Disclaimer: These characters and settings belong to JK Rowling. No profit is being made or sought; I'm just having a little fun.
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Harry woke up screaming again that night, plagued by his inner demons. His body was covered in sweat and he struggled to escape from the clinging sheets that trapped him. Tears of helplessness and rage ran down his face, and he brushed them off carelessly. The dream had been particularly horrible and hard for him to bear. Ever since last night, when he had rejected Ginny, he had wanted to reconsider his decision. The more he was around her, the more he seemed to like her. She had a great sense of humour and had a wicked streak a mile wide. She could be one of the fiercest people he knew when angered, yet she couldn't be gentler when someone she loved was hurt. She was smart, not Hermione-smart, but he knew that she was among the smartest in her year. There was a fire within her, a fire that was beautiful to watch. Her slim build and grace and lively personality reminded him of the fair elves he had read about in myths. He knew that if he didn't give himself a chance to have a relationship with her, he would regret it for the rest of his life. The dream had changed everything. It had started off quite normally… He had finally found his courage and asked her out on a date to Hogsmeade, and to his great joy she had accepted. He was content to hear her prattle on about her OWL preparations and the latest weird thing that 'Loony' Lovegood had done as they walked through the snowy path towards Hogsmeade. Her voice had a faintly musical sound to it, and Harry only paid attention to her with one ear as he let her voice wash over him. The bitterly cold weather, the thick and warm woolen clothes that they wore, the landscape blanketed with snow, and walking arm in arm with the pretty, slim redhead…Harry was perfectly content. They made their way to all the usual haunts - Honeydukes, followed by Zonko's, and finally headed to The Three Broomsticks for warm, foaming butterbeers. Harry was busy sipping his butterbeer, more relaxed than he had been in weeks. For once, there was nothing on his mind save how and when he would manage to get Ginny Weasley to a secluded place so that he could steal a kiss or two. From there it all went downhill. At first the screams outside hadn't registered. It was only when the doors had burst open and the spells had started flying that he realized what was happening. He pulled Ginny down under the table with him to find a temporary shield from the dangerous spells whizzing around. The table didn't shield them for long, as a powerful blasting spell blew it apart and threw both of them out into the open. He had scrambled quickly behind another table, firing spells as fast as he could at the Death Eaters. Even with his speed and agility, he barely made it to the shelter of another table. It was then that the hateful voice cried out, "Ickle baby Potter… hiding from the big bad Death Eaters. Are you scared, then?" Rage made him careless and he stood up swiftly, raising his wand to cast some lethal spells at the woman who had plagued his nightmares. When he saw what was before him his hand dropped down nervelessly. Ginny was held captive by the Death Eaters, a wand pointed to her head. "Ahh! Ickle Hawwykins, you seem to have become smarter since the last time we met," Bellatrix mocked. "No heroics today?" "Harry… don't bother about me… get away," Ginny yelled. "Crucio," hissed the Death Eater holding her. Ginny screamed, pain like she had never imagined rushing through her limbs. "You must learn not to speak in the presence of your superiors, little girl. Hasn't your worthless father taught you that?" Lucius Malfoy's cold voice drawled mockingly from behind the mask. His eyes glinted with malice as he watched her writhe in agony in his tight grasp. Harry's wand was trained on Malfoy in a second. "Now, now, Ickle Hawwykins," Bellatrix cackled. "You don't want to point your wand at us. Your little girlfriend might meet a very painful end." Harry lowered his wand slowly, his jaw clenched in anger. "Leave her alone, you bastards. Fight me. It's me you want, isn't it?" "Quite a 'potty' mouth he has, doesn't he, Lucius?" Bellatrix cackled in glee. Lucius Malfoy smirked and took the spell off Ginny. She slumped back against him as he tightened his arm around her neck to keep her in place. Her body was trembling with the aftereffects of the curse and it was more than Harry could bear to see. She suddenly looked up at Harry and what he saw in her eyes terrified him. The next moment she had stamped hard on Malfoy's foot and jumped forward, landing between Harry and the Death Eaters. She had barely landed when three killing curses hit her dead on. She was dead before her body hit the floor. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Harry screamed. He awoke, a part of him relieved that it was a dream, another part of him dying when he realized that he had forever lost something so precious that it could not be put into words. He had finally learnt what love was only to have it forever denied to him. He sobbed then, his magic going wild inside him. Sobbed for what seemed like hours. Finally there were no more tears left and an empty feeling filled his heart. He never wanted to leave the bed, never wanted to face the world. It was at that moment that Harry Potter did one of the most heroic things he had done in his life. He got up out of bed, granting himself no mercy, no time to mourn, no time to feel sorry for himself. He had a job to do, his friends to protect. The entire world hung on his shoulders. He did not have time to weep, no time to waste. He picked up his