FIC--Accidental Magic--Chapter 7
Oct. 8th, 2006 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ficsbydeenasTitle: Accidental Magic
Chapter Title: Return of the Beast, chapter 7 of 8
Rating: PG13
Words: 2020
Summary: An early morning visit makes Harry face yet another unexpected task. Ginny.
Betas:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lisarene, miss_elisha, oncelikeshari and redhot_witch
Author Note: Sorry this took so long to post. I thought I had sent this chapter and the last chapter to the betas, but I hadn't. So, here at long last is chapter seven. Chapter eight, the last one, will be up later this week.
Accidental Magic
Chapter 7:
Return of the Beast
~*~
He was free. After sixteen years, Harry was finally free of his aunt, uncle and cousin Dudley. If he never saw them again, it would be no loss on his part. But he couldn’t help thinking that leaving Privet Drive was anti-climactic. He didn’t expect a going away party, that was for sure, but he thought there would be more to leaving than what had happened. He had received the Rosewood Puzzlebox and would soon possess the knowledge and memories of hundreds of wizards before him. The thought was thrilling and disconcerting all at the same time.
He, Ron and Hermione arrived at The Burrow shortly after one o’clock in the morning. Since Hermione was the only one who could Apparate, the three of them Floo’d from Mrs. Figg’s house on Wisteria Drive and were greeted by Mrs. Weasley and hastily sent to bed. Apparently, a party was in the works for Harry later that evening.
But sleep did not come easily for Harry that night. He was once again up in Ron’s room on his old bed. It was far more suitable than his lumpy mattress at the Dursleys, but he just couldn’t get comfortable. Too many thoughts from the last school year ran through his head and they all kept him awake: the trips into Dumbledore’s Pensieve, Draco Malfoy letting Death Eaters into the school, the cave where Dumbledore nearly died, Dumbledore falling from the battlements of the Astronomy Tower, Snape and Malfoy fleeing to save their own skins. He tried to think of other things and punched the pillow out of frustration.
He gave up on sleep and got up to pull the box containing his destiny out from underneath his bed, returning to sit at the edge of his bed. For the first time that night, he let himself think about what the Rosewood Puzzlebox meant. The knowledge that he was the one selected to be the Guardian of Merlin weighed heavily on his shoulders and he felt uncertain whether he actually wanted to accept it or not. In the six hours since receiving the box, he’d memorized the letter from Dumbledore, made mental list after mental list of the pros and cons of the revelation, and even tried to ignore it. But the fact remained; he was the Guardian of Merlin.
Ron’s snore broke Harry’s thoughts and he looked over at his friend, sleeping with his arm over his eyes and mouth open. He envied Ron’s ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, as Harry hadn’t fallen asleep yet and the sun was beginning to rise, casting an orange-red glow that reminded him distinctly of Ginny’s hair. He groaned at the thought and got up to make his way downstairs, tucking the box underneath his pillow.
Harry made his way down the stairs, carefully avoiding the squeaky steps that years of experience had taught him to skip. At the landing on the third floor, he noticed a light from underneath Ginny’s door. He began an internal argument with himself as to whether or not he should go in, and he lost the battle with his sentimental self to find himself lightly tapping on the door.
“Come in,” came the familiar whisper. Harry lightly pushed open the door to the room. There, sitting on her bed, with her hair tousled from sleep and looking more beautiful than he’d ever remembered, was Ginny. “Hi, Harry.” She managed a small smile for him that he returned. Harry felt the creature within him stir again after a month of dormancy.
“Why are you awake? I know you hate getting up early.” Harry leaned against the doorframe.
“Hermione was talking in her sleep. Moaning, more like it,” Ginny told him, her smile growing. “I think she said something like ‘Ron, oh yes, Ron!’” Harry had to cover his mouth to avoid waking the sleeping Hermione.
“Well, I’ll go then. I was just going to go downstairs and…”
“I’ll go with you,” she interrupted and bounded over to Harry, pulling him out the door before he could say anything. They nearly ran down the stairs, causing all sorts of ruckus on the way down.
“Shh!” Harry hissed at her. “Get in here!” He pulled her into a cupboard while casting a spell for light. “Ginny, I told you we can’t be together.”
