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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Drama, Romance Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 410 Summary: The summer after the Chamber of Secrets was hard on everyone. How come no one can remember what happened? Prior to starting his seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry realizes he is missing some memories from his second year. Together with Remus Lupin, Harry sets out to discover what happened. He hopes to find out about that pretty red head he has been dreaming about as well. Hitcount: Story Total: 353605; Chapter Total: 12611 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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Molly stared out the kitchen window, not seeing the chicken coops or the garden that was just becoming visible in the early morning light. She was remembering the call they had received four years earlier that had changed their lives forever. It had been early evening and she had been getting ready to prepare dinner when Professor McGonagall had flooed with the news that Ginny had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. She didn’t even remember talking to Arthur although she knew she must have, he had still been at work when Minerva had flooed. Molly and Arthur had gone to the school immediately. They had been met by Minerva and they were soon joined by Professor Dumbledore. Molly remembered her anger over the fact that the parents had not been made aware of the attacks on the students, but most of all she remembered the feeling of hopelessness that her precious daughter was lost and no one even knew where to look for her. When Harry had burst into Minerva’s office covered in muck and blood and clutching Ginny’s hand, Molly had felt such a swell of gratitude. Molly had taken Ginny up to the hospital wing and watched her sleep all night. When Ginny came home for the summer, Molly’s gratitude had given way to concern. Ginny was no longer the happy, playful child she had been. She had stopped eating, every night the family woke to her screams and cries, she no longer showed interest in anything. The one exception was her constant begging to see Harry. Molly had first gone to Albus with her concerns. Had Harry done something to her? Molly had gotten the story of the whole year from Percy. He had told her of the rumors about Harry and about his ability to speak Parseltongue. Could Harry have done something to Ginny? Albus told her did not believe this was the case, but he promised to look into it. As the summer dragged on, Ginny had gotten worse. She had lost a considerable amount of weight, she had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep, and she had even lost some of her hair. Molly and Arthur had tried everything they could think of to help her. They had given her Dreamless Sleep Potion, but it could be habit forming so they could not use it often. They had given her Pepper Up Potion, but it too could be habit forming. Molly had even taken her to a Mind Healer at St. Mungo’s, but Ginny refused to talk to her. When Albus had checked up on them four weeks into the holidays, Molly was at her wits end. She still could not tell you precisely how it had come about, who had mentioned it first or who had made the serious suggestion that it would be better if they couldn’t remember what had happened. But Molly could remember with great clarity the moment she had first believed that is what needed to happen. She remembered looking at Albus and begging him to help Ginny forget what had happened. Arthur had taken longer to convince. He was sure that Ginny would be all right, but Molly and Albus had convinced him in the end. Ginny had lost too much weight and too much sleep. Molly was honestly afraid if something was not done, she would lose her only daughter. After Albus obliviated Ginny and cast the Distraction Charms on the boys, he had gone to visit Harry at his relative’s house. Harry had fought the memory charms as hard as he could, but in the end he was a thirteen year old boy fighting against the magic of one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Molly had wanted to keep Ginny home the next school year, but once she was obliviated Ginny started gaining weight, she was sleeping well, and she wanted to go to school. Molly had contacted Albus and he told her of the scholarship available for Beauxbatons. Molly and Arthur had been concerned about sending her so far away from home especially after her year at Hogwarts, but Ginny was so excited. As Ginny had made friends at Beauxbatons and really seemed to blossom, Molly had been convinced she was doing the right thing. She felt badly they could not let Harry come for the summer or go with them to the World Cup, but when she saw how well Ginny was doing she told herself it was for the best. As the children had gotten older, the secret had been a little harder to keep. She had to obliviate Ginny three more time when she had heard the name Harry Potter and she knew Harry had been obliviated at least twice more. Molly had been tempted to forbid her other children from being friends with Harry, but she had not. When she had seen the wedding picture of Harry and Ginny, she cried. What had all of their scheming and lies been for if Harry and Ginny were destined for each other? Molly was no longer so sure of her plan and her