Hogwarts - 9

Harry looked crestfallen, and he turned wide eyes towards Ginny. "Did you think it was romantic, Ginny?"

The corner of Ginny's mouth twitched – she found him rather adorable in this condition. "Of course it was, Harry," she said.

"She's just saying that 'cuz it's you. Our flight was definitely more romantic, wasn't it, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Why is everything always a competition with you two?" Hermione asked, exasperated.

"I think it's a bloke thing," Ginny replied, giggling. "I remember Mum throwing a wobbly once when we were younger because all my brothers were rowing about who had the biggest scoop of mashed potatoes."

"Yeah! Mine was definitely the biggest. Charlie kept fluffing his with his fork to try and make it look bigger than it was," Ron said, looking rather put out with Charlie.

Hermione shook her head and picked up the bottle of Firewhisky. "You've had enough of this," she said, Banishing it.

"Hey!" Harry yelped, blinking. "That was my birthday present, and I'm not done with it."

"Then where is it?" Hermione asked, impressing Ginny with her quick thinking.

Harry looked perplexed. "I…You…I don't know, but I'm not done with it."

"Come on, off the floor with you, Harry," Ginny said, tugging him to his feet and pushing him back down on his bed. "The party's over."

"It is?" Harry asked, allowing her to manhandle him.

"Yeah. We've got some news," Ginny said, a chill running down her spine. She wished she could just leave him this way and allow him to continue his party with Ron, but this couldn't wait. She sat beside him, ruffling his hair.

"What news?" Ron asked, sitting on his own bed.

"I need you sober," Hermione said, waving her wand in the air. Both Harry and Ron shook their heads, blinking.

"Oi. I didn't like that," Harry said, slapping his hands over his ears repeatedly. "It made my ears pop."

"Why did you do that, Hermione?" Ron whinged, shaking his head.

"Because I have something important to tell you, and I didn't want you giggling through it. The Order is having an impromptu meeting downstairs about Umbridge. Apparently, she's called a press conference at the Ministry in three days. She claims to have struck a deal with Voldemort to ensure peace."

"What? Voldemort will never stick to that," Harry said, finally giving the girls his full attention.

"The Order doesn't think so, either," Hermione replied. "According to Tonks's source, Umbridge wanted to have a warrant issued for your arrest, Harry. She still doesn't have enough clout with the Wizengamot to push it through, but they did agree to bring you in for questioning."

"Have to find me first, don't they?" Harry asked, scowling.

"It gets worse, Harry," Hermione said, biting her lip.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and Ginny could feel his entire body tense.

Hermione took a deep breath before resting her hand on Harry's arm as if to keep him calm. "This bargain that she's supposedly struck with Voldemort is very dodgy. No one knows exactly what it entails, but as part of a show of good faith on her part, she released Wormtail."

"What?" Harry exploded, jumping from the bed and jerking his arm away from Hermione. His eyes were wild, and Ginny could feel the power radiating from him. It was almost frightening.

Hermione recoiled, stricken. "She's going to give all the details at her press conference. Tonks suspects she's going to use it as a push to have herself instated as full Minister and not just for the Interim."

"We'll see about that," Harry said, his voice deadly calm. Ginny moved toward him, resting her hand on his shoulder. He was so tense, she feared he was ready to snap.