Echo in My Mind

Chapter 4: Courage Over Fear

"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway-"

John Wayne

~*~

Screaming.

Blaise woke up with a start the next morning. A boy's screams filled her ears as she looked wildly around the room for the source of the noise. Madam Pomfrey was already rushing in the direction of it. Just before the nurse reached the bed, Harry shot up, gasping for air.

Blaise swung her legs over the side of her bed and stepped out. She breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the ringing screams faded from her ear. Madam Pomfrey stood next to Harry, repeatedly asking him what was wrong, but Harry didn't answer. His eyes were transfixed on Blaise as she made her way to his side.

"You're up," he croaked.

Blaise smiled. "So are you."

He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Did they tell you about the duel?"

"Yes they did. Ginny was in here during all of her breaks. She was crying this morning. I think this hurt her more than it hurt you."

Harry was still shaking visibly. "She didn't get thrown into the wall, get what I suppose is a concussion, and dream of nothing but that duel until it was time to wake up, where I finally smashed into the wall again!" he said, his voice rising before ending in a raspy tone.

"Mr. Potter, calm down!" Madam Pomfrey said sternly. "Miss Zabini, back in bed. You're not fully recovered and if you want to be out of here for the weekend you need to rest up."

Blaise growled in fury at the order. She felt fine and she didn't want to get back into bed. She shot the nurse a menacing look but Pomfrey only returned it. Blaise accepted defeat and got back into her bed.

Madam Pomfrey turned back to Harry, who was brushing a hand angrily over his eyes and catching a stray tear on his cheek. He blinked rapidly.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry gave a distressed sigh. "Does anyone have my contact case or glasses? Something's in this stupid contact."

Blaise reached into the drawer of the table next to her and pulled out the contact case and glasses.

"I have them. Hermione slipped them to Draco in Charms when she passed him to give to me when he brought me my work. She didn't want to just leave them next to you because she thought someone might come in and steal them or throw them out. Here, I'll bring them over."

Madam Pomfrey, who had been silent until then as she remembered James Potter having the same problem many years ago, spoke now.

"Oh no you don't, Miss Zabini. I will bring them over. You are not to get out of bed!" she snapped.

Blaise let out an exasperated noise but once again complied as the nurse snatched the items from her hand. Harry held his hand out impatiently. If he had been standing he would have been tapping his foot, a nasty little habit he had picked up from Ginny. It annoyed Hermione to no end. She had even stepped on his toes once to get him to stop it.

Harry finished adjusting his glasses on his nose and Madam Pomfrey began to check over him.

Twenty minutes and several healing and strengthening potions later, Harry lay on his side with his hand propping up his head just below the bandage, reading a book that Dumbledore had dropped off for him and Blaise. Certain sections had been marked to read. They covered what Draco and Ginny were learning in the training sessions so that Harry and Blaise wouldn't be behind when they were able to rejoin the group. Neither of them could get back to sleep after what had happened earlier so Blaise had given him the book after Madam Pomfrey left and started catching up on her homework.

"Couldn't we pick a more convenient time to go see Harry, like after I've actually finished my breakfast?" a voice, unmistakably Ron's, could be heard outside the door to the infirmary.

There was a smacking sound, which made both Harry and Blaise look up with smirks, knowing Hermione or Ginny had just slapped Ron for that comment.

"What if Harry's awake?" Hermione's voice said. "It's not fair to leave him all alone when he just woke up."

"He has Blaise!" Ron answered.

"Blaise might not be up!" Hermione said as her voice rose.

"Can we just go in now," came Ginny's slightly angry voice.

The door creaked open and Harry and Blaise pretended to not have heard the conversation. Blaise's quill scratched away as she bit her lip, not in thought, but to hide her smirk. Harry tried to appear nonchalant as he flipped a page in the book but wasn't sure if he stopped the smile from creeping up again.

"Harry!" Ginny squealed as she ran to his bedside. "You're alive! You're awake! How?"

"I suppose being thrown into walls at amazingly fast speeds in your dreams will wake you up," Harry said as he closed his book and sat up.

"It'll wake up everyone else in the room too," Blaise put in.

"Shut up, Blaise," Harry snapped as he saw a tear running down Ginny's cheek. "Don't think I blame you for this because I don't. I should have known better than to lunge at you like that. Just look at me, I'm fine. No lasting damage," he said to Ginny in a soft and what he hoped was soothing tone. "It's not your fault."

