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SIYE Time:15:24 on 29th March 2024
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Need
By iluvfanfics

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance
Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 725
Summary: Their nightmares and demons bound them together. Their love helped them to survive. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley knew they needed each other; the trouble was in admitting it.
Hitcount: Story Total: 277007; Chapter Total: 14229
Awards: View Trophy Room






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Chapter 8

When Professor Dumbledore announced that Hogwarts would be hosting a Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry didn’t think much about it beyond the excitement of watching such an event. Even if he had been of age, he wouldn’t have entered; he didn’t have that much confidence in his abilities. He’d had enough “eternal glory and honour” to last him a lifetime.

This is why it was such a surprise when the Goblet of Fire, the chosen vessel for entering one’s name in the tournament, spat out his name as one of two Hogwarts’ champions.

The occupants of the Great Hall went silent with shock when Dumbledore read his name aloud almost bewilderingly. The entire school, including the students of Durmstrang and Beuxbatons, stared at Harry who suddenly felt he’d either shrunk to three-feet tall, or had grown a giant head.

“Harry Potter!” Dumbledore read again. His head snapped up from the piece of parchment in his hand and his eyes focused on Harry at the back of the Great Hall.

“Go on, Harry,” Hermione whispered. “Go on.” She gave him a shove off the bench and he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Ginny caught his arm to keep him from falling and their eyes met. She looked anxious and worried, but she gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand comfortingly before he walked forward towards Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall, her lips white with tension, ushered him past the Goblet and into a small room behind the staff table.

Harry took one last look back at the room and looked for his friends. Hermione gave him an encouraging smile, but the expression on Ron’s face was unreadable. Ginny was standing slightly apart from them. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and her face was pale. She didn’t smile or scowl or anything, she just looked at him. And for one brief moment, Harry could tell what was written on her face and on every inch of her rigid body.

Ginny was afraid. For him.

Somehow, it didn’t make him feel better.

*******
Harry trudged wearily back to his common room. He could barely comprehend that he was now expected to participate in the highly dangerous TriWizard Tournament – he, a fourteen-year-old wizard – let alone the implications of returning to his friends. All he wanted to do was to go to bed and forget this startling miserable day.

He sighed the password to the Fat Lady, who looked at him sympathetically before swinging open, and entered Gryffindor Tower.

Ginny and Ron were facing off against each other in the middle of the room, their faces red and angry while others watched in interest. Hermione was standing to one side, her face speculative. Fred and George were watching from one corner, but they looked ready to intervene should things get out of hand. Harry could see the tip of George’s wand poking out of his sleeve.

“He didn’t put his name in, Ron!” Ginny was shouting at her brother. “He wouldn’t do that!”

”How do you know?!” Ron shouted back. “Did you ask him?!”

“I don’t have to!” she shrieked. “I know him! And so do you! He’s your best friend; you know he wouldn’t do something like that!”

“Do I?” Ron retorted hotly.

“Well, I hope you do,” Harry said mildly.

Ginny and Ron backed away from each other as Harry approached, his hands thrust casually in his pockets.

He looked at Ron. “Got something to say, mate?”

Ron opened his mouth, and then closed it again.

”Ron!” Hermione said sharply, and he shot her a dirty look.

“I didn’t do it,” Harry said quietly. “I don’t want to be a part of this tournament and never did. But someone else put my name in, and now I don’t have a choice.”

Hermione gasped. “They’re going to make you compete!”

“They don’t have a choice,” Harry sighed. “It’s a magical contract.”

“Oh, Harry…” her voice trailed off.

“Who would put your name in?” Ron asked, his voice suspicious.

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know. Someone who’s got it out for me, I guess.”

Ron snorted. “Of course. How could I forget, someone is always after you, aren’t they?”

“Bugger off, Ron,” Ginny snapped. “If you-“

“It’s okay.” Harry reached out and grabbed Ginny’s wrist to keep her from slugging her brother. “He doesn’t believe me. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine,” Hermione insisted. “Ron, you’re supposed to be his friend.”