“Well, who pulled me into the broom cupboard then?” Ginny asked feigning innocence and causing Harry to blush.
“Uh, sorry about that,” he muttered.
“I don’t mind, really.” She had a crazy, satisfied smirk on her face “So, you’re the Guardian of Merlin, huh?”
“Hermione told you?” Ginny nodded, making Harry hang his head. Without any room to pace, as he normally did when he needed to think, he sank down to the floor with his hands on his knees.
“Well, she was bouncing off the walls, Harry, and she could hardly contain herself. You wanna talk about it?” Ginny slid onto the floor next to Harry and grabbed his hand. “I’m still your friend, Harry. You can tell me.” The look in her eyes tugged at his heart and he had a difficult time tamping down the urge to kiss her.
“You sure?” Ginny nodded at him. “Okay.” Harry told her about Petunia’s wish to have magic and then how she magically bound and silenced him. The last fact brought a familiar laugh from Ginny. He continued on to describe what Dumbledore had said in his letter and what he needed to do to gain the memories and knowledge contained in the Puzzle Box.
“Dad has a Pensieve around here somewhere. You can get it done today,” Ginny told him, a determined look on her face.
“Really? Uh, well, maybe,” Harry stammered, not quite sure if he was ready to take that step.
As if to convince him, Ginny reached up and touched the side of his cheek. Heat spread through Harry’s face at her touch and he closed his eyes, not wanting to fall into the temptation before him. “Do you or do you not want to defeat Tom?” Harry nodded. “Do you want to use anything possible to gain an advantage against him?” Harry nodded his head again. “Do you still care about me, Harry?”
He opened his eyes at her last question and met her eyes; they were full of questions, full of honesty and full of everything that he wanted in this life. He closed his eyes and reflected on everything that had passed between them during those weeks at school when they were together.
Harry cleared his throat before speaking. “Ginny, you know I do. But I just can’t put you in that position.” Ginny began to speak but Harry cut her off. “I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but I don’t want to be held responsible if anything should happen to anyone else that I l…love.” Both of them sat in silence, processing the weight of what Harry had just said.
Ginny was the first to break the silence. “Remember what you told me about when Tom possessed you in the Ministry?”
“When I thought of being with Sirius again?” Ginny nodded at Harry’s response.
“And then you said that you were able to throw him off because of the love you felt for Sirius, right?” Ginny finished.
Despite his deep resolve, Harry couldn’t help the tear that escaped the corner of his eye. As he nodded in agreement, the tears came faster, dripping down his cheeks.
“Well, don’t you think that what you feel for Ron, Hermione and me would help you as well? And you’ve known us far longer than you did Sirius. Hell, Harry, there’s my whole family. Neville and Luna, too. You are NOT alone in this,” she reminded him, her own tears starting to fall. “Stop trying to push us away and let us love you. It would make things a helluva lot easier.” Ginny shifted herself over to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.
Harry relished her touch, her scent and the way she felt in his arms. She was right. He wasn’t alone and he wasn’t going to die. The tears dried up and he lifted his head to look at her, knowing that everything she’d said to him was true; there was no point in arguing with Ginny Weasley when she was right. Giving in to the feelings that he could no longer fight, he kissed Ginny softly on the top of her head and hugged her tight.
“Will you be there?” he asked, barely above a whisper.
“When?” she asked, her face furrowed in confusion.
“When I use the Pensieve? When I take Tom down? When it’s all over?” he reached out and wiped away the last tear from her eye.
“Absolutely.”
~*~
Harry’s birthday was perhaps one of the best he’d ever experienced. Mrs. Weasley made him a special breakfast and she and her husband presented Harry with a watch identical to Ron’s as well as his own hand on the Weasley family clock. Even though it was currently pointing at ‘Mortal Peril’, Harry had never felt happier. Ron and Ginny gave him a Quidditch encyclopaedia, and Hermione gave him One Thousand and One Ways to Protect Yourself from Dark Magic. Later on that night, the Weasleys hosted a small party for him, with mainly members of the Order of the Phoenix present. All in all, it was a very good day.