Ginny threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Harry placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Blaise watched idly, thinking that this was exactly how her snogging session with Draco had started yesterday.

As Ginny pulled away Ron and Hermione stepped up. Hermione came closer and without a moment of hesitation hugged Harry. Harry kissed her on the forehead as well, knowing that Ron wouldn't mind. He and Ginny had become quite comfortable with Harry and Hermione's brother-sister relationship during the past few months. Hermione pulled back, surveying him.

"It's kind of weird not being the first one to see you when you wake up in the infirmary anymore. It's near impossible with Ginny around," Ron spoke up. "Still it's great to see you up, mate. How's your shoulder? Pomfrey had Hermione cooling it with a washcloth after they brought you in. It looked nasty."

Harry shrugged, only wincing a little. "It's not that bad really. It just stings a little."

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Hermione asked. "If there's anything you want to talk about I'm here for you."

Harry knew those words were just a cover-up for this: If the duel is still bothering you, do you want me to come by tonight after dinner?

"Actually I have something I want to ask you that I know you've read in a book. Come alone after dinner and could you bring me a bowl of soup and a breadstick if they have it?"

This translated to, yes the duel is still bothering me and I don't want to talk to Ginny about it yet. Come alone after dinner and bring the Pensieve and my wand.

Harry and Hermione had developed a sort of code that really had no base. They just seemed to know what the other meant when they wanted to hide something from the others. It was working, since no one else could guess the real meaning behind the words.

The door opened again, admitting Draco into the room. He saw Harry sitting up and waved. "Good to see you awake, Potter."

"Good seeing you too, Malfoy."

They both ignored the fact that their last names were used. It had become a habit to say last names instead of first names for them since anywhere in public around school they used last names.

The blond made his way over to Blaise and started chatting with her. Hermione chose that moment to check her watch and gasped as she saw the time.

"We only have eight minutes to get to class!" she exclaimed.

Ron rolled his eyes but clapped Harry on the shoulder, making sure it was his left.

"We'll see you later, Harry. Do try to not die of boredom."

Harry laughed weakly. "I'll do my best. See you all later, I suppose. Bring back work for me, Hermione."

Ron and Hermione exited the hospital wing, which left Ginny alone with Harry. He looked faintly surprised to see her still there.

"Don't you have class?" he questioned.

Ginny shook her head. "Dumbledore wrote a note for me to use whenever you woke up to excuse me from one class. I think he noticed how much of a wreck I was over this in training."

Harry patted a spot on the bed next to him and Ginny hopped up.

"What's wrong, Gin. You still look really upset."

Ginny felt her eyes filling with tears again. "How can you stand getting hurt so much," she whispered. "You're so brave and I... I'm just not. I don't know what I did to deserve you since I don't. I'm just an ugly girl with okay grades who's a wreck over her O.W.L.s and it's only December."

Ginny leaned into Harry's warm embrace and started crying softly. She knew she was acting very childish but she couldn't help it. Her O.W.L.s were creeping up fast, even faster since she had to take the Defense O.W.L. during Christmas break. Dark smudges had appeared under her eyes from lack of proper sleep. Harry had been noticing how a lot of the time Ginny looked lost in her large robes, hiding behind stacks of books for homework.

"Ginny, if anyone's not deserving it's me. You're a wonderful person, amazing and brilliant. Gin, you're the most beautiful person I know and don't kid yourself about that. You top your year in your subjects; you're a prefect, star Chaser on the Quidditch team, and you have every right to be stressed over your O.W.L.s. If you ever lost that spunk you have I don't know what I'd do," Harry said.

Though it seemed as if Harry knew exactly what was going on, he didn't. He'd been getting the impression that she was insecure or really worried about something but he had no clue what it was.

"T-thank you, Harry," Ginny whispered after a few minutes. "I don't k-know why I'm acting l-like this. I'm just so stressed about the O.W.L. for Defense. I need help with it but I can't ask any of my friends because they haven't covered the material yet. I didn't want to ask you, Ron, or Hermione because I know that you all have a load of work to complete on your own."

Harry unconsciously tightened his embrace around Ginny, pulling her closer. Ginny didn't seem to mind as she clutched to his shirt. She looked up into Harry's eyes and found support to go on in them.

"I'm also worried. I told this to Ron after I saw you. You know, it was horrible to see you just lying there looking like you were dying. Ron wasn't lying when he said that burn on your shoulder was bad. I still can't believe I did all that. I'm so sorry, I'm so, so-"

Harry kissed her quickly before she could say the word 'sorry' again. "I told you that I didn't blame you. It was my own fault for letting the spell through."