decisions. She knew Arthur was tired of the lies and just wanted Ginny speaking to them. It all came down to the meeting this morning. Harry woke early that morning, he slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the mass of red hair he saw scattered across his pillow. He tightened his arms around her enjoying the feel of her smooth silky skin against him and the flowery scent of her hair that drove him wild. “Hmm,” Ginny turned in his arms, laying her head across his chest and hooking her leg around his. Harry ran one hand down her back and with his other hand brought her hand up to his mouth, he kissed her palm. Ginny raised her head and looked sleepily at him. His heart turned over when she smiled at him. For a moment she just smiled into his eyes, then she rolled over onto her back pulling him on top of her. Harry kissed her, pouring all of his passion and love into that kiss. Ginny responded to both the emotion in the kiss and his nearness. Harry kissed his way down her neck and settled at her breast. Ginny moaned and arched her back. As Harry leaned up to kiss her again, Ginny flipped him over and straddled him kissing him deeply. Ginny took her time exploring his body and driving him mad. Ginny bit her lip as she rolled her hips forward, she kissed him as she slowly started moving on him. Harry’s hips rose up to meet hers as he watched her arch back on him. They fell into an easy rhythm as Ginny reveled in her control over the situation. As she screamed out his name, Harry thrust up one final time spilling into her. Ginny collapsed on top of him as his arms came up around her. They both fell easily back asleep. Remus looked over at Hermione. “You have to do it.” Hermione looked around the room with a hopeful eye, but Charlie and Bill looked away determinedly. She knew Remus was right, but she really didn’t want to do it. “Why me?” Remus gave her an exasperated look. “Who else is going to do it? Me? Bill? Charlie? That would be a disaster. No, you wouldn’t feel the need to hex Harry into the next county no matter what you find, and I…well I just couldn’t. Please, Hermione.” Hermione groaned and buried her head in her hands. “Why do I need to go in?” Remus almost smiled when he realized he’d won the argument. “Because Harry set a really strong silencing spell and they won’t hear you if you just knock.” Hermione shook her head as she headed upstairs. She didn’t want to walk in on her best friends doing….she really didn’t want to think about it either. Standing in front on their door, Hermione took a deep breath. She knocked loudly, just on the off chance they might hear it. She undid the locking spells on the door and opened the door. Hermione froze as the door opened, but when she didn’t hear anything she felt safe to enter the room. She stopped as she caught sight of the bed, thankfully they were asleep. Hermione watched them for a minute, Ginny was sprawled half on top of Harry her long red hair covered him and the pillow underneath him. Harry had one arm around Ginny and the other lay on the bed next to him. The sheet was covering most of Ginny, but Harry’s torso and one leg were not covered. Hermione blushed and looked away, she really didn’t need to see anymore of him. She walked up to the bed. “Harry, Ginny, you two need to get up.” Harry opened his eyes instantly, Hermione had no idea where it came from but his wand was pointed at her. “Bloody hell, Hermione. Give a little warning next time.” Hermione blushed. “I tried, but you set the silencing spell so strong you couldn’t hear me knocking.” Ginny had awakened and watched in exchange in amusement. “Good morning, Hermione.” Harry reached out grabbed his glasses off the nightstand sending the sheet riding further down his body. Hermione blushed and decided to address her comments to Ginny. “Good morning, they sent me up to tell you it’s already 9:30.” Ginny smiled. “We’ll be down soon.” Hermione fled the room. Harry started laughing. “Did you see the look on her face?” Ginny laughed as she stood and started walking to the bathroom, she looked back over her shoulder. “I’m going to take a shower. Are you coming?” Harry jumped off the bed with alacrity to join her. Harry and Ginny entered the kitchen thirty minutes later, both having showered and changed. Harry smirked when he saw Hermione. “Good morning Hermione.” Hermione blushed again. “Good morning.” Ginny smacked her husband on the shoulder. “Be nice.” Harry laughed and walked over to counter where plates of fruit and pastries were set out. He looked over at Ginny. “You hungry, love?” “I’m starved.” Ginny made a face as she looked at the food arrayed on the counter, turning to Harry she said, “I want an omelet.” Harry nodded and pulled out a skillet, looking around he asked, “Anyone else?” Charlie and Remus both nodded and Harry got out the fixing to make omelets. “Where’s Bill?” he asked. “He went back to his place to talk to Fleur,” Charlie responded. “He wanted to talk on the floo and you’re only connected to a few places. He’ll be back soon.” Harry smiled as he watched the others gathering around the table, he heard Ginny and Charlie discussing the results of the Quidditch matches from that morning’s Prophet. Remus and Hermione were talking about their progress into the Iceni research. He summoned some sausage from the pantry and pulled out another skillet. Harry slid the food onto the table as he