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SIYE Time:14:47 on 29th March 2024
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Remember
By potterfan2008

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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: 353201; Chapter Total: 10018
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Thanks so much for the votes for Best Romance! I really appreciate the support. And of course, thanks to my beta, Jennyelf!

Rozafa castle and it's legend are real, I just adapted it to my story!




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Hermione watched as her father consulted with the concierge. Thankfully most of the hotel staff spoke English, so Mark was able to converse with them easily. He walked over to his wife and daughter.

“The concierge recommended a local shop where we can get some pastries. Shall we go get some?”

Hermione and Sarah agreed and the three of them walked out onto the street. Sarah pulled them into the visitor’s information centre down the street from the hotel. After they gathered some brochures describing some of the sights to be seen, they headed on to the pastry shop.

Placing their order for an assortment of pastries, the three of them sat down at one of the patio tables.

“So, what are we going to do first?” Mark asked.

“I think we need to go to Rozafa Castle and see what we find,” Hermione replied. She looked over at her parents. “I don’t think you two should come up there with us.”

She held up her hand to stave off their objections. “No, hear me out. If there is a Horcrux in the castle, it will likely have magical protections. You two will be defenceless against them. I think that the two of you should see some of the other sites around town while we see what is up there.”

Sarah and Mark exchanged a look. Sarah replied, “Sweetie, I understand that there are some things that we can’t do, but this castle is not just a magical site. We won’t go into any place dangerous or where we would be a liability, but we will go with you.”

Hermione looked at her parents in surprise. She was so used to keeping her parents and her adventures in the magical world separate that it didn’t occur to her that they could help in other ways. She smiled at her mother. “That would be great. We don’t really even know if there is anything there to find, so we may just be sightseeing.”

Her parents exchanged a smile and the three of them enjoyed their breakfast while chatting about what they might see in Shkodra.

Glancing at her watch, Hermione was surprised to see it was already 9:30. “Do you think we should get back to the hotel?”

Mark laughed. “We are vacationing with two newlywed couples. I really don’t think they will be up anytime soon. We’ll give them a little longer.”

While Hermione blushed, Sarah laughed. “We may see Remus and Tonks before we see Harry and Ginny.”

_____________________________ ________________________________________ _

Harry could hear the sounds of people moving in the hallway, combined with distant sounds of the elevator and muted conversations. Their room was still dark. With the curtains closed, it felt like they were cut off from the rest of the world. He lifted his head off the pillow and glanced at the clock. It read 8:45. He put his head back down as it was still too early to get up.

He pulled Ginny closer and wrapped his arms around her. She was so warm and soft, making it so he never wanted to get out of bed. Burying his face in her hair, he took a deep breath and was immediately assaulted by the sweet, floral smell he always associated with Ginny. She stirred a bit, turning in his arms so her face was buried in his chest. Smiling, he pulled her closer and ran his hand down her back.

Ginny peeked up at him through the curtain of her hair. She loved the smile on his face. Running her hand down his chest, she leaned up and captured his mouth in a long, slow kiss. Her tongue took its time exploring his mouth while her hand caressed his chest and abs.

She pulled away slowly and smiled. Her voice husky with desire, she whispered, “Love, there is an incredibly decadent tub in the bathroom. Come, make love to me in there.”

Harry stared helplessly at her for a moment before a smile spread across his face. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the bathroom.

___________________________ ________________________________________ ___

It was late morning by the time Harry and Ginny joined the others in the hotel lobby. Remus smiled when he saw them. “Don’t worry, Dora and I just came down ourselves.”

Harry nodded at his godfather while he avoided Hermione’s gaze as she seemed a bit put out that it was so late. The two couples breakfasted on the pastries and tea that the Grangers had brought back from the shop.

“Hermione, what can you tell us about the Castle Rozafa?” Harry asked as he finished his pastry.

“It is actually quite interesting,” Hermione began, pleased to be sharing her knowledge. “The castle was built in the Middle Ages some time. It is not clear exactly when it was built. There is a local legend about the castle. According to the story, the three brothers who were building the castle would come each day to find the previous day’s work demolished. Eager to stop the destruction, they consulted a wise man. He advised them that it would take a human sacrifice to stop the devil from disrupting their work. The three brothers agreed. Each day one of their wives would bring them lunch. The brothers decided that whichever wife brought them lunch the next day would be sacrificed. The two older brothers told their wives to stay home so it was the youngest brother’s wife who showed up the next day. She agreed to be sacrificed if they would leave her right breast bare so she could feed her newborn son, her right arm bare so she could caress him, and her right foot bare so she could rock his cradle.”

“That’s horrible,” Ginny said, wrinkling her nose. “Can you imagine your husband asking you to do such a thing?”

“Don’t look at me,” Harry said. “You know I would never do that.”

Laughing, she leaned over and kissed him. “I know. My hero would never do that. You’d sacrifice yourself instead.”

Harry blushed as the others laughed. He had to admit that did sound like something he might do.

“So when do you want to head up to the castle?” Hermione asked.

Ginny looked over at Harry with a look of slight disappointment on her face before looking at her friend. “Hermione…do we have to go today?”

Hermione looked at her young friend with an expression of confusion. “That’s what we are here for, Ginny. Why wouldn’t we go today?”

Ginny blushed under Hermione’s scrutiny. “I was hoping we could go to the beach today. I know we are here to go to the castle, but can’t we go tomorrow?”