Ginny nodded and looked down. "I'm just worried about my family. Ron is too. We both know our family is a big target because Ron's your best mate and I'm your girlfriend."

Ginny stopped there as she noticed Harry seem to shrink back into himself as his arms fell out of the embrace. He bowed his head and his hair fell into his face, hiding the expression and the look in his eyes. Ginny immediately knew she should have phrased that sentence differently.

"No one's blaming you, Harry. I'm just saying that my family's being targeted. We're targeted anyway just because over half the family is in the Order. I'm just scared that one or more of them might be killed. I don't think I'd ever be okay again if one of them was gone and it scares me to think that they just might get killed."

Ginny felt a huge weight being lifted off her as she said those words. It felt great to finally tell it all to Harry. As she looked up at her boyfriend she was shocked at the look on his face.

"I'm blaming me, Ginny. That's one person. You wouldn't be targeted so heavily if you weren't so close to me and you know that. Don't try to deny it. I'm scared for your family too. I-"

Suddenly he found his lips covered by Ginny's. Just as he leaned into the kiss to respond, she pulled away.

"You were babbling like a brook," she said with a small giggle. "You will not blame yourself for this. It's all Voldemort's fault. Put all the blame on him. I'm not going to date someone who is wrapped up in his own sorrow and guilt."

Harry smiled when she used Voldemort's name. "I love you, Ginny, and I'll never let anything happen to you and your family."

Ginny kissed him again. "I love you too, Harry."

~*~

Hermione pushed open the door to the hospital wing with her foot. Harry's wand was in her pocket, and she could hear Professor Moody's voice in her head yelling at her to move it, saying it was elementary wand safety. The Pensieve was being carefully balanced in one hand, tucked close to her chest to keep it from falling. In her other hand she held Harry's school bag that was filled with the work he had missed.

She paused when she didn't see Harry in his bed. His pillows were gone off the bed as well. Confused, Hermione looked around the wing. Blaise, who was finishing up her dinner, caught Hermione's gaze and pointed to the last window on the other side of the room. Hermione mouthed a quick 'thanks' and crossed the room to Harry.

The pillows were propped up behind Harry's head so the gash wasn't resting on the wall since that would only make it hurt more than it did. He was staring out the window at something around the area of the Quidditch pitch. Hermione followed his gaze and saw the Slytherin team up in the air for Quidditch practice. Six players, the Beaters, Chasers, and Keeper were lined up in a row while Draco flew back and forth down the line as he talked.

"He makes a good captain," Hermione said quietly.

Harry jumped, his pillows falling as he lifted his head. He gave Hermione a weak smile.

"You scared me. How long have you been standing there?"

"Only a minute or so," Hermione said truthfully. "Do you want to stay here or go back to your bed?"

Harry drew his knees up closer to his chest and rested his forehead on them. "Here."

Hermione nodded even though Harry couldn't see. She sat down, setting the Pensieve and Harry's wand between them. His backpack was dropped to the floor with a thud.

"How's your day been?" she asked to start them off.

Harry sighed. "It's been all right. Yours?"

"Professor Snape was a bit more lenient now that he's sure Blaise will be back. He did call me a know-it-all twice though."

"Don't let it get to you," Harry said. "Snape's just a... git..." he trailed off, careful not to say anything very derogatory about the Potions Master with Blaise in the room.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks."

Harry raised his head off his knees and Hermione saw the tired look his eyes held. It wasn't that he had had a long day and was drained of energy; it was that he was sleepy but afraid to actually close his eyes. Hermione knew that if he did, the duel would start playing immediately. This brought them to Harry's current problem.

"Let's get started on the duel then," Harry said. "I asked you to bring the Pensieve because I thought if someone could just see it from my point of view, it might help a little. I mean, if you don't want to be slammed into a wall I understand but if you're willing I'll put the memory in."

At first Hermione wanted to decline. She knew that it would be scary. Anything that could shake Harry up this much was usually something horrible. Then her sibling logic kicked in and fought its side, pointing out that this was Harry and he needed her help since he didn't seem to want to talk to anyone else about this. With no more reluctance to hold her back, Hermione nodded.

"I'll do it."

Harry's arm shook slightly as he reached for his wand to extract the memory. He was scared to do this. All day he'd wanted to sleep but was too afraid, knowing that the instant he closed his eyes he'd be flying towards a wall again. He'd already concluded that this was far worse than having battle scenes playing constantly, even though they still ran through his head and the yells kept echoing.

