Many thanks to Lord Dreadnault for correcting this chapter!
AN: This is not a Warcraft x-over.
Summer before Harry's sixth year:
Harry and Ginny landed their brooms, dismounted, and then raced to the Burrow to get a drink. Ron and Hermione were sitting on a swing in front of the house and saw them.
"Harry is finally getting better." Hermione said to Ron.
"Yeah." replied Ron.
It was true. When Harry had returned to Dursleys, he had been a wreck and he had not been much better when he was moved to the Burrow. But with time, he had gotten better. He was now much more content and looked quite healthy. It was thanks to Molly that Harry wouldn't be so gaunt and skinny at the beginning of the next term. However, it was another witch that was the cause of Harry's happiness - the same one that Harry was now spending a most of his time with.
Harry and Ginny went into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemonade and some snacks. As they sat and ate, Harry pondered his current situation. The loss of his godfather had been horrible but his stay with Weasleys had showed him how delightful life could be. He was grateful to Dumbledore for arranging this.
"Fancy a splash in the pond or in the creek in the wood?" asked Ginny.
"Sure." replied Harry.
They changed and set out to the wood.
"Where are you going?" asked Hermione.
"To the creek... Oh, I see. Is it in the range of the wards?" replied Harry.
"Nope. I forgot about that. It's the pond then." said Ginny.
"Shall we join them?" Hermione asked Ron.
"What? Yeah yeah, sure." replied Ron.
A little while later, the four teens were playing in the water. But Ron, instead of enjoying water games with Hermione, watched his sister and Harry. The two of them seemed to be quite comfortable with each other. Ginny wasn't putting her elbows in butter anymore and Harry was spending more time with her than with him and Hermione.
Later that day, when the sun had set, Ron came to the kitchen and asked Hermione, "Have you seen Harry and Ginny?"
"They went outside." she answered.
"At this time? What are they doing there?"
"They just wanted to watch the stars."
"Watch the stars?" asked Ron. "Don't they get enough astronomy from school?"
"Ron, your thickness sometimes surprises even me."
"Oh. You mean that they went to watch the stars just like that? To be together?"
"Bravo. It's amazing that you got it so quickly."
The reason why Ron got it so quickly was Ron's dread of such a possibility and the meanings it hinted. Harry and Ginny weren't just comfortable with each other, it seemed that they actually liked to hang out together. What if they started to have feelings for each other? What if they started dating? Ron knew that Ginny was with Dean now, but she also had a soft spot for Harry. And Harry? He might be nervous around girls but he had also lost his godfather and needed to be comforted. Without considering the possibility of asking Hermione out to watch stars with him as well, Ron retired to his room to think about that.
The next day, when Hermione and Ginny were somewhere having a little girl time, Harry came in the kitchen. Ron was there and Harry asked him, "Have you seen Ginny?"
"Huh?" replied Ron.
"I can't find Ginny. Have you seen her?"
"No. I think she is somewhere with Hermione. Why do you ask?"
"What do you mean by that?" retorted Harry.
"Well, why do you want to find her?" pressed Ron.
"What kind of question is that? I just want to hang out with her."
"Why?"
"Well, that's what friends usually do - they hang out with each other."
"You haven't hung out with Hermione and I much lately." accused Ron.
"Well, I'll see you two a lot at school since we are in the same year. Besides, I thought it would be better to leave you and Hermione alone." replied Harry with a smile.
"Do not change the subject. We are discussing you and my sister."
Harry looked at Ron, then set down and said,
"Okay, what is this about? Is something bothering you?"
"In fact, yes." answered Ron.
"And that is...?"
"What's with you and my sister?"
"What do you mean?"
"For Merlin's pants!" exclaimed Ron. "Do you have feelings for Ginny?"
Harry was staring at him with an opened mouth. Then he jumped up and exclaimed,
"My goodness! I was so stupid!"
"Yes, yes. But it's OK mate, no harm done." grinned Ron and silently congratulated himself for his witty diffusion of the situation.
"Thanks Ron. Without you, I wouldn't noticed what was under my nose for the entire time!" continued Harry. For a brief moment he wanted to hug Ron but then he changed mind and just patted his shoulder.
"Err..." stuttered Ron. That wasn't the outcome he had wanted to achieve.
"I've got to go!" Harry said, interrupting him, and ran out of the kitchen.
In the meantime, Ginny and Hermione discussed the thickness of their boys. Suddenly, they heard Harry calling, "Ginny!"
"We're here!" she yelled back.
