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Perilous Journey | ||||||
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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance Warnings: Death, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Sexual Situations, Spouse/Adult/Child Abuse, Violence Rating: R Reviews: 314 Summary: During Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Harry and Ginny realize they can help each other overcome the memories of their past. Watching them, Sirius finds the courage to forgive himself for his past mistakes and start living again. Umbridge, however has other plans. She expels the couple, starting them on a very perilous journey. *Mentions of child abuse and alcohol/substance use* Hitcount: Story Total: 144893; Chapter Total: 8273 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: Thanks to my betas StephanieO and Ministry Malcontent! |
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July 3 — August 25, 1996 Harry hugged Betty and shook hands with Curtis. “Thank you so much for all of your help.” Betty stepped back to her husband after they both hugged Ginny. “You are so welcome, dear. Good Luck with everything.” After throwing their bags in the back of the van, Harry and Ginny climbed into the van of the person that had shown up to take them to their next home. Harry was a bit leery about trusting a total stranger, but the man seemed friendly enough and didn’t appear to recognize them at all. “I’m Ed. I don’t really want to know your names — trust me, it’s safer that way,” he said as he swung into the driver’s seat. Ed didn’t say anything else until he’d reached the A9 and started heading south. “I’m taking the two of you to the Bannockburn Heritage Centre near Stirling. You will go through the exhibit and then go into the gift shop. There you will each purchase a small Scottish flag. Head out onto the battlefield and wait near the statue of Robert the Bruce. Your driver for the second half of your journey will approach you there. He will be wearing a shirt with the flag on it as well.” “Okay,” Harry said after thinking over Ed’s instructions. Ed smiled at the look of confusion of the teens’ faces. “I know it seems like a lot of cloak and dagger stuff, but this protects all of us. I don’t know where you’re going and the other driver won’t know where you started.” “That makes sense,” Ginny said after exchanging a look with Harry. Ed proved to be an entertaining driver and regaled them with the story of the Battle of Bannockburn. He claimed that one of his ancestors had fought on the side of Robert the Bruce when he won the battle against King Edward II of England. Harry was quite entertained, although he did wonder about the accuracy of some of Ed’s claims. As he listened to Ed’s stories, he could help but feel a bit envious that Ed obviously knew so much about his family history. He didn’t even know his grandparents' names, much less what his family was doing in the 14th century. He resolved that once they had found their way home, he would ask Sirius if he knew any Potter family history. It was early afternoon by the time they reached the Bannockburn battlefield. After bidding goodbye to Ed, the teens shouldered their bags and headed into the visitor’s centre as they had been instructed. Hand-in-hand they wandered through the exhibit and even stopped to watch the short educational film on the battle. In the gift shop, Harry wandered around looking at everything they had for sale. For some reason the postcards kept drawing his attention. He walked over to the rack holding the postcards and picked up one that depicted the Wallace monument. “What are you doing?” Ginny asked as she joined him. “I’ve been thinking about what you asked — about contacting Hermione,” he explained. “I think if we send a postcard and don’t sign it, she should get it. She would recognize our handwriting. Plus if we send it from here, they won’t know where we are.” Ginny’s face lit with excitement. “That’s a great idea. What do we say?” Heading up to the checkout counter, Harry asked, “Do you sell stamps so I can send this from here?” “Aye, lad. We sell stamps and there is a post box just outside the centre.” “Brilliant!” Harry quickly paid for the post card, stamp, and the two Scottish flags. He quickly scrawled a note on the other side of post card and carefully wrote out Hermione’s address. He’d had her address since the summer after his first year, but had never needed to use it. He was sorry to say he’d spent some time staring at it wondering what his friend’s house was like and wishing he was there instead of at the Dursley's. As a result, he’d memorized her address. After posting the postcard, the young couple headed out into the battlefield. Ginny nudged Harry in the ribs and gestured towards a ghostly Scottish warrior drifting over the battlefield. Harry waved as the warrior looked in their direction and the warrior nodded at them before drifting the in the other direction. “I never realized how many ghosts there were.” Ginny shrugged not nearly as impressed with the ghosts as Harry. “They are all around us.” “Were all ghosts witches or wizards?” “I think so,” Ginny replied. “I don’t honestly know for certain.” The couple stopped under the large statue of Robert the Bruce and waited. Harry scanned the area a bit nervously. He was concerned that no one would show up or that someone they didn’t want would show up. After they had been waiting for about ten minutes, Ginny said, “Look, over there.” Approaching them was a relatively young, dark haired man with a Scottish flag t-shirt. He had his hair pulled back in a ponytail and a ball cap on his head. The man was looking around the statue and his eyes seemed to light upon the young couple. “Awrite! I’m Angus. Ye look like the pair looking for a ride. I’m a friend of Lily.” Harry let out a relieved breath. “Hello. We are friends of Lily also.” “Excellent.” Angus reached out for Ginny’s bag and gestured them out to