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Author: pottervader Story: Harry Potter and the Prophesied Six Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 22 Words: 374,905
Disclaimer: This story was made without any intention of profiting from it. Only the original characters and the plot are mine. The rest of it belongs to JKR. A/N: Here’s the next one. I hope you guys like it. As always, please review.
“Harry!” He heard Ginny say, her voice sounding like the sweetest music to him even with its relieved tone. “Oh, sweetie, you’re awake.” He felt the bond between them flare as she took hold of his hand before calling out, “Madam Pomfrey, Harry’s awake!” He heard footsteps come closer and then stop beside his bed. “Mr. Potter,” he heard the familiar voice of the school nurse say, “can you open your eyes?” He tried to comply but the bright light hurt his eyes, even with them closed. “Madam Pomfrey,” Ginny said, “the light is too bright. It’s hurting him.” He felt the light dim through his closed eyes as Ginny placed his glasses on his face. He opened his eyes when the level of illumination had diminished to a more comfortable level. He saw the familiar ceiling of the hospital wing above him. Turning to his left side, he saw the angel he was bonded to sitting beside him on his bed. Looming above Ginny was Madam Pomfrey, a small smile on her face. “Welcome back, Mr. Potter,” Madam Pomfrey said. “I’m glad you’re finally awake. Are you in any pain?” “Not really,” he said, but then a groan escaped his lips as the pain sharpened for a moment. The nurse pursed her lips and reached beside her to a table where several potion vials were resting in a wooden stand. She picked a vial with a dirty green potion in it and used her wand to prop him up to a slightly sitting position. Harry felt a bit dizzy when she did that but it passed quickly. “Here, Harry,” she said. “Drink this and the pain will mostly disappear.” Reluctantly, Harry drank the offered liquid, grimacing at its bitter taste. Thankfully, the pain vanished and he felt better. “Thanks, ma’am,” he said. Madam Pomfrey smiled. “You’re welcome. Ordinarily, I’d give you a mild sleeping potion to let you get over the soreness but I think you’ve slept enough for now. I’ll see about getting you something to eat.” He and Ginny watched her walk off. She was gone when Harry finally understood what she had said. He turned to Ginny and talked to her through the bond. “How long have I been out?” he asked. “You’ve been unconscious for four days, Harry,” she answered him. Harry was stunned. “Wow! That long, huh? Why exactly did I lose consciousness?” “What’s the last thing you remember about the battle, Harry?” Harry thought for a bit before answering, “Um, I was fighting Tom in my dragon Animagus form and he was a Basilisk. I was hurting him but it was taking too long. Then I remembered I have a third Animagus form that I had thought was useless. I used my rooster form and crowed for all I was worth. I saw him quiver and collapse to the ground. There was a flash of light from where he lay then everything went black.” “That’s right,” Ginny said. “There was a magical shockwave after that flash of light. It was very strong and knocked me to the floor even though I was on the castle's third floor. It must have hit you and thrown you several feet from him.” “What was that shockwave?” he asked her. “I don’t know, Harry,” she answered, “but Professor Dumbledore said he has a theory. He hasn’t told it to anyone yet. I suppose he’s waiting for you to awaken before talking about it. However, one thing he did say was that it doesn’t mean that Tom is dead.” “You mean he’s still alive even if the rooster’s crow is supposed to kill a Basilisk?” he asked, his eyes wide. “What will it take to kill that bastard?” “I don’t know, Harry,” Ginny said. “Whatever it does, promise me you’ll do it with me by your side, which reminds me…” She slapped him on the backside of his head. “OW! What the bloody hell was that for?” Harry asked, rubbing his head. “What the hell were you thinking, fighting him on your own, Harry?” she asked him, her mental voice’s tone full of steel and anger. “It couldn’t be helped, Gin,” he answered her. “You were unconscious and he was right over you, threatening to kill you. I couldn’t let him do that. I did what I had to, and I’m not sorry for it. If he had killed you, I would have given up and let him kill me so I can join you in death. I can’t live without you, Gin, even if we weren’t bonded. I love you so much.” Ginny’s expression softened and she embraced him tightly. “I know, love, but I was so scared, watching you fight him. I was afraid I’d lose you, especially when he managed to knock you down with his tail and was about to bite you.” Harry returned her hug and the two allowed themselves to revel in the emotions coming through the Bond. They broke apart only upon hearing Madam Pomfrey return. Looking up, Harry saw that she was levitating two trays of food. “Your soul mate hasn’t eaten well over the past few days, Harry,” she said. “She was too intent in watching over you to even sleep for more than an hour.” Harry now noticed the dark circles around Ginny’s eyes. “Love, you