Harry ran to them and said, "Here you are! I was searching for you." and without thinking took her hands in his.
"Well, you found me. What can I do for you?" asked Ginny, who was a bit surprised and delighted by his behaviour.
"Well, actually, nothing at all." replied Harry and felt like an idiot. "I just wondered if you would like to go flying or something. I mean, if you aren't busy..."
"No, I'm not. We've just finished discussing something. Let's go."
As they were leaving, Ginny turned her head back to Hermione and raised an eyebrow. Then she took Harry's hand and they went to the broom shed. Bill, who had just Apparated to the Burrow, saw them. He went to the kitchen and found Ron there.
"What's going on?" asked Bill.
"Oh. I'm such arse." groaned Ron.
"Tell me something I don't know. What have you done?"
"I've just pushed Harry to Ginny."
"You mean like...?"
"Yes, exactly like that."
"Oh dear." said Bill and sat on a chair.
"Yeah."
"But she is dating Dean."
"Come on, you know our sister. She will dump Dean as soon as Harry tells her about his feelings."
"He can't do that! Does he want to put her in danger? Doesn't he realise that he is no position to start a relationship? At least with our sister?"
"Exactly!" agreed Ron. "I've tried to tell him but he misinterpreted it for encouragement."
"Damn it!"
They sat there for a while and then Bill continued, "We've got to do something."
"What do you mean?" asked Ron.
"That we've got to do something. It's too bad that Charlie isn't here; he would be helpful."
"What do you want to do?"
"First, we need to tell the twins about this. Then we need to discuss this and decide what to do."
A day passed and Harry still danced around Ginny. Bill and his brothers waited for their opportunity which came when Ginny went to help her mother and Fleur with something. Ron approached Harry and asked him, "Hey. Do you have a minute? I need to talk with you."
"Sure." said Harry and though he smelled something suspicious, he followed Ron to the broom shed.
"Hi." said Bill, Fred and George as they entered. Harry looked nervously at Ron but he just sat down. Bill conjured another chair for Harry and started,
"Harry. We need to talk. Men usually don't tell each other such things but what the hell? We want to tell you, that you mean a lot to our family and we all like you. In fact, you are like one of us."
"Thank you. You are the only family I ever knew. I don't know where I would be without you." said Harry.
"I would also like to emphasize that we don't care about any dangers coming from your closeness to us. Ron gave us a hint that You-Know-Who is determined to kill you and anybody close to you. We don't give a damn."
Harry shoot a look to Ron, he wasn't supposed to talk about the prophecy. Bill continued,
"You see how much we love you?"
"I..." started Harry but was interrupted by Bill,
"Then why are you doing this to us?"
"Er... what?" asked Harry, bewildered.
Fred stood up, paced around a bit and then asked,
"Harry, is it true, that you want to date our dear sister?"
"Well, I think I feel something for her..."
"Have you talked with her about that?" asked Bill sternly.
"No, not yet. What's wrong?" answered Harry. The sudden turn of conversation was unexpected for him.
"What's wrong? First: she's got somebody else. It isn't honorable thing to do to court a girlfriend of your friend when he is not around."
Harry frowned when he heard that. He didn't feel that he was doing something unacceptable.
"And second: she had a crush for you for all those years and you've noticed her only now when she finally got over you? What kind of man does that? And most importantly, she would be greatly endangered by being with you. Do you want her to be kidnapped by Death Eaters and killed just to hurt you?"
Harry stared at him, totally dumbfounded. Then he said, "This... this... you can't mean this!"
"By Merlin's arse, we do!" replied Bill angrily. "And if you aren't completely ungrateful, you should be glad that we stepped in before Mum and Dad found out. They love you, like their own. But they have six sons (seven with you) and only one daughter. You may guess twice who they love more. And if they ever find out about your intentions with Gin... well, as you said, we are your only family. And that means that you don't want to be one family shorter, do you?"
Harry, with great difficulty, swallowed the bitterness that formed in his throat. He looked at the twins.
"Guys?" he asked them.
"Harry, you know that we are game for anything. But this is serious, deadly serious. We know that we owe you and you can ask anything from us but not our sister. We trust Bill's judgment in this matter."
At last, Harry turned to Ron. After all, it was him who helped him to realize his feelings. But Ron just said,
"Oh come on. I'm your friend but I'm also Ginny's brother. Don't make choose between you and my family."
Harry turned away from them and fought the tears. Then he stuttered,
"This is unexpected. I..."
But then he realized that they were right. He took a breath and finished,
"As you wish." and walked out.
