Unofficial Portkey Archive

*Faith*

Chapter 6, "Right Here Waiting"

By: RogueBHS

Author Notes: I hadn't planned on writing more of this till I could update Divinity Forensis on Portkey again, but I just keep on getting ideas for this. My friend who is going to be writing the sequel for this with me was over for the past two nights, and we just came up with a lot of good stuff. Also, I think I've actually converted her to Harry/Hermione shipping! LOL. I swear, I don't think we did much that didn't end up with us talking about Harry Potter stuff within a few minutes. Anyway. My internet is kinda screwy and not letting some of my favorites sites load, so I figured I'd work on this as much as I can. This was going to be the Halloween chapter and Hogsmeade in one, but I changed that. Halloween happens next chapter…

I've never seen anything about where in Hogsmeade you can get food, so for the purposes of the story, you can get some at the Three Broomsticks.

I just finished HBP in under 7 hrs and all I have to say is this: OH MY FREAKIN GOD!...Now can my friends finish it so I can talk about with them please? *written within 10 minutes of finishing the book* There are a few things in my plot that will change to go with HBP, but not everything...and no, I'm not saying what because I don't wanna ruin it for those who, like I did for OotP, don't get the book till months later.

Notice: Yahoo's Metric Converter calculated all metric values. Any values that are wrong, I apologize ahead of time for. I will be posting the American equivalent in parenthesis at all times.

Also: If you see a lowercase letter in double parenthesis like this: ((a)), that means there is an Author note about that area of the chapter at the bottom. This is primarily for spells and such. Numbers in a double parenthesis are used to indicate songs when used in a chapter. Look at the end of the chapter for listings of such things.

Main Characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Sabine Kington (OC), Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin and others…like Voldemort for instance. ;)

Couples: Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Draco, Dumbledore/McGonagall (hinted mostly), Harry/Hermione, Lavender/Ron/Luna and others.

Full Plot Summary: Most would think that with the OWLs over and done with, and NEWTS not being taken until the next school year, that Harry Potter would have an easy 6^th year. But when you add up the loss of his godfather, the weight of the prophecy, harder classes, girl trouble, and the ever-looming threat of Voldemort and his followers…not to mention a changing group of friends, Harry's 6^th year may well be the hardest yet. Oh yes…did I mention being ladies man???? (*giggle*)

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Chapter 6, "Right Here Waiting"

October 26^th, 1996 - Hogsmeade Weekend -

The October sun was bright and cheerful as it streamed through the open main doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, falling onto the forms of teachers and students waiting to head into the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade for the first time of the school term. Near the middle of the crowd, a messy head of black hair was bent near a head of brilliantly red hair that hung in layers to the shoulders of its owner, Ginny Weasley. Smiling, she and Harry conversed in hushed tones, discussing the music he had shown her the night before. The songs were a mixture of upbeat and not, with the upbeat being a new song for his relationship with Hermione, and the not being two songs about how he missed his godfather and parents. All three lacked the background music, and so Harry had asked Ginny to help him decide on what instruments to make the songs for and other such details, trusting her judgment on the matter.

A few feet away, Hermione and Ron were both watching Harry and Ginny talk, interested in what was going on for totally different reasons. And while Hermione had begun to accept that Harry and Ginny were close in a totally platonic way, the pang of jealousy still hit her every time she saw them as they were now, bent close and all. The fact that he had given Sirius' mirror to her told her in a way that words couldn't that he cared for her deeply and trusted her, but he still hid one secret from her. His muggle notebooks were a mystery to her, and the fact that Ginny knew their contents had her ready to scream in frustration. He could share the prophecy, his feelings over Sirius' death and so much more with her, but this seemingly small thing, he couldn't and wouldn't. Rather than drive herself crazy over it today, Hermione forced herself to think of something else, and shifted her mind to the Potions homework that she had promised Harry she'd help him on tomorrow.

