Heroes at Hogwarts

sixty-five | homecoming announcements and ...that rainbow thing?

ginny

Harry's doing well, I hear. Luke and Kayla are keeping me updated. 

Harry misses you. I caught him reading a letter yesterday. He was crying. 

He knows we're keeping in touch. He wants me to tell Ginny he loves her, and misses her. I told him I couldn't do that, to settle him, but would you mind passing on the message? 

Today Harry asked me if we could get his broom sent over. He's tired of trying to figure out basketball with Austin and Travis.

Harry mastered some impressive water magic today. Chiron let us know. Percy and I were on Olympus, and missed the whole thing. Chiron's been working with him, by the way. The old centaur trained Hercules and the original Jason. Harry's in good hands.

Hermione had given Ginny all the letters that had to do with Harry. Ginny pretended not to want them, but she kept them in her pillowcase, right next to the last letter he left her. She'd begun to miss him moments after declaring her hatred. No matter how aggravating he was, she loved him. 

And she knew he was only doing what he thought was best. The more she thought about it, Harry wasn't able to turn away from those in trouble because no one had ever come to help him when he needed them. He knew what it was like to be all alone. 

But Ginny was ready and willing to be standing there with a flashlight, calling his name, should he need her. She was okay with being the person that taught him how to step away, by teaching him that the world wouldn't have people like him without those that were left alone. 

Ron had knocked her off her broom one afternoon, and caught her right before she hit the ground, only to smile at her when Hermione had gotten the first letter from Annabeth. Turns out, the daughter of Athena had gotten an owl named Medusa and kept her in the Athena cabin for studying and reaching them. 

It was the last day of school, and Ginny still hadn't finished packing, when her mother barged into her dormitory with a large smile on her face. "Ginerva, dear!" 

"Mother!" Ginny dropped one of her bags onto Bianca's now empty bed. "How did you get up here?" 

"Oh, dear, I was a Gryffindor! No need for silly questions! Come quick!" Her mother grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out the door. When the reached the hallway, Hermione was coming out of her dormitory. 

"Oh, hello Mrs. Weas-"

"Oh, Hermione, good! I was just about to come and get you!" Molly grabbed Hermione by the wrist too, knocking the girls together, and continued to pull them down the stairs. 

"What's happening?" Hermione asked Ginny as they stumbled. 

"No idea," Ginny muttered. 

At the bottom of the stairs, all of her brothers were waiting. Her father was just pulling Ron into view from the boy's stairs. There were happy smiles all around. 

"Something's happened," Hermione deducted. 

Ron let go of their father and grabbed her hand. "What it is?" He asked hesitantly. He and Ginny both knew that if their family was excited about something, it was time to be scared. 

"Voldemort is gone, for one," their father announced. The common room was strangely empty, with everyone packing for their trips home. No one else was there to cheer with them. 

"And?" Fred asked the old man.

"What else?" George nodded. 

"And Harry...Harry will be at the house tomorrow," Molly stuttered out. "Our boy will be back to us!" 

Ginny grabbed Charlie to steady herself. The older boy looked down at her, surprised. Hermione embraced Ron. "What?" Ginny choked. 

"Annabeth's message was cryptic, but she promised he would be back to us tomorrow, at the Burrow," Arthur concluded. "She Iris-Messaged us only an hour ago." 

"The rainbow thing," Ron muttered, "awesome."

"How...how are they sure?" Ginny muttered. "Are they positive he wants to come back? Are they sure he can make it? Why are they coming now?" 

Charlie squeezed her arm. "Gin, calm down." 

"I can't," she whined. 

The family laughed. "Sweetheart." Her mother took her into her arms. "Of course he wants to come back. Whether or not he's ready, I don't know. Why now, I don't know that either." 

Ginny breathed against her mother's embrace. Hermione joined the hug. "He'll be fine, Gin. After some time, he'll be our same old Harry." 

Somehow, Ginny seriously doubted that.