Ch. 23
An Awkward Conversation

Harry and Ginny were making their way to the Common Room, hands intwined, when a hand on Ginny's shoulder stopped them. McGonagall stood behind them, her hands behind her back, her black robes trailing behind her aimlessly.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley." She nodded. Ginny offered her a greeting, but anxiety swirled in her stomach. Even if she was the most powerful witch living, getting stopped by a teacher was still scary. Especially if it was McGonagall.

"If you two would follow me, we need to have a talk." The woman stated, waving her hand to behind her. Harry and Ginny exchanged glances, but followed.

They ended up in McGonagall's office. It was obviously smaller than Dumbledore's, and was sparsely decorated and filled with files and papers, but it was cozy. The air had a certain warmth to it. The Fire crackled off to the side, and the paint was chipping, three pumpkin juices were set on the side table, and every few seconds a paper would fly into it's assigned filing cabinet. The candles that were spread about danced in the slight breeze that came through the woman's window, and a portrait snored off to the side.

"Have a seat." Said McGonagall, sitting behind her desk and motioning to the cold metal cups of pumpkin juice. The sides were decorated with roaring lions, "Help yourself." She said. Harry took a cup for Ginny and himself, the ice that floated in the drink clinking against the metal walls it was contained in.

"Thank you, Professor." Ginny nodded, looking at the water that had collected on the side of her drink. There was a deep silence as McGonagall took her own cup, as well as added milk to her tea that stood in a tall mug.

"You may be wondering why I called you to my office." McGonagall said evenly, stirring her tea, "Especially on the first night of school."

Harry and Ginny nodded, still slightly afraid. They were tired, and all they wanted was to be in the Common Room, the heat from the fire seeping through their clothes as they slept in each others arms. McGonagall turned her stern gaze towards them, sitting up straight in her chair.

"You see, this year is going to be very different for you two. The Bond's capabilities have expanded so much, you are no doubt nearing the end." She explained, "Headmaster Dumbledore has asked me to explain this to you. The Bonded sometimes, after the entire Bond has grown to almost being completed, become unstable. Powerful magic is bottled up inside you and when the pressure builds..." She trailed off, leaving Harry and Ginny to assume what she would say next.

"We're already very unstable." Harry protested, "How would this affect our-"

"If you wold allow me to finish, Mister Potter." McGonagall  interjected, raising her eyebrows. Harr felt his cheeks flush and Ginny smirked beside him.

"You see, when all of this power is bottled up inside of you, it very well could burst at any moment, This is exactly the reason why your training will be doubled, and continued through the school year." There was a stunned silence.

"Doubled?" Ginny whispered mostly to herself, "We already train two days a week, hours on end. How are we going to keep up with classes and-"

"You two are advanced enough to continue even to seventh year classes, perhaps even graduate. Two days of your school week will be devoted almost purely to training the Bond. You two already have a lower amount of homework given that you speed through classwork so quickly." McGonagall's face looked pained as she talked, like she didn't approve of these arrangements, "You must me taught to control your power, lest your emotions get the best of it and both of you let out force waves of magic. You will continue with all of your classes, but your magical cores are now nearly mature. By the end of the year, you will not be students at Hogwarts unless you wish to continue your school career. We've done almost all we can for you."

They didn't know what she meant by that. How could they be done with Hogwarts if they were only in fifth year? Was it because of their cores? Would the Ministry look at them as adults from here on out because they have cores that expand beyond their age? And how could the staff of Hogwarts have done all that they could? There had to be more to learn!

"The Bond gives you two powers, and you know of that." McGonagall explained, "And I'm sure you have figured out that you are retrieving knowledge from your... Past selves. Spells that you suddenly know, instincts you've never had before..." The Bonded nodded, they didn't necessarily know that the knowledge was from their past selves, but they knew stuff they had never even heard of before. "Good. That is why you can leave Hogwarts, if you choose, next year."

She rubbed her eyes and looked back at the Bonded. They were so young... But Dumbledore insisted that they must know this, "That is not the only thing I have brought you in to inform you of. Last year, after the Triwizard Tournament, there was a pulse of magic in a nearby Muggle town. Witnesses... Well, they say that one of the last descendants of the Riddle family was captured and murdered. With the information Barty Crouch Jr. gave of You-Know-Who's plans..." She seemed to decide it would be worse to beat around the bush, and so she said one simple sentence, "We believe it is possible that You-Know-Who's followers performed a ritual in order to bring him back to power."

///

Ginny and Harry were in the Common Room. It was later than they usually would have stayed up, but they didn't care. The information seared in the back of their minds, and they thought of all the possibilities. Now that Voldemort was back, there was no doubt going to be war. He would attack Harry and Ginny, and he'd kill them. He'd go after Ginny, no doubt, to make Harry weaker. They couldn't allow this to happen, and suddenly the idea of training didn't seem too bad.

Harry held Ginny's waist tightly as she laid on him, her eyes closed and her breathing even, but he knew she wasn't asleep. He could feel her conscious in the back of his mind, and he tried to send some feeling of comfort, but couldn't find any. Never before had he felt so defeated. Even if they were safe at Hogwarts, the lion in his stomach had awoken and was growling, A need to protect Ginny had settled in his chest.

How long do you think until he tries to kill us? Harry heard Ginny ask. He let himself mull that over.

No more than a year. He decided, tightening his arms around her. Ginny looked up at him with her eyes full of worry. He knew she was worried for him, though he felt differently. He didn't care if he died, as long as he kept her safe, as long as she didn't die and leave him. He would do anything for her, even give up his life. She pressed her soft lips against his and he softly touched her face. She tasted the same as always, something sweet that made his mind go blank. He kissed her back, just enjoying being there with her. He could feel the contours of her back, the softness of her skin. He wished that this moment would never end, that they could stay here forever.

"I love you." He said out loud, against her lips. Ginny pulled away slightly, her face inches from his own, her eyes now sparkled.

"No kidding." She joked, kissing his lips lightly again, "I love you too."

And the moment ended when they fell asleep in each others arms. But, really, it would never end.

Because love never ends.