the car park. He led the way to his van. “We have an almost three hour drive, so get comfortable.” The two teens climbed into the back seat and soon they were back on the road and heading south. Angus wasn’t as talkative as Ed had been, but he had some music playing and soon Ginny was resting her head on Harry’s shoulder sleeping. Harry smiled as he adjusted his arm around her and kissed her on top of the head. He was a bit nervous — he really had no idea where they were going, but he was very glad that Ginny was with him. As they sped out of Scotland, Harry’s eyes drifted shut as well. He woke a while later and noticed Ginny was still sleeping. Looking out the window he couldn’t really tell where they were. Angus’ eyes met his in the mirror. “Aye, we’re in England,” Angus answered his unasked question. “We’ve about another thirty minutes to go.” A short time later, Ginny woke up. Harry looked down as she lifted her head up. The thought crossed his mind that she looked awfully cute when she was waking up. “Hi,” he said softly. “Hi,” she replied as she looked out the windows. “Where are we? It’s really pretty around here.” “We’re in the Lake District National Park,” Angus answered. The rest of the drive passed quickly as the teens looked out the window admiring the scenery. “I hope the house we’ll be staying is close to here,” Harry remarked. “I dinna ken,” Angus said. “I’m dropping ye off at the kirk of Keswick St. John’s.” Nodding, Harry turned back to the scenery. They soon turned off A66 and crossed the Greta River into the town of Keswick. Suddenly Harry noticed a church steeple looming in the distance. “That must be the church,” he said, pointing to the steeple. Angus merely nodded and soon he was pulling into the car park at the church. Luckily there were very few cars, so finding the red Astra was easily accomplished. A tall, lanky man wearing a business suit was standing by the car. Pulling into the slot next to the Astra, Angus rolled down his window. “Are ye a friend of Lily?” “I am,” the man replied. Angus nodded to the teens who grabbed their bags and left the car. With a wave, Angus took off and left the young couple standing in front of the other man. He gave them a friendly smile. “Hello, I’m David Harper.” “Hi, I’m Harry and this is Ginny.” Harry shook the man’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you,” David replied. He opened the boot and the two placed their bags inside. Once everyone was in the car, David said, “I’m a manager at the bank here in Keswick, but my wife and I live in the town of Applethwaite which is just up the road. My wife, Deena, is a teacher at the secondary school.” Harry nodded, not really sure of what to say. David smiled. “My sister’s a witch, if you’re wondering. My wife and I are both what you would call Muggles. My sister became involved in this group back in the seventies and asked if Deena and I would help out.” As he drove north of town, David told the two about the area. “You are here at a great time of year. It’s very beautiful and there are a lot of outdoors activities. There are hiking trails, sailing — both Deena and I love to sail — lots of activities in town. I think you’ll really like it here.” “That sounds like fun,” Ginny said. “My uncle has a sailboat. We go sailing sometimes when we visit him.” Soon David was pulling up to a beautiful detached home. He smiled at the look on Ginny’s face. “Beautiful, isn’t it? This is why we live here.” He led the way up the stairs and into the house proper where a pretty blonde woman was waiting. After greeting his wife with a kiss, David turned to the two teens. “This is my wife, Deena. Deena, this is Harry and Ginny.” “Welcome to our home,” Deena said as she greeted them. “Thank you,” Ginny said shyly. “You have a beautiful home.” “Thank you,” Deena replied. “Let me show you two around.” The ground floor consisted of a large living room and dining room to the right of the entrance hall. The master bedroom was along the back of the house. To the left of the entrance hall was a large modern kitchen leading to an L-shaped, glass-walled conservatory with a view of the mountains. “This is amazing,” Harry remarked as they looked out of the conservatory windows. “We think so as well,” Deena replied with a smile. “Let me show you upstairs.” They followed her up the stairs and found a large open landing. An office was set up against the back wall to the right of the stairs. There were three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a large walk-in storage closet on the first floor. Ginny was given the largest room with the ensuite shower room while Harry took the room on the other side of the house. It wasn’t quite as large as Ginny’s room, but it was much larger than his room back on Privet Drive. Deena seemed happy they were so pleased with their accommodations. “If you’d like to clean up, dinner should be ready soon. I understand the two of you have had a long trip.” Sirius waited nervously in his cousin’s sitting room. “Thanks for doing this, Andi.” She smiled over at him. “I’m just glad I can do something. When I talked to the Aurors when you were arrested, they didn’t want to hear you weren’t guilty. I told them you weren’t Dark, but they thought I was covering for you.” She shook her head. “My sister is a Death Eater and both my brothers-in-law are Death Eaters. I freely told them that, I told them you were different and that you hated the Dark Arts.” Sirius smiled. “I appreciate that. I think they made up their minds as soon as they heard my last name. Dumbledore didn’t help matters much either.” “Surely he didn’t do that on purpose?” Andromeda asked. Sirius shook his head. “He didn’t, but he never bothered to talk to me or ask me what happened. He went to the Wizengamot and testified against me without giving me the courtesy of letting me defend myself. I guess he was too busy putting my godson with his horrible relatives.” “Sorry,” he continued. “I’m a little bitter at the moment. Dumbledore