Story: Moira
Chapter Nine: Forming Friendships!

An owl was sent and Ginny was asked to meet up with him at the Hogwarts grounds. She sent an affirmative response, shocking Harry, who assumed her to be either mad at him or frightened of him or both. However, her acceptance tone seemed to be different.

Afraid to lose control over his magic again, Harry meditated for two hours under the shade of an oak tree on the Hogwarts grounds. Strangely enough, he had witnessed bizarre dreams of a couple when meditating under the said tree. Of the two, the boy seemed to look just like him with shaggy black hair and a rectangle framed glass. The girl had long, lightly wavy red hair and looked quite beautiful. They seemed really familiar to Harry but he could not remember who they were.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing his vision set on was a carving in the bark of the tree. The readings made it quite clear as to who he was dreaming about. 'J.P. & L.E.' were carved in delicate and neat handwriting and Harry found himself touching the words and reminiscing about non-existent memories. This was how Ginny found him.

"I see you have found a liking to this tree as well?" her cheerful voice came. Harry did not take his eyes off of the initials of his parents.

"Hey."

"Hi, Harry."

"What is so special about this tree?" Harry asked in a low tone.

"Well, for one, you seem calm under it. For two, it's an oak tree on the Hogwarts grounds."

"Are you always like this?" Harry asked out of curiosity, finally turning around to face her. She was wearing some casual clothes – a skirt and a button-up shirt. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.

She smiled. "Depends really. If it is someone I like, then I'm quite interesting. I'm rather fierce otherwise," she said, feigning thoughtfulness. Harry raised his eyebrows then took a deep breath.

"Miss Weasley –"

"Oh please! Call me Ginny. It makes me feel we are total strangers!"

"Well, aren't we?" Harry asked. Ginny made a face then looked at him. He turned away lightly. "Ahem. I mean. . . Iamsorry," Harry blurted out at a really hasty pace. He doubted she understood him.

"Come on man. Seriously? Is that how you apologize?" Ginny asked, smirking.

"You got it, didn't you?"

"I didn't," she lied, closing her eyes and turning away. Harry looked at her for a moment in awe. He had never really noticed it before, but she was beautiful. Her smile was completely filled with mischief and the shade of her hair was attractive.

"I'm. . ." Harry started, then shook himself. "I'm sorry, er – I mean, Ginny, I shouldn't have lost control over my magic and attempted cruciatus on you. I shouldn't have turned my back on you when you apologized."

"I forgave you long before, Harry. Master always told me that forgivance increases love. You aren't the only one who made a mistake. I did too. I angered you. I hurt your hand. I –"

Harry put a finger on her lips to stop her. "You only tried to help me." Ginny turned pink for some reason. Sensing her discomfort, Harry backed away a bit and leant on the oak tree. "Ginny. I-I want. . . I need your help."

Ginny looked curious. "Go on."

"I. . .I don't want to fight you anymore."

"Are you suggesting that we forget our friendship?" Ginny asked slowly. Harry shook his head.

"I want to strengthen our friendship. I see that we have faced something which nobody else has. I-I think it would be better if we became friends."

Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. She smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. He looked at her hand before taking it in his and giving it a firm shake. She smiled again.

"Since we are friends, why not introduce our friends to each other?"

_____

Minutes later, Harry's group of friends and Ginny's group of friends were sitting in front of the lake on a pink picnic blanket brought by Hermione.

"So, Neville, isn't it?" Draco asked after they had introduced themselves.

"Yes."

"You are a pureblood, right?" Draco questioned. Neville scratched his neck whilst Ginny and Luna exchanged looks. Harry noticed Hermione look down instantly.

"Hey, Her–me–one. What's got your wand in a twist?" Ron asked, noticing her sudden sadness as well. Hermione looked up sharply at him.

"It's Her–my–knee. Not Her–me–one," she corrected, looking like a professor. Ron grinned.

"I feel that Her–me–one is hotter than the original pronunciation," Ron teased. Hermione turned pink and Ginny caught Harry's eye. They looked away to avoid laughing. Being brought up by Sirius surely had its pros and cons.