With the memory safely in the Pensieve, Harry set his wand down.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Hermione gulped and nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

She reached for Harry's hand, her fingers intertwining with his. Hermione didn't like to make the trip into a Pensieve alone. She had this strange idea that if she went without holding on to Harry or anyone else that she'd lose them.

"We're going to have to watch the whole duel," Harry said. "That's what the memory was and I can't fast forward to the part we want to see."

"That's fine."

Harry gripped her hand a little tighter and Hermione let him do it. She knew that it had taken a lot of courage for Harry to go through with this. It was obvious that he wanted to watch this as few times as possible.

"Okay. We're going," Harry whispered.

Hermione nodded and shut her eyes tightly. She felt herself falling and, even though she knew that this always happened, she gripped Harry's arm with her other hand out of slight fear. When she felt her feet hit the ground she opened her eyes. The duel began in front of her.

At one point Hermione looked back into the class behind her. She saw Harry's wand go sailing through the air and Ginny's a few seconds later. She watched Ernie Macmillan catch Harry's wand and bring it up to her Pensieve-self. Hermione watched her face as the Pensieve-Hermione watched the duel. She found that Hermione gripping Ron's hand and biting her lip, her eyes wide and constantly flitting back and forth between Harry and Ginny. Funny, Hermione thought. I don't remember holding Ron's hand.

She focused her attention back on the duel but not before glancing at Harry. He was staring at himself with a look of total disbelief on his face. If Hermione were to comment on the look, she would have said he looked scared of himself.

Hermione's eyes flew to the Pensieve-Harry as she heard his scream. Instinctively she moved closer to him, as if to make sure he was okay. As Pensieve-Harry lunged at Pensieve-Ginny Hermione saw the look on his face. It looked as if he had been taken over by some outside force. He had this smirk on his face that rivaled Draco's best. If Hermione had two words to describe it, she would have said it was pure evil.

Chancing another glance at Harry, she saw that he looked terrified. His eyes were transfixed on his face.

"That was me?" he choked out around a lump in his throat.

Hermione nearly cried for him. She hadn't been able to see Harry's expressions during the duel even though she was sitting in the front row of the class. Hermione tried to picture her reaction to it if she had been Harry and she realized that she would have had the same one.

I should have never let Harry go through with this. I should have never agreed to do this. This is all a big mistake. Harry shouldn't have to see himself like this.

Hermione focused her eyes back on the duel just in time to see Harry blasted off of Ginny. It had been a horrific sight to watch in class but it was even worse to watch it up close. She ran after Harry as he flew to the wall. She got there just in time to see Harry's head crack against it and saw his eyes close against the pain and slide down the wall. Hermione wondered how he had managed to not get knocked out instantly.

She heard a small sniff next to her and turned to find Harry rubbing the back of his head. He had a frown on his face.

"Pomfrey's potion is wearing off," he said as an explanation. "It hurts almost as much now as it did then."

Both of them fell silent as Ginny rushed over to Harry and the boy's hand came out just enough to use the spell that froze her. Hermione heard a few more sniffs coming from Harry's direction and she turned to him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry? It doesn't sound like just the potion to me."

Harry tried to smile but Hermione saw his lip quivering. He kept rubbing the back of his head. Hermione knew that it did hurt but that it was also a distraction, something for him to focus on so he wouldn't cry.

Suddenly she felt the swirling blackness of the Pensieve engulf her and she was sent spinning. Hermione shut her eyes and reached out blindly for Harry's hand but she never found it. She felt her feet hit solid ground again and she blinked a few times until the room around her stopped spinning.

Harry was sitting on the window seat. His eyes had already adopted that faraway look, making him seem millions of miles away even though he was so close.

"Harry?"

His eyes maintained the distanced look as he spoke. "Yeah?"

"Do... do you want to talk about it?"

Harry's mouth itched to say, no, I'm fine, quit asking about it. Apparently his brain had other ideas as he felt himself nodding yes. He felt Hermione grasp his hand and he slowly brought his attention back to her.

"Let's go back to your bed. It's difficult to play psychiatrist on a window seat. You can put up a silencing charm," Hermione suggested.

Harry cracked a smile at the psychiatrist part. Hermione had been playing the role quite well this past half a year. Best friend, sister, and psychiatrist all in one package. Harry thought it was a pretty good deal. As long as it kept him from seeing a professional, Harry didn't mind it in the slightest.