should have taken better care of yourself. What would have happened if I had awakened and you weren’t here because you’d starved yourself to death? I’d have died too.” “I’m sorry, Harry. I was just so worried. I knew from the bond that you were just unconscious and not disconnected like I was, but I had to be by your side in case you woke up.” “Well, I’m awake now so you can eat with me.” She smiled and nodded. Madam Pomfrey levitated one tray onto Harry’s lap. She conjured a table and chair beside Harry’s bed and placed the other tray on it for Ginny. She then left them, going into her office after saying that she’d be back to check on Harry after they had eaten. The young couple ate in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company in peace. They were almost done when the doors to the hospital wing opened and several people came in. Harry saw his parents, Rose, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Professor Dumbledore. Lily and Rose rushed forward and drew Harry into hugs worthy of Molly Weasley. James was just a step behind them and placed an arm around the three of them. Then he drew Ginny into the circle of embraces. Finally, the four drew back from Harry but Lily still kept her arms around his shoulders. “How are you feeling, son?” she asked. “I felt stiff and sore when I woke up, Mum, but Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion that took most of it away,” he answered. Madam Pomfrey came up to them and said, “If you’ll give us a few minutes, Lily, I’d like to check Harry out and make sure he’s fully healed.” Lily got to her feet and moved back, allowing Madam Pomfrey room to run her wand over Harry. After several minutes, the nurse said, “Well, he’s fully healed. There appears to be no residual effects from that magical backlash.” “Magical backlash,” Harry asked. “Was that what that shockwave was that knocked me out? A backlash from what?” “Yes, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said, stepping forward. “It was a magical backlash from slaying the Basilisk form of Voldemort. Harry, why didn’t you tell us you had a third Animagus form?” Harry shrugged his shoulders. “I guess it was embarrassing for me, Professor. Who ever heard of a rooster Animagus? I never thought it would be useful.” “Well, it was fortunate you had that form or it would have been more difficult to deal with that form of Tom,” Dumbledore said. “However, I don’t think he’s dead.” “Probably not, Professor,” Ginny said, “I saw him still breathing as I flew down to Harry.” “Professor,” Hermione chimed in, “that doesn’t make any sense. I’ve read about Animagi and the Animagus transformation. All the books say that when you kill the Animagus form of a witch or wizard, the Animagus goes back to his human form but he or she will be dead. Why didn’t it kill Voldemort and why did it cause a magical backlash? There’s never been any mention of that happening.” “You have your facts right, Ms. Granger,” Dumbledore said. “However, those are under normal circumstances. Tom is not really normal or human anymore. I believe that destroying the Basilisk form of Tom destroyed whatever magical protections he had on him. The light and magical energy that came from Tom, after his Basilisk form collapsed, were from the removal of the spells he had cast on him in those rituals Harry saw in Tom’s memories.” “So does that mean he’s vulnerable now?” James asked. “That he can be killed?” Dumbledore nodded. “I believe so.” “But wouldn’t he know that?” Harry asked. “Wouldn’t he feel the loss of the spells protecting him? Then he’d find a way to renew those spells.” “I do not doubt that he’d realize that he has lost his protective spells,” Dumbledore said. “However, I doubt he’d use the same rituals again, even if he had the right circumstances. He wouldn’t risk the same thing happening again. No, Tom will look for another way to regain his near invincibility.” “Then we have to find him before that happens,” James said. “I already had Sirius and the surviving Aurors begin looking for Voldemort and his remaining Death Eaters.” “Dad,” Harry interrupted James as he sat up fully, “did you say 'surviving Aurors'? What else happened the day of the battle here? I know that they attacked both Hogsmeade and the Ministry. I want to know who we lost here.” “Harry,” James said, “I don’t think you need to know this. You’ve just woken up from a three-day coma.” “Madam Pomfrey said I’m fully healed,” Harry said. “Please, Dad, I have to know.” James sighed and looked at Professor Dumbledore and Lily before looking back at his son. “All right, I haven’t told your sister or friends yet anyway.” He sat down and told them all about the attacks on the Ministry. Everyone, including Harry, gasped when James told them about Greyback’s attack. Harry was grateful that the mad werewolf had been driven away. He felt Ginny’s relief that Percy was safe. James then went on to talk about the attack on Hogsmeade. He assured the kids that most of the inhabitants of Hogsmeade had managed to get away at the first sign of a Death Eater attack so there were very few deaths among them. Harry became angry when James got to the parts about Pettigrew trying