Life After Living

Chapter Twelve

Believe me

I'm just as lost as you

~Still Frame, Trapt

"We feel it's our duty to inform you of the task at hand."

"It's someone's birthday, lads, and you only turn fifteen once."

"A celebration is in order."

"And an early morning wake up call."

The three Weasleys and one Potter exchanged evil looks. "Everyone take one of these," Fred said, handing his two brothers and Harry small poppers.

"Are we ready?" George asked. The others nodded. "Forward, ho."

The four teenagers started up the stairs quietly. Fred reached the landing first and held his hand out, indicating to the others to stop. He waited, listening. Then, with a hand signal, they started forward again.

They reached the door to Ginny and Hermione's room. George held a finger to his mouth. The others nodded and Fred opened the door. The early light of morning was already coming in through the window. Hermione was sleeping in the bed nearest the door. The four boys moved past it to stand around Ginny's bed. Her red hair splayed over the pillow. She looked peaceful. And evil look spread over George and Fred's faces.

George held up three fingers and made sure that the other three boys were looking. One finger disappeared, then another, until the last one fell. Harry and Ron tugged on the string on the end of their poppers, as did the twins. Harry let go of his worries as the string came away in his hand. For just a few moments he could stand to let the warmth of fun sink beneath his skin. He flashed a smile at Ron.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Bright bursts of color filled the air with the four shouts and loud pops. Confetti fell down around Ginny as she screeched awake. Behind them, Hermione woke with a shriek as well, but they ignored her. Ginny grabbed her sheets around her and screamed at her brothers and Harry as the colors of the rainbow fell around her and stuck in her hair. The boys were covered as well. Ron nudged Harry and they turned to look at Hermione, who brandished an angry look. Ron howled with laughter and Harry did as well as Hermione's look faltered. Ginny continued to scream at the twins as Hermione began to laugh.

Molly and Arthur had arrived at the door, and though Molly looked apprehensively at the mess, they both wore smiles. A confetti fight had begun as the twins had pulled more poppers out of their pockets and Ginny had gotten a hold of a fair few. Ron and Harry collapsed on Hermione's bed, trying to escape the wrath of the redheaded girl. Hermione lightly smacked Ron on the head, still laughing. When the confetti settled, Molly announced breakfast. Fred and George apparated away with a crack, no doubt to the kitchen.

Harry felt like the day slipped by. He and Ron had sent away for her very own copy Quidditch Through the Ages. It arrived at noon with the help of Hedwig. Hermione gave them a skeptical look. "Leaving it until the last minute. Figures." Ron stuck out his tongue, which resulted in, "Very mature."

Ginny seemed pleased with her present, however. It was promptly set aside, though, as Errol arrived, landing in a heap on the floor of the drawing room. "That'll be your Hogwarts letters, I suspect," Molly said, untying a large envelope from the old owl's talon.

"Molly, this poor owl should be retired," Remus said, picking the owl up off the floor as Molly opened the envelope.

"He just needs some rest is all," Molly answered as she pulled several smaller envelopes from the larger one. She handed one each to Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry. For the second time Harry watched as Molly Weasley pocketed a Hogwarts letter. He was seconds away from asking her about it when Ginny let out a squeal. She held a shiny gold and red badge in her hand, a P emblazoned on it. "Another Prefect in the family!" Molly squealed as well. The twins made horrified noises. Hermione and Ginny jumped up and down excitedly.

"I sometimes wonder if the twins were adopted," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, sending a chill down his spine.

"N-No way," Harry stuttered. "The hair is a dead give-away." Ron sniggered. While Molly and Remus fawned over Ginny's badge, Harry spoke out of the side of his mouth. "She did it again."

"Huh? What?" Ron looked at Harry.

"There was another letter, did you see it?"

"Yeah, I did. What are you thinking?"

"That someone else in this house is receiving letters from Hogwarts."

"Brilliant deduction there, mate." Harry elbowed Ron, but smiled. They were both watching when the handoff was made. Molly passed the letter to Remus who pocketed it in his own robes. Ron met Harry's eyes. "You don't suppose he's coming back to teach?"