sat down next to Ginny. She looked up briefly and kissed him on the cheek as he sat down. “Thanks, love,” she said. Talk throughout breakfast continued without touching on the topic of the upcoming meeting. After breakfast, Harry went up to his room and returned with both Hedwig and a packet of letters he and Ginny had prepared the night before. The letters were to be their insurance policy, in case the worst happened during the meeting. There were letters for the twins being sent in care of Verity. Fleur was getting a letter for Bill, Andromeda was receiving a letter for Remus and Tonks, and Charlie’s girlfriend, Katarina was getting a letter for him. Hermione’s parents were receiving a letter through the Muggle post. All of the letters told the story of the Chamber of Secrets and what had transpired afterwards. After Hedwig left with the letters, Hermione turned to Harry and Ginny. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Exchanging a glance, Harry shook his head. “Bill and Charlie are coming with us. I want you and Remus here in case things don’t go well. I…I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think we should all be in the same place. The two of you are our back up. Tonks, Fred, and George will all be at work and Dumbledore could get to them. I don’t know that he would, but he could.” Bill arrived at Grimmauld Place at quarter to 11 so as to give them plenty of time to get to the Burrow by 11am. Remus and Hermione were almost as anxious as those going to the Burrow, they would not know what was happening — possibly until it was too late. Harry beckoned Ginny into the library. As the door closed behind them, Harry pulled Ginny into a tight embrace. For several long moments they simply held each other. “I love you,” he whispered into her hair. Harry pulled back and looked down onto her face. “I won’t let them separate us. We belong together.” As Ginny looked up into his eyes she was almost overwhelmed by the love that she could both see in his eyes and feel emanating from him. “I love you. No matter what happens, we will be together.” Harry kissed her. Remus knocked on the library door. “It’s time to go.” Harry and Ginny said goodbye to Remus and Hermione. Bill and Charlie had gone ahead of them and would meet them at the Burrow. Harry walked to the foyer and looked around, he held out his hand to Ginny. “Let’s go, love.” Arthur was wandering around his shed, for once he was not examining the newest Muggle contraption he had brought home. He and Molly had not talked much since he had sent the letter to Harry and Ginny. He knew that Molly was feeling very nervous about today’s meeting, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk to her about it. He was upset with her, but even more he was upset with himself. He knew that while Molly and Albus had done a lion’s share of the spell work, he had agreed with everything they had done. He might have resisted initially, but he did give in. He had never felt so helpless as he did that summer after the event in the Chamber of Secrets. Being the youngest and the only girl, it was inevitable that Ginny had Arthur wrapped around her finger from the day she was born. She had gotten out of so much trouble by looking up at him with those big brown eyes and pouting. He had never been able to spoil her with material things so Arthur always tried to spend extra time with Ginny. He had watched silently as she struggled to learn to fly, always nearby in case she needed help. He had never been good at writing to the boys while they were at school, but he had tried to send Ginny something every couple weeks. Ginny’s first year at Hogwarts was not what Arthur had expected. She had written right away that she made it into Gryffindor, but she did not write much after that. Arthur always felt he should have known something was wrong. When she came home for Christmas, Ginny was not acting like herself. She was always writing in that bloody diary. It made Arthur sick now to think that she had been writing in that thing in the same room as him and he had not even known. The trip to Hogwarts when Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets was a blur. He remembered sitting in Professor McGonagall’s office listening to her and Professor Dumbledore explain what had happened, but later he could not recall anything they had said. When Harry burst into the office bringing Ginny with him, Arthur felt as though his heart had suddenly refilled after being emptied. The summer after the Chamber was the worst Arthur could remember. Ginny’s screams every time she fell asleep tore at his heart. He felt so helpless as he watched his beautiful, spirited daughter waste away. When Albus had mentioned obliviating Ginny, Arthur immediately said no. Ginny just needed more time, but as he had watched Ginny that week, he realized that she needed help. He agreed to the obliviations. Like Molly, once the deed was done, he felt Ginny had blossomed. She was enjoying life again. She wrote long detailed letters home talking about her friends and her classes, she loved quidditch and couldn’t wait to play on her house team. When Arthur had gone to visit her at Beauxbatons, he felt they had made the right decision. He had felt a moment’s unease when Ron begged them to let Harry come to the World Cup, but that was just not possible. They had let Harry come the weekend before the World