to kill Remus. Most of his friends had the same reaction. “It’s a good thing Sirius managed to intercept Wormtail, but I wish that rat hadn’t accidentally fallen on his dagger,” James said after finishing his tale. “I would have preferred he spent the rest of his days in Azkaban.” He looked pensive for a moment before continuing. “We lost 23 Aurors and 12 MLE officers in both battles. Luckily, no one in the Order was killed, though several had to be sent to St. Mungo’s for severe spell damage.” “What about here?” Harry asked, looking around at his friends. “I know Rose kept our casualties light, with no one dying until they got into the third floor. What happened after that? I know there were several Death Eaters with him on the floor before I pushed Tom through that window.” He then felt sorrow coming from Ginny through their Bond and noticed that his friends had exchanged sad looks. He now realized that neither Ti nor Maggie were there. Ginny took his hand in hers. “Sweetie, while you and Tom were dueling on the ground, the DC had to fight the remaining Death Eaters who were mostly his inner circle. You would have proud of them, of how they stood up to them and didn’t back down though several of the Death Eaters managed to get away, including Bellatrix.” “Who did we lose?” Harry persistently asked, now dreading the answer. Ginny sighed before answering him, “We lost Eddie Carmichael, Anthony Goldstein, Mandy Brocklehurst, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, John Summers (fifth year Hufflepuff), Miles Bletchley (fifth year Slytherin), Cormac MacLadden and Ernie Macmillan. Also Susan (Bones), Dean, Seamus, Terry (Boot), Colin and Tracey (Davis), were injured but they’re now fully healed.” Harry felt his heart tighten on hearing the names of many friends he had made in the DC. Merlin, so many of them died. Maybe I should have stayed and helped fight them instead of throwing Voldemort out that window. Ginny squeezed his hand. “Harry, if you didn’t jump on Tom, he would have still been up there during the fight. Who knows how many more he would have killed? You did what you thought was best. I’m sorry for getting angry at you for endangering yourself like that. Tom and his Death Eaters should never have attacked students. It’s their fault our friends died.” Harry took a deep breath, then remembered that his youngest friends were not named among the dead students. “What about Maggie and Ti?” Harry asked. “Lucius Malfoy used the Cruciatus on Ti and Maggie,” Neville answered, a hard tone in his voice. “They were here for a couple of days, but Madam Pomfrey decided they had recovered enough to stay in the Tower, so they’re there now. Maggie is much better but Ti’s not doing too well.” “Why’s that?” Harry asked. Ron was the one who answered him. “He used the Killing Curse on his father to stop him from torturing Maggie.” Harry looked at him in shock. “Ti used the Avada Kedavra on his own father? No wonder he’s not doing well.” He looked at his dad and asked, “Dad, where’s Sirius? Does he know what Ti did? Has he talked to him?” “Sirius is at the Ministry, coordinating with the contingents of foreign Aurors as to how best to use them,” James answered, “I’m afraid he can’t come over for a while and he doesn’t know Ti killed Lucius. I don’t want it known that happened, for Ti’s sake.” Harry nodded gratefully, then turned to Madam Pomfrey and asked, “Madam Pomfrey, can I get out of here now?” The school matron looked at him with a critical eye. “All right, I guess I did say you were fully healed. Just don’t do anything strenuous for the next couple of weeks, including dueling or flying; also, try to limit your use of magic for the same time period, even your Animagus forms.” Despite what the nurse had said, Harry waved his wand and Transfigured the hospital wing pajamas he was wearing to a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt before getting up and heading for the door. “Harry,” Lily said, “where are you going in such a hurry?” “I need to talk to Ti,” Harry said. “I think I know why he’s not doing well. Since Sirius can’t talk to him, it’s up to me to help him out.” He turned to his dad. “Dad, you won’t put him in Azkaban for this, will you?” “I know what the original laws said, Harry,” James said. “We’ve modified the law to allow Aurors to use the Unforgivables in certain circumstances. I plan to pass a special law pardoning anyone who used the Killing Curse on Death Eaters during this war in defense of other people, which is what Ti did. You tell him he need not worry about that.” Harry nodded, “Thanks, Dad.” Then he had another thought and turned to Professor Dumbledore. “Professor, how did Voldemort drop the wards so quickly?” “It seems he had a large team of foreign curse-breakers working together with him to overload the wards,” Dumbledore said. “Unfortunately for them, the overload caused a backlash that killed most of them. Don’t worry. Filius, Bill Weasley and I were able to rebuild them and add additional wards and alarms to prevent that from happening again.” “That’s good, Professor,” Harry said. “One other thing: Voldemort told me he knows about the soul bond between me and Ginny.” He winced