"That would be great." Remus shuffled off, mumbling something about getting something to drink.

Harry and Ron opened their own letters. Their booklists were almost identical. They both would require N.E.W.T. level books for Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy. It seemed that they would both be sharing the same classes for the most part. The only exceptions were that Harry would require a book for Herbology, and Ron a book for Divination.

"Do I have to take Divination?" Ron asked with a groan. "That O.W.L. was a bloody mistake anyway."

"Ron, watch your mouth," Hermione said. She showed them her list, which included History of Magic, Arithmacy, and Ancient Runes. Hermione and Ron continued their banter as Harry realized that there was a second piece of parchment with his letter. He pulled it away from the other piece and read it.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am pleased to tell you that your lifetime ban from Quidditch has been lifted. Your position as Gryffindor Seeker has been reinstated. I am also pleased to announce that due to your tenure, and as the senior most member of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, that you are hereby granted the position of Gryffindor Captain. Congratulations. We look forward to another wonderful year of Quidditch at Hogwarts.

Signed,

Prof. M. McGonagall

"What are you going to do with all these classes?" Ron asked Hermione. "Do you really need that many N.E.W.T.s?" Harry tucked the letters back into the envelope.

"I'd like to keep my options open, thank you."

"What are you planning to do, Hermione?" Ginny asked. Her badge was already pinned to her robes and she adjusted it every few seconds.

"I'm not sure yet. I was thinking about curse-breaking, though."

"Oh, don't tell Bill! He'll talk your ear off."

"And you two will both be Aurors I expect," Ginny said turning to the boys.

"Me?" Ron shook his head. "Professional Quidditch player, thank you!" Ginny and Hermione snorted with laughter. "I'll have you know--" Ron started, wagging his finger at the two girls, before Mr. Weasley interrupted.

"I think it's high time we tuck in to that cake," Arthur said with a hungry look on his face. The twins voiced their opinions as well. Hermione and Ron, entangled in an argument about making a living playing a sport, followed blindly. Harry watched them leave. A few seconds passed before he realized that only he and Ginny were left in the room and that the latter was staring at him. He was suddenly fearful that she had caught him watching Ron.

"Harry?" she asked, her eyes a little wide. Panic flooded through Harry's veins. "Do you like Hermione?"

Harry was instantly confused. "Of course I like Hermione. She's one of my best friends."

"I didn't mean like that." Ginny inspected his face curiously. "Is that why Ron didn't ask her out, because you told him how you felt about Hermione?"

Harry couldn't help it. The laugh escaped him before he could contain it. "Oh, Ginny, of course not. Hermione is like a sister to me."

"I could swear it, Harry! I know you too well. I'd bet all my birthday money on it."

"You really think you know me that much?" Harry was starting to think that maybe it was better if Ginny believed that he fancied Hermione.

"I think I know you better than you know yourself." Ginny stood with her hands on her hips, an almost spitting image of her mother. "In fact, if there's one thing I know the most about in this world it's Harry Potter."

"Don't bet too much on it, Ginny." She let out an indignant huff and turned, taking several steps toward the door.

Harry started to let out a sigh, but it caught in his throat as she spun back around. "Harry?" Her eyes were wide again and Harry tried to hold his composure. "Do you like my brother?"

"H-He's my best friend," Harry answered, too caught off guard. "L-like a..." But Harry couldn't say it. Not with what he and Ron had shared. He just couldn't bring himself to think of Ron as a brother anymore.

The look on Ginny's face was a mixture of shock and, to Harry's own surprise, hurt. "You... you have feelings for Ron."

Harry was not about to let go of his and Ron's secret without a fight. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" And then he hissed the second part, "I'm not gay!"

"But you like Ron." She made no effort to keep her voice down.

"Ginny, please! What makes you think that?"

"The way you are around him. I could have sworn it was Hermione, but the way you look at him. I should have known sooner."

"You don't know anything, Ginny."

"I won't let you deny it!" Ginny took a step closer. "How long have you known?"