is a very powerful wizard and he has a great grasp of the large picture, but he doesn’t have a very good grasp of the smaller issues. He never talked to me before he dropped Harry off with his abusive relatives and never bothered to check on him. I think he’s trying to do too much and he’s letting little things slip through the cracks.” “You could be right,” came a voice from the doorway. The cousins turned to see Albus Dumbledore entering the room. Sirius was struck by how old the man looked. “I owe you an apology,” Dumbledore said sadly. “I fell into the same trap as everyone else. I should have taken the time to talk to you and ask you what had happened.” Sirius eyed the older wizard. “I won’t deny I’m angry about that, but I think Crouch had more of a role in that than you did. I’m upset about your treatment of Harry. Even if you overlook the abuse at his home, he had been horribly treated while he was at Hogwarts. He’s faced Voldemort how many times? Did you not notice Moody acting a little odd?” Dumbledore sighed, “I know. I did not follow up on any of the inconsistencies I noticed in Moody’s behaviour. I hadn’t worked with him in over a decade — anything odd I chalked up to the time that had passed. I was more consumed with the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This is not the first time you have said Harry thinks I abandoned him, did he say something to you?” “Not to me,” Sirius replied. “Ginny. One of the nights they were talking over the Christmas hols. That’s when I learned about the abuse at the Dursleys’.” “Abuse?” Albus questioned sharply. “I know he wasn’t treated well, but what makes you say he was abused?” “Hearing him talk about beatings, his uncle breaking his arm and withholding medical care, his aunt withholding food — did you know he lived in a cupboard until he got his first Hogwarts letter?” Sirius asked, fired up again. A knock on the door interrupted their discussion. Andromeda excused herself to answer the door and Sirius fell silent and he listened to the voices coming closer. He felt the dread rising up in him and suddenly felt quite sick. He sank down onto the sofa with his eyes glued nervously on the door. Soon Andromeda returned accompanied by a woman he recognized as Amelia Bones. She had already left Hogwarts before the Marauders started, but she had been friendly with James’ parents. He hadn’t known her well, but enough that he recognized her. Sirius stood nervously. “Ma’am.” She surveyed him from head to toe and Sirius was suddenly worried that he hadn’t dressed appropriately for the meeting. He’d asked Tonks and Emmeline to purchase some new dress robes for him, so he was wearing his new grey robes with black trim and his new black boots. “Sirius Black.” Madam Bones looked around the room and greeted Dumbledore before she sat down across from Sirius. “Tell me your story,” she said. Sirius told her everything. He told her about the Marauders and their project to keep Remus company. He told her about the decision he and James had made to switch Secret Keepers and he told her about his escape. For the first time since that night in the Shrieking Shack, he revealed how he’d escaped from Azkaban. Madam Bones listened quietly as Sirius talked himself out. She pulled out a sheaf of parchment as he began talking and made notes as he spoke. Once he’d fallen silent, she started asking questions. She turned to Dumbledore. “When did you become aware of this?” “Two years ago,” he replied. “He told me what had happened, but by that time Fudge was already there with the Dementors.” He then explained how Harry and Hermione had rescued Sirius and set him free. She raised her eyebrow at that. “You take a lot on yourself. Did it not occur to you to put Fudge off and consult with me? As the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, it should have been my department you consulted.” “I did not believe the Wizengamot would take the word of an escaped convict, a werewolf, and three underage wizards.” “I believe you underestimate our system of justice,” she replied evenly. “Just by virtue of the fact he never had a trial in the first place, his case would demand a second look.” She turned to look at Sirius. “Does any documentation of the switch exist?” “I’m not certain,” Sirius replied. “James may have put something in his vault.” She glanced at Dumbledore. “Has anyone been in his vault?” “No, it is being held in trust for Harry. He has been using a trust vault, the family vault is being held until he is of age.” Amelia shook her head. “Are there any Aurors whom you implicitly trust?” “Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt,” Dumbledore replied promptly. Amelia pulled her wand and sent a message to both of them. While they were waiting, Amelia pulled a form from her robes and began filling out it out. In a short period of time, the Aurors arrived at the Tonks home. She handed them the form. “This will allow you to access James and Lily Potter’s vault. Please look and see if there is any documentation regarding their Secret Keeper.” Kingsley nodded and the two of the headed out to Diagon Alley. Amelia turned back to Sirius. “Would you be willing to testify under Veritaserum?” Sirius swallowed heavily, but nodded. “Yes, I would.” “I will contact you shortly,” she replied. Standing she said, “I would like to investigate any paperwork that was filed in your case.” For the first time since she arrived, she smiled. “I don’t believe there will be any problems, Mr Black.” Deena smiled as Harry and Ginny entered the kitchen. “Good morning.” “Good morning,” they replied. “I didn’t know what you would want,” Deena said. “I have cereal and fruit this morning.” “That’s great,” Ginny replied. Harry agreed and the teens sat down to the table. Deena brought three cups of tea to the table and sat down with them. “I hope everything was okay last night.” “Great,” Ginny agreed. “I still can’t believe I have a bathroom attached to my bedroom. I thought the last house was great when there was one for just me and Harry to use.” Deena laughed. “Good. I’m glad. Did you grow up in a small house?” “Not small,” Ginny clarified. “We just only had one bathroom. I wonder now why my parents never thought to add another one. I have six brothers so we could have used one.” “Wow, six brothers,” Deena said, “that’s a big family.” “Yes and I’m the youngest,” Ginny explained. “What about you?” she asked Harry. “Me?” Harry asked instinctively. He wasn’t used to having to tell his story and he found he kind of liked it. “I’m an only child. My parents were killed when I was a baby, so I was raised by my aunt and uncle.” “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Deena replied, raising her hand to her mouth. Harry shrugged. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” Deena met his eyes and seemed to realize she had not hurt his feelings. “So, are you both…magical?” Both teens started laughing. Ginny answered, “Yes. My whole family is magical and I was raised in the magical world.” “I was raised in the Muggle world as my aunt and uncle are Muggles,” Harry explained. “My mum was like your sister-in-law, a Muggle-born witch. My dad’s family was all magical.” “Sorry if I’m asking too many questions,” Deena replied. “I’m just so curious. When I first met Michelle, I didn’t believe that she was a witch. Over the years I’ve slowly learned more about that world, but it just fascinates me.” Ginny smiled. “That’s okay, my dad’s the same way about Muggles.” Reassured, Deena nodded. “Okay, once you’re done eating, we’ll head into the conservatory. I want to find out a bit about your educational background. I want to find out what your needs are so we can plan how I can help you.” The teens nodded and finished their breakfast. Harry took their bowls to the sink and rinsed them out before placing them into the dishwasher. The three of them headed out to the conservatory. Deena placed herself across from the two of them. She picked up a spiral notebook and pen. “Can you tell me about the subjects you’ve studied at school?” Ginny and Harry exchanged a nervous glance. Harry is the one who answered, “We study Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and the History of Magic. After our second year we can add classes, I’ve also taken Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. Ginny added Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes.” “That’s not much help,” Deena mused. “No literature or maths?” Ginny shook her head and looked over at Harry nervously. She’d never read any Muggle literature except the books Hermione had given her, she wasn’t even certain if those were the type of books Deena was talking about. “How much do you know about Science? Do you know about cells?” Ginny shook her head at the same time as Harry nodded. “Atoms? The Climate? The Earth?” Ginny looked quite upset. “My mum taught me about weather and working with the land. I know about animals and such, but I’ve never heard of atoms or cells.” Harry reached over and put his hand on hers. “It’s okay, Ginny.” “No, it’s not!” Ginny jerked her hand out of his. “I don’t know anything that Muggle children learn in school.” To Harry’s shock, Ginny ran out of the room. He heard her run up the stairs and slam her door. He turned to Deena, who also seemed surprised by the turn of events. “Oh dear, I didn’t mean to make her feel badly,” Deena said. “Ginny’s really smart,” Harry said a touch defensively. “She’s a Pureblood witch and she’s never spent any time in the Muggle world before. She’s been working so hard.” Deena sighed. “It was suggested to me that the two of you be prepared for school, but that might not be the best plan. Ginny is a very sweet girl, but she’d get eaten alive at most of the secondary schools I’ve seen. Not only doesn’t she know the subjects, but she doesn’t have the same frame of reference as other girls her age.” She seemed lost in thought. “Let me talk to the Cumbria County Council and see what they recommend.” “No, wouldn’t they just say we have to go to school?” Deena shook her head. “No. Any parent or guardian can choose to home educate their child and no curriculum needs to be presented. They have resources that I can use to teach Ginny some of these basic concepts and catch you up to where you should be. We’ll try to work something out.” “Okay,” Harry said dubiously. “I’m going to check on Ginny.” He hurried up the stairs to Ginny’s room. He knocked softly on the door, but didn’t receive an answer. He hesitated outside the door for a moment, but then decided to just open it. The sight that met him broke his heart; Ginny was curled up on her bed crying. He quickly crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her. “Please don’t cry, Gin,” Harry said as he ran his hand down her back. To his dismay, it only made her cry harder. He glanced at the still open door to her room and wondered what he should do. Making up his mind, he kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed next to her. He somewhat clumsily maneuvered so she was at least now crying on him and not her pillow. Wrapping both arms around her, he murmured words of comfort to her and held her while she cried. He hated the fact that she was so upset; he could feel the front of his t-shirt getting wet from her tears. Eventually her tears slowed down and Harry could feel her steady breath against his neck. “Are you okay, Baby?” Ginny sniffed and nodded. “I’m sorry I got so upset. I…I just felt like I’d come so far and learned so much and she started asking questions and I felt so stupid.” “You are not stupid,” Harry said sharply. “You just learned different things.” “I guess I know that, but sometimes I feel like that stupid little girl Tom fooled. Plus, I miss my family. I mentioned my dad this morning and all during breakfast I kept thinking about him. He would be so thrilled that I’ve been living in the Muggle world and I can’t even tell him about it.” “Oh, Baby. I’m sorry, I never even thought