as everyone gasped. “How did he find out?” Dumbledore sighed. “I’m afraid that when a bond is formed, it is recorded in an ancient, obscure book in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. I myself went to check on it the day after your bond was revealed three years ago. I’m afraid there was no way we could have hidden it because the recording spell is ancient magic we don’t have much understanding of these days. I had hoped that none of Tom’s supporters would chance to see the record but I guess it was only a matter of time before that happened.” “This puts Ginny in grave danger, Professor,” Harry said. “What can we do to protect her?” “Harry, I don’t need any extra protection,” Ginny argued. “I’m sorry, Gin,” Harry said, tenderly stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I can’t afford to lose you. I told you earlier that if I lost you, I’d give up and let myself get killed to join you in death.” “Harry,” Dumbledore said, interrupting their discussion, “I think Ginny is best protected by being at your side. As demonstrated four days ago, you’d let nothing harm her and, with the new wards, you are safe here. During the summer, you will be together at Potter Manor, which is even more protected than Hogwarts, so don’t worry.” “Harry,” James said, “Yyur mum and I will be going now. I’m needed back at the Ministry and your mum needs to check on the twins. I think we have a good idea what Molly and Arthur went through when Fred and George were three. Daisy and Andrew are really a handful. It’s good Hermione’s brother is not as rambunctious as them or our hair will be turning gray.” Lily came forward and embraced Harry. “I’ll see you on the platform when the train comes in on Sunday. Now, go and help your young friend. I’m sure Sirius will appreciate it.” Harry nodded after returning his mum’s embrace and left the hospital wing accompanied by Ginny, Rose, Ron, Hermione and Neville. When they got to Gryffindor Tower, they found it deserted except for Ti, who was seated in one of the window seats, staring at the grounds. Ginny informed Harry through the Bond that she, Rose and Hermione were going up to their dorms to check on Maggie while Ron whispered to him that he and Neville were going up to their dorm room for a game of Wizard’s chess. Harry approached Ti slowly, making enough noise so the younger boy would not be startled. He sat down beside him. “Ti?” he asked. Ti turned his head. “Oh, hi, Harry. Are you better now? I’m glad,” he said in a monotone before turning his attention back to the window. “Ti,” Harry began again, “are you feeling all right?” “Hmm, oh yeah, fine, never better,” he replied. “Are you sure?” Harry asked again. “I heard what you did in the battle, saving Maggie like that. Do you want to talk about it?” Ti didn’t reply. Harry decided not to push him and just wait it out. Harry remained patiently seated beside Ti as the sun rose higher in the sky. Finally, Ti turned away from the window and said in a very soft voice, “When is your dad sending the Aurors to arrest me?” Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he replied, “Just why would he do that?” Ti looked down at the ground. “You said you know what I did in the battle, so isn’t it obvious? I killed my father with the Killing Curse. I deserve to go to Azkaban.” “Ti,” Harry began, “what was your father doing before you cast the Killing Curse at him? What was he doing that shook you so much that you needed to stop him permanently?” Ti gulped before answering in a whisper, “He was torturing Maggie. He was using the Cruciatus on the girl I love.” Harry was a bit surprised by the last part but didn’t say anything because Ti continued talking after a very short pause. “It was the last straw. Did you know that he was using the Cruciatus on me before that because I attacked him? It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt, worse than when Aunt Bella used the same curse on me, worse than when Father would beat me with his cane because I didn’t act like a proper pureblood, worse than when Draco would hit me for treating the house-elves with kindness. But I didn’t cry out. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream.” Ti paused again as he took a deep breath. “Then all of a sudden, the pain stopped. It took me a couple of seconds to catch my breath, then I heard the worst sound I’ve ever heard. Maggie was screaming. It still gives me chills to hear that sound. She was screaming because my father was torturing her. She had hexed him to stop him from torturing me but it drew his attention to her.” He shuddered. “She had gone to help me and had ended up getting tortured. I didn’t know it at the time. All I saw and heard was my girl getting tortured by the monster who was my birth father. I found myself hating him and in that moment, I used the spell I know he’d used so often. All I wanted was to stop him once and for all.” He looked up at Harry, who saw that his friend’s eyes were red and bloodshot with dark circles around them. “I’m a monster now, like him. What will Maggie think of me now?” “You’re not a monster, Ti,” Harry said. “You’re nothing like your father. Okay, maybe you used an Unforgivable. But, like