Hermione took the smile as a yes. She stood up, Harry's hand held in one of hers, the Pensieve in her other. Harry grabbed his wand as Hermione pulled him away from the window. She sat down first when they reached the bed, pushing Harry's glasses and contact case to the far end of the table next to it. She placed the Pensieve down and Harry set his wand beside it. After a few seconds rustling of the sheets, the moving of a pillow under Harry's head, and a quick flick of his wrist, the two had settled comfortably on the bed, with Harry's head in Hermione's lap, the position they had been in so many times before.

"What part's bothering you the most about all this?" Hermione started off.

Harry let out a long breath. "I'm not sure anymore. At first it was the being blown into a wall part but now that I've actually seen myself in the duel I... This is going to sound really stupid but I think I'm the most bothered about myself. That's not like me, is it? I mean, it's not like I stare at myself in a mirror for hours on end and memorize my facial expressions." He paused as Hermione giggled at the thought. "I just looked mad, like power-hungry mad. I've never felt that way before. I've never been power-hungry. It was scary. It's what made me toss my wand instead of waiting until it got knocked away from me. I just wanted to feel the power," he said, ending in a near whisper. "I still want to feel it but I know it's wrong. If I keep up like this I'll be no better than Voldemort. I'll start using deadly magic just to feel the power and I'll turn to the Dark Side and who knows, maybe I'll even join Voldemort."

"Harry!" Hermione cut him off sharply. "If you keep thinking like that you will turn into the next Voldemort!"

"You know that this isn't even my full potential?" Harry said suddenly. "Dumbledore said that I still have a whole mess of pure magic stored up inside me, and it's more than anyone should have just because of the Mark of the Phoenix. It's locked though, and there's only one thing that can unlock it, but no one knows what it is. Dumbledore told me I'd just know when it was unlocked but he wouldn't tell me anything else. He said that this locked magic is the power Voldemort doesn't know of. My mum passed it on to me when she died to protect me. I suppose that explains why I was able to master advanced spells at a young age."

He stopped there, oblivious to the fact that his chest was rising a falling as if he had just finished a run. Hermione was gaping at him.

"Are you on a roll or something today, Harry? You've been rambling on for nearly five minutes straight."

Harry blushed slightly. "I just have a lot on my mind."

Hermione flashed a smile. "Let's start back at the beginning. With regards to the duel, I think you should work it out with Ginny. She's been having similar problems and she's still a little shocked about that pure magic outburst she had. I don't think it was a very good idea of Professor Dumbledore's to make you two duel each other."

Harry raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing. Hermione rarely disagreed with Dumbledore but when she did, it was for a good reason.

"Well, it looks like someone is here to see you. I'll come back tomorrow. Do you want me to leave the Pensieve?" Hermione said as she gently lifted Harry's head and slid out from under him.

"Take the Pensieve, leave the wand. Thanks, 'Mione, and good night."

"Good night, Harry."

Harry rolled over onto his side to watch her leave. Once she was out of his sight he focused on his other visitor.

"Hey, Orli."

~*~

Two training sessions had passed since Harry had fought in the Diagon Alley battle. Instead of learning anything new in those sessions, they had been reviewing. Blaise had become suspicious of Dumbledore for just having them review so she asked what was going on.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes should have told them that it was something special but the four teens failed to notice it.

"Orli!" the Headmaster called. "Come in."

The door opened and a small girl stepped through. She looked at the four teens in front of her and edged closer to Dumbledore. She seemed slightly intimidated by them.

"Orli is going to be teaching you thought magic," Dumbledore explained.

Loud laughter followed that statement. Everyone in the room turned to face Draco, who was the only one laughing. Tears were forming in his eyes because he was laughing so hard.

"Draco," Blaise started. "What's wrong with you?"

They watched as Draco gained control over his laughter. His face remained flushed and Ginny noted it looked like he had a sunburn.

"This little girl is going to be teaching me thought magic? Ha! You can't be more than eight-years-old. Malfoys are not taught by small children."

Orli moved closer to Dumbledore. "I turned ten this past October," she said in a near whisper.

"So? That hardly makes you qualified to teach us," Draco said.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "Orli is very much so qualified to teach you, as I have been training her with her powers myself. She discovered her powers over the summer and used them to escape Death Eaters who were holding her captive. She is currently living here in the Ravenclaw tower, since her brother, Adam Levine, is in his seventh year here. Her parents were killed by Death Eaters."