Ron, however, was having completely different thoughts from Hermione. He had long been a fan of the idea of his little sister and Harry dating, and the fact that all of a sudden, this year, the two were spending more and more time together, he was hoping that this would be the year when they began to date. After all, his little sister was surely good enough for the boy who lived, right? And no matter what Hermione might have said about Ginny being over her crush on Harry, there was always the possibility that she had just said such a thing to make Harry feel better. She was always doing things like that, anyway. His blue eyes glanced between Harry and Ginny again, taking in their postures. Both were fairly relaxed, well…in Harry's case, as relaxed as he really got in public. But there was no outward sign of any attraction to the other. That wouldn't be a deterrent, though, Ron assured himself. Harry and Ginny were both masters at hiding their feelings when they wanted to, and while he'd never heard of someone being able to hide lust or similar feelings, that didn't mean it wasn't possible.

Suddenly, a hand clamped over Ron's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Turning, his eyes went wide. "Bill? Charlie? What are you two doing here?!"

Hearing the names, Hermione turned as well, her brown eyes sparking when she saw the two eldest Weasley children. Welcoming the distraction from her thoughts, she flashed a smile at the two. "I knew teachers were joining us, but this is a surprise," she said, raising an eyebrow just a bit.

"Well, Dumbledore decided it was better safe than sorry and invited us and some others along too. Surely you have noticed Kingsley and Moody are here, didn't you?" Charlie asked, then gave Hermione a poke in the arm.

Laughing, Hermione brushed Charlie's hand away, then glanced at Ron who was frowning at her. Rolling her eyes, she let her gaze drift over the room, picking out the forms of more than one member of the Order of Phoenix, just as Charlie had said there was. "I didn't realize they were here, no," she admitted, turning her attention back to the brothers. Lowering her voice just a touch to keep from being overheard, she questioned, "Is Professor Dumbledore expecting trouble then?"

Just then, Harry and Ginny appeared, and Harry answered before Bill or Charlie could. "Its just a precaution, Hermione," he said. "I asked Dumbledore about it myself the other day."

Bill gave a nod of agreement as he took in Harry's clothing, since this was the first time he'd seen him in a while. "New wardrobe, eh Harry?"

Harry laughed a bit, glancing down at his choice of black jeans, a white long sleeved t, and black jacket, then back to the Weasleys. "Yeah. Remus insisted he was sick and tired of me looking worse than he does in those hand-me-downs of my cousin's. And so was I, so I let him and Tonks take me shopping."

Nodding, Charlie gave him a thumbs up. "Good for you, mate."

"Did I hear my name?"

"Tonks!" Ginny exclaimed, and promptly gave the metamorphmagus a hug. "I was hoping that you'd be coming along!"

Laughing, Harry cast a brief glance around, and noticed Remus not far away. "Well, looks like we've got a big group to hang out with today," he said, motioning for his godfather to join them. "Hey, Remus."

"Harry," Remus said simply, giving him a once over before looking to the rest of the group. He noticed the way Hermione's eyes kept looking between Harry and Ginny, and fought a smile. Looks like Tonks was right, he thought, and decided to question Harry on it another time.

The adults of the group waited as Filch checked his list of names for the students, finally allowing them out of the hall and into the courtyard. The large, apparently mix-matched group made its way down the all wizarding village, talking in smaller groups that changed often, and occasionally all talking about the same topic. As they reached the edge of the village, Tonks gave Harry a good once over as Bill and Remus had, but hers contained just a hint of female appreciation, despite the age difference.

"You know, Harry, I'm glad you let Remus and I take you shopping." She grinned broadly at him. "I think a lot of the girls are appreciating the change," she commented, having noticed a good many of the Hogwarts girls admiring his form in the better fitting jeans and shirt. Then she took notice of the way Hermione's eyes drifted to him and slowly admired what they saw. Score a point for me, she thought, the grin half shifting to a smirk.

Harry's eyes turned to Tonks, and he blushed lightly as he realized she was right. "Not why I did it, but whatever," he said, unconsciously running a hand through his hair in embarrassment.

Going with instinct, Ginny looped an arm through Harry's, and mockingly gave him the same hero-worshipping gaze she used to years ago. He looked down at her in surprise, then laughed as she broke away and punched him in the arm, saying, "You're Mr. Popular these days, Harry. So you might as well get used to it, you know."