"Ginny," he was preparing for another argument, but her gaze on him took the words away. She was peering at him curiously. The hurt seemed to have gone from her eyes. Harry was surprised that she had still harbored feelings towards him. They had all but vanished now as Ginny inspected his eyes. "You tell a soul and I'll curse you into the next century." Ginny let out a howl of laughter and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Harry." She pulled away. "How long have you known, though?" Harry knew exactly. He had tried to deny it from the very beginning, but had failed miserably. He hadn't even told Ron when his feelings had started changing. He was hesitant as he admitted it to Ginny.

"After the fiasco with Cho Chang, I think."

"That girl has a way with men, doesn't she?" If the statement was meant to comfort Harry, it didn't. It only reminded him of Cedric and that brought with it a slue of memories he cared not to think about. "Are you going to tell, Ron?" Ginny was asking. Harry only stared at her for a few moments. Keeping their relationship a secret was going to require more work than he had imagined.

"T-Tell Ron--" Harry started to stutter and then jumped as another crack sounded in the room.

Fred appeared beside them. "Are you two coming or what?" He looked back and forth between the two. A smile spread across his face. "I think I know what you two are up to," and then Fred disapparated.

Harry looked at Ginny and they both took off for the kitchen. When they reached the door Fred was in the midst of his tale, "--Ginny and Harry alone in the drawing room."

"Ginny! Harry!" George announced as they entered. "Are you two going behind Dean's back?"

"What? No!" Harry's gaze immediately went to Ron who had stopped with his cup to his mouth.

"Oh, honestly! Harry and I are friends only!" Ginny scoffed.

"Then what were you two talking so privately about?" Fred asked. Everyone with the exception of Ron had the looks of amusement on their faces. Ginny looked hurt again.

Harry was just baffled. But an idea lit in his head and he went with it. "I was actually telling Ginny that my Quidditch ban has been lifted. I was hoping she wasn't going to have any hard feelings about me taking back the Seeker position." He looked at Ron whose distressed look changed to one of exuberance.

He looked back at Ginny as she spoke. "And I of course, have no qualms about giving Harry his position back." She smiled, though he could see that she was a little disappointed.

"But as the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, I've agreed to let her stay on as Chaser."

Ginny's eyes brightened. "Harry, that's fantastic!" Remus squeezed Harry's shoulder. "Your father would be really proud."

Ron nearly knocked Harry over with a hug. He pulled away awkwardly, but smiled widely. "That's great, Harry! I just knew you'd be captain someday." He clapped Harry on the back. Then a look crossed his face. "I'm still Keeper, right?" Harry bit his lip and wrinkled his brow. Ron looked as if he would faint.

Harry smiled. "Oh, Ron, of course you're still Keeper." Ron punched him in the arm playfully and then laughed, relieved.

"Well, today is a very special day indeed," Molly said. "A new Prefect," Ginny beamed, "and a new Quidditch Captain. Cake all around!"

Harry let himself enjoy the cake immensely. He only hoped he would be a good captain and he intended on writing letters to Oliver Wood and Angelina Johnson for advice. He found himself nervous. What if he didn't have what it took to be a Quidditch Captain? He had only known it as long as he had known magic. Five years was nothing at all compared to the experience of the others on the team.

He found Ron alone in their room later in the day. Ron smiled at him as Harry leaned against the doorframe. "You're all right with me being Captain?" Harry asked.

"Are you nuts? Of course I am, Harry."

Harry laughed. And then he got serious. "I just didn't want you to be upset. I know it's what you wanted."

"What makes you say that?" Ron set his school letter down on the bed beside him.

"It's what you saw in the Mirror of Erised, wasn't it? You were Quidditch Captain and Head Boy."

"You remember that?" Harry nodded. Ron stood and moved in front of Harry. "You deserve to be Captain, Harry. You've been with the team longer. You're the best player at Hogwarts. Far better than I am or ever could be. In fact, I'm a horrible Keeper. Maybe you should get rid of me."