about that,” Harry said, pulling her close again. “I miss Sirius. I’ve never really had anyone to miss before, I didn’t even think about you missing your family.” Ginny relaxed into his arms. “Can we just stay up here for a while?” “Of course,” Harry said. He kissed her on top of the head and she shifted over so she was more comfortable on his chest. Within a few minutes, both teens had fallen asleep. Hermione heard the mail come through the mail slot. She set down her book and headed over to pick it up. A small pile of mail lay on the entryway floor. She picked it up and started sorting through it. Most of it was bills or catalogues; she headed to her mum’s desk to set down the stack when she noticed a postcard. She fished the postcard out of the stack and looked at it. The picture was of a monument she didn’t recognize right away. Turning it over, she had to suppress a scream. She would recognize Harry’s scrawl anywhere. Hermione, Sorry to contact you this way. I hope you got through OWLs without any problems — I’m sure you did. We are both fine and doing well. I hope I don’t have to tell you that the official version is not correct. We both miss our families and hope to see them soon. We are safe. If you’re unsure, I’ll tell you that Norbert is now happy in Romania. The handwriting changed to another one that Hermione recognized as well. Please tell everyone I’m fine and I miss them. We hope to get home soon. Tears filled her eyes as she traced Harry’s handwriting. They were safe and still together. Hearing from him that he hadn’t killed anyone reassured her in a way nothing else could. She had always known he would never have killed them in his right mind, but Ginny would never have set a Basilisk on her in her right mind, either. In her worst imaginings, Harry under Voldemort’s control had killed Ginny along with the others and had gone to join him. She was never so glad to be proven wrong before. It surprised her a bit that it hadn’t been intercepted, but maybe they didn’t realize who it was from. She knew she needed to let someone know right away. Looking at the card again, she saw that it was from the Bannockburn battlefield in Scotland. It surprised her that they were still in Scotland; she would have thought they’d have fled as soon as they left Hogwarts. Not for the first time, she wished she had an owl to communicate with the magical world. She racked her brains trying to think of an easy way to contact someone and also who she should contact. Part of her wanted to contact Professor Dumbledore right away, but she wasn’t entirely sure if that was what she should do. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. She hurried over to her school bag and pulled out her Ancient Runes notes. On the back page, she found the number she had scrawled during one of their study sessions. Grabbing the phone off the wall, she quickly dialled the number. To her delight, Justin answered the phone on the second ring. She vaguely explained the situation, not wanting to say much over the phone and Justin rose to the occasion admirably, promising to send his owl out immediately. Within twenty minutes, a brown barn owl was scratching at her window. She had her letter ready and sent it out with the owl. Now all she could do was wait. Ginny woke up feeling warm and protected. She looked up and saw Harry sleeping next to her. Her face heated with embarrassment as she remembered her outburst that morning. Peeking up at Harry, she thought again that she was glad she was with him. Hermione was a great friend, but at times she made Ginny feel a bit stupid. “Are you okay?” came a soft voice next to her. She looked up into his beautiful emerald eyes. “I’m sorry for losing it. I’m better; I think I just got overwhelmed.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. “It’s okay. I think you are doing so well, I know how hard it is to make it in a different world. I’ve been in the magical world for five years and I still run into things I don’t know.” “Thank you,” she whispered. She propped herself up on one elbow so she was looking down on him. Slowly she leaned down and kissed him. As always when she was in his arms, she lost herself in the sensation. Tentatively, she opened her mouth and ran her tongue along his lips. He responded immediately by opening his mouth as well. A thrill ran through her as his tongue tangled with hers. Running her hand through his hair, she snuggled up closer to him. His hand slowly ran up her body. She revelled at how gentle his touch was. He slowly inched one of his hands under the hem of her shirt and caressed the soft skin of her back. His other arm was circled around her and nestled into her hair. She lost track of time as she explored his mouth and bravely ran her hand up his chest. She wanted to slide her hand under his shirt, but didn’t feel quite that brave. As he moved his lips to her neck, Ginny felt herself melt. Eventually Harry said, “Ginny, we need to stop.” His voice was very husky and his lips were rather swollen. As much as Ginny wanted to continue, she knew he was right. With a sigh, she laid her head back on his chest. She could hear his heart beating rapidly and she felt a bit of pride that she’d caused that. Once she felt his heart slow down, she lifted her head. “I’ve been thinking. We should change our look again. If they go to Bannockburn and find out what we look like, that could be bad.” “Damn,” Harry swore softly. “You’re right, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent that postcard.” “No,” Ginny said. “I agreed with that. We needed to let them know we are alright. I can only imagine my family and Sirius must be going nuts by now.” He smiled at her as he lifted one of her hands and pressed a kiss in her palm. “Thank you, you always know what to say to me.” Giggling, she hopped up off the bed. “Come on, let’s find Deena. She’ll know of some place to get our look changed.” The two of them headed downstairs to find Deena. She agreed with their idea. “I