The day after his birthday, Harry decided he was ready to acquire the memories stored in the Rosewood Puzzle Box. His decision was helped along by Mrs. Weasley’s announcement that she needed to visit a sick relative, allowing Harry and Ron to search for the Pensieve without an adult looking over their shoulder. Once they found the Pensieve, Ron carried it into the sitting room where he quickly began a locking charm in an attempt to keep his sister out.
“Ron, please! Harry wants me there! He told me so!” Ginny shouted outside the door.
“Ginny, you’re too young and…and…” Ron tried to argue. “No.”
“Oh come off it you idiot! Harry asked me to be there and I promised!” Ginny’s voice was filled with irritation at her brother. Harry walked over to the door and opened it.
“Ron, she’s right,” Harry told him, stepping aside to let Ginny into the room. She turned to Ron and stuck her tongue out at him.
“Oh that’s mature, Ginevra,” Ron muttered. “Harry, she doesn’t know anything about this!”
“Hermione told her when we got back and I filled her in on the rest,” Harry stated flatly. “Now bring that thing in here.” Ron led Harry and Ginny into the sitting room, carrying the heavy Pensieve to the middle of the room and setting it on the floor with a thud. The four of them sat circled around the stone bowl and looked nervously at one another. Harry opened the Puzzlebox and removed the phial of memories from inside.
“Are you ready, Harry?” Ginny asked, her hand squeezing his momentarily.
“Yeah,” he answered, looking at the faces of those around him: Hermione, looking anxious; Ron, looking uneasy; and Ginny, looking confident. Harry removed the stopper and poured the glistening liquid into the Pensieve. Once everything was inside, he leaned forward and swirled the contents round and round until a long, silver strand followed Harry’s wand as he lifted it. “Well, here goes nothing.” Harry placed the end of the wand at his temple and the strand of silver disappeared into his head.
The room became blurry and Harry began to feel dizzy and sick to his stomach. Pieces of memories flashed before Harry’s eyes like an old filmstrip. His right hand went to his head as he sat down on the chair next to him.
“Harry…Harry? Are you alright?” asked Hermione. Harry turned towards her; her mouth kept moving but he heard no sound. Thousands of voices were shouting at him inside his head so quickly that he had no time to pay attention to anything. The room began to spin around him and he fell to the floor before everything went black.
Chapter Title: Return of the Beast, chapter 7 of 8
Rating: PG13
Words: 2020
Summary: An early morning visit makes Harry face yet another unexpected task. Ginny.
Betas:
lisarene, miss_elisha, oncelikeshari and redhot_witchAuthor Note: Sorry this took so long to post. I thought I had sent this chapter and the last chapter to the betas, but I hadn't. So, here at long last is chapter seven. Chapter eight, the last one, will be up later this week.
Chapter 7:
Return of the Beast
~*~
He was free. After sixteen years, Harry was finally free of his aunt, uncle and cousin Dudley. If he never saw them again, it would be no loss on his part. But he couldn’t help thinking that leaving Privet Drive was anti-climactic. He didn’t expect a going away party, that was for sure, but he thought there would be more to leaving than what had happened. He had received the Rosewood Puzzlebox and would soon possess the knowledge and memories of hundreds of wizards before him. The thought was thrilling and disconcerting all at the same time.
He, Ron and Hermione arrived at The Burrow shortly after one o’clock in the morning. Since Hermione was the only one who could Apparate, the three of them Floo’d from Mrs. Figg’s house on Wisteria Drive and were greeted by Mrs. Weasley and hastily sent to bed. Apparently, a party was in the works for Harry later that evening.
But sleep did not come easily for Harry that night. He was once again up in Ron’s room on his old bed. It was far more suitable than his lumpy mattress at the Dursleys, but he just couldn’t get comfortable. Too many thoughts from the last school year ran through his head and they all kept him awake: the trips into Dumbledore’s Pensieve, Draco Malfoy letting Death Eaters into the school, the cave where Dumbledore nearly died, Dumbledore falling from the battlements of the Astronomy Tower, Snape and Malfoy fleeing to save their own skins. He tried to think of other things and punched the pillow out of frustration.