Still smiling, he grabbed her roughly and pulled her back to his side, then teasingly dug his fingers into her side, tickling her. While she laughed, he grinned at her. "Guess you and Hermione will just have to protect me then," he said, and reached out, pulling Hermione to his other side. Both girls shared a glance, then wrapped an arm around him, smiling.

"Well, if we must, we must," Hermione teased back, enjoying getting to be so close to him in front of so many people, no matter if they would see it as a more platonic action. All that mattered was that for a short time, she had her Harry showering her with attention.

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One Hour Later -

By now, the group had split up, with Bill and Charlie wandering the shops that they hadn't seen in ages, and Ron and Harry inside the Quidditch store. The two boys were admiring the posters advertising a new model of Firebolt, the Firebolt Inferno, which would be released three weeks before Christmas on December first, and talking about the differences between it and the current Firebolts they both owned. Hermione, Ginny and Tonks had dragged a reluctant Remus into the clothing store across the street, under the pretence of needing to check out prices on new robes. But in all reality, Tonks had taken a bag of Galleons from Harry in order to buy Remus himself a new wardrobe. Harry was quite sure that his godfather was going to give him an earful about it later, but it would be worth it, he decided. Remus deserved the luxury of new clothes as much as he did himself.

For now though, Harry thought, moving his gaze from the Firebolt Inferno poster to a pair of seeker gloves hanging nearby, time to relax. He fingered the fine leather gloves, wondering if his were really in bad enough shape to warrant the purchase when a finger tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, he had to tilt his chin down just a bit to look into the pale blue eyes of Luna Lovegood.

"Hey, Luna," he said, a smile creeping its way onto his face.

"Hello, Harry," she responded, brushing a piece of her light blonde hair away from her eyes. "Hermione told me to come and get you, said that they wanted your opinion on something."

"Oh! Alright." Turning again, he gave Ron a poke in the arm. "Come on, mate. The girls want our opinion on something."

"Huh?" Still admiring the poster, Ron slowly turned his attention to the two. "Oh. Right." He gave the poster one last look before forcing his gaze back to Harry and Luna. "Guess we better go then. Ginny and Hermione hate it when we hang around."

"Too right they do," Harry agreed, fighting a laugh as Ron snuck another look to the poster. "It'll be here later, Ron," he reminded him, then grabbed his friend's arm forcefully and pushed him away from the poster and towards the door. Then, he flashed Luna a smile. "You wanna join us then, Luna?"

The blonde nodded and turned towards the door with Harry. "Of course," she said simply, as if it was a very stupid question. As they walked, she glanced at him. "How are you?"

Knowing what she meant, Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, I guess. Still hard, though."

Laying a friendly hand on his arm, she gave a small smile. "It always will be. But with time, it gets a bit easier."

Glad to have someone understand, he wrapped an arm around her and gave her an one-armed hug. Returning the small smile, he glanced down at her again. "Don't know what I'd do without you, some days, Luna."

Laughing now, she gave him a half-hearted shove. "You'd do fine. You have her after all, don't you?"

Slowly, he nodded, the small smile growing as he thought of Hermione. "Yeah."

Leaning into him this time, Luna looked up. "What is it like?"

"What's what like, Blondie?" Harry asked, using his nickname for her.

"Having someone who cares about you like she does about you."

"Oh…" He frowned, and then pushed the door to the clothing shop open, allowing Luna to enter ahead of him, and spotted Ron already talking to the girls. He looked down at Luna, smiling when he saw her still watching him. "Its…wonderful," he decided, and then nodded. "Its wonderful," he repeated, this time with conviction.

"What's wonderful?" a voice asked, drawing Harry's attention.

"Hmm?" He turned, coming face to face with the very girl he had just been talking with Luna about. "Oh…uh…" He blushed lightly as he floundered for a reason. Coming up blank, he simply told the truth. "Having you around," he admitted.