Ron wouldn’t meet his eyes. “A friend would have told his best mate what was going on,” he said. “I’m going to bed.”

He stormed off up the stairs, and Ginny tugged at Harry’s grip, trying to loosen it so she could go after him.

“Let me hit him, just once,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Let it go, Fury,” Harry said wearily. “It won’t help. He’s made up his mind.”

“Git,” Ginny spat. She turned to him. “How could he think about you?”

Harry smiled at her and then at Hermione. “At least you two believe me.”

“Of course,” Hermione said earnestly. “What did Dumbledore say?”

Harry related what had happened; how Barty Crouch, the Ministry official officiating over the tournament, had decided Harry must compete, and how suspicious the other champions and professors had been of him.

Hermione eventually went to bed, and Harry and Ginny were left alone by the fire.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch cushions. “I wish I could talk to Sirius about all this.”

“You should write him,” she suggested. “And tell him about your scar hurting while you’re at it.”

Harry winced. He hadn’t realized Ginny had been that observant. But she was right, his scar had been aching a lot recently.

He nudged her with his shoulder. “You all right?” He couldn’t get the look of stark terror on her face after the Goblet had named him champion out of his head.

She was quiet, staring into the flames for a moment. “Something bad is going to happen,” she said in a low voice. “I can feel it. There are too many coincidences – Death Eaters at the World Cup, your scar hurting, and now someone submits your name in a tournament that could get you killed. And-” she hesitated.

“What?” Harry prompted.

“My nightmares,” she said slowly. “They’re weird.”

“Aren’t they always?”

“Yeah, but there’s something more to them. Something that wasn’t there before. I can’t quite put my finger on it yet.”

Harry laced their fingers together, tightly. “I’m not going to die,” he said firmly.

“You’d better not,” she said, shifting to lay her head on his shoulder. “Cause I’ve just gotten used to you holding my hand.”

*******
The fight between Ron and Harry ran on way longer than Ginny thought it should or would. Her brother had a quick temper, but usually got over things after he’d settled down a bit. He seemed determined to believe the worst of Harry. Ginny knew there was no way Harry would have submitted his name to the Goblet of Fire, and she suspected Ron was a little jealous of Harry.

After an initial attempt at reconciliation, Harry left Ron alone. Things were awkward, especially for Ginny and Hermione who were used to hanging out with both boys at the same time. Hermione ran herself ragged going back and forth between the two of them, but since Ginny was irritated with Ron, she and Harry spent a lot of time alone.

This was fine with Ginny – she didn’t have many friends in her own year anyway – but she sensed the fight was weighing on Harry’s mind. He enjoyed spending time with her, she could tell that, but he missed Ron. She wished her brother wasn’t such a stupid prat.

Ron had been so stubborn that Ginny was surprised when he arranged for Hermione to tell Harry to go see Hagrid who would take him to the dragons the Ministry had lined up for the first TriWizard tournament task. She had been about to tell Harry herself when Hermione joined them by the lake and recited a speech Ginny suspected Ron had made her memorize.

Harry had just looked in Hermione in confusion, and Ginny didn’t blame him. Ron had concocted quite a story that would disguise his involvement. Ginny could see that Harry didn’t realize Ron was behind this whole thing. She opened her mouth to just tell Harry about the dragons, but found she couldn’t speak about it. She cursed Charlie silently for his secrecy spell. Apparently Hagrid was more trustworthy than her or Ron.

Harry returned to the common room that night pale and shaken. He pulled the invisibility cloak off his shoulders and sunk into the closest chair. Ginny, who had waited up for him, put aside the book she’d been reading and looked at him sympathetically.

“Found out, have you?”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “You knew? You knew there were dragons and you didn’t tell me?”

Ginny shook her head. “I couldn’t. Charlie put a secrecy spell on Ron and me. I wanted to tell you.”

He put his head in his hands. “It doesn’t matter anyway; I’m gonna get killed. I don’t know the first thing about dragons.”