He gave up on sleep and got up to pull the box containing his destiny out from underneath his bed, returning to sit at the edge of his bed. For the first time that night, he let himself think about what the Rosewood Puzzlebox meant. The knowledge that he was the one selected to be the Guardian of Merlin weighed heavily on his shoulders and he felt uncertain whether he actually wanted to accept it or not. In the six hours since receiving the box, he’d memorized the letter from Dumbledore, made mental list after mental list of the pros and cons of the revelation, and even tried to ignore it. But the fact remained; he was the Guardian of Merlin.
Ron’s snore broke Harry’s thoughts and he looked over at his friend, sleeping with his arm over his eyes and mouth open. He envied Ron’s ability to sleep anywhere, anytime, as Harry hadn’t fallen asleep yet and the sun was beginning to rise, casting an orange-red glow that reminded him distinctly of Ginny’s hair. He groaned at the thought and got up to make his way downstairs, tucking the box underneath his pillow.
Harry made his way down the stairs, carefully avoiding the squeaky steps that years of experience had taught him to skip. At the landing on the third floor, he noticed a light from underneath Ginny’s door. He began an internal argument with himself as to whether or not he should go in, and he lost the battle with his sentimental self to find himself lightly tapping on the door.
“Come in,” came the familiar whisper. Harry lightly pushed open the door to the room. There, sitting on her bed, with her hair tousled from sleep and looking more beautiful than he’d ever remembered, was Ginny. “Hi, Harry.” She managed a small smile for him that he returned. Harry felt the creature within him stir again after a month of dormancy.
“Why are you awake? I know you hate getting up early.” Harry leaned against the doorframe.
“Hermione was talking in her sleep. Moaning, more like it,” Ginny told him, her smile growing. “I think she said something like ‘Ron, oh yes, Ron!’” Harry had to cover his mouth to avoid waking the sleeping Hermione.
“Well, I’ll go then. I was just going to go downstairs and…”
“I’ll go with you,” she interrupted and bounded over to Harry, pulling him out the door before he could say anything. They nearly ran down the stairs, causing all sorts of ruckus on the way down.
“Shh!” Harry hissed at her. “Get in here!” He pulled her into a cupboard while casting a spell for light. “Ginny, I told you we can’t be together.”
“Well, who pulled me into the broom cupboard then?” Ginny asked feigning innocence and causing Harry to blush.
“Uh, sorry about that,” he muttered.
“I don’t mind, really.” She had a crazy, satisfied smirk on her face “So, you’re the Guardian of Merlin, huh?”
“Hermione told you?” Ginny nodded, making Harry hang his head. Without any room to pace, as he normally did when he needed to think, he sank down to the floor with his hands on his knees.
“Well, she was bouncing off the walls, Harry, and she could hardly contain herself. You wanna talk about it?” Ginny slid onto the floor next to Harry and grabbed his hand. “I’m still your friend, Harry. You can tell me.” The look in her eyes tugged at his heart and he had a difficult time tamping down the urge to kiss her.
“You sure?” Ginny nodded at him. “Okay.” Harry told her about Petunia’s wish to have magic and then how she magically bound and silenced him. The last fact brought a familiar laugh from Ginny. He continued on to describe what Dumbledore had said in his letter and what he needed to do to gain the memories and knowledge contained in the Puzzle Box.
“Dad has a Pensieve around here somewhere. You can get it done today,” Ginny told him, a determined look on her face.
“Really? Uh, well, maybe,” Harry stammered, not quite sure if he was ready to take that step.
As if to convince him, Ginny reached up and touched the side of his cheek. Heat spread through Harry’s face at her touch and he closed his eyes, not wanting to fall into the temptation before him. “Do you or do you not want to defeat Tom?” Harry nodded. “Do you want to use anything possible to gain an advantage against him?” Harry nodded his head again. “Do you still care about me, Harry?”
He opened his eyes at her last question and met her eyes; they were full of questions, full of honesty and full of everything that he wanted in this life. He closed his eyes and reflected on everything that had passed between them during those weeks at school when they were together.
Harry cleared his throat before speaking. “Ginny, you know I do. But I just can’t put you in that position.” Ginny began to speak but Harry cut her off. “I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but I don’t want to be held responsible if anything should happen to anyone else that I l…love.” Both of them sat in silence, processing the weight of what Harry had just said.
Ginny was the first to break the silence. “Remember what you told me about when Tom possessed you in the Ministry?”