Luna moved away from the two, leaving them alone as Hermione blushed. "Oh." She glanced over her shoulder, and around the rest of the store, then, satisfied no one was watching them closely, she stood on tiptoe and whispered, "Its pretty wonderful having you around too, Harry."

He smiled at her shyly, then gently led her back to the group, to keep from doing anything he might regret doing in public. "So…what was it you wanted our opinion on?"

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The Three Broomsticks -

By the time that Harry had managed to convince the girls that Remus finally had a full wardrobe of new clothes, it was after lunchtime, and Ron was being very vocal on that fact. So, with a laugh over the fact that Ron was such a bottomless pit, the group of students, plus Remus and Tonks, headed to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and some lunch. Upon seeing them enter, Madam Rosmerta gave a wave, and started pulling out tankards of butterbeer for them. After they took a seat at a large booth near the back, Harry passed payment for the drinks to Madam Rosmerta while the drinks were passed around so everyone had one.

"Anything else?" she queried, smiling broadly.

Ron perked up and asked for a bowl of the stew he saw advertised on a board over the bar, and slowly, the order of food grew to include three more bowls of stew and four sandwiches as the others made up their minds. Within minutes, the food was placed on the table, and Ron was shoveling the stew into his mouth at what should have been an impossible rate, and taking large bites from his sandwich happily. Rolling her eyes at Ron's table manners, Hermione struck up a conversation with Remus, questioning him on what they were supposed to be covering next in their Defense class. While she and Remus conversed, with Tonks adding in the things she was going to teach them soon, Ron waved over his two brothers, Bill and Charlie, who had just entered.

With two more guys to talk with, Harry and Ron found themselves involved in a debate over the Quidditch teams, and talking about the new Firebolt model, a conversation Ginny joined in as often as not. But Luna found herself joining into both conversations, enjoying being included into the group that might as well have been one large family. Sensing her feelings, Harry, who was seated to Luna's right, wrapped an arm around her and hugged her for a second during a lull in his conversation.

Leaning down, he smiled. "Glad to see you happy, Blondie."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, not noticing the way Hermione was watching them now. "Its not often I'm included," she reminded him, her voice soft, near a whisper to prevent being overheard. "So this is a nice change, I think." She looked up at him now, protuberant pale blue eyes meeting his directly. "It's rather like a family isn't it?"

Harry nods, and hugs her again. "Only family I need."

Smiling now, she hugged him back. "So that would make you my brother, wouldn't it?"

"Yep," he replied, obviously happy with the idea. "And that means you'd be my lil' sis."

"I think I can live with that," she answered, then moved away as he lifted his arm from her shoulders. "Just so long as it means I can be a pest."

He looked down at her, smiling. "I guess if I can handle Ginny being one, I can handle you too..." He tickled her side, unaware that they were gaining the attention of the rest of the table.

"Something going on we should be aware of, mate?" Ron asked, smirking as Harry looked up from Luna, surprised.

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Just joking around, Ron. Not that it's any of your business."

From her spot at the other side of the table near Charlie, Ginny smirked. "I'm not being replaced am I?"

"Na," Harry replied. "Just getting company is all," he said, giving no explanation that would help the others know what he was talking about, but Ginny smiled and looked at Luna.

"Good, now someone else can help me pick on him!"

Tonks looked affronted as she spun in her seat to face Ginny. "I thought that was my job!"

Harry threw up his hands. "I thought it was the job of all females in general to pick on me!"

At this, Tonks, Hermione, Ginny and Luna all grinned wickedly, causing him to shrink down in his seat. "Er...forget I said anything..." He looked at the four warily. "Please?"

Hermione laughed, reaching across the table to pat his hand reassuringly. "We'll give you a break for today, Harry, don't worry."

"Just today?"

Hermione glanced at the other girls, then pretended to think about it. "Well, lets wait and see how good a boy you are, then we'll decide on how long the break is for."

Harry sighed, pulling himself back up in his seat. "Should've just kept my mouth shut," he muttered, and the table burst into laughter.