Ginny stood up and walked over to squeeze down into his chair beside him. “There’s got to be a way, Harry,” she said, rubbing the spot between his shoulder blades. “We just have to find it.”

“I can’t go up against a dragon, Gin,” he moaned. “He’ll eat me alive.”

“Well… maybe, but not if we start working on it. We’ll find a way, I promise.”

He peeked over at her between his fingers. “You’re going to help me?”

“Of course,” she said, slightly affronted. “What are friends for?”

He smiled at her then and took his hands away from his face. “Thanks, Fury.”

“We’ll start tomorrow,” she said decisively. “We’ll get Hermione to help too, if she can get away from Ron.”

Ginny stood up and tugged Harry to his feet. “Meet me in the library after your last class. We’ll work until dinner, at least.” She pulled him over to the boy’s staircase and shoved him towards the steps. “Go to bed, you look exhausted.”

Harry walked up a few steps and then stopped. He turned back around and ran lightly down the steps until he reached her. Gripping the back of her head in his hand, he placed a hard kiss on her cheekbone.

“You’re the best,” he said sincerely.

“I know.” She shoved him off and walked up her own staircase to bed.

Harry and Ginny met in the library at the end of the day the next day. Hermione was still in class, but they got a jump start on things by gathering all the books on dragons they could find. Ginny decided he should learn a few defensive spells too, and after a few hours of work they had a list of spells Harry needed to practice.

Over the next several weeks, Harry and Ginny practiced spells until Harry was slightly more confident he wouldn’t die – not a lot more confident, but slightly more. He still needed a plan though and hadn’t decided what to do once it was his turn to face the dragon. He knew how to protect himself but hadn’t figured out how to get past the dragon and obtain whatever he assumed it would be guarding.

The answer came from the most unexpected source. The new Defence professor, Mad-Eye Moody, who Harry suspected had watched him tell Cedric Diggory about the dragons, dropped several large hints that gave Harry an idea so simple, so basic, that he was amazed he hadn’t thought of it before.

“A Summoning charm?” Ginny wrinkled her nose at him as she considered his excited suggestion. “Do you think you can do it? You’ll need a strong Summoning charm to pull that off. It’s only a week away.”

“Do you think I can’t do it?” Harry asked. He was a little irritated at having his idea shot down.

She shook her head and placed her quill on the table. “I’m not saying that, Harry. Calm down.”

He sighed; amazed that she knew him so well. He wasn’t sure even Hermione or Ron would have been able to tell that he was slightly irritated just from the tone of his voice.

“I’m just saying you’re going to have to practice a lot,” she continued. “But I can’t help you this evening, I’m sorry. I’ve got an exam tomorrow, and I’m revising with Colin.”

Harry was taken aback. It hadn’t occurred to him in some time that Ginny might have other friends. They had spent so much time together… although now that Harry thought about it, it was more likely that he’d been monopolizing her time. He felt guilty and, if he was honest, a little jealous. He’d gotten very used to her constant presence in a very short time period.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that.” Ginny rolled her eyes at him and went back to scribbling on her parchment. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”

“Sorry. I just-” He laid a hand over hers to stop her quill. “I’ve been very selfish, haven’t I?”

She looked at him searchingly. “No. What makes you say that?”

He looked down while he fiddled with her fingers. “I’ve completely monopolized your time since Ron and I – well, you must have other friends you want to hang out with. And you’ve spent so much time helping me with those damn spells when you probably had a million other-”

“Harry,” she interrupted. “If I didn’t want to spend time with you, I wouldn’t.”

He didn’t look convinced and she put down her quill again in exasperation. “Look, it was fun, okay? I had fun. I enjoyed helping you, and I’ll continue to help you, just not tonight. I’m sure Hermione will be happy to though.”

But it wasn’t just that, Harry reflected as he put his things away later in his room. It wasn’t just that Ginny couldn’t help him – it was that he enjoyed being around her. She was smart and sarcastic, and she made him laugh. Ron had virtually ignored him this last month but Ginny had made him forget that once in awhile. It bothered him that Ginny might not want to hang out with him as much as he wanted to hang out with her.