Cup and it had almost been a disaster. Ginny was visiting her friend for the weekend so Arthur had let Ron invite Harry for the weekend. He usually double checked the house to ensure there were no pictures or reminders of Ginny out where Harry could see them. He still wasn’t sure how he over looked it, but Harry had seen a picture of Ginny. Arthur had walked into the room in time to see Harry take the picture off the wall. By the look of shock and recognition on his face, Arthur knew Harry would need to be obliviated. Harry had turned towards him to ask about Ginny when Arthur stunned him. He was horrified by what he had done, but he knew that he was doing what needed to be done. Arthur tried to obliviate Harry, but Harry’s magic was very strong and fought against him. In the end, Dumbledore had to come and obliviate Harry. Arthur looked up when he saw a flash at the edge of the property. Bill and Charlie had arrived. For the first time in his life, Arthur did not want to go and greet his sons. He could only imagine what they thought of him. Bill took a deep breath as he looked around the Burrow. It looked so much the same, yet so different. When he and Charlie entered the kitchen, his mum popped up from her chair to greet them. “Bill, Charlie. Thank you for coming.” Bill gave his mother a hug and kiss on the cheek and watched Charlie do the same. His dad came in from his shed and greeted the boys. Ron came down the stairs and quietly greeted his brothers. As Bill looked around the kitchen, his mother’s clock caught his eye. Ginny’s hand was moving to traveling and he saw a flash of light as Harry and Ginny apparated not to the edge of the property, but to the middle of the garden. Bill winced as he imagined the amount of power it took to break through the anti-apparition wards around the house. Harry looked down at Ginny. “Are you ready?” She took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s do this.” Ginny stepped out of his arms and reached for his hand. As she walked to the kitchen door, Ginny reflected this was not how she had imagined taking her husband home to the Burrow for the first time. As Harry and Ginny entered the room, the tension was palpable. Her parents were standing with her brothers clustered near the table in the kitchen. She had never seen either of her parents look as worn or a worried as they did now. Molly looked like she had lost some weight and she had a little more grey in her hair then when Ginny last saw her. Arthur had lost a little more hair and seemed much more careworn than when she had last seen him. “Mum, Dad.” Ginny felt she should say something. “Ginny,” Molly whispered. Arthur cleared his throat. “Ginny, Harry. Thank you for coming. Perhaps we could go to the sitting room.” Harry nodded and Arthur led the way to the sitting room and gestured for everyone to sit down. Harry and Ginny settled on the sofa with Bill and Charlie sitting on the arms of the sofa. Molly and Arthur sat on a pair of armchairs on either side of the large fireplace. Ron sank down on the floor apart from both groups. Arthur spoke into the heavy silence. “I know you must have a lot of questions -” “No, only one question, Dad. Why?” Ginny interrupted. “Why did you do this to us?” “To you?” Molly questioned. “We did this for you, not to you.” “For me?” Ginny repeated, growing angrier with each word. “Ginny,” Arthur spoke up, “You have to understand what it was like that summer. You had these horrible nightmares, you weren’t eating, you weren’t sleeping — it was horrible. We tried everything we could think of — we let you sleep in your brothers’ rooms like you did when you had nightmares when you were younger, we changed your room, you mother made all your favorite foods, we gave you space, we tried to get you to talk. Nothing seemed to help.” “What was the one thing I asked for over and over?” Ginny asked in an icy voice. Arthur faltered as he looked at his daughter. “Ginny -” “ALL I ASKED FOR OVER AND OVER WAS HARRY!” Ginny yelled at her father. “WHY COULDN’T YOU GET ME THE ONE THING I ASKED FOR?” Arthur and Molly exchanged a hurried glance before Molly explained, “We didn’t think it was such a good idea. Percy…Percy told us about your year and…we weren’t sure it was such a good idea to have Harry over.” “What does that mean?” Ginny asked angrily. “Harry would never hurt me.” “How could you think I would hurt Ginny?” Harry asked disappointment heavy in his voice. “I love her, I would never hurt her. I’d just saved her life. Do you really think I would battle Voldemort and a huge Basilisk only to hurt her myself?” Molly flushed. “Harry, I’m sorry. I…I wasn’t thinking very clearly at the time. After Percy told me how many people thought you were the heir of Slytherin and you spoke Parseltongue…It just didn’t seem right that she kept asking for you. She didn’t even know you, I asked the boys.” “And they would be such experts as they spent the year ignoring her and pretending they didn’t have a sister,” Harry shot back. Molly retreated slightly in the face of his anger. “I talked to Albus. He did not think it was a good idea to get the two of you together.” “WHAT?” Harry yelled. Molly actually jumped that time. “Albus didn’t want the two of you together. I don’t know why, but if he didn’t think it was a good idea, I didn’t want to do it.” Arthur jumped in. “It was a very terrible time-” “I know,” Ginny broke in, “I