"What?" she asked, a bewildered expression crossing her face. "How could growing up with those horrible people help with dueling?"
Harry chuckled lightly. "Well, it helped me improve my reflexes, specifically when it comes to dodging." She was still looking at him questioningly, so he continued after a small sigh. "My relatives were never exactly nice to me. And my cousin and his friends especially liked to torment me whenever they got the opportunity. So I had to be good at dodging and able to move quickly… you know, to avoid being hit all the time."
The last thing was added on so casually that it felt almost like a physical slap across Ginny's face. Her face flushed in indignation as she shot up from her seat and began pacing back and forth. After a minute of silent pacing, she whirled around to face him. "Your relatives hit you?" she demanded.
Harry nodded glumly, a bit taken aback at her outburst. "My aunt and uncle only occasionally hit me, but it was Dudley's favorite hobby, his and his friends'. I always had to be careful during recess at school and when walking home after school ended. They liked to gang up on me and rough me up a bit. And they'd often throw things at me. So I got used to avoiding punches and dodging balls and rocks and things like that," he explained to her calmly.
She sank back down into her seat with a defeated look on her face. She shook her head absently as she struggled to fully comprehend the situation. "How could anyone be so horrible to their own family?" she asked rhetorically. Harry just shrugged at her, still a bit uneasy with the current subject matter and Ginny's reaction to it. "Have you told anyone else about this?" she finally asked him after a couple minutes of silence.
Harry thought carefully. "Not in so many words, I don't think. Everyone knows they're horrible; I just don't like to get into the details," he explained.
Ginny leaned forward and placed a hand gently on Harry's knee. "Well for what it's worth, I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Harry."
Harry just shrugged at her again as he replied, "It's alright. Like you told me before, it won't be long until I'm out of there for good. Then I'll never have to deal with them ever again. In fact, I don't plan on ever seeing them again."
Ginny looked up sharply at this admission. "What do you mean, Harry? Dumbledore's sure to make you go back this summer."
Harry smirked impishly at her. "Oh, I have no doubts that he expects me to go back there," he told her mysteriously.
"So…" she prodded.
"So what if I don't plan on letting that happen?" he asked her seriously.
"Well I imagine he would make you," Ginny stated.
"He'd try, I'm sure," Harry admitted. "But that's assuming that he had any idea of what I was planning."
"And what are you planning?" Ginny questioned, seriously interested in where he was going with this.
"Well, you may or may not have noticed, but I've been doing a lot of reading lately," Harry began. She nodded as though that were the most obvious thing in the world. "One of the subjects I've been focusing on is wards. I've already read several books on various different types of wards. And I am about to start one about the Fidelius charm."
Ginny's eyes widened considerably at that admission. "You're gonna hide out for the entire summer?" she asked incredulously.
"I'm thinking about it," Harry told her.
A mischievous grin formed on her lips as she said, "They're gonna go bonkers when they find out."
"Too true," Harry agreed. "Which is why it's important that nobody finds out until after I'm already gone," Harry said, looking at her pointedly.
She held her hands in front of herself and said, "You know that your secrets are safe with me Harry. Just so long as you're protecting yourself sufficiently, I won't tell a soul."
"I knew I could count on you," Harry told her. "Of course, there's still a lot of time between now and then, and a lot of details to plan. I'll have to sneak out next term to find a suitable place and to set up all the necessary wards and everything. But I've already managed to sneak out of the castle successfully several times, so I'm not terribly worried."
"You sure do make life more interesting, you know that Harry?"
He smiled at her warmly. "One of the perks of being best friends with Harry Potter."
With a statement like that, Ginny's smile couldn't get any wider.
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