He rolled his eyes and groaned at himself. He was starting to sound like a girl.

Luckily, Hermione was all too happy to help Harry practice his Summoning charm. They worked for a solid three hours during which Hermione had him summon various objects around the room. He was glad she’d offered to help him, but privately he missed Ginny. Hermione was very encouraging, and Harry appreciated this. But he soon discovered that Ginny’s method of sarcasm and taunting was a lot more effective. She challenged him -- gave him something to work for.

He didn’t say this, of course – he didn’t want to hurt Hermione’s feelings. And he did learn the Summoning charm so he had little to complain about.

*******
The morning of the first task was cold and overcast. Ginny felt it was an appropriate atmosphere for what was about to happen. She would die before she would admit it to anyone, but she was a giant bundle of nerves. She’d said goodbye to Harry and wished him luck after breakfast before he’d left to go down to the site; the look on his face hadn’t given her any confidence that he was prepared for what was about to happen.

After seating herself in the stands with Fred and George, she did her best to distract herself by sparring with her brothers. They either made her laugh or made her angry – both of which were very helpful distractions.

Ginny was on the edge of her seat while each of the champions faced their dragons. It was spectacular to watch – even if it was a bit nerve-wracking. The other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, was almost casual about it and Ginny felt a pang of empathy for him – he deserved to have been the only Hogwarts champion. But because someone had it out for Harry, Cedric had to share his spotlight with a fourth year.

When Harry entered the large enclosed area they’d built for the task, he looked so small and nervous that Ginny gripped her hands on the wood in front of her. The Hungarian Horntail he’d chosen roared in anger, and the crowd gasped when Harry had to jump down from some rocks in order to avoid a column of fire.

He looked angry and determined when he regained his footing, and when he held out his wand and bellowed the Summoning charm, Hermione and Ginny looked at each other in satisfaction. A few minutes later, his Firebolt came zooming towards him, and the crowd cheered when Harry jumped on it and flew away, narrowly missing another attack from the dragon.

He flew and dodged the dragon until Ginny’s heart was in her throat. Eventually, the dragon broke free, and Harry was forced to lead it on a wild goose chase around the castle. It seemed to take forever before he returned, a little banged up, and swooped down to get the egg.

Ginny closed her eyes in relief. Then she opened them in irritation. Bloody Harry Potter – she hated being such a girl.

The party that night in the common room was of an epic proportion. Fred and George tossed Harry up on their shoulders, and Harry laughed freely, happy that everyone finally accepted him as part of the tournament. Even he knew that Cedric was the real Hogwarts champion, but it had still stung when people had called him a cheater.

Fred and George eventually set him down, and the crowd parted to allow Ginny through.

“Potter, you magnificent bastard,” she drawled. “I can’t believe you made it out alive.”

Harry grinned and enveloped her in a hug that had none of the awkwardness or stiffness that had existed in their previous hugs.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he said directly into her ear.

“I know,” she said, resting her chin on her shoulder.

“Were you scared?”

Ginny hesitated. “Is anyone listening?”

Harry fought back a smile and lifted his head to glance around. “I don’t think so.”

“Then yes, I was terrified,” she whispered.

Harry hugged her tighter. It meant something that she’d confessed to him.

“Don’t worry, Fury, I won’t tell anyone.”

“I’m not sure,” she said, “but maybe going against a dragon IS scarier than Voldemort.”

“Harry?”

Ginny twisted in his arms to see Ron standing behind her, a sheepish look on his face.

“Right. Guess I’ll let you two lovebirds make up,” she said, disentangling herself from Harry.

“Sod off.” Harry grumped but she could see the relief in his eyes.

“Watching your best mate nearly get eaten by a dragon put a perspective on things for you?” she asked her brother, her hands going to her hips.

Ron looked guilty. “Something like that.”

”’Bout time,” she said shortly. “Next you’re such a git I’m not going to let anyone stop me from hitting you.” She gave Harry a pointed look and left the two of them alone.

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