"Alright lovebirds, I just heard Karkaroff talking about some festival of sorts. I was too lazy to keep an ear. Does anyone know about that?" Draco cut the awkward tension with his words serving as a knife. This caused Hermione and Ron to turn red.

"Hey! We just met, okay?" Ron protested, then shrugged when Draco snickered. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Well. . . it is a tradition to host a ball every Yule when the school hosts the Triwizard tournament. I had to hand over notices to the prefects as I am the head girl. That's how I know. I think Professor McGonagall has already explained that?" Hermione asked, turning to Neville, who nodded.

"Ball?!" Draco and Ron exclaimed. Harry snorted. He never liked social parties.

"Oh I forgot!" Neville exclaimed suddenly, then whipped his wand out and cast a simple charm. A single pink rose appeared in his hand. He carefully offered it to Luna. "Will you go to the ball with me, Miss Lovegood?" Neville asked in a hopeful tone. Hermione and Ginny gushed and Ron looked away as Luna replied to Neville with a kiss. Draco and Harry exchanged looks.

"I don't think I'll go," Hermione said, looking down.

"Why not? I'm sure it will be fun," Luna said with a dreamy stare.

"I need a date, Luna. Who's going to ask me? I am a muggle born after all."

"That doesn't mean you are not a human, does it?" Ron asked suddenly, surprising his two best friends. Hermione smiled slightly at him.

A loud rumble startled the group of Harry's new friends whilst Harry and Draco facepalmed. Ron grinned sheepishly.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, quickly withdrawing her wand.

"Ron. The git's always hungry," Draco replied. Ron glared at him as others, excluding Harry and himself laughed.

"Well, I have a box of pasties if you like. I didn't have them at breakfast," Neville offered. Ron nodded and licked his lips. Neville chuckled again before reaching into his bag and pulling out a small cream-coloured box. It was filled with pumpkin pasties and everyone took a piece.

They chatted the evening away and when the sun finally started to disappear to the other side of the earth, the newly formed group of friends got up to leave. Hermione banished the mess and the group started their trek back to the castle, talking about dinner, the tournament and quidditch. Harry stayed behind, admiring the colours of the dusk. The array of different shades of red and purple was beautiful.

"Feeling alone?" a small, unsure voice asked. Harry didn't have to turn around to find out the owner of the voice.

"No."

Ginny walked up to him and stood beside him. "You are never alone, Harry. Not anymore. I'll make sure of it, but only if you want me to."

Harry swallowed, then nodded meekly. He looked at the shining ring in his hand – a gift given to him by his master for his first day of his first year at Durmstrang. He fiddled with it absent-mindedly.

"Is it special?" Ginny asked slowly. Harry looked at her. "You don't have to tell me if it's private."

"No. It isn't. . . that private I guess. . . Master gave this to me when I was starting my first year at Durmstrang. It's supposed to help me control my magic. He did not want me to let my aura radiate when I was among thousands of wizards and witches."

"You have been powerful since you were eleven then?" Ginny questioned.

"I. . . sort of have been powerful since I was five. I learnt mind reading then, which is supposed to be quite advanced."

"I understand. I learnt Legilimency when I was eleven, I guess. My master wanted me to know the basics before learning advanced stuff."

"How did your family give Dumbledore the permission to train you?" Harry asked suddenly. Ginny looked down.

"They did not want to." Her voice was so low that if Harry hadn't been standing beside her, he would not have heard her. He looked at her with pitiful eyes. The faint glow of the moon above illuminated her, making her look more beautiful. Harry felt himself sweating all of a sudden. "But they had to. They lost my brother already. Losing me was hard for them. . . but they had to cope with it for the greater good. I don't understand, Harry," she paused, then looked up at the darkening sky. Her eyes were glimmering and Harry could notice the unshed tears latent in those sockets.

"W–what?" Harry stammered.

"Why us? Why us of every wizard and witch alive?"

"Believe me. I've been wondering the same question for years, Ginny." Harry himself looked up at the now dark sky. His eyes were watering. For him and for Ginny.

"Why should we bear the weight of the world?" their question was asked in unison to no one in particular. In the shadows, an old man smiled sadly at them as they turned to each other for comfort.

Nothing much in this chapter. I just wanted to show more of the two gang's budding friendship and relationships. I hope you liked it!

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x