Harmony

Chapter 2: By Any Other Name

By: A J

(Standard Disclaimer Applies)

While he was about getting their belongings around the Chamber, Harry realized he was completely healed. A quick glance at where Fawkes, perched on Ginny's shoulder, was still crooning at the baby now in the young girl's lap, showed that they were both all right as well, gore and grime aside.

'Huh, wonder if it was from the light, when … when she … showed up …' His thoughts stalled out, as he looked down at the baby again. "Hey, Ginny?"

"Yeah Harry?" she returned, looking up carefully. The baby had a tight hold on a strand of her hair in one tiny hand, and Ginny's left pinky in the other.

"What … what d'we … call her?" he asked with a nod.

"Why should we have to ..?" she started, then looked back down when the girl tugged on her hair. "Er, she is ours, I suppose … heh." She met Harry's gaze again with a tiny grin. "And Fawkes', too, I guess. What d'you think, Fawkes?"

With a flap of his wings, Fawkes straightened and warbled up and down a chromatic scale. The baby giggled again, her voice following Fawkes' song note after note. Ginny blinked at the fire-colored bird.

"Something musical ..?" Ginny mused for a second. "Melody?" she asked the room at large.

"It's pretty," Harry said with a smile, kneeling next to them. "Missing something, though …" His thoughts hearkened back to something he'd overheard from his aunt Petunia. She'd been talking over the phone with a neighbor about a musical number on the BBC one afternoon. "Hear how she adds to the music? That's harmony, Ginny."

"Harmony?" she grinned back. "I like it … so will Hermione," she added, her grin turning into a smirk.

"Huh! Hadn't thought of that," Harry chuckled. "Though it's thanks to her we knew to look in Myrtle's bathroom, mind."

"We?"

"Omigosh, that's right, I left Ron back at the entrance with Lockhart!" Harry stood up, looking as if he was going to run all the way back that moment.

"Uh, Harry … if you had Professor Lockhart along, why'd you come to rescue me by yourself? Not that I mind …" she added with a blush, looking down at the newly-named Harmony.

"Lockhart's a fake, Ginny," Harry sighed. "C'mon, you'll see for yourself." He leaned down and took the baby from her so she could stand up. Fawkes furled his wings out to stay on her shoulder while she moved, and Harmony giggled at the bright-plumed bird from Harry's arms.

Through the long way back to the rockfall and Ron, Harry told Fawkes, Ginny, and Harmony about the trio's year-long investigation into the Chamber of Secrets, only passing over the polyjuice incident so as not to get Hermione in any more trouble. He thought being petrified was punishment enough. Ginny meanwhile was waffling between giddiness at her rescue and fear of expulsion once her part in the petrification problem was known, and her resulting mixed-up tears were causing Fawkes to croon a reassuring tune almost continuously on their walk.

"GINNY!" Ron yelled in relief when he spotted her through the hole he'd managed to safely clear. Her sobbing renewed, his sister grabbed his hands and he pulled her through. "Whoa, who's the bird?" he asked as Fawkes' was the next body to clear the tunnel.

"That's Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix friend," Harry told him, holding Harmony carefully up by the hole. "Here, take her, so I can climb through."

"Where'd you lot find a baby down here?!" Ron blurted.

"We'll tell you after we're out of here," Ginny told her brother, still trying to reign in her emotions. With a look around, she added, "Where's Professor Lockhart?"

"He's bad off," Ron grunted, gingerly accepting the infant from Harry so the latter could clamber to their side of the rockfall. "Blasted himself when he tried to use my half-a-wand to obliviate Harry an' me. I told him to wait by the exit." He motioned the others to follow him the rest of the way out.

"Hullo again," Gilderoy said to Ron when they rounded the last corner. "Who're your friends?" He stood up to greet them all warmly, only to stall out when he couldn't give his own name. "Yes, well I expect it'll come to me eventually … Oh! What a beautiful baby! Is it yours?" He leaned closer to coo at Harmony, completely missing Ron's cheeks blushing fit to match his hair.