“Of course, love,” Harry replied with an indulgent smile. “You want to go to that beach we read about?”

Smiling now, Ginny turned to her husband. “Yeah, I thought we could head down to the beach and play around. Then we could all go out to eat tonight.”

“That sounds great, Ginny,” Remus said. “Do you know how far away it is?”

Grabbing one of the brochures from the table, Harry answered. “Velipoja Beach is about twenty km from here. I bet if we ask the concierge they could set us up with a taxi or something to get there.”

“Great!” Tonks said enthusiastically. “Why don’t we meet back here in twenty minutes and we’ll head out?”

As everyone rose to go to the elevators, Mark caught sight of the look on his daughter’s face. He could tell she wasn’t happy about being overruled. When they entered their room, Hermione couldn’t hold back any longer. “Why are we doing this? We could be at the castle in less than half an hour and have it over with, but now we are going to the beach?”

Shaking his head, Mark said, “Hermione, it is like we talked about this morning. We are on vacation with two honeymooning couples. What is the harm in waiting until tomorrow?”

Hermione glared at her father. “What is the harm in going today? Harry would have gone along with it if Ginny hadn’t said something.”

“Oh, is that what is bothering you?” Sarah asked as she rummaged through her suitcase looking for her bathing costume

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hermione asked as she threw herself on the bed.

“Sweetie, you are used to planning and everyone going along with your plans, especially Ron and Harry. They let you set the course and normally just fall in with it. Are you upset that we aren’t going to the castle or are you upset that Harry didn’t fall in with your plans?” Sarah asked as she sat down next to her daughter.

Hermione was silent for a moment as she considered her mother’s words. It was true that she liked to plan. “He doesn’t always fall in with my plans.”

“No, but he probably doesn’t choose someone else’s plans over yours,” Sarah countered.

When Hermione didn’t say anything, Sarah continued. “I know Harry is one of your best friends, but he is Ginny’s husband. You can’t expect him to choose you over her. He loves her and will do whatever it takes to make her happy. If a simple trip to the beach is what she wants, he will make sure she gets one.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Mark added. “Don’t make this a contest between you and Ginny. She will win every time. You just need to adjust to sharing him. He still loves you and needs you. It is just a little different now.”

Hermione sat up and looked at her parents. “Is that what I am doing? I…we’ve all been getting along so well. I guess I just never thought that…” She trailed off into silence as she thought about what had happened. She had just assumed that Harry would let her plan the trip.

Shaking her head, Hermione gathered up her swimming costume. “I…I’m sure you are right. I’ll think about what you said, but for now let’s go. We need to meet them downstairs.”
__________________________ ________________________________________ _________

During the summer months, the staff rarely used the Great Hall for dining. Instead they tended to eat in smaller groups in the staff room or in their own rooms. This afternoon, the house elves had set up a table of food for the staff to serve themselves. Charlie helped himself to a plate of sandwiches, crisps, and fruit before sitting at one of the smaller tables with his brother.

Bill shook his head as he looked over at his brother’s overflowing plate. “You’re as bad as Ron.”

Laughing, Charlie replied, “No one is that bad. I’m just a little hungry. I’ve been out on the grounds all morning.”

The scraping of a chair against the stone floor diverted their attention. To the brothers’ surprise, Headmaster Fedorov sat down with them. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I hope you don’t mind me joining you.”

“Not at all, Headmaster,” Bill replied politely. Charlie nodded his agreement.

The three ate in companionable silence for a few minutes before Fedorov turned to Bill. “Mr. Weasley, I understand you worked for Gringotts as a Curse Breaker. Is that correct?”

“Yes, sir. I worked in Egypt for several years before returning to England two years ago.”

Fedorov nodded. “Did you like Egypt?”

Bill smiled. “I loved Egypt, actually. It is a great place for a Curse Breaker, learning all of the curses that the ancient Egyptians used. I learned a lot about cursed objects and blood wards.”

“So what made you want to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts?” Fedorov asked. He saw Bill’s expression and added, “I am just trying to get to know my teachers. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had the advantage of knowing you when you were in school. I have no such knowledge so I am merely trying to get to know you all.”

Slightly reassured, Bill smiled. “That makes a lot of sense. I think I was ready for a change. I’ve just gotten married and while my wife still works for Gringotts, I thought that teaching would be an interesting change of pace. I don’t plan on teaching forever, but I would like to do it for a couple of years.”

“I have heard that the position is cursed,” Fedorov said. “Do you think that is true?”

“It may be. I know no one has had the job for more than one year in a long time. I think that is part of the reason I wanted to teach. There is…a war going on in the Wizarding community and I don’t think that most young witches and wizards know how to defend themselves. In the past six years, there have only been three competent teachers and two of them were Death Eaters,” Bill replied.

Charlie winced as Bill finished. While he didn’t think Death Eaters were suitable teachers, Fedorov might have a different opinion. However, Fedorov didn’t seem bothered by Bill’s outburst.

“I understand that your brother-in-law formed his own defence group a few years ago,” Fedorov commented.

Bill and Charlie both froze at the mention of Harry. Was Fedorov going to interrogate them about Harry? Bill looked over at his brother before he answered. Charlie just gave a subtle shrug. He didn’t know how to respond either.