keep hearing how awful it was for everyone that I was having nightmares and wasn’t sleeping. DID YOU EVER THINK WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR ME?” Ginny paused to take a deep breath, she needed to say this not yell it. “I kept having horrible nightmares about Tom and the Chamber, I would dream…over and over about Tom taunting me and Harry not getting there in time, or Harry getting there and…deciding I wasn’t worth saving.” Harry pulled her in closer and she continued, “I felt like I was missing something…I couldn’t express it other than to tell you I needed to see Harry.” Ginny looked up at Harry for a minute before continuing talking to her parents. “Do you know what happened once we broke the memory charm?” Arthur and Molly shook their heads wordlessly, they did not take their eyes off their daughter. Ginny choked up but said, “All I needed to do was go through the year with him…” “I just held her while she showed me what had happened to her,” Harry finished for her as he gathered her into his arms. “I don’t know if it would have been different 4 years ago, but I guess we will never know.” “He just took away the pain and shame I was feeling, I knew he loved me no matter what had happened,” Ginny explained. Turning to her parents. “Were you ashamed of me? You left me alone and took me to a mind healer, I didn’t know what to think. I kept hearing Tom saying over and over again that you would hate me for what I had done.” Molly looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes. “No, baby, we weren’t ashamed of you. We love you, we always have. Everything we did is because we love you and wanted you to get better.” Ginny turned away from her mother. “You have a strange way of showing it,” she said coldly. Bill broke in, he had been silent long enough. “I still don’t understand why you obliviated them. They lost an entire year. There were so many charms and lies, how could you even keep track of them all?” “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!” Molly yelled. “I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE. I WAS WILLING TO ANYTHING IT TOOK TO PREVENT THAT.” Harry kissed Ginny on top of the head before turning to her mother. “I understand that you were worried about Ginny, but why did you block our bond? Don’t you think that would have helped her?” “What are you talking about?” Molly asked. “We didn’t block anything. I didn’t know anything about a bond until that article in the paper.” Harry eyed Ginny’s parents skeptically. “You didn’t know anything about it?” “No,” Arthur stated. “I swear to you, Harry, we knew nothing about your bond. We would never have interfered with a soul bond…We just thought…We just…You know what a crush she had on you…and then you saved her life. I just thought it was that.” “If it was just that she had a crush on me, why wouldn’t you let me come over?” Harry asked. Arthur looked helplessly at his wife. “I don’t know, Harry. It just made sense at the time…to keep the two of you apart.” “Did Dumbledore block our bond?” Ginny asked. “What are you two talking about? No one was blocking your bond.” “Yes, they were!” Ginny fired back. “That is why I wanted to see Harry so badly. That is what was missing…our bond.” “There was a block,” Harry confirmed. “Once we were obliviated, it was lifted. That is when we were able to meet in our dreams.” “What?” Arthur and Molly both exclaimed. Harry took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to do this, but will you get Dumbledore here?” “Harry,” Bill started. “It’s the only way to know everything. We need them all in the same room,” Harry answered. Bill looked at his sister, she nodded. “We need to do this, Bill.” Bill nodded and pulled out his wand and sent his Patronus off to Dumbledore with a message to come to the Burrow right away. A tense silence followed as they waited for Dumbledore to appear. Luckily they did not have to wait long, within minutes they all saw the flash that announced Dumbledore had apparated to the Burrow. Bill went to the kitchen and guided Dumbledore into the sitting room where he greeted everyone before conjuring an armchair and settling near Molly. Harry spoke first. “Mr and Mrs Weasley have been telling us how they did what they did out of concern for Ginny. While I can certainly understand that, we want to know about the block that was placed on our bond.” “Block?” Albus questioned. “I’m sorry Harry I don’t know what you are talking about.” Ginny explained to her parents and Dumbledore about the dreams she and Harry had been sharing since the summer after the Chamber of Secrets. “So once you were obliviated, this block lifted?” Dumbledore asked when she was finished. “Yes.” Harry responded. “After we were obliviated, we started sharing dreams…we connected.” “Harry, Ginny,” Albus began. “I did not do this nor did I authorize it.” “Are we just supposed to trust you on this one?” Harry asked sarcastically. A brief smile flitted across Albus’s face, he turned to Bill. “Mr Weasley are you familiar with the Incantatio Revelio? “Yes,” he replied. Turning to Harry and Ginny he explained, “It is a charm to reveal what spells have been cast. We use it in the tombs all the time. May I?” Harry exchanged a glance with Ginny. “Okay. Do we need to do anything?” “No. I’ll be doing all the work.” Bill drew his wand and began weaving an intricate pattern while muttering an