Bill rose from his chair and called, "Harry!" He wanted to make sure that the message was clear. But Ron just put an arm on his shoulder and gesticulated to him to be silent.
On his way back to the house, Harry encountered Ginny, who was searching for him.
"Harry, there you are!" she said.
"Er, sorry. I need to find Hermione and get some revising done."
"What? I thought that we could go for a walk..." said Ginny and took Harry's arm.
"Just leave me alone!" shouted Harry, yanked his arm free and ran away.
Ginny was bewildered and a bit hurt. Then she suspiciously looked at the broom shed and walked towards it.
Ron watched her through the hole in a plank and silently said,
"She is coming here. Quickly Bill, Apparate us!"
"I can't, she would hear it. Boys, you surely know some concealing charms, do you?"
"Sure." said twins and quickly casted four spells. When Ginny came, she didn't see anybody. Then she just sighed and left.
The same day, in the evening, Harry partially changed his mind and decided to talk with Ginny. But she was still piqued so when he approached her, she just made an excuse and went to help Fleur with something.
During the next few days, Harry spent most of his time with Hermione learning new spells and doing homework. But she, even when she liked Harry, soon became bothered by his attention because she wanted to hang out with Ron. And so, he spent most of his time alone or in the kitchen, helping Molly.
Molly and Arthur soon noticed the change in Harry's behaviour.
"What's wrong with him?" Molly asked Arthur. "What if he tried to deny Sirius's death and it's coming back to him?"
"It's possible. But there is another explanation." replied Arthur.
"And that is?"
"When his mood changed, we managed to thwart Death Eaters' attack on a muggle village."
"You don't mean..."
"Yes." confirmed Arthur. "Now You-Know-Who is annoyed and Harry with him."
"But if You-Know-Who is annoyed, then Harry should be happy."
"Not if You-Know-Who's mood is transferring directly to Harry."
"Oh the poor boy." sniffed Molly.
The rest of the summer passed in the same manner.
Winter of the next year, The Forest of Dean:
Harry was pulled from the icy water.
"Harry, Harry, are you okay?" he heard somebody ask him.
When the shock from the freezing water passed, he recognized his saviour.
"Ron?" said Harry but Ron remained silent.
"You've returned." stated Harry. He then used Hermione's wand to dry and warm himself.
"Yeah, I've been searching for you for hours and then I saw that doe. Harry, I'm sorry I left. I don't know what happened." Ron said, his voice trailing off.
"It's okay, Ron." interrupted Harry with a cold voice. "I've never asked you to come with me. Participation in this mission is hardly mandatory. So, I can't possibly hold you here."
"Harry..." croaked Ron.
"Come on. We have the sword, let's finish this."
When the horcrux was destroyed, Harry wearily sat on a rock. Then he said,
"Ron. That vision, or fear of yours, that was really disgusting. She is like my sister! I had no idea that you thought... It would be like you and Ginny!"
"Yuck!" laughed Ron. "Or you and Ginny." he added.
Harry froze and then sternly said,
"Enough of this. We need to talk."
"Er, yes?" asked Ron warily.
"As I said, Hermione is like my sister. She means a lot to me. And you hurt her. She cried for weeks."
"I... I know."
"You kept hurting her for several past years. You probably haven't realized that. This year, she gave you one last chance. And you threw it in her face!"
"Harry, I know. I messed up."
"And from what I just saw you still consider her as 'yours'. How dare you?! If there was anything between you, you broke it up. I won't let you to mess with her feelings. She is not important just to me, she is important for this mission as well."
"Harry, please." begged Ron.
"Now, I'll take you to the tent. You shall apologize to her but that's it. Stay away from her. Promise me that or you can return back from where you came."
Ron stared at his friend. Then he asked,
"Is this some kind of vendetta? Harry, I swear that I won't hurt Hermione again."
But Harry was adamant. Finally, Ron gave a promise, fully intending to break it.
The night of the final battle, The Forbidden Forest:
"Onward Harry, onward." the dark voice of the two hallows kept saying. Harry threw the stone away and it stopped. When he reached the clearing, he took the cloak off, stuffed it in a pocket, and revealed himself to Voldemort and his Death Eaters and faced his destiny.
After his 'death' he opened his eyes a examined the white surroundings. When he stood up, a voice behind him said,
"Harry. I've been expecting you."
AN: Sorry, I can't reveal the rest of this yet. We shall return to this point later in flashback. I don't like to use flashbacks (after all, we aren't in Lost) and I shall avoid them in the future but this is an exception.