Bill cleared his throat. “Yes, I understand that the teacher they had wasn’t really teaching them or letting them practice any spells. Harry has…always been gifted in Defence and he helped a group of students with the practical part of Defence. Three of my brothers were a part of his group and they really learned a lot from him.”

To Bill’s relief, Fedorov simply nodded and said, “Yes, I heard that his group was a big success.”

Changing the topic, he said, “I looked over your curriculum and everything looks acceptable. I was wondering if you have had any experience in teaching.”

“Not in such large groups, but I have taught classes for the new Curse Breakers both in Egypt and here in England. I would start with a general review of the Dark Arts, basic information really and then go on to types of curses and getting around them. I really enjoyed that part of my job. That is another reason I thought this position would be fun,” Bill replied.

Fedorov smiled. “Good, I am glad to see you are enthusiastic about your job.”

He turned to Charlie. “What about you, Mr. Weasley? I understand you have been in Romania since you graduated from Hogwarts.”

Charlie smiled. “Yes. I have always been fascinated by dragons, ever since I was little. I was very lucky to get a position in Romania.”

“So what made you decide to apply for the Care of Magical Creatures position? It is quite different from working on a dragon reservation.”

Charlie hesitated for a moment, now appreciating how hard it must have been for Bill to answer the same question. “It was several things really. My family has been through a lot this summer so I was thinking about returning to England for a while anyhow. I’ve always enjoyed magical creatures. While I will admit dragons are my favorite, I really enjoyed helping Professor Kettleburn. The last few years in school I spent a lot of time with him and Hagrid and I learned a lot about magical creatures.” Charlie laughed. “There weren’t very many of us in the NEWT level, so we did a lot of hands on and special projects caring for the animals in the forest. I spent part of the summer before my seventh year working at the magical zoo in Scarborough.”

Fedorov smiled. “Excellent, I hadn’t realized you were so well rounded in magical creatures.”

“Yeah.” Charlie laughed. “Everyone seems to just equate me with dragons now.”

“Your curriculum and teaching plans also seem to be in order,” Fedorov said. “What can you tell me about your teaching experiences?”

Charlie fidgeted a bit. “Like Bill, I’ve never taught large groups or anything like that. I did some…I don’t know what to call them exactly, but the reservation did educational tours for the local magical community in Romania. We would take small groups around and teach them about the dragons and their place in the local ecology, care of dragons and that sort of thing.”

“Very good.” Fedorov smiled more widely. “I am very pleased with the addition of both of you to the staff here at Hogwarts.”

He looked up at both of the brothers before continuing. “I feel it is only fair that I reciprocate with information about myself. I have been at Durmstrang for almost twenty years. I have taught both Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts, though most of my time was in Transfiguration. I have been the Deputy Headmaster for the past six years.”

When he fell silent, Bill took a chance and asked, “What made you decide come to Hogwarts, sir?”

Fedorov smiled slightly. “I guess that is only a fair question. I have not been happy with some of the…policies at Durmstrang. As I’ve heard of all of the…difficulties in England over the past few years and with the assassinations… When I was offered the job, it just seemed like the perfect way to help.”

He looked glanced around the room for a moment as if to ensure it was still empty before he continued, “My mother-in-law is from England and always spoke highly of both Professor Dumbledore and Hogwarts. She almost sent my wife to Hogwarts, so coming here as Headmaster seemed almost…fate.”

Bill was sure he looked as startled as Charlie. Fedorov was married? That had not been included in any of the information they had gathered on him. Fedorov laughed at the expression on the brothers’ faces. “I take it you did not know I was married?”

“No, sir,” Bill replied.

“I do not usually share that information. Durmstrang is very different from Hogwarts. Muggleborns are not admitted to the school. Muggle studies is not an option for study. In the last two years, Dark Arts was offered as an optional course. Of course there are many…restrictions on the use of dark magic and it is officially not encouraged, but…let me just say that these are some of the many reasons I left.” Fedorov looked each of them in the eye. “I shared this with you because the two of you… I admire your sense of family. During the attack at the funeral, I could not see what Mr. Potter was doing, but I saw you and your brothers immediately surround your sister. I am sure that a large part of the reason the two of you have accepted positions here this year is to keep an eye on your sister and her husband.”

Bill and Charlie exchanged a quick glance before nodding. Charlie said, “Yes, sir. After we realized what happened to Ginny during her first year and with…the political situation the way it is, we both felt better being closer not only to Ginny, but the rest of the family. Our youngest brother, Ron, will be in his last year here as well.”

“Yes, I heard Professor McGonagall mention that as well,” Fedorov replied. He glanced at his watch and stood. “Thank you for an enjoyable conversation. I have an appointment with Professor Slughorn now. I trust I will see the two of you at dinner tonight.”

Neither brother spoke as they watched the new Headmaster leave the room. As he left, Bill whispered, “Muffliato.”

“What the hell was that?” Charlie asked.

“I have no idea,” Bill said in amazement. “It sounded almost like he didn’t agree with the use of Dark Arts.”

“We should have Percy see if he can check into this marriage. If he really has a wife, he might not be as firmly in the Death Eater’s camp as we thought,” Charlie said.

Bill hesitated before he answered. “I…I would rather have Marcy check for us. She works in Magical Contracts and can probably get the answer more quickly and with less fuss than Percy.”

Arching his eyebrow at his brother, Charlie said, “You don’t trust Percy.”

