehow felt very happy to see her.
The foursome had a very wholesome discussion about their latest escapade; from how it all began, where they had gotten to, and what actions they did, culminating to their final face-up with Voldemort, their conspiracy theories, Lucius Malfoy, and the issue with Death Eaters in the Ministry. Not even the talk about Voldemort could dampen their spirits again, and that was a very good sign.
Ron had found a lot of things funny to talk about in their latest adventure, and Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were doubling up with well-needed laughter. It's generally fun reliving something as long as it turned out okay.
"How long have you gotten over this feeling last year, Harry?" said Ron when he finally ran out of funny stories to tell. "I mean, after you met You-Know-Who?"
"I couldn't talk all week, you remember that, don't you?" recalled Harry. "Funny, it seems I don't feel that way anymore - like it's just getting more routine."
"Well, that's good for you," said Ginny, "As for me, I'd never want to sleep with the lights out anymore - his face just keeps on popping in my head. He still scares me, you know!"
"Yeah, that's just natural, but I think you're doing surprisingly well dealing with it, Ginny," said Harry seriously. "You're talking about him pretty casually when other people older than you would just go paranoid."
"Yeah, you have a point, I guess," said Ginny, feeling at least a little better. "Or maybe I'm just lucky I had you and Ron around. Or else, I would've gone over to the deep end, I'm sure." Harry smiled broadly at her, and she blushed.
"And Harry - "
"Yes?"
"Thanks for giving me that chance to be like Hermione for a while," Ginny confided slowly, feeling embarrassed to say that with Hermione around. Hermione looked at her with interest, puzzled why Ginny had said that.
"You know how I've heard a lot about your early adventures, and I always wanted to be a part of them. This time my wish came true; I felt that had stepped in Hermione's shoes, and experienced what it was like to be with you and Ron. It was good, and I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. Not only that it was the scariest moment of my life, it was also the coolest. I can't wait to tell my classmates, they'll be excited to hear what really happened to us out there!"
Harry didn't know how to answer that, but he was glad to see Ginny finally seeing things very positively. He could only say, "Uh, you're welcome. Ginny. And thanks for your help, really." Hermione was rather flattered with Ginny's fantasies to be like her.
"Oh, don't worry about me anymore, Harry," said Ginny. "I'll behave from now on - I've had enough excitement to last me a lifetime and - " Ginny glanced at Hermione and back to Harry. "And Hermione wants to ask you something very personal - " Ginny said quickly, springing up from her sitting position, and fled, leaving Hermione open mouthed.
"So, what do we…" Ron began, but was suddenly yanked away by Ginny, who doubled back. They were out of earshot before Harry could stop them. There was a tense moment when Harry and Hermione just sat at the table under the tree, saying nothing. Ron really didn't go inside the house like he said because he zoomed around with a broomstick with Ginny, who threw balls of colorful thread in the air for Ron to catch.
"Nice day isn't it?" Harry said tensely. "Uhm, so what is it you want to talk about, Hermione?"
Hermione just sat in front of him stiffly. Her eyes couldn't stay still, and she was obviously fighting with herself. "Oh, this is silly. Please forget it, Harry, nothing," she finally said, running off instantly back to the house, and leaving a bewildered Harry alone under the large Yew tree.
Chapter 19 coming. I think that'll really be the last chapter if an epilogue won't be necessary.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It doesn't have much action like before because I have to tone things down now as we're approaching the end. The next one will just resolve a few story issues in the guise of a whole chapter. Thanks very much to MidnightShadow for posting that very inspiring review! Also thanks to Muirnin for reviewing twice!