you said, he probably used them many times before. He used them to kill innocent people. You used it once. Just think why you did: You did it to save someone you loved. Then think of what you’re feeling now. You feel regret, guilt. I doubt your father ever felt regret for the many evil things he’s done, especially for using the Killing Curse. No, Ti, you’re nothing like your father.” “Harry is right about that,” they heard a female voice say. “And you’re not a monster.” Turning around, they saw Maggie, standing at the bottom of the stairs to the girls’ dormitories. She moved quickly and engulfed Ti in a tight hug. Harry slowly got up and walked away. Just before he had moved far, he heard her whisper to him, “You’re not a monster. You’re the one who saved me.” Looking over his shoulder, he saw her pull his head down for a deep kiss which Ti responded to without hesitation. Feeling Ginny’s relief through their Bond, Harry quickly turned away and walked up to stairs to his dorm room. When he got there, he saw Neville and Ron playing Wizard’s Chess on Ron’s bed. Harry moved to sit on his bed. The other two boys looked up from their game. “So how did it go?” Ron asked. “I think I managed to convince him he shouldn’t be sent to Azkaban,” Harry said. “The poor kid is scared he’s going to turn out like dear old Lucius, like some sort of monster.” Ron let out a short whistle. “Bloody hell, now that is some hard shite he’s thinking about.” Harry nodded. “I know. I talked to him a bit about how feeling guilty about it shows he’s not like his father. Then someone else came down to help convince him that he’s not a monster.” He broke into a smirk as he looked at Neville. Typically clueless, Ron asked, “Who was that?” “Maggie,” Harry answered, still looking at Neville. “Please, say no more, Harry,” Neville said, a pained look appearing on his face. “I don’t want to think about what she might be doing to convince him.” Harry grinned and didn’t say another word as he watched his friends play. They told him that the news about the attack on Hogwarts had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous morning. Many parents had wanted to pull their children out of the school but a lot of discussion with Dumbledore and James had managed to convince them to wait for the end of term that Sunday. It became uncertain whether the children of those parents would return to Hogwarts after the coming summer. Ron soon had Neville in checkmate. Ginny, Rose and Hermione came into the dorm just as Ron and Harry were setting up a game of their own. After Ron beat Harry in spite of some helpful hints from Ginny, they decided it was safe to go down to the common room without seeing two of their friends in a full-blown snog. When they reached the common room, they found no sign of Maggie or Ti and hoped the two young teens were having fun together. Deciding that the day looked too good to spend indoors, in spite of Harry having just left the hospital wing, they left the Tower and descended to the Entrance Hall. There, they ran into the rest of Ginny and Ron’s family, except for Arthur, and including Fleur. Molly walked up to Harry and embraced him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re awake, Harry,” Molly said. “We were so worried that you were going to be in a coma like Ginny was, but Ginny reassured us that you were just resting.” “Thanks, Molly,” he replied. “We’re also glad you’re awake, Harry,” Fred said. “We heard how you beat old Voldie,” George said. “Yeah, that was wicked,” Charlie said. “Great payback for what he did to Gin-Gin in the Chamber.” Ginny groaned. “Oh, please don’t bring that up and don’t call me Gin-Gin, Charlie. I’m not four anymore.” “You may have grown some, Gin-Gin,” Charlie said, ruffling her hair, “but you’re still my little sister.” Harry could feel Ginny’s anger flare at her dragon-taming brother and stepped back out of the way. “That’s it,” Ginny said as she drew her wand in one fluid motion and yelled, “Battus mucous!” “Ginevra!” Molly screamed over Charlie’s yells as green sticky bats started coming out of his nose and attacking him. ******* Harry and his friends spent the next day with the other surviving members of the DC in the Room of Requirement honoring their fallen comrades. They had a few minutes of silence for them then spent several hours exchanging funny and happy stories about them. No one mentioned what Ti had done to his father, for which the New Marauders were grateful, especially Maggie, who stayed constantly by Ti’s side. Harry asked the other members to continue practicing, since the danger of Voldemort had not disappeared. But he also told them to enjoy their summer and not let their lives be ruled by fear. Later that night, he and Ginny put the Room of Requirement to a more personal use, appropriate for a married couple, to celebrate their survival of another confrontation with Tom and to affirm their love for each other. No one, not even Ron, begrudged them this. Three days later, which was a Saturday, a memorial service for the dead students was held on the grounds of Hogwarts by Black Lake. Chairs were placed in rows facing a raised dais with chairs on it for the