Bill twisted his wedding ring around his finger for a moment before he looked his closest brother in the eyes. “I love Percy. He is my brother, but I don’t know yet if we can trust him. I know he said he was sorry and he wants to join the order. But he still works too closely with the Ministry. I doubt they would be happy with what Fedorov just told us.”

After considering what his brother said, Charlie agreed. “I will talk to Marcy tonight.”

___________________________ ________________________________________ ___

Ginny smiled as the group piled out of the minivan taxi they had taken to the beach. Unlike the beach she was used to at Beauxbatons, this was a Muggle beach. A small parking lot was dotted with a few cars in it. There was no formal boardwalk, but there was a small collection of shops near the parking lot. The beach had beautiful white sand and she could hear the waves crashing. It wasn’t crowded, but there were a fair number of people under brightly coloured umbrellas or sunning themselves on colourful beach towels. She turned to Harry and flashed him a beautiful smile. “This is great!”

They made their way onto the beach where Mark and Harry set up the umbrella they had gotten from the concierge. When Mark had asked about going to the beach, the concierge had set them up with an umbrella, beach towels, and a cooler of drinks.

Ginny straightened out her blue and purple beach towel and set her bag down on one corner. She smiled as she watched Remus help Tonks do the same. The Grangers spread out several towels and Ginny smiled to see several paperbacks stacked next their bag. She could definitely see where Hermione got her habits. When she turned to see where Hermione was, she was surprised to see the cool look she received back from her best friend.

When Harry touched her arm, all thoughts of Hermione left her mind. Ginny’s breath caught in her throat at the wicked smile on his face. “What?” she said.

Harry sat down on the towel next to Ginny. “Well, we are at a Muggle beach, so no sunscreen charms.” He held up a small container. “We will have to use sunscreen.”

Ginny glanced over at the others and saw Hermione and her mother were already rubbing some type of white lotion into their skin. When she turned back, Harry had already pulled off his shirt.
Standing, Ginny pulled off her shorts and t-shirt revealing her emerald green bikini. She smiled down at Harry as he looked her up and down with a smile on his face. When she sat down next to him, Harry said, “I really love that bikini.”

Leaning over, Ginny kissed him. “So what is this sunscreen?”

Harry opened the container and Ginny could smell the scent of coconut. She watched curiously as he squirted a bit of the white lotion into his hand. “This is how Muggles keep from getting sunburned. Turn around for me and hold up your hair.”

Ginny squealed as the cold lotion touched her back. Harry diligently rubbed the lotion onto her back and shoulders. She looked over her shoulder and kissed him as he finished up with her back. He whispered into her ear, “I can do the front too if you want.”

Laughing, she pushed him. “I think I can do it myself.”

She quickly finished rubbing the sunscreen onto herself before turning to her husband, “Can I do your back now?”

When she finished, Harry leaned over and kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you.” Ginny leaned back on the towel, balancing herself on her elbows and looked around. Remus and Tonks were cuddled together a few feet on the other side of the umbrella. Tonks was relatively conservative today with honey blond hair swept back in a ponytail and a silver one piece bathing suit. Remus kept his white t-shirt on with his swimming trunks. Mark and Sarah had settled onto their beach towels and Hermione was lying down on her own beach towel with a book in her hand.

Ginny leaned back on her husband and enjoyed the feel on the warm sun on her skin. “This is wonderful.”

Harry idly traced circles on Ginny’s arm as he lay on the beach towel. The sounds of the waves blended with the sound of overlapping voices of the other families and visitors to the beach. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sun and feel of his wife snuggled up to his side.

He opened his eyes as a shadow fell across him. Tonks was standing over them. “Ginny, I’m going to see if they have sunglasses over at that little shop over there. Do you want to come?”

“Sure. What are sunglasses?” Ginny stood up and joined her friend. Tonks laughed. “They are used instead of a shading charm. You see some of those people over there in dark glasses?”

“Oh, sure.” Ginny turned to look at the others. “Hermione, Sarah, do you want to come?”

“That would be nice,” Sarah said.

“No, thanks,” Hermione replied.

As the three of them started to walk away, Harry called out. “Tonks.”

She turned and caught the billfold he’d thrown to her. Laughing, she called out, “Thanks, luv.”

Harry laughed and turned back to the others. “Remus, if you want, I can cast glamours so you can take your t-shirt off.”

Considering it for a second, Remus replied, “Actually that would be nice. I’m not very good at glamour charms so I’ve never tried it myself.”

After wandlessly casting a privacy charm, Harry gestured for Remus to take off his shirt. “You have to take off your shirt before I can cast the charm.”

Remus looked over at Mark and Hermione uncertainly, but then nodded and shrugged off his t-shirt. Mark was glad he’d had some idea of what the problem was or else he was sure he would not have reacted well. Remus’ chest was a network of thin white scars; some long, some short, some looked like bite marks and still others looked like he may have been clawed. A quick wave of Harry’s hand caused the scars to fade leaving Remus with an unblemished chest.

Smiling over at his godson, Remus said, “Thanks, cub. That’s really good charm work.”

______________________________ ________________________________________

The three women walked over to the small shop. It was a tiny one room building with only three walls. The front of the shop was open to the outside. They sold typical beach fare — suntan lotion, hats, sunglasses; as well as t-shirts, bathing suits, and tourist souvenirs.