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After lunch, Harry splurged on treats at Honeydukes, and split a box of chocolate frogs with the group, much to Ron's delight. While the teens munched on chocolate and traded cards, the adults finally left the group, having to do their rounds of the town. Laughing, Harry popped the last bite of his frog into his mouth as Ron tried to capture his as it hopped out of his hands. Glancing aside, he saw that Hermione was oddly quiet, despite the fact that Ginny and Luna were carrying on only a few feet from her. The chocolate frog he'd handed her was still unwrapped, held in her hand, clearly forgotten. Curious, he dodged Ron, and moved to stand beside her. Gently, his hand took hers, keeping her from fiddling with the hem of her jacket and surprising her enough to look up at him.

"You alright?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes on hers, and in the process, making it clear he wanted a truthful answer.

Yawning, she leaned into him, moving closer than was really necessary. "Just tired," she answered, now laying her head against his shoulder. "I didn't sleep well last night."

Not even noticing the glaring form of Cho Chang a few feet away, Harry stopped walking and looked at Hermione in concern. "Any particular reason?"

Hermione gave him a small smile and shook her head. "Just couldn't sleep. Excited, I guess," she added," about Hogsmeade today and all."

Unsure, but not wanting to press matters, he nodded and told her to stay put while he caught up to Ron and the other two girls. When Ron turned, Harry gave his friend an apologetic smile. "Mione and I are gonna head back up the castle I think, she's tired."

Ron frowned and glanced over Harry's shoulder to where Hermione stood, yawning again as she looked around the town. Sighing, he nodded. "Catch up with you two later then, I guess."

"Yeah," Harry said, and grinned at his friend. "You owe me a chess match, we haven't played in weeks."

At the idea of being able to play one of his favorite games, Ron brightened. "Works for me, mate."

Harry waved as the three walked off, then returned to Hermione, only to have Cho approach him. He looked at her curiously, as this was the first time she'd dare approach him all year.

"Yes, Cho?"

Cho tossed her long black hair over one shoulder, flashing her best smile as she moved closer. "How are you doing, Harry?"

Harry frowned, taking a step back away from Cho, purposefully moving closer to Hermione. But unlike his honesty with Luna, Harry felt no reason to be so truthful with Cho. "Alright, I guess," he lied, wondering what on earth Cho wanted from him.

Cho stopped moving forward, obviously getting the hint that he didn't want to be close to her, and eyed him critically, her lips turning up in a grin as she did so. "You look better than alright to me, Harry."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Nice line, Cho...used that one often?"

At this, Cho seemed truly offended. "I was trying to pay you a compliment!"

Harry shook his head, reaching back to touch Hermione's arm while he took anther step back away from Cho. "Well, thanks for the compliment then, but Hermione and I were going to head back to the castle. See you around, Cho," he said simply, and turned his back on the older Ravenclaw girl, now leading Hermione down the main street and towards the castle. And partly because he knew it would aggravate Cho, but more because he wanted her close, Harry wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulled her to him.

"I don't think Cho's too happy with you, Harry," Hermione teased, glancing up at him as the entered the school grounds again.

Harry shrugged with his other arm, and smiled down at her. "Doesn't matter to me. She's not that great, really."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Mione, she wanted a link to Cedric, not me, but she made me believe otherwise. I don't appreciate that. She's physically beautiful, sure...and not half bad at Quidditch either, but that's it. Her personality...Merlin. She's not what I want. Not now that I know her anyway." As he finished this, he gave her a look that had her wondering just what it was he did want.

"So...no more crush then?"

He hugged her to him as a heavy breeze came whipping around the edges of the castle, and shook his head. "No." Then his green eyes met her brown ones. "I wouldn't sneak off with you if I did, I hope you know that."

Satisfied, she nodded and smiled as they walked up the steps of the castle. "I do...but I guess I had to hear it to, you know?"

Harry glanced around the entry hall, then pulled Hermione up the stairs to the seventh floor and to the Room of Requirement in silence after that, refusing to answer anything until the door closed behind them and disappeared, keeping the room locked to any surprise visitors. Once the door closed, Harry looked to Hermione, taking in her appearance.