teachers and Ministry officials which included James, Arthur and Sirius. The Aurors provided heavy security all around the school. The students were allowed to sit wherever they liked, along with family members who wanted to attend. The parents of the dead students were seated in the front rows. Harry and the rest of the DC sat together in the middle rows. Dumbledore was the first to speak. He talked about the bravery and willingness of the deceased to sacrifice their young lives for the right cause. He expressed his sorrow that the greed and madness of one man made those sacrifices necessary. He then expressed his hope that with the loss of so many followers, the war would soon be over and such sacrifices would never be necessary again. Finally, he announced that the deceased students would be honored with Awards for Special Services to the school and their names would be engraved in a special plaque to be placed in the school’s Hall of Trophies. Everyone applauded that announcement. James spoke next. He expressed his regret that such young people had to die to defend their school. He apologized to their parents that there were not enough Aurors to have made that unnecessary. He then promised that, with the help of the foreign Aurors, the war would soon be over. He then announced that the Aurors killed in the battle at the Ministry and Hogsmeade and the students killed at Hogwarts would be awarded the Order of Merlin, Second Class in honor of their sacrifice. The applause over this announcement was overwhelming. Harry was glad that his friends would receive such a prestigious award for their sacrifice. To him, they were the real heroes of the battle. After the ceremony, he approached many of the parents with Ginny by his side and they offered their condolences. They thanked them for their sympathy. The crowd soon dispersed inside for an early lunch. Not feeling hungry, Harry and Ginny walked down to the lake and sat at the base of their favorite tree, letting their love for each other banish the sorrow of the memorial. When they started feeling the need for food, they opted to go to the kitchens. The next day, the students boarded the carriages for Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts Express under the watchful eyes of Aurors along the route from the castle. As they arrive at the station, Harry caught sight of Sirius on the platform. Another man was with him but dressed in a different uniform from Sirius’. “Harry,” Sirius said, giving him a quick hug, “thanks for talking to Ti. I think you’re familiar with the bloke beside me.” “Viktor!” Harry said, moving forward to shake hands with his fellow Triwizard Champion, Viktor Krum. “What are you doing here?” Viktor Krum grinned as he shook Harry’s hand. “Ven I got back to Bulgaria, I thought about your enemy Voldemort and vat he vants to do. It occurred to me that many people in my country vould like dat, the wrong kind of people. I decided I vanted to fight against it so I gave up playing professional Quidditch and joined the Aurors of my country. I’m only in my second year of training but the head of our Aurors knew I had made friends with you. So they asked me to come with the Bulgarian Auror group.” “That’s great, Viktor,” Hermione said, having overheard them as she came over. She gave him a quick hug. Harry noticed the scowl on Ron’s face as his girlfriend drew back from Viktor and began talking with the Bulgarian about his Auror training. Placing his arm around Ron, Harry said in a low voice, “Lighten up, mate. You know Hermione loves only you. Viktor’s just a friend. You know she loves to learn. Don’t ruin what you have with her in a fit of jealousy.” Ron glared at Harry before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, he purposely walked over to Hermione and Viktor and said, in a falsely happy tone as he placed his arm around Hermione’s waist, “Viktor, good to see you. It’s great you came over to help us out.” “Oh, hello, Ron,” Viktor said, “Yes, I am glad to be here and see everyone again. I heard that Fleur is here and dating one of your older brothers.” Ron looked surprised for a moment that Viktor knew. “Yes, she is. In fact, they’re getting married this summer.” He looked pleased when Viktor raised an eyebrow over this information. “I see,” the Bulgarian said, “Well, pass on my congratulations to her.” He looked at Harry. “I have to go meet my superiors. Harry, we must have a reunion with Fleur once all this trouble is over.” “Of course, Viktor,” Harry said. “I’m sure that once she knows you’re here, Fleur will invite you to her wedding.” He shook hands with Viktor who gave a quick goodbye to the rest and walked off. Hermione glared at Ron. “Ronald, that was very rude,” she said. “What?” Ron asked. “I was being friendly.” Before Hermione could say anything more, Ginny broke in. “Come on, guys. We should get a compartment before they’re all full.” Harry breathed a sigh of relief at his bond mate’s fast thinking. The last thing he wanted was a tiff between Ron and Hermione after all the tension from the battle a week before. He hoped it would remain peaceful until they got back to London.
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