incantation. After a few minutes the air around Harry and Ginny lit up in different colors making patterns that Harry vaguely recognized as runes. Bill and Albus began reading the runes. “The older spells are the darkest runes with the paler runes being the most recently cast spells,” Ginny explained to Harry in a whisper. “What do the colors mean?” he whispered back. “They represent different types of spells, but I don’t know what they all mean,” she answered. Bill and Albus focused in on a set of medium grey runes. Glancing at Albus, Bill said, “I think this is it.” Albus nodded thoughtfully. “What is it?” asked Harry. “It appears to be exactly what you described — a block against your bond. It was cast shortly after your experience in the Chamber of Secrets,” Albus explained. “So who cast it?” Molly asked. “I don’t know,” Bill answered. “But it wasn’t anyone here. The magical signature is different.” “Great! So there is someone else plotting against us?” Harry asked. Albus turned to Harry. “No one is plotting against you.” Harry felt the anger that he had been trying to keep in check flare. “No one is plotting against me?” he asked. “YOU OBLIVIATED ME,” Harry yelled. “I TOLD YOU OVER AND OVER THAT I NEEDED TO TALK TO GINNY AND YOU JUST IGNORED ME.” Albus bowed his head. “I…It seemed important to keep you apart.” Charlie spoke up for the first time. “All of you keep saying that.” “What do you mean?” Arthur asked. “You, Mum, Professor Dumbledore, you all keep saying that it seemed important to keep Harry and Ginny apart, but none of you have a reason. Could someone have cast a spell to make you think you had to keep them apart?” Charlie asked. Everyone froze for a moment. Harry looked around. “Is that possible?” Bill repeated the Incantatio Revelio, but this time on his parents and Professor Dumbledore. As the air lit with the multi — colored runes, Bill grabbed another set of grey runes. “Here they are, it is a quite powerful Confundus Charm combined with a Distraction Charm. The magical signature is the same as the charm on Harry and Ginny.” “A Confundus and Distraction Charm?” Harry questioned. “Isn’t that what was used on the students as well as Ginny’s brothers?” Albus nodded, looking troubled. “It is. The board of Governors decided that if word of what had happened at the school got out, it would ruin the school. So at the Leaving Feast, we imbedded the charms in the plates so once the students touched the plates they were affected.” “And that seemed like a good idea to you?” Harry asked angrily. “Making everyone forget their year?” “Harry, we didn’t make everyone forget their year. They could still remember if they thought about it, but the charms insured that most would not dwell on the unpleasant events of the year.” “UNPLEASANT EVENTS OF THE YEAR?” Ginny responded furiously. “BASILISK ATTACKS ARE NOT MERELY UNPLEASANT. IT WAS SHEER LUCK NO ONE WAS KILLED!” “Ginevra! Do not yell at Professor Dumbledore. He did what he thought was best,” Molly reprimanded her daughter. “MUM, DON’T EVEN START ON ME! YOU OBLIVIATE ME AND MY SOUL MATE, SEPARATE US FOR YEARS, LIE TO US, AND YOU ARE UPSET AT ME?” Ginny fired back. Harry laid his hand on Ginny’s back, at his touch Ginny calmed slightly. They needed to get answers, so Ginny took a deep breath. “So who would want to separate us?” Albus shook his head. “I do not know.” “Did you know about our soul bond?” Harry asked Albus. “No. I did not know until it was in the papers,” Albus replied. “It sounds like someone knew,” Bill stated. He turned to look at Harry. “Do you think someone knew about the prophecy?” “It’s possible, but isn’t that why they sealed up the room?” Harry asked. Albus watched the interaction curiously. “May I ask what you are talking about?” Harry smirked. “You can ask, but this is our turn for answers.” Harry turned to the Weasleys. “How many times were Ginny and I obliviated?” Molly paled, but answered the question, “Ginny was obliviated four times and you were obliviated three times.” “Wasn’t that a clue you were doing the wrong thing when you had to keep obliviating us?” Harry asked coldly. “Did you obliviate me after I told Ron that I was dreaming about Ginny?” He shot the question to Albus. “Yes, I wasn’t sure why you were dreaming about her,” Albus answered. “So you thought you would distract me?” Harry asked. “What are you talking about?” Albus asked. “Susan Bones,” Harry ground out. Albus still looked puzzled. “I’m sorry Harry, I know you dated Miss Bones for a time -” “Are you going to pretend you didn’t give me a love potion?” Harry ground out, he anger starting to get the better of him. The windows were rattling loudly as Harry’s anger grew. “A love potion?” Molly exclaimed. “Why do you seem so surprised?” Harry questioned, “Ron sends you a message that I’m dreaming about Ginny and after a meeting with the headmaster I’m suddenly dating a girl I’d never even looked at before.” “I don’t know what is going on, Harry,” Albus responded. “I did obliviate you, but I did not give you a love potion.” “WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?” Harry yelled. “Harry, we did obliviate you and Ginny. I’m sure Molly and Arthur have shared with you our concerns for Ginny’s health and safety. Yes we have obliviated both of you to keep the secret, but we did not block your bond or try to make you fall in love with someone else.” Harry lost his battle with