think we should go across to Darlington. It’s about an hour and a half to two hours away. I grew up near there and know a great hairdresser. That way no one around here will know what you look like now.” “That’s great,” Harry said. “Okay,” Deena smiled. “I think we can head over to Darlington tomorrow. In the meantime…” She reached into her bag and pulled out several workbooks. “I spoke to a woman who had chosen to educate her children at home. She recommended several workbooks and I was able to find several of them.” She handed the larger stack to Ginny. “I think that you might know more than you think you do, but you learned it differently than Harry or I did. Go through the workbooks and see what you know and what you don’t. It’s a beautiful day outside, why don’t the two of you take your workbooks outside and work?” Taking the workbooks and pencils she offered, the two headed out to the back garden. Like everything else in the house, the garden was beautifully done. There were multiple levels and seating areas. Harry let Ginny choose where she wanted to work. She chose a seating area that included a small table with four chairs and faced the picturesque Skiddaw Mountain. Settling at the table, they started to work. Remus was eating lunch at Grimmauld Place when a strange owl flew in with mail. He lazily reached out and took the note from the bird and offered him part of his sandwich. The owl hooted and drank some of his juice and took the crust offered to him before flying off. To his surprise, the note was written on lined notebook paper, not parchment. On the outside was written — Professor Lupin - in Hermione’s neat script. Opening the note, he read it eagerly. Dear Professor Lupin, I’m sorry to bother you during summer, but I have a question I was hoping you could answer for me. Remember during our third year when you taught me that charm against Dementors? I’ve been having problems with the charm and I was hoping you could help me with it. I’m at home during the day if you have time to stop by. Hermione Granger Remus reread the letter, his brow furrowing in confusion. He hadn’t taught Hermione the Patronus, he’d taught…Harry. She must have some information about Harry. He stood abruptly and hurried out to the alley behind the house. He Apparated to Hermione’s back garden. He knocked on the door and was relieved when Hermione opened it immediately. “Professor, I’m so glad you came.” Hermione looked around the garden before she shut the door behind him. She handed him the postcard and watched as he read it. “They’re alive.” She nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes. “They are alive.” “You’re sure it’s from them?” Remus asked anxiously. He recognized both Harry and Ginny’s writing, but he wanted to make certain — someone could have forged their handwriting. “Yes, Norbert is a dragon we helped Hagrid with in our first year.” She was shocked to see the tears in her former professor’s eyes. “Thank God.” He looked over at her, “Would you be able to come to Headquarters for the afternoon? I know some people will want to talk to you.” Hermione nodded. “Let me call my mum first.” Remus waited while Hermione called her mother and told her she was going to see a friend in London. Her mother agreed, but asked her to call if she wasn’t going to be home for dinner. “Can we leave from here?” Hermione asked. “We should leave from the back garden,” Remus said. “I know protective charms have been placed on your house.” Nodding, Hermione quickly locked the front door and once they were in the back garden, she locked the back door as well. Taking Remus’ arm, he Apparated them to the alley behind Grimmauld Place. When they entered the house, Remus gestured for her to head down to the kitchen. Sirius and Bill were there when they arrived and Kreacher was puttering around the kitchen, muttering under his breath. “Get out, Kreacher,” Sirius snapped when he saw who had arrived. Although Hermione looked a bit upset at Sirius’ tone towards the elf, she didn’t comment. Instead she held out the postcard. “Look.” “Merlin,” Sirius breathed. “Harry, he’s okay.” He reached out with a shaky hand to take the card and Bill gasped as he read the card over Sirius’ shoulder. Hermione nodded and she explained about Norbert again. Bill turned and threw some floo powder into the fireplace and called, “Arthur Weasley’s office — Misuse of Muggle Artifacts.” Within a moment Arthur’s head appeared in the fireplace. Before he could say anything, Bill said, “Dad, you need to come over here.” He stepped back and Arthur stepped through. Wordlessly, Sirius handed Arthur the postcard. “Oh, thank Merlin,” Arthur said. He flipped over the post card and turned it back over again. “They are in Scotland?” “It’s worth checking, don’t you think?” Bill asked. He read from the card, “The Wallace Memorial at the Bannockburn Battlefield.” He looked up at Remus. “Do you know where that is?” Remus nodded. “We need to let Dumbledore know.” “Why?” Sirius growled. Remus just looked at him. “Sirius, he needs to know.” “He wants to throw Harry in jail,” Sirius said angrily. “Sirius, I agree with Remus,” Arthur said gently. “You may have disagreements with him, but he has contacts and knowledge we don’t have.” “Fine,” Sirius grumbled. “But I’m going no matter what he says.” Sirius hurried upstairs to change while the others contacted Dumbledore. By the time Sirius arrived back downstairs in jeans and a collared shirt, Dumbledore was already there. Sirius cast glamours changing his hair to a sandy blonde colour and shortening it to above his collar. He didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught this close to possibly winning his freedom. Dumbledore looked up when Sirius arrived and nodded curtly. “I’ve spoken to Kingsley. He will meet us there.” He looked around at the group ranged around him. “Miss Granger, are you going to accompany us?” Hermione nodded. “Yes sir.” Hermione, Remus, Sirius, and Bill were all dressed in Muggle