Arithmancy books and started studying, giving himself no more time to think about anything. A few hours later… Harry got up from his desk and stretched, trying to work the stiffness out of his body. A few twinges from his injuries still niggled him, but he ignored the pain. He quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt and slipped out of his room, making his way downstairs silently. He missed going for his morning runs and had decided that he would go for one today. He couldn't afford to let his stamina decrease because of lack of exercise. Apparently, he had not been silent enough, because he heard soft footsteps following him downstairs. "Morning, Harry," Pat whispered, appearing next to him. "I knew that you might get up early to exercise and I thought I would join you, if that's ok." "Of course it's ok," Harry whispered back. "Let's go." They were just about to make for the door when three more sets of footsteps came from the stairs as Sean, Jack and Alan bounded down. "Oi, wait for us," Sean said in a low tone, causing them to halt. "Some friends you are, going off without us. It's a good thing we always wake up early and heard you two moving about." "Sorry, mate," Harry said good naturedly. "I didn't know if you guys wanted to come or have a lie-in." "Nah," Sean said grumpily. "The past week, ever since you left to come here, we haven't been allowed to move out of the house much, as they were still putting up some sort of wards to protect us. Now that we can go out, there's no way I want to stay in bed." Harry nodded and moved to open the door. A light pair of footsteps from behind alerted him that someone else was awake. Harry sighed in frustration and wondered whether he had succeeded in waking up the whole house. A slim figure dressed in a pair of tight track pants and training bra stood at the foot of the steps, eyeing them hesitantly. "Do you think I could join you guys?" she asked softly. "Of course, Ginny," Pat said cheerfully. "You don't need to ask." Harry had barely taken a glance at her when he looked away. She was the last person he wanted to see right now, especially dressed as she was. Merlin, she looked hot! He never saw the hurt look in her eyes as she noticed him turn away, and she almost turned back to go up, but some stubborn part of her rebelled. She had decided the day Harry came back injured that she would take his example and get her body fitter and learn how to duel. Next time somebody attacked him, she had no intention of letting him fight alone. To do this, she needed to be able to take care of herself as she didn't want to be a liability to him in a fight. "Shall we go?" she said coldly, trying to mask her hurt. Harry wordlessly opened the door and led them outside. The air was cool and crisp outside and the sun was yet to rise. The teenagers at first set a brisk pace with which Ginny had trouble keeping up. Harry noticed this and slowed the pace down so she could keep up with them. Truth be told, his injuries had left him less that fully fit and he didn't want to push himself too hard either. Unnoticed by him, he suddenly found himself running alongside the fiery redhead. The sun was just starting to rise, turning the sky into a multitude of blues, oranges and pinks. He looked sideways at her and his breath nearly caught in his throat at her beauty. Her face was flushed with the effort she was expending and her long hair, which was tied back into a ponytail, was bobbing up and down behind her. Her delicate neck was exposed and sweat ran down the side and down into the valley between her breasts. For some reason, he wasn't able to stop staring at her bare midriff as it flexed with the motions of her body. He tore his eyes away before she caught him staring and concentrated on running. This was unbearably hard, and he couldn't help but sneak peeks at her occasionally. Harry was very thankful when they finally returned to Grimmauld Place at the end of their run. He thought he would go crazy if he was in her presence a minute longer. He would probably do something unbelievably stupid like begging her to forgive him and proclaiming his undying love to her. The names he called his stupid hormones would have made Sirius blush. He then overheard a conversation that made it apparent that his torture wasn't over yet. "Your stamina is really good, Ginny," Pat said with a warm smile. "Have you gone running before this?" Ginny shook her head, panting lightly as she tried to regain her breath. "That's great!" Patricia exclaimed. "Thanks," Ginny said with a small smile that made her face light up. She looked at Pat as if she wanted to say something and hesitated. "Listen…" "Yes?" Pat said encouragingly. "Do you think you could give me a few pointers in self defense?" Ginny asked quickly. Pat grinned. "I'll do better than that. While I'm not really that good compared to Sensei Greene, I reckon I can teach you the basics quite well." "Sensei Greene?" Ginny asked curiously. "He's the person who teaches us Aikido back home," Pat explained. "Anybody who teaches you the art is given respect by being called Master or 'Sensei'." "Do I need to call you Sensei Pat, then?" Ginny asked impishly. Pat burst out laughing. "Heavens no!" A few minutes later they all gathered into a large room that Dobby had converted into a gym and began practicing. Harry found he was more than a little distracted as Patricia began teaching Ginny how to fall without getting hurt. This was quite dangerous; Sean took full advantage of his lapse in concentration, leaving him with a number of bruises. Finally, he had to use his Occlumency to be able to concentrate. All in all, Harry Potter was not a happy camper. |
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