his temper. With a loud crack, all of the windows at the Burrow blew out. “YOU ARE ACTING AS THOUGH IT IS PERFECTLY NORMAL TO MAKE SOMEONE LOSE A YEAR OF THEIR LIFE! IT ISN’T. GINNY HAD JUST BEEN THROUGH A HORRIBLE ORDEAL AND INSTEAD OF LETTING ME HELP HER YOU KEPT US APART AND MADE US FORGET.” Harry yelled. “ON TOP OF THAT YOU HAD ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS SPYING ON ME!” Ginny jumped into the argument, “YOU LEFT HIM IN THAT HORRIBLE PLACE WITH THOSE HORRIBLE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF LETTING HIM COME HERE.” Harry stood and started pacing the floor in front of the sofa. “If you didn’t do this, who did?” Albus gazed at Harry seemingly lost in thought, he turned to Ron. “Mr Weasley what happened after Harry told you about his dream?” Ron flushed as he suddenly became to focus of everyone in the room. “I…I wrote to my mum the next morning and told her what had happened.” Albus looked over at Molly and she answered before he even asked the question. “I got the letter in the afternoon. There was an Order meeting that night, but you weren’t there. I talked to…” Molly’s eyes got wide as her voice trailed away. “What is it, Molly?” Arthur asked concerned for his wife. Molly looked at Harry for a moment for continuing, “I gave the note to Severus and asked him to give it to Albus. I told him it was very important.” Harry swore as Albus closed his eyes briefly a look of sorrow crossing his face. “Severus gave me the note that night, he could easily have read it first. I…I trusted him, I doubt I would have thought anything of him reading the note. He could easily have brewed a love potion.” “Why would he?” Arthur asked, “Who would gain from separating Harry and Ginny? It seems obvious that someone deliberately tried to keep them apart.” Harry started at those words, could there be someone else with a motive to keep them apart. Did someone else know about the prophecy? Harry turned to Albus. “Did Snape say anything about me dating Susan?” “I believe he may have made a comment about it, but so did most of the Professors,” Albus answered. “Were you surprised that I started dating her?” Harry asked. “I was. I knew that she was interested in you, but I had never seen you pay her any attention. I took your interest in her as a sign the memory charm worked. I have long since learned not to question teen dating habits,” Albus responded. Harry glared at him, he felt vaguely uncomfortable discussing Susan, almost like he had cheated on Ginny. He knew that wasn’t the case, but he still felt uncomfortable talking about it. “Would Snape have been able to slip me the love potion?” Harry asked. “He could have, but I never discussed you and Ginny with him,” Albus responded. “Why would he want to keep you apart?” “Other than his general hatred for me?” Harry shot back. Albus had the grace to look slightly ashamed. “I am very sorry for that Harry. I truly believed he was on our side.” “We won’t have that discussion now,” Harry answered angrily. “I still have some questions for you.” “I got my account summaries from Gringotts,” he told Albus accusingly. Albus sighed, “Harry -” “What? There is a good reason for me not to know about my inheritance? There is a reason for my relatives to get fifty Galleons a month? There is a good reason I paid for Ginny’s school?” Harry asked bitingly. Albus flushed. “I confess, I thought if you didn’t know the extent of your inheritance, you would not have the wherewithal to flee. It only seemed fair that your relatives got compensated for taking you in.” “Compensated?” Harry asked. “Yes I can see that to some extent, but fifty Galleons a month should get me a lot more than a cupboard under the stairs. It should get me food every day, it should get me new clothes every once in a while, not just Dudley’s hand-me-downs. Do you know how often I had to listen to my aunt and uncle go on about how they took me in out the goodness of their hearts? They drilled it into me over and over that my parents didn’t leave anything to support me. Do you know I never got a single birthday or Christmas present the whole time I was with them?” Harry stopped pacing and looked at Albus. “It’s not the money. I have plenty of that, it’s the circumstances. I don’t mind paying for Ginny’s school, she is my wife. But you claim you didn’t know about our soul bond -” Molly interrupted, “What do you mean you paid for Ginny’s school. I thought she got a scholarship.” Albus looked a little flustered as he looked at Molly. “After we obliviated Harry and Ginny, it seemed logical that we should keep them separated. Beauxbatons seemed the obvious choice for her.” Albus paused looking out the window for a moment before continuing, “I knew that sending her to Beauxbatons would present a serious financial hardship to you and your family. It just made logical sense, you needed the money and Harry had plenty of money.” All of the Weasleys were flushed and upset by the time Albus finished speaking. Arthur was the first to find his voice. “How could you? Harry has always been a…casualty in all of this. I agreed to obliviate Ginny because I was worried about her, but it always just seemed cruel to punish Harry for saving my daughter’s life. He has saved half of our family, but because we couldn’t find another way to help Ginny — he had to suffer. Now we have stolen money from him as well?” Arthur turned to face