clothing. Dumbledore looked at Arthur. “We need to change our clothing.” With a few waves of their wands the two men were dressing in Muggle clothing. Arthur had changed into trousers and a button up shirt, similar to what Remus was wearing. Albus was wearing a blue suit with an almost electric blue shirt. Hermione smiled at his choice, but didn’t say anything. Dumbledore pulled a quill out of his pocket and directed everyone to touch it. With the disquieting sensation of being pulled through a tube, all of them arrived in a secluded area of the battlefield. Taking a moment to get their bearings, Hermione pointed out the visitors’ centre. “That’s probably where they bought the post card.” “Hermione, why don’t you, Sirius, and Remus talk to anyone working in the shop,” Dumbledore said. “Bill, Arthur, and I will see what we can discover out here.” He looked over at Kingsley who said, “I’ll go into the shop with them.” The group split up and the four of them headed into the visitors’ centre. There was a young girl working behind the counter selling tickets. Kingsley stepped forward and took charge. “Excuse me, Miss.” Kingsley smiled and to Hermione’s surprise, flashed a badge at the girl. “We are looking for a young couple who came through here probably on Wednesday. Were you working on Wednesday?” “Yes, sir,” the girl replied. She seemed a bit overwhelmed by the group in front of her. She looked down at the pictures for a moment before shaking her head, “No, sir. I would remember someone with hair that colour.” “Of course,” Kingsley said easily. “What if her hair were a different colour? Did you see any young couple come through here on Wednesday?” The girl seemed to consider the matter before she brightened. “Yes, there was a couple through here on Wednesday.” She giggled. “I remember, because he was really cute.” “Can you describe them?” Sirius asked. “He was tall, probably over six feet and really fit,” the girl said enthusiastically. “His hair was lighter than that picture; it was more of like a sandy blonde and kind of spiky. She was smaller than him with brown hair, she was very pretty. I remember they had rather large bags with them, like big rucksacks. They were English.” “Do you know what they did?” Kingsley asked. The girl shrugged. “They paid cash for the tickets and I know they headed into the exhibit.” “Thank you,” Kingsley said. He reached into his wallet and paid for the four of them to enter the exhibit. “That would make sense,” Kingsley said as they walked further into the centre. “Her hair is very distinctive; it would be the first thing I would recommend -- to change her hair colour.” “Does this mean someone is helping them?” Hermione asked. “Even if they thought of it, I don’t see them as colouring their hair by themselves.” “I think someone has to be helping them,” Kingsley replied. “I just don’t know when or where they met up with the person.” He discretely drew his wand and changed the pictures to agree with the description given by the girl. They headed into the gift shop and were lucky to once again find a clerk who had been working on Wednesday. “Do you remember this couple?” Kingsley asked as he once again flashed his badge. “I know they bought this post card and posted it from here.” The clerk was an older man; he smiled as he looked at the pictures. “Aye, I remember them. Cute couple, they walked around the shop for a while looking at things and then the boy asked if we sold stamps. I told him we did and told him where the post box is. If I recall correctly they just bought the one card with a stamp and the two Scottish flags.” “Scottish flags?” Kingsley asked. The clerk nodded and pointed out the type the couple had purchased. “They headed out onto the battlefield.” “Did they seem upset or happy? What were they doing?” “They seemed quite happy — holding hands and laughing and talking together. I noticed them at first because they were so happy together. She was looking at the stuffed animals and he was gently teasing her. I think he wanted to get one for her, but she kept saying no. I saw him post the card and they were waiting by the statue of Robert the Bruce.” “Waiting?” Kingsley asked. “Aye,” the clerk replied. “They were standing there for a good ten to fifteen minutes.” He laughed, “Oh to be young and in love again. They were cuddling and trading kisses, it was very sweet.” “Did you see them leave?” Kingsley asked. The clerk’s brow furrowed slightly. “I had other customers. I saw them walking away with another young man. Let me think…he was shorter than that young man with a ball cap and longish, dark hair in a ponytail. They headed off to the car park.” “Thank you,” Kingsley said. As they headed out to the battlefield, Hermione remarked, “They were really cooperative. It’s amazing how much they remembered.” Kingsley laughed. “It’s the badge, Hermione. There are charms on the badge that enlist cooperation and mildly enhance their memories.” “Really?” Hermione couldn’t decide if she was more curious or outraged. “They are minor charms,” Kingsley replied. “It saves us from coming up with cover stories as to why we are asking about these people and helps us gather information they might not share otherwise.” Heading over to the statue, they met up with the rest of the group. Kingsley quickly shared what they had learned and showed them the updated pictures of the couple. Dumbledore nodded as he listened. Once Kingsley had told them everything he had discovered, Dumbledore said, “We also made a discovery.” He gestured to a ghostly warrior on the battlefield. “That warrior noticed them as well. They waved to him. He says other than us, Harry and Ginny are the first magical people he has seen in quite some time.” “Did he see them leave?” Kingsley asked. “I can’t figure out how they got here and left. There is a bus they could have arrived on, but it seems they knew to wait for this young man to pick them up.” “I am going to talk to the shop clerk,” Dumbledore announced. Kingsley nodded