“When I thought of being with Sirius again?” Ginny nodded at Harry’s response.
“And then you said that you were able to throw him off because of the love you felt for Sirius, right?” Ginny finished.
Despite his deep resolve, Harry couldn’t help the tear that escaped the corner of his eye. As he nodded in agreement, the tears came faster, dripping down his cheeks.
“Well, don’t you think that what you feel for Ron, Hermione and me would help you as well? And you’ve known us far longer than you did Sirius. Hell, Harry, there’s my whole family. Neville and Luna, too. You are NOT alone in this,” she reminded him, her own tears starting to fall. “Stop trying to push us away and let us love you. It would make things a helluva lot easier.” Ginny shifted herself over to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.
Harry relished her touch, her scent and the way she felt in his arms. She was right. He wasn’t alone and he wasn’t going to die. The tears dried up and he lifted his head to look at her, knowing that everything she’d said to him was true; there was no point in arguing with Ginny Weasley when she was right. Giving in to the feelings that he could no longer fight, he kissed Ginny softly on the top of her head and hugged her tight.
“Will you be there?” he asked, barely above a whisper.
“When?” she asked, her face furrowed in confusion.
“When I use the Pensieve? When I take Tom down? When it’s all over?” he reached out and wiped away the last tear from her eye.
“Absolutely.”
Harry’s birthday was perhaps one of the best he’d ever experienced. Mrs. Weasley made him a special breakfast and she and her husband presented Harry with a watch identical to Ron’s as well as his own hand on the Weasley family clock. Even though it was currently pointing at ‘Mortal Peril’, Harry had never felt happier. Ron and Ginny gave him a Quidditch encyclopaedia, and Hermione gave him One Thousand and One Ways to Protect Yourself from Dark Magic. Later on that night, the Weasleys hosted a small party for him, with mainly members of the Order of the Phoenix present. All in all, it was a very good day.
The day after his birthday, Harry decided he was ready to acquire the memories stored in the Rosewood Puzzle Box. His decision was helped along by Mrs. Weasley’s announcement that she needed to visit a sick relative, allowing Harry and Ron to search for the Pensieve without an adult looking over their shoulder. Once they found the Pensieve, Ron carried it into the sitting room where he quickly began a locking charm in an attempt to keep his sister out.
“Ron, please! Harry wants me there! He told me so!” Ginny shouted outside the door.
“Ginny, you’re too young and…and…” Ron tried to argue. “No.”
“Oh come off it you idiot! Harry asked me to be there and I promised!” Ginny’s voice was filled with irritation at her brother. Harry walked over to the door and opened it.
“Ron, she’s right,” Harry told him, stepping aside to let Ginny into the room. She turned to Ron and stuck her tongue out at him.
“Oh that’s mature, Ginevra,” Ron muttered. “Harry, she doesn’t know anything about this!”
“Hermione told her when we got back and I filled her in on the rest,” Harry stated flatly. “Now bring that thing in here.” Ron led Harry and Ginny into the sitting room, carrying the heavy Pensieve to the middle of the room and setting it on the floor with a thud. The four of them sat circled around the stone bowl and looked nervously at one another. Harry opened the Puzzlebox and removed the phial of memories from inside.
“Are you ready, Harry?” Ginny asked, her hand squeezing his momentarily.
“Yeah,” he answered, looking at the faces of those around him: Hermione, looking anxious; Ron, looking uneasy; and Ginny, looking confident. Harry removed the stopper and poured the glistening liquid into the Pensieve. Once everything was inside, he leaned forward and swirled the contents round and round until a long, silver strand followed Harry’s wand as he lifted it. “Well, here goes nothing.” Harry placed the end of the wand at his temple and the strand of silver disappeared into his head.
The room became blurry and Harry began to feel dizzy and sick to his stomach. Pieces of memories flashed before Harry’s eyes like an old filmstrip. His right hand went to his head as he sat down on the chair next to him.
“Harry…Harry? Are you alright?” asked Hermione. Harry turned towards her; her mouth kept moving but he heard no sound. Thousands of voices were shouting at him inside his head so quickly that he had no time to pay attention to anything. The room began to spin around him and he fell to the floor before everything went black.