both Harry and Ginny. “I know that saying I am sorry is not enough, but I am truly sorry. Both for not having enough faith in you, Ginny, and for what we have done to you, Harry. We will repay you -” Harry cut him off. “Mr. Weasley, I don’t care about the money. Ginny is my wife, my money is her money. I really don’t even care about the money my relatives got, it is the amount of lies that upsets me.” Harry looked around the room trying to decide what to do. He was very angry with Professor Dumbledore and the Weasleys. Part of him wanted to keep everything they had discovered a secret, but if they could help him defeat Voldemort maybe he should tell them what they had discovered. He reached out to Ginny and pulled her to her feet, looking at the rest of the group he said, “We’ll be right back.” Harry and Ginny went into the kitchen and Harry cast a Muffliato to ensure privacy. “What do you think? Should we tell them about the prophecy?” Harry asked. Ginny bit her lip nervously as she looked around her childhood home. “I don’t know. I know we need answers, but…” Harry smiled down at her. “Part of you is really angry at them,” he finished for her. Ginny laughed softly. “I guess you would know that.” Harry nodded, “I want their help, but I don’t. I want to storm out of here and do it all on our own, but I really don’t have a clue how to defeat Voldemort. I don’t know how to destroy a Horcrux — we need answers they can provide.” “Do you think they are telling the truth?” Ginny asked. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. Do you think that someone knows about the prophecy and is trying to keep us apart?” “Anything is possible.” Harry looked down at Ginny. “Let’s tell them about the prophecy. If they can help us great, if not -” Harry got an evil grin on his face. “I can’t wait to see the look on Dumbledore’s face. He wants me to defeat Voldemort, but in keeping us apart he could have ruined everything.” Ginny laughed. “Okay. Let’s tell them.” Harry and Ginny returned to the sitting room. Arthur and Molly were talking quietly while Bill and Charlie were doing the same on the other side of the room. Ron was looking very uncomfortable, not sure what to do. Albus seemed lost in thought. “We have decided to tell you what we know,” Harry told everyone. “This doesn’t mean we have forgiven or forgotten what happened and we still have questions, but we are at war. Gin and I need information that you may have.” Harry and Ginny sat back down on the couch. “We found each other due to my reaction to a carving I saw in Sirius’s house. After I found out about the memory charm, I told Remus about the dreams I shared with Ginny. He helped me find her.” Harry smiled at Ginny as he continued, “You know what happened in France, once the reporters discovered who I was, we came back to London. It was when Ginny and I saw the carving together we were able to break through the memory charm.” Harry glared at Albus. “I didn’t even know I was a Parselmouth, that would have been helpful to know. There is a hidden chamber in Sirius’s house that is opened by speaking Parseltongue. In this chamber we found a prophecy.” “It is a prophecy that Livia made,” Ginny added as she took up the story. “The prophecy states - ‘The heir of Slytherin shall become a most powerful Dark Lord. The chosen one with the power to defeat this Dark Lord can use the stone of the Iceni to defeat him. It will take the combined power of the chosen one and his destined mate to wield the stone of the Iceni. The fire haired mate of the chosen one shall be touched by the same evil that he himself knows. She will be lost to him for a time, but their love will overcome their separation. Together they will reclaim their bond and use the stone of the Iceni to finally defeat the Dark Lord, the heir of Slytherin.’” A shocked silence followed as those who had not previously heard of the prophecy absorbed the information. Harry nodded at Bill and he shared the information they had gathered with his parents and Professor Dumbledore. Molly was in shock, how could her baby help defeat You-Know-Who? She looked over at Arthur and saw the shock and horror she was feeling reflected in his eyes. Albus stared at Harry in horror, what had he done in obliviating Harry? Could he have actually prolonged the war? “Do you know anything about this prophecy?” Ginny asked. Albus shook his head. “I’ve never heard it before. I know you are both upset with me…but please believe I never intended…” he trailed off. “What did you intend?” Harry asked sharply. “I beg your pardon?” Albus responded. “What was your intention in separating me and Ginny? Ron told us you still wanted to keep us apart even after you knew we were together.” Albus had the grace to look ashamed. “I…I made a mistake. I focused on you…as the Chosen One. I know you can defeat Voldemort, Harry. I dismissed your relationship with Miss Weasley as a summer fling. I thought you would be better served focusing on defeating Voldemort.” Harry felt his anger flare. “I am not an assassin or a weapon. If I can defeat Voldemort, I will certainly do so. If I have to…if I have to give my life to defeat Voldemort, I will do so. I will not stop living until then. I love Ginny, she believes in me and gives me strength in so many ways. By keeping us apart, you may have actually been helping Voldemort.” |
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