For the day out, Hermione had shed the school clothes as he had, and dressed in blue jeans with a figure flattering deep purple sweater. Her hair that had been pulled into a ponytail for the beginning of the day was now windswept and her shorter bangs framed her face in loose waves. The normally peaches and cream complexion was tinted with rose from the wind. The lips Harry was finding more and more enticing as time passed were parted just a bit, and her cinnamon and honey eyes watched him curiously. All in all, the picture she made, he realized, was far more alluring to him than any of Cho's practiced and overly enhanced looks. Perhaps it was the way her kindness shown through in those eyes, or her easy smile when she was truly happy. But whatever it was, Harry couldn't help but thank what ever god might exist that his best friend hadn't realized what he'd really had.

During his visual exploration of her, Hermione became worried at his lack of movement and speech since they entered the room. It just wasn't his way. But then, he did move, but not to kiss her as she had thought he might. Instead, his hands simply framed her face gently, while emerald green eyes searched hers.

"Beautiful," he murmured, seemingly unaware of doing so. There was something new, some feeling he couldn't explain rising as he watched her, but he knew it wasn't as new as he wanted to believe. It was simply moving from the hiding place he had shoved it into more than once in the previous years, and now refused to budge from its rightful place. So instead of denying it, he let it fill him up as it wanted to do. The feeling was amazing...ever so much better than flying. While he couldn't name it, he knew it had grown from his attraction to this girl in front of him. And for now, that was enough.

"Harry..." she said softly, hoping to catch his attention, and she did. But rather than answer, he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her with the gentleness and adoration she had always wanted from a boy but never allowed herself to think too long on. Every kiss they'd shared so far had been from some sort of passionate emotion...anger, sadness, happiness...and now was no different, but the emotion that filled them both was one both knew they'd have to explore further before naming.

When he broke away, Harry sighed softly, leaning his forehead against hers while he looked down at her. "You said something about being tired, didn't you?" Harry asked, just remembering.

With a soft laugh, Hermione kissed him, then turned as the room conjured a bed not unlike the one they had woken up on around a month ago before her break-up with Ron. She found herself unable to hide a yawn, and blushed.

"Harry!" Hermione screeched suddenly, beyond surprised when he lifted her effortlessly from the ground. Her arms wrapped around his neck for extra support, and she looked at him, eyes wide. "What on earth are you...?"

"You're tired," he said simply, and walked the few steps to the bed the room had created. He lowered her to it with the utmost care, waiting patiently for her arms to remove themselves from around his neck before he pulled his arms away too. Smiling, he leaned down, pressing another kiss to her lips. "So rest..."

Before he had the time to move away, she grabbed his hand, giving it a tug. Curious, he looked to her. "Hmm?"

"Lay with me?"

The question, which could result in so many different outcomes, surprised him. But there was something in the way she asked that had him knowing that he couldn't deny her that request. So without words, he slid onto the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her as he drew her close. Without warning, Hermione turned, snuggling her front against his before settling down again, causing him to sigh softly. This was going to be a long afternoon...Or maybe not, he thought as he found himself yawning. Within minutes, the two were sound asleep in each others arms for the second time that year.

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8:00 PM, October 26th, Room of Requirement -

It was a good three hours after he had left this room with Hermione for dinner, and now here he was, entering it again with another girl at his side, Harry thought idly. But the reason behind this visit was totally different from his reasons in bringing Hermione here. After all, Ginny and Luna were his sisters, weren't they? Or as good as, at any rate. And Ginny had insisted that he share his music with Luna now, for no one would understand the lyrics of loss better than the blonde Ravenclaw girl. So with only minor hesitation, Harry pulled his notebook from his bag, set it on the table, and then pulled out his guitar while Luna and Ginny took seats on the couch. Enlarging the guitar to its real size, Harry gave Ginny a brief smile before flipping to the page that he wanted and started playing the song that made him think of multiple people.

