The Chambers doing

Chapter 20 - Halloween at Hogwarts

The next day was Halloween. This year was the first year Harry had really considered what that meant for him – the anniversary of that fateful night, and his parents' deaths. The previous two years he had been too busy to really consider it; first with the troll in the castle, and then more recently with Sir Nicholas' Deathday Party, and the voice he could hear in the walls that later turned out to be a Basilisk. And before then, he hadn't even known when they had died, except for when he was young – no thanks to the Dursleys.

Harry awoke that morning brooding. When he looked over to see Ginny curled up against him, her red hair splayed out on the pillow around her, a smile appeared on his face as he thought about her. However, Ginny had already felt his emotions and started waking up herself.

"Harry." She said simply, sitting up and drawing him into a hug. Harry resisted the emotion briefly, initially intending to brood alone as he would have done previously, but before long he gave in to her comfort, and hugged her back, tightly.

"Harry, you've got to stop brooding about everything. I know you've gotten a lot better this year, but every now and again you fall into a pit of despair. I can't stand feeling you like that – I can't help but want to make everything better for you." Ginny said, softly.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I didn't mean to wake you up. It's just, this is the first time I've had a chance to really consider what Halloween means to me. For most the Wizarding World it's cause for celebration – the defeat of Voldemort, but to me it signifies the deaths of my parents. That just hit me and I couldn't help but fall into my emotions." Harry said, sadly.

"Don't apologise Harry." Ginny admonished gently. "I want to be here for you. We'll just stay here today, and we can do whatever. It doesn't matter. Maybe if you fell up to it, we can head to the feast this evening. Otherwise we can just head down to the kitchens to get some food instead." Ginny suggested.

Harry thought about this for a minute. "Let's stay here for now. I think we should attend the feast later – it would look odd if we didn't turn up to one of the few major feasts of the year. Maybe afterwards we can see if Neville and Demelza want to do something in the common room for the rest of the evening. But I don't think I want to see anyone else until the feast." He said.

Harry and Ginny had been visiting the Gryffindor common room most evenings. Most often they used the time to do some of their homework, but they spent a good amount of time with Neville and Demelza, either just talking or playing Exploding Snap or Gobstones. They still hadn't found an opportunity to talk to either of them privately as promised at the beginning of the year, but had vowed to do so soon.

"That sounds good to me." Ginny said. "I'll be back in a minute – I just need to use the bathroom quickly." She disentangled herself from their close embrace, and quickly slipped into the bathroom, Harry watching her leave.

While she was gone, Harry moved over to his trunk and rooted around in it. Soon, he found the photo album that Hagrid had given him back in his first year. He was just settling back on the bed when Ginny re-entered the room. She came over and sat herself beside him, swinging her legs across his lap and wrapping her arm around his waist, as she leant her head against his shoulder. Harry subconsciously reached out and pulled her into him with both arms, holding her tightly, in need of the comfort. He sighed in contentment.

"What have you got there Harry?" Ginny asked, curious, after they had just snuggled together for a few minutes.

"It's a photo album. Hagrid gave it to me at the end of my first year. It's got loads of pictures of my parents in it. I wanted to look through them all with you." Harry said, hoping she'd agree.

"Of course." Ginny replied instantly, pecking his cheek. "Do you want me to hold it?" She asked after a moment of hesitation, when it became evident that Harry didn't want to move his arms from around her waist just yet.