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Chapter 402 - Chapter 402

Part of her talks were a comparison of the Harry Potter in the books with the truth all of wizarding Britain, since those trials, knew of the real Harrison 'Harry' Potter. And showed her how they couldn't possibly be the same person.

That took a lot for her to accept. But, after hours of talking it through, she had no choice but to accept the truth.

With that out of the way, they now talked about Ginny's future from there; getting a boyfriend, setting limits with him, opening herself up to friendship with other girls and... yes... even sex.

Though they had now returned to school, those talks would continue. She would be meeting with the lady again this Saturday morning, just as she met with her last Saturday morning, in the vacant office next to her Head of House's office.

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―==(oIo)==―

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Both girls had no proof, but suspected, the other of also regularly meeting with the mind-Healer.

Of the two, Ginny's were the most intense, but that had little to do with what the two spoke about; and more to do with Molly Weasley, Ginny's mother.

No matter how many times Arthur had told her to stay out of it. Each time the woman had come to their home, Molly kept trying to find excuses to enter Ginny's bedroom, where she and the mind-Healer would meet. She would come up to ask if they needed anything, then hang back to ask what they were talking about, she would come in stating she needed to clean up, or she would enter and try to surreptitiously re-establish listening charms and the like, for instance, which the mind-Healer had only minutes earlier stripped away."

After only two weeks of this, the mind-Healer established a procedure where she and Ginny would enter the room, she would immediately erect silencing and privacy charms, wizard lock and silence the door with such a strong locking charm Molly couldn't budge it and made sure both of them and the room were clear of any other privacy-invasion charms.

After the first week of that, as soon as they both stepped out of the room, Molly railed against her for locking her out.

The mind-Healer had stood there, calmly heard her out, then simply said, "With me!" and walked out the door.

Ginny did not know what they then talked about, but when her mother re-entered the house she was white and shaking.

She asked the next week and learned that the Healer had threatened to give her professional opinion as a Master mind-Healer to the DMLE that her mother was engaging in abusive behaviour towards her daughter and her daughter's guests; and that the DMLE should give careful consideration to investigating her mother for causing psychological abuse of her children.

Now being at the school, her mother could not even approach the school without first making an appointment with whom she needed to speak to in advance. And was not permitted to deviate from that time or place within the school the Headmistress allowed.

For Luna, almost the exact opposite was the case. Her father, after first ensuring the woman meant no harm to his daughter, flatly refused to get involved unless his daughter specifically asked him to. Which only happened once, to date.

He would greet the woman at the door, direct her to Luna's room or where Luna would otherwise be at the time, and then purposefully make himself scarce.

Where Ginny was being over-mothered, Luna was being under-fathered.

_‗_

―==(oIo)==―

ˇ

For all the drama of the morning of the previous day, Friday morning was quite tame.

It was as the six were about to leave their apartments to head down to the Great Hall that a breathless Tracey came up to them first.

As the Potter apartment door was wide open at the time, she was able to almost stagger in through the door.

Harry, first to see her, was by her side almost immediately to guide her to a seat on one of the sofas.

Hermione immediately started, "Tracey? Why are you here? Is something wrong? Did something happen to someone? What is―"

Harry instantly barked, "Hermione!" When she instantly shut up and appeared shocked Harry had practically yelled at her. He firmly said, "Enough! Give the girl a chance to regain her breath before you attempt to interrogate her without her even being able to get a word in edgewise."

That had Hermione immediately blush and look down in contrition. "Sorry!" she quickly but quietly exclaimed.

Still a little exasperated with his betrothed, Harry gave a huff and turned back to their Slytherin friend.

"When you're ready, Tracey," he quietly said.

It took her about another thirty seconds to regain her breath but, when she did, she was almost frantic to tell them why she'd run the whole way there.

"It's Nott," she said. "He's... he's really angry at Harry. He thinks Harry's stolen Daphne from him." Looking to Harry she said, "He's going to try to ambush you, somewhere. He's going to curse you in the back and try to frame someone else for it. I think that someone else is Malfoy."

Harry gave a second huff of annoyance and firmly said, "It won't work. The frame job, that is. The new wards will instantly detect it and there's both a book and a map in the Headmistress's office that will record what actually happened; including who actually cast such a curse."

"But it won't stop you being cursed in the first place," said Hermione.

"No," he replied. "For that I must rely on the fact we now always, with the exception of Tracey, travel in groups. I trust you, all, to have my back."

He could see that sink into their minds and be welcomed.

"Secondly, I must rely on my reaction speed. I do not believe Nott to be capable of silent or wandless casting. And, though I will not discount the concept he may be capable of either, I also cannot allow for a situation where he can get at me fester until he does find such a time. Therefore, I believe we, together, will have to lay a trap for him or those he manipulates into initiating an attack at a time and place of our choosing. That way, we will have some measure of control when he finally makes good on his threat."

Though the others were frowning back they could not see another avenue available to them.

"I don't like it," said Neville, frustration evident in his voice and posture. "But, I can't think of a better idea."

"Harry, no!" said Hermione, horrified Harry was going to offer himself as bait. "We can go to a Professor. We can talk to Madam Bones."

"About what, Hermione?" he asked back. "It is not illegal or even worth a single night's detention to voice a desire to hurt someone. All it will do is alert them that someone squealed. That will put Tracey at risk. Do you want to do that?"

Again, Hermione felt a little ashamed. But her slight thrust of defiance in her chin also showed she wasn't willing to go along with this.

"Hermione!" he said. "You will not speak of this outside this group. I forbid it."

When she looked at him in shock, he said, "This is not like last year, where you took your concerns to Professor McGonagall about my Firebolt and think it might have been sent to harm me. If you speak of this outside of this group you place Tracey at even more risk than I would be under.

"Tracey has taken a great risk to come and alert us to this. She has placed trust in us all we will not disclose this information outside our group.

"Do you understand?"

"But..." she tried, "Surely a professor will not speak of this with anyone―"

He just cocked an eyebrow at her and slightly smirked. The message was clear, 'Oh, really?'

She slumped with a sigh. ""Alright, alright. I see your point. I still don't like it, though."

Daphne, almost coldly and not a little threateningly, said, "What an amazing utopian world you live in, Miss Granger."

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