Azkaban - 3

While Harry agreed it was a good lead in order to seek the remaining Horcrux, he was far more interested in finding a translation to the paragraph. He knew he could ask Charlie but didn't want to involve him, if possible.

He glanced at his watch impatiently. Tomorrow was Halloween. It would mark the sixteenth anniversary of his parents' death. It was also the day he was scheduled to go to Azkaban. He thought it strangely ironic.

Remus had given Malfoy and him the news several days ago at an Occlumency lesson. Malfoy appeared surprised but pleased and requested they keep the information from his mother. Harry wondered if anyone had told him about Pansy Parkinson but hadn't brought it up with the blonde. He certainly had no fondness for the Slytherin girl – he remembered her as a bully, much the same as Malfoy – but no one deserved to be hunted like that.

Remus said Harry, Malfoy and Ron would accompany Tonks on her next trip to the prison. Kingsley had arranged the visit through Rufus Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour had been extremely eager to learn the details of Harry's trip, and Harry suspected some Ministry interference before the day was through.

Remus had told him that no more than one of his friends could accompany him, and Mrs. Weasley had absolutely forbidden Ginny from going to Azkaban. She'd tried to stop Ron too, but Mr. Weasley had gently reminded her that Ron was of age.

Harry had chosen Ron, which meant Hermione hadn't spoken to either of them in days. Ron had made the mistake of telling Hermione not to be stupid, that of course he'd be the one to go with Harry. Harry would swear he saw icicles form on Ron's eyebrows from the glare Hermione gave him. And Ginny wasn't too pleased, either.

Aside from the fact he didn't want to push Mrs. Weasley any further than she'd been pushed already, the masculine side of his brain didwant to protect Ginny from Azkaban. He remembered that she'd had difficulty with Dementors herself and wanted to spare her if he could. Hermione had just been through a serious and harrowing injury, and Harry thought it was a good idea for her to avoid the Dementors, too, if possible.

Of course, the girls saw things differently, but his decision had been made. Ron was just as intent to protect Hermione as he was Ginny, and Harry wasn't going alone, so their arguments didn't hold merit. When it came right down to it, this was something he thought Ron could handle better than Hermione, anyway. She had a tendency to panic if things went wrong.

Harry closed his book and was about to head off to bed when the door opened, and Ginny slipped inside.

"Hi," she said, shuffling her feet and not looking at him.

"Hi," Harry replied, aware of the hope flaring in his heart. She'd had very little to say to him in the past few days, and he wasn't very keen to go to Azkaban while she was cross with him.

"Tonks said you're leaving early tomorrow," Ginny said.

"Yeah. We're going on her regular shift."

Ginny took a deep breath and flung her arms around him, squeezing him tight. "You're not forgiven for ditching me, but I wanted to wish you luck. I hope you find what we're looking for, and I hope it's not too bad for you there."

"It'll be fine, Ginny. I'm sort of used to the Dementors now," Harry said, running his hands along her back. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. He didn't know how he could miss something so much that he really hadn't had all that long to begin with.