Ginny chanced a glance at Harry. He looked extremely guilty and seemed to have pulled into himself. Currently he was staring down at the floor. She wished she could take some time to knock some sense into him and make him stop blaming himself. However, she knew Dumbledore didn't want interruptions so her 'Harry-helping' would have to wait.

"Draco," Dumbledore continued. "You will be serving detention with Professor Moody for inappropriate conduct in a class. Harry, please stay after. I'm afraid we're not going to get much done today so I will let you go early. Your detention is Monday night, Draco. Enjoy your dinners."

Ginny gave Harry a half-smile as she left the room after Blaise and Draco. Orli stayed by Dumbledore until he told her that she was dismissed as well. Then he turned to Harry, who was kneeling on the ground, his legs shaking too hard to hold him up.

"This is all my fault. If I could only kill that bastard, sorry Professor but the title fits him, then none of this would have happened," Harry said.

"Stand up, Harry," Dumbledore ordered gently.

Harry did, his body still shaking. He felt sick, like he was going to vomit any second. He knew it was his fault this girl's parents were dead. He could feel it in his bones that her family was murdered under Voldemort's orders.

"What puzzles me about you is how you think everything that Lord Voldemort does is connected to you, and therefore your fault, and not his," Dumbledore started. "Just because you are linked to Lord Voldemort does not mean that his actions are yours. Whatever he does is solely his own choice, not yours. You have nothing to do with what he does. Do not blame yourself for things that have nothing to do with you."

"But it does have something to do with me!" Harry cried almost desperately, trying to make his Professor see his reasoning. "It has everything to do with me because if I could kill him none of this would be happening. Voldemort is only continuing to do this because I can't kill him! He's still alive in case you haven't noticed. I'm the one destined to kill him if I can, but I'm just sitting here biding my time and twiddling my thumbs. What am I waiting for? For him to kill off everyone I know?"

Dumbledore laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I think we need to talk about this in my office on another day. Think about what I said and I will see you at dinner."

The aging Headmaster walked out the door after that, leaving Harry alone as he sank back to the ground in tears.

~*~

Harry's last thought as he snapped back to reality was that he and Dumbledore still hadn't sat down to talk again.

"Hey, Harry. I only have a few minutes, I just came by to say hello and see how you were doing," Orli said. "I heard all about the duel. One of the sixth years told Adam, who told me, and it sounded really bad. Could I see the burn?"

Harry laughed. He really admired how Orli was always full of life. He didn't mind that she could go on and on about certain things for hours if given the chance. He found it funny how she always seemed into the more dangerous side of things than most girls were at her age.

"I don't know if you would want to see it. It's a pretty nasty burn," Harry said.

Orli smiled. "The nastier the better!"

She waited as Harry sat up and unbuttoned his shirt enough to slide it down and reveal the burn. Orli had taken to Harry immediately after she had started to teach them. At first she had thought she was drawn to him only because he had lost his parents too. As time wore on she had realized that she liked him the most because he was the only one who treated her as a friend as opposed to a little girl like the other three did.

"That looks like it hurts!" Orli commented, poking the burn with her finger.

Harry winced. "It does."

Orli blushed. "Sorry. It looks a lot like a bad sunburn, if you ask me. Are you sure that's not what it is and you're just making a big deal of it so Ginny will kiss it better?"

Harry burst out laughing again. "No, it really is a burn. Ginny hasn't kissed it better and I doubt she will. She's rather attached to my lips, I think."

Orli smiled and Harry suddenly felt more at ease than he had in the past week. He didn't know when or why he had begun to share details of his and Ginny's relationship to Orli, but he had. Ginny didn't know it, of course, and that made it all funnier to Orli. It seemed as if Harry trusted her with a secret, which in Orli's eyes made her a good friend because she hadn't told anyone else.

"You still owe me that piggy back ride you said you would give me on Wednesday," Orli said, pouting.

"As soon as this burn heals I promise I'll give you your piggy back ride."

Orli's pout turned back into a smile. "Good."

Harry heard footsteps and looked up to see Madam Pomfrey headed his way with a few potions and cups in her arms.

"Orli, Madam Pomfrey has to give me some medicine now, and I think she wants you to leave me when she does. Go over and talk to Blaise for a while. I think she misses you," Harry said, knowing that Blaise was Orli's second favorite because she had taken Orli under her wing and protected her from Draco and his teasing.

Orli hugged him. "I'll see you soon, Harry."

"See you soon, Orli."

~~**~~