"Well that's rubbish, Ron. You are a good player. And you will be a better player." Harry shifted his weight and moved into the room. He turned to look back at Ron. "You know a lot more about Quidditch than I do. I'm going to need your help."

Ron closed the door. "And you've got it. Of course."

"You'll be my second in command, my co-captain?"

"That means the world to me, Harry. More than being a Quidditch Captain or Head Boy." Ron took Harry's hand in his own.

"You still have a chance at being Head Boy."

"Me? Head Boy? Have you witnessed my being a Prefect? They'd be fools. Besides, you could still be Head Boy, too, you know."

"But I'm not a Prefect."

"Neither was your dad and he was Head Boy."

"I wonder how he managed that," Harry said thoughtfully. "Suppose I'll have to ask."

"I suppose you will." Ron turned Harry's hand over in his own. He ran his fingers over the lines of the palm. "And you'll have to hold try-outs. If you're making Ginny a Chaser that still leaves two more spots open."

"I'll post a notice as soon as we get to school," Harry managed, though he was greatly distracted.

There was hardly a knock on the door before it burst open. Ron spun away from Harry as Ginny rushed in. "I get a new broom!" she announced excitedly. "Mum's going to pick it up in Diagon Alley." Ginny jumped up and down a few times. "Oh, she needs your booklists, too," she said before bouncing out of the room.

"Do you have yours?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron answered, pulling it out of his pocket.

"I'll take them to her."

~-~-~-~-~-~

Ron was in the backyard when Hermione found him. He looked up when she sat down beside him under the oak tree. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't know." After a silence she continued. "You've been acting different for a while now. You've changed." She put her hand on his knee. "I see it when you think no one is looking." Ron looked away, trying not to be uncomfortable with her hand on his knee. Hermione let out a sigh. "You never used to be this quiet... Did something happen, Ron?"

After a while, Ron looked back at Hermione. "The Department of Mysteries." He moved his knee, slipping it away from her hand.

"That's when things changed?" Ron nodded. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Ron."

Ron looked up at her. "It's not your fault."

"No," Hermione agreed. "And it's not Harry's either."

"Of course not!" Ron stood, looking down at Hermione with a glare. He crossed his arms in front of him.

"He isn't doing well is he?"

Ron's look sharpened. "What makes you say that?"

"Because it's obvious." Hermione looked down at her hands, "And because you get very protective of him when such is the case."

"You act like I shouldn't."

"I said nothing of the sort, Ronald, and that's exactly what I'm talking about." Hermione stood to face Ron. She had to look up to meet his eyes. "You're so defensive. What happened?" Ron didn't answer, instead looking out across the yard. "Ron, please."

"He's a lot better now than he was when he got here," Ron answered quietly. Then, finally looking down to meet her eyes, he added, "He's falling apart and I refuse to let that happen. He finally had something real. He had someone he could call his family. He had a connection. And now Sirius is dead. Everyone expects him to just pick up and move on like a brave little hero."

"I don't expect that from him," Hermione said quietly.

"Then stop pretending everything is okay."

Hermione stared up at the redhead before her. "I know he's not okay. Everyone does. Everyone sees that he's falling apart. We just don't know what to do, Ron. And you just follow him around picking up the pieces. Are you planning to do that all your life?"

Ron stared at her for only a moment before answering. "For every minute if I have to."

~-~-~-~-~-~

Ginny shifted from one foot to the other uneasily. "You won't say anything? Nothing at all?"

"I promised Hermione that I wouldn't keep anything from her. She's my best friend, Harry."

"Ginny, please, for now, okay? I just need time."

Ginny looked down at Harry sitting on his trunk. "You didn't answer my question earlier. Are you going to tell him?"

"Why would I tell him?" Ginny didn't have an answer. Harry rose and stood in front of Ginny. He took her by the arms. "It's one thing, Ginny. It's one secret that I need you to keep for me. Please. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Ginny breathed.

"Thank you." Harry hugged her quickly and then kissed her on the forehead. "Happy Birthday, by the way."

Ginny let out a small laugh. "Thanks."