Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
$Parseltongue$
Chapter 70: Encounter late at night
He kept Astoria company until his father and the two girls came down.
"Oh, there you are Harry. Wanna fly a bit with your old man?" James asked him with a grin.
"Maybe tomorrow is getting dark already and I'm sure Mom would get mad if we were late for dinner," Harry stated.
"That's right!, you two, come down already!" James hollered.
"Tory!, did you see us?" Lyra said as she landed.
Astroria noded at her.
"That was so fun!" Ginny seemed to be in a much better mood now.
"Mom never lets me use the brooms at home."
"Then you better not tell Molly that I let you fly…that woman can be very scary when she is angry," James reminded the girl.
"Don't worry Mister Potter, I can keep a secret," Ginny assured him.
"Good girl, and call me James."
"Let's go inside, we can play a game of exploding snap before dinner!" Lyra said with excitement.
"Yes!, lets do that," answered Ginny.
"Be very careful if you play in the library. That game can be very dangerous. " Harry warned the girls.
Lyra and Ginny gave him a confused look while James seemed to have realized something
"Wait a minute!"
<><><><><><><>
It was almost midnight when Harry opened his eyes.
He gazed at his surroundings, feeling disoriented for a moment until he recognized being in one of the comfy sofas of the library.
'Right…I came here after dinner for some light reading…'
He looked down at the book that remained on his lap.
"Laws and Regulations, English Ministry of Magic, 1707."
'Maybe I should find a hobby…' He considered.
His body became immediately alert when he heard the sound of steps approaching and had to contain himself from jumping out of the sofa with his wand at the ready.
'Relax, you are at home.' he reminded himself.
He then saw Ginny entering the library while carrying a small magical lamp.
She didn't notice his presence and went directly to the section where the children's stories were placed.
He could imagine what she was looking for.
"On the shelf to your left."
Ginny let out a squeal at the sudden surprise and turned around.
"H-Harry!"
"Please, lower your voice, everyone is sleeping…" He whispered.
"Sorry!, I just….I" she got nervous all of a sudden. Probably was not prepared to encounter anyone here at this hour, much less him.
"It's okay, you haven't done anything wrong…trouble sleeping?" He changed the subject.
Ginny nodded.
"I thought reading something would help me…"
"You could have asked one of the house elves to bring you a book. "
"Ah…" She hasn't thought about that because her house has no elves so Ginny was used to doing everything by herself.
"The 'Boy Who Lived' books are over here." Harry walked to one of the shelves.
"Holly has amassed quite the collection."
Ginny went to her shelve and her expression became brighter when she saw all the books.
"So many!. I haven't read many of these yet!..oh…"
Her smile fell and she glanced at Harry for a moment.
"You probably think I'm stupid for still reading these…"
"No…I don't think you are stupid. Look, I'm sorry about what happened that day."
"Lyra told me that you don't remember anything from before your accident…she said that you changed," Ginny whispered.
"No, I don't remember any of it. But I'm still sorry to have caused such a terrible first impression of me, and for hurting you..."
"Is okay…even my brother Ron says that I'm stupid for still liking those books…or believing that any of it is true…"
"You are not stupid, Ginny. You are a bright witch but still need to discover what you are good at. Once you do, you can truly shine, and show everyone how amazing you can be."
Then, for the first, Ginny gave him a sincere smile.
"Thanks…but, how can you know that? we just met...you don't know me."
"I can tell…I have a good eye for people, trust me. "
She grinned before looking back at the shelf of books.
"If I may, I can recommend you one. Neville Longbottom and the mystical cave. I found that one entertaining at least." Said Harry.
"You read them too?" Ginny became shocked.
"Of course, I read one of them every night to Holly."
"Ah…right." For a moment she thought to had found another fan.
"My brother Bill used to read me books too…" She said with a hint of nostalgia.
"Say…Harry," she whispered hesitantly.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
"How is he in real life?...you know…Neville Longbottom." Ginny asked.
Harry could see a light blush decorating her cheeks.
'I should have expected that question…' He thought.
"Shouldn't you ask your brother Ron? he is one of his closest friends. Im sure he has many stories to tell about him."
"He won't tell me anything!...he always yells at me to leave him alone and don't bother him with questions about his friends." Ginny huffed with furred eyebrows.
"I see." That does sound like Ron.
"Well, Neville is…a nice guy. "
"That's it?" Ginny tilted her head.
"You will meet him soon enough, then you can form your own opinion of him."
"Mmm….I guess." she didn't seem satisfied with that.
He was well aware of how obsessed she was with 'The boy who lived' at this point. But, what was he supposed to do? Manipulate an eleven-year-old to like him more instead?
Is that even something he wants? As close as they are, this is not his Ginny…this is a different version of her with her own ideas and dreams.
No, is too early to worry about these things. The real Voldemort is still somewhere out there.
Until that monster is dead for good…
'I cannot risk losing someone like that again.'
"Harry? you look troubled with something." Ginny looked at him.
"Are you feeling sleepy perhaps?"
"Heh…no, but going to bed is not a bad idea." He said.
"Why don't you take a book and I'll accompany you back to Lyra's room. The house is dark and easy to get lost in."
"Thank you, Harry…Lyra was right, you are very nice now!."