as he discretely cast some spells. At a word from Sirius, the other men hid him from view for a moment as he transformed into Padfoot. He sniffed around the statue before barking excitedly. He sniffed around and headed to the car park. A few moments later, Sirius returned looking a bit distressed. “I picked up their scent fairly easily, but I lost them in the car park,” he explained. Before he could say anything further, the air seemed to shimmer and suddenly the afternoon was filled with popping sounds. Sirius swore as a group of Death Eaters came into view. “Hermione, do you have your wand?” Kingsley asked urgently. She shook her head as she bit back a whimper. He quickly cast a spell on her. “You are invisible now. Find someplace to hide, the spell isn’t perfect and they can still hit you.” She ran out onto the battlefield as the Death Eaters seemed to be converging on the Heritage Centre. She watched in horror as the Death Eaters casually killed a couple fleeing in terror. The wizards immediately sprang into action. Bill seemed to be placing shield charms to protect the Muggles while the others moved to engage the Death Eaters. Professor Dumbledore strode out of the Heritage Centre to confront the Death Eaters. Hermione couldn’t hear anything so she presumed someone had cast a silencing spell. She was impressed with the speed of the spells being exchanged between the two groups. A part of her was glad she didn’t have her wand, she wasn’t certain she would have been able to keep up with the spell fire. She vividly remembered Harry yelling at her and Ron that they didn’t know what it was like and watching this, she would have to agree. A flash of green caught her eye and she realized with horror it was the Killing Curse. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the gift shop clerk fall from the curse. Suddenly the fight was over and the Death Eaters started popping away. Two Death Eaters had been captured, but three of the Muggles lay dead. Kingsley looked around and seemed to catch sight of Hermione. He aimed his wand at her and she realized she was suddenly visible. She hurried back to the others. Mr Weasley hurried over to her and wrapped her in a hug. “Are you alright?” “That was awful,” she sobbed. “I know, dear,” he responded soothingly. He led her over to a bench near the statue. She jumped when more wizards started showing up. “Don’t worry,” he said. “They are from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. They will help sort out what happened and modify the Muggles’ memories accordingly.” “What?” Hermione looked up and gratefully took the handkerchief Mr Weasley offered. “How can they be made to forget this?” “Probably it will become a terrorist attack or bombing,” Mr Weasley replied. He shrugged at the look of surprise on her face. “After the IRA bombing in Manchester last month, it won’t be questioned. The Department usually works with the Muggle authorities to come up with the appropriate story.” Hermione nodded as she calmed slightly. Mr Weasley smiled at her gently. “Take my arm, we’ll head back to Headquarters.” Gratefully, Hermione did as she was bid. One slightly nauseating journey later, they were back at Grimmauld Place. Mr Weasley gently guided her into the kitchen and quickly summoned his wife from the Burrow. “Here you go, dear.” Mrs Weasley handed her a mug of tea. Hermione automatically took a few sips. Within minutes she started relaxing. “I’m sorry, dear. I added some Calming Draught to your tea,” Mrs Weasley admitted. “That’s okay,” Hermione smiled wanly. “I think I needed it.” Mrs Weasley sat down next to her. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, dear.” “It was awful,” Hermione said sadly. “That poor shop clerk and that couple were just killed. It was funny, I kept thinking of Harry’s parents. Did they just fall like that?” Hermione shook her head and sipped her tea. The door opened and Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, and Bill entered. Mrs Weasley looked up at them. “Is it true? Was Ginny there?” Dumbledore nodded. “I was able to verify that Harry and Ginny were there on Wednesday.” He turned to Sirius. “Is there a Pensieve here?” Sirius nodded and hurried up to the Drawing Room. He returned in just a few minutes with a black and rather intricately carved Pensieve. He looked at Bill. “Can you just check this before it is used? I have no idea what sort of memories are stored in here, but the liquid is black.” Nodding Bill drew his wand and started casting a rather intricate spell. An awful shrieking sound spilled out of murky liquid. A black mist rose from the depths of the bowl and Bill quickly dispersed it. The liquid was now a pearly grey colour. “It should be safe now.” “Thank you, William,” Dumbledore said with a rather proud smile. He put his wand up to his temple and withdrew a strand of memory. After depositing the memory in the Pensieve, he prodded it with his wand. Smiling courteously at Hermione, he asked, “Are you familiar with the purpose of a Pensieve, Miss Granger?” She blushed a bit, overwhelmed at speaking directly to the Headmaster. “Harry told me they can hold your thoughts and memories.” “Exactly,” the venerable wizard replied. “We will be entering the shop clerk’s memories. Because it is a relatively fresh memory, it should be rather rich in detail. We will be able to move around and follow the couple we suspect to be Harry and Ginny.” He looked around the room. “Let us enter the Pensieve.” Hermione was momentarily disoriented, but gasped as she spotted her friend entering the gift shop. The group drew closer to the young couple. Mrs Weasley seemed quite relieved to see her daughter. Hermione saw her wiping away tears. “Her hair, what in Merlin’s name did she do to her hair?” Sirius quickly filled her in on their discussion at the Heritage Centre. She still looked a bit dubious, but nodded. “She looks a bit different. I think she’s wearing makeup.” “Harry looks different as well,” Sirius noted. He