"I found the pieces in my hand
They were always there
It just took some time to understand
You gave me words I just can't say
So if nothing else
I'll hold on while you drift away
Cause everything you wanted me to hide
Is everything that makes me feel alive

Cities grow
Rivers flow
Where you are, I'll never know
But I'm still here
If you were right and I was wrong
Why are you the one who's gone
And I'm still here
The lights go out, the bridges burn
Once you're gone, you can't return
I'm still here
Remember how you use to say I'd be the one to runaway
But I'm still here

I'm still here

I'm still here" (1)

As Harry trailed off, Ginny and Luna both broke into applause that had him blushing and giving a half bow. He turned to another page, and when the two girls settled down, he smiled shyly. "So you liked that huh?"

"Liked it?" Ginny practically squealed, brown eyes wide. "Are you kidding?! That was great!"

Luna seemed unable to find words at the moment, and simply nodded her agreement with Ginny's assessment.

"Alright, well..." Harry glanced down at the page, then looked back to the girls. "This one's a new one...wrote it not that long ago...maybe a week at most?"

"What's it called?" Luna asked, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Things Will Go My Way," he answered simply, then placed the guitar back where he needed it to be, and began to play the almost hopeful melody.

"I came to tell you
How it all began
Nothing seems to work out right
I'm broken down again
So hold me now
And say it's not forever
Maybe someday
In time

Things will go my way
Things will go my way" (2)

This time he was almost prepared for the applause, and accepted it a bit more graciously, but the light blush still infused his cheeks with color. He set the guitar across the notebook this time, leaning forward to look at the girls as he smiled.

"Glad you two enjoy my music so much." He flipped to yet another page, this time looking at Ginny appraisingly. "You up to helping me on one?"

"Now?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"Yeah...I mean, singing, not writing. This one's meant to be sung by a girl."

"You sure?"

Harry laughed, smiling at her. "Course I'm sure. I've heard you sing, haven't I?"

"Well...alright," Ginny agreed hesitantly, then moved to sit by him so she could see the lyrics. "Hope you're not expecting perfection, Potter."

When Ginny got a good look at the lyrics, her head shot up. "That's...those are..."

Laughing, Harry nodded. "Yes, that's your lyrics." He nudged her gently. "Come on, sing..."

And after clearing her throat gently, Ginny did just that.

"I cannot find a way to describe it
It's there inside; all I do is hide
I wish that it would just go away
What would you do, you do, if you knew
What would you do

Her voice was clear and beautiful, better than any training could have ever done for her, and the fact that she wrote the lyrics seemed to make it only better. Feeling, real, undisguised feeling was slipping into it with every word she sang, leaving both Harry and Luna surprised.

Take me away
Break me away
Take me away" (3)

As she finished, Ginny opened her brown eyes, which she had closed halfway through the final chorus, only to find Harry and Luna smiling at her. "Well?" she asked, as unsure of her own talent as Harry was of his.

"Fantastic," Harry said simply, hugging her to him after he set his guitar aside. "You and I could sing together after Hogwarts...how's that?" he teased, green eyes glowing with the pleasure he seemed to get more from music than almost anything else these days.

"Sounds good to me," Ginny answered, leaning into him, and looking at Luna. "What did you think?"

"It was...real," Luna decided, smiling at her first real friend at Hogwarts. "It suits you," she added, "the music."

"You think so?" Ginny asked now, turning her brown eyes back and forth between Harry and Luna.

"Of course, "Harry said, laughing before digging his fingers into her side to tickle her. "Wouldn't say so otherwise, would we, Blondie?"

Luna shook her head in the negative, then moved to sit on the other side of Ginny. "I do have one question."

"Yeah?"

"Would you be willing to teach me?"

Sharing a grin, Harry and Ginny looked to Luna at the same time. "Course we would."

And within minutes, Luna was submersed into the world of music, using and showing her (unusual) Ravenclaw intellect.

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A/N: Ok...Ending this here so I can get it updated. Sorry for the wait! LOL. Even with a new computer, I just get distracted! Sorry! Hopefully can get the next chapter up faster.

Review please!

(1) - "I'm Still Here" - Vertical Horizon

(2) - "Things Will Go My Way" - The Calling

(3) - "Take Me Away" - Avril Lavigne