As they circled the sunglasses display, Tonks said to Ginny, “I’m glad you suggested this. I really needed a break before heading into…whatever we may find. I know Remus was happy as well. He is worried about Harry.”

Ginny agreed. “I’m a little worried about him myself. He would never tell us if he is having pain or any issues, so I kind of wanted an extra day for him to recover.”

Harry looked over at them as if sensing they were talking about him. Ginny laughed and blew him a kiss before returning to the display in front of them. They each picked out a pair of sunglasses and Ginny got a pair for her father as well.

When they walked back to the others, Tonks looked appreciatively at her husband. “Nice charm work, Harry.”

He blushed slightly. “Thanks.”

Ginny stood over him and held out her hand. “Let’s go swimming.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to just lay here in the sun?”

Ginny laughed. “Yes, I’m sure. I want to go swimming.”

Groaning, Harry stood and followed a laughing Ginny into the water.

Hermione looked up from her book when she heard Ginny’s shrieks of laughter. Harry was chasing her by the water’s edge. Hermione rolled her eyes. She looked over at Remus and Tonks and was surprised to see them cuddling together and whispering back and forth. After a few moments, they got up and walked down by the water as well.

Sarah smiled at her daughter’s expression. “I’m going to go for a walk down the beach. Do you want to come?”

“No thanks, Mum. I’ll just read here,” Hermione replied as she turned back to her book. She vaguely registered her parents walking off.

________________________________ _____________________________________


Tonks and Remus returned to the area they had set up and were lounging on the beach towels.
Turning to Sarah, Tonks said, “The water is wonderful. Are you sure you don’t want to go for a swim?”

Sarah laughed softly. “No, I would much rather stay on the sand. I enjoy walking along the beach and I collect shells from every beach we go to, but I really don’t like the water much. Usually it is Mark and Hermione in the water.”

Looking over at Hermione, Tonks asked, “So why aren’t you in the water? It’s beautiful.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I’m not really in the mood to play in the water.”

“What’s wrong?” Tonks asked as she sat down next to the younger witch.

“I just don’t see why we couldn’t go to the castle today. It feels like we are wasting time. We should be working on finding the Horcruxes,” Hermione said. “It seemed like we were going this morning. Then Ginny smiles at Harry and says she wants to go to the beach and here we are.”

“Remus and I didn’t want to go to the castle today either,” Tonks said seriously. “Remus was worried about Harry and wanted him to have another day before we face whatever we find in the castle.”

Hermione’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I just…I guess I just got angry at Ginny. It just seems like she isn’t taking things seriously sometimes. To make things worse, Harry will do whatever she wants. It’s just a little frustrating.”

“I don’t know what to say. Ginny has been through a lot this summer, but I think she is doing great. She is supporting Harry. That is the most important thing. She thought he needed a day off after almost dying on Monday. I think I would go along with that,” Tonks replied, sarcasm colouring her voice.

Hermione looked down at the sand. “I -”

Tonks cut her off. “I know that without her Harry would have gone along with the plan to go up to the castle, but Hermione, he loves her and will do whatever he can to make her happy. I don’t think that is a bad thing. You need to understand that.”

“Why am I having such a hard time with this all of a sudden?” Hermione asked quietly.

“Honestly, I think now that it is September and school is getting ready to start, you are ready for things to be back to normal,” Tonks said.

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes. She could feel her mother’s eyes on her, but she kept her focus on Tonks. “Maybe, I…I know I like to get my way and my mum pointed out this morning that I’m used to Harry going along with my plans. I don’t know why I suddenly resented Ginny this morning — I guess I am not being a very good friend right now.”

“It’s hard when your friends move on with their lives,” Sarah added softly. “I know when my best friend got married, it felt like she had abandoned me. We used to do everything together and now suddenly she was checking with Stan to see if we could go out or she was busy with Stan and couldn’t go out. Let me tell you, I was quite resentful of Stan.”

Hermione looked up at her mother. “I think that is exactly what I am feeling, but with Harry. I’m not used to it being anyone but Ron, Harry and I on our…I guess, adventures would be the best word. While Harry certainly does not always listen to me, he doesn’t usually pick someone else’s ideas over mine.”

Sarah drew her daughter into a hug. “It will be okay. You just need to give yourself time to get used to the new dynamic in your friendship. You know how well I get along with Stan now, right?”

Laughing, Hermione nodded. Standing, she said, “I think I will go check out the water.”

_____________________________ ________________________________________

Minerva looked up as Ivan Fedorov knocked on her open office door.

“May I come in, Madam?”

“Yes, please Headmaster,” Minerva replied.

“Please, call me Ivan,” Fedorov replied as he sat down across from her desk.

Minerva smiled. “Thank you. Please call me Minerva. While we are rather formal with the students, the staff here at Hogwarts has always been rather informal with each other.”

“That is good to know,” Ivan replied. “I imagine it could get very confusing with two Mr. Weasleys on staff.”

Laughing, Minerva replied, “Trust me, I know it would. There were four of them as students at the same time more than once. I was just about to send for some tea. Would you care to join me?”

Ivan agreed. With a flick of her wand, Minerva had a tea service with biscuits sitting on her desk.
After accepting a cup of tea and some ginger cookies, Ivan told Minerva of his interviews with the staff. “I was quite impressed with the staff and their curriculums. Lesson plans seem to be in order.”

“Excellent, I would expect no less of the staff,” Minerva replied as she was inwardly relieved that everyone had passed inspection.

“I believe that the position of Muggle Studies is still open. Is that correct?” Ivan asked.

“Yes,” Minerva replied. “I don’t know what happened. Charity Burbage has been our Muggle Studies professor for years and she has always been very reliable. She went on holiday to Cyprus and hasn’t been seen since.”

“An all too common story these days,” Ivan replied. He set down his tea cup and with a flick of his wand, he closed and warded the door to Minerva’s office. “I think we might need some privacy for the rest of this discussion.”

Minerva was startled and slightly nervous, but simply nodded her agreement.

“I have decided not to fill the position of Muggle Studies for this school year,” Ivan explained. “I have spoken at great lengths to the Ministry, the Board of Governors, and some concerned parents who have made their feelings known. The suggestions that they had for filling the post were…unacceptable to me. So I felt it best not to fill that position this year.”

Minerva breathed a sigh of relief. She could only imagine the suggestions that had been made.

Ivan continued. “Professor Slughorn was quite candid about the concerns his house has for the upcoming year. The end of last year, their former Head of House was killed along with one of their prefects and the boy who killed them is going to be Head Boy this year. I have received several letters asking me not to appoint Harry Potter as Head Boy and others asking me to expel him. I must admit I had hoped to speak with him while he was here recovering, but he left rather quickly. May I ask your opinion of Mr. Potter?”

Minerva looked straight up at the new Headmaster. “I think Harry Potter will make an excellent Head Boy. During his time here at Hogwarts, he was done amazing things for the school and for his fellow students. Many of the students look up to Harry. He has proven himself to be a leader, whether it is teaching his classmates Defence or on the Quidditch pitch. Did he kill Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape? Yes, he did. But not out of malice or hatred, rather because they attacked him. He protected Albus Dumbledore until help could arrive.”

“Do you know why he was not appointed prefect in his fifth year?” Ivan asked.

“I believe Albus felt that Harry was already under enough pressure and did not want to add to it.”

Ivan did not respond immediately, but rather held Minerva’s eye as if assessing her response. “I have decided to allow Mr. Potter to remain as Head Boy. I read the official reports of what happened here in June and it appears as though Mr. Potter was acting in self-defence. Now there is the matter of appointing a Head Girl. Currently, the female seventh year prefects are-?”

He trailed off, looking at Minerva inquiringly. “Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, Padma Patil from Ravenclaw and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff,” she filled in.

“If you had to choose one of them to be Head Girl, whom would you chose?” Ivan asked.

Minerva sighed. “I don’t know, probably Hannah Abbott.”

“It has been suggested to me by several people that the Head Girl should be chosen from Slytherin.” Ivan held up his hand to stave off Minerva’s comments. “As the Head Girl and Head Boy need to work together and I don’t believe Miss Parkinson would be willing to work with Mr. Potter, I will not be choosing her.”

He smiled at the look of relief on Minerva’s face. “I believe that Miss Daphne Greengrass would make a better Head Girl. Her family is more…moderate than some other members of her house.”

Minerva considered his choice. “Miss Greengrass is a pleasant girl and I believe she has some untapped leadership potential. Her sister Astoria was nominated as the fifth year prefect from Slytherin. My only concern is… Astoria Greengrass was engaged to marry Draco Malfoy. I do not believe they were romantically involved, but I would want to ensure she did not hold that against Harry.”

“I will speak with her to ascertain her feelings on the matter,” Ivan replied. “What about a replacement seventh year female prefect for Gryffindor?”

“Miss Parvati Patil would be my choice,” Minerva responded after a moment of thought.

“Will you take care of sending out the appropriate letters?” Ivan asked.
________________________________ ______________________________________

Ginny stirred as she heard the sound of the shower start. Looking over at the clock, she saw that it
was almost 8 am. They had promised Hermione that they would all meet for breakfast at nine and then go up to the castle today. That had put her in a better mood for the evening.

Ginny lifted her head off the pillow and smiled as she saw the trail of clothes leading in from the little sitting room attached to their bedroom. When they had finally made it to the hotel room last night, they had barely made it in the door before they fell on each other. Ginny smiled as she remembered the passion and almost desperation as they made love standing against the door…and on the sofa in the sitting room…and finally when they made it to the bed. She looked in the direction of the bathroom. She could see the steam that was starting to fill the bathroom.

After weighing her options, Ginny hurried out of bed and went to join her husband in the shower.
_______________________________ _______________________________________


“Ginny, it’s about five minutes until nine. We have to hurry if we want to make it downstairs in time,” Harry said as he stood outside the bathroom door, watching Ginny brush her teeth.

He let his eyes wander over her partially clad body and briefly wondered if Hermione would actually kill them if they didn’t make it downstairs by 9 am. A towel thrown at him snapped him out of his thoughts.

“No way, Potter. Get your mind out of wherever it just travelled.” Ginny stood just in front of him, a playful sparkle in her eyes.

Reaching out, he pulled her close. “What makes you think I was thinking…impure thoughts?”

“Because I know that look in your eyes,” Ginny replied as she kissed him. “That look in your eyes gave me these.” She leaned back to indicate a line of love bites that trailed down her neck.

Harry laughed as he leaned over to kiss each one of them softly. “As I recall, you weren’t complaining when I gave them to you.”

Ginny playfully pushed him away. “Of course I wasn’t complaining. But we really do need to get downstairs.”

Grumbling slightly, Harry cast a wandless concealment charm on her neck.

She smiled as she felt the charm hit her skin. “Thank you, love.”

Pushing past him into the bedroom, Ginny rummaged through her bag and pulled out a Beauxbatons t-shirt and light jumper to go with the jeans she was already wearing. As she pulled the shirt over her head, she caught sight of the disgruntled look on Harry’s face.

Laughing, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Other than the fact that your clothes are going on, not off?” Harry said.

Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled on her shoes and socks. “Come on, we’ll go up to the castle. If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to relax here and have fun for a few days.”

“Yeah, because we have oh such good luck,” Harry muttered, but he allowed his wife to pull him out the door.

_______________________________ _______________________________________


As the young couple arrived downstairs, they spotted the others standing near the fountain that dominated the lobby. Ginny led the way over to their friends.

Remus made a production out of pulling out his watch. “Um, not bad, cub. You are only ten minutes late. I was thinking you would be at least a half an hour late.”

Making a face at his godfather, Harry replied, “No, if I had my way we would be, but luckily my wife is a bit more responsible than me.”

Rolling her eyes at the conversation, Hermione broke in with, “Come on, my father went out and got us breakfast again.”

She pointed to a group of comfortable chairs arranged around low tables off to one corner of the lobby, where Mark had set up breakfast for the group.

He looked up and smiled as they approached. “Good morning. I figured I should get breakfast ready, so we can get on the road as soon as possible.”

Helping himself to a pastry and a cup of coffee, Harry looked over at Hermione. “So how are we getting there?”

“It’s only about three kilometres away. We could walk. It is a beautiful day out,” Hermione replied.

“That’s a good idea,” Tonks replied. “In case we have to get back by other means, no one will be left to wonder what happened to us.”

They quickly finished their breakfast and with Hermione and Mark in the lead, they headed off towards the Castle Rozafa. They quickly left the town behind and headed up to the old Ottoman road to the old fortress. A short thirty minutes later, they had crested the hill.

Harry turned to look back at the town. He smiled at Ginny. “This is beautiful.”

“I know, look at the river and the lake in the distance. This is an amazing view,” she replied.

The young couple stood there a few more minutes, taking in the view. With a sigh, Harry kissed her on the cheek. “I guess we better get this over with.”

Reaching for her hand, Harry walked with Ginny over to the large stone archway where the others waited. As they walked through the archway into a short stone tunnel, Harry reached out a hand and touched the worn soft gray stone. A jolt of energy travelled down his arm. It was a pleasant warming feeling. He could feel pulses of energy as he kept his hand on the stone. Looking up, he could see the others ahead of him. With reluctance, he removed his hand from the wall and joined them.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked.

“Nothing. I could just feel the magic pulsing in the walls. This place has known old magic,” Harry said.

The group exited the tunnel. They entered into the courtyard of the ruined castle. Stone walls of varying heights made up three large ovals off of the main courtyard. The stone walls were crumbling. Some of the ruins were covered with vines and other portions were completed demolished. One of the ovals contained the remains of an old church, the towers still intact with large arched windows placed along one wall. The glass had been lost to time, but the majestic archways rose high above the ground. The floor was a maze of stones, shrubbery, and dirt.

Ginny stiffened as they approached the old church. Looking over at Harry, she whispered, “Dark Magic, I can feel it radiating off of that building.”

Harry nodded. While he could not sense Dark Magic as well as Ginny, he could tell something was wrong. He stopped and called the others to him. “I think whatever we are searching for is in that building.”

Sarah spoke up, unexpectedly. “Why are you looking over there? I don’t think it is a good idea to go over there. We should look at the ruins on the other side of the courtyard.”

“There must be Muggle repelling charms up,” Harry said as he watched Hermione’s parents. They were obviously not comfortable near the ruins. This seemed to confirm his thought that the ruins were where they needed to be.

“What is the plan?” Remus asked as he eyed the ruins.

“I think Hermione and her parents should remain outside the building. I would like to have one Magical person outside the ruins, in case something goes wrong. Ginny and I will go in first, followed by Remus and Tonks. I don’t know what type of defences Voldemort may have placed around this site. We don’t even know for sure, that what was placed here is still here. He may have taken it back with him,” Harry said.

He turned to Hermione. “I want you to promise me you will wait outside. I don’t want all five of us trapped inside with no hope of rescue. If it is safe, I will send a Patronus message.”

He caught Hermione’s gaze. “This is really important, Hermione. No matter what you hear, I don’t want you to enter unless you get a Patronus. Can you do that?”

Hermione squirmed slightly under his gaze. She wanted to say ‘no, I want to go with you,’ but she knew that what he was saying made sense. “How long should we wait?”

Harry looked at the building, assessing it. “I don’t know, Hermione. I don’t know what we will find. It could be nothing or it could be something like the Chamber. Hopefully we will be able to contact you and let you know what is going on.”

Reluctantly Hermione agreed. “Okay, I will be waiting over here for you.” She looked at all four of them. “Please be careful.”

Ginny smiled back at her friend and gave her a quick hug. “We will.”

Hermione joined her parents and walked over toward the open courtyard to wait.

Taking a deep breath, Harry cleared his mind and focused on the ruins of the church in front of him. Looking at the other three, he nodded and they slowly approached the ruins. As they passed a low stone wall that separated them from the rest of the site, he pulled his wand and gestured for the others to do the same.

He could feel the thrum of magical energy surrounding them, leading them to another arched doorway. He couldn’t see what lay beyond the archway.

Turning back to the others, he whispered, “I’ll go in first. Ginny, I want you to follow me right away. We will head off to the right. Remus, I want you and Tonks to wait for a minute and then follow us in. You head off to the left.”

Everyone nodded their agreement. Harry looked over at Ginny and led the way into the archway.
As he entered, he felt as though he had passed through a shimmering veil of magic. This room looked as though it had stood the test of time well. It was a large poorly lit room. The roof was missing portions, but the stone tile floor was essentially intact. He could not see the entirety of the room as there were columns placed in rows throughout the space. The atmosphere in the room was hot and stuffy. A musty smell rose from the floor. He could see vines and greenery wrapped around some of the smooth stone columns.

He heard Ginny catch her breath as she took in the space. He looked over at her and she nodded. “I’m okay.”

Through the gloom and the columns, he could see the back wall. There was a raised platform across the back of the room and a large stone altar. He gestured to Ginny and the two of them began making their way across the room.

Harry brushed his way past a large white column. He touched the column as he passed, but failed to notice the tiny edging of serpent along the bottom of the column. A slight humming noise caught his attention, but he quickly dismissed it and focused on the altar.

He felt a spike of fear run through Ginny. Turning, he looked for the tell-tale flash of red. Instead to his horror, he saw the familiar platinum blond hair of Lucius Malfoy. With an oath, he sent a Cutting Curse towards Malfoy and dove behind the closest column.

_____________________________ ________________________________________

Remus looked impatiently into the gloom beyond the archway. As he was about to tell Dora it was time to enter, the flash of spell fire caught his attention. Without a second thought, he rushed into the ruins with his wife steps behind him.

He could see flashes of spell fire through the gloom of the columns. He made his way carefully across the room, but to his dismay he couldn’t tell who was firing. Halfway across the room, he saw Ginny. Her arm appeared broken, but she was fighting well. A noise behind him made him turn. The sight of Fenrir Greyback chilled the blood in his veins. He felt as if he was moving in slow motion as he sent a barrage of spell fire at the older werewolf and dove for cover behind one of the columns.

____________________________ ________________________________________

Harry felt a Bludgeoning Curse smash past his shields and shatter his leg. He looked around desperately for Ginny, but could not see her in the gloom. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a minute in an attempt to centre and calm himself. He reached out with his magic and felt for Ginny. He could feel the powerful emotions sweeping through her — anger, fear, hatred, terror and concern for him. Harry tried to project calm thoughts to her, thinking that if she was calmer, she would have a better chance at fighting.

Pulling himself up on his good leg, Harry looked around. He thought he saw Remus and a flash of spell fire towards the far wall, but he could not be sure. Where was Ginny? She should have been right behind him. How did Malfoy even get there anyhow? Could someone have betrayed them? He didn’t think so. Only Bill and Tonks’ parents knew specifically where they had gone. Could Voldemort have been messing around with his mind again?

He still couldn’t see Malfoy. Closing his eyes again, Harry concentrated hard on Ginny. At first he could not sense her at all, causing him a moment of panic. But then like a torch cutting through the gloom, he could feel her comforting presence. Staggering a bit, Harry made his way over to where he sensed his wife. She was right there behind the crumbling stone column. As he pulled himself around the column, he froze — Malfoy. His senses were warring with each other. Visually he could see Malfoy right in front of him, but magically he could sense Ginny.

“Ginny, love,” he whispered in confusion. He saw Malfoy/Ginny turn towards him. Fear crossed the aristocratic face in front of him. Without consciously registering what he was doing, he reached out and touched the person in front of him. A sharp stab of pain lanced through his arm, but then Malfoy’s face disappeared, leaving the face of his wife in front of him.

“Harry?” she whispered disbelievingly. “How...You were just Riddle standing there.”

A flash of understanding swept through him. “I think this is the defence for the Horcrux. Instead of your companion, you see your worst enemy causing you to attack.”

He ran his hand down her cheek, sorrow and regret racing through him. “How badly did I hurt you?”

Ginny wrapped her good arm around him. “I’m okay. My arm is broken and I have some bumps and bruises, but nothing a few potions won’t cure.”

She kissed him on the cheek. “What about you?”

“My leg is broken, but I’ll be fine.” He peered into the gloom. “Can you see Remus and Tonks?”

A flash of spell fire answered his question. Taking careful aim, Harry Stunned the other two. “That should prevent them from hurting each other.”

He turned his attention to the raised stone altar. “Can you tell where the Horcrux is?”

Ginny shivered as she concentrated. She picked her way across the stone floor to a spot directly behind the altar. Pointing, she indicated an incongruously black stone imbedded in the wall. It seemed to pulse with an energy of its own.

Drawing his wand, Harry sent a Blasting Curse that shattered the stone, revealing a compartment hidden in the wall. He stared at the velvet bag inside. Was there another layer of defence or would Voldemort have assumed no one would get past his first defence? As he thought about it, he realized that Voldemort could never have conceived of a love that would be able to get past the face of a mortal enemy. Taking a deep breath, he levitated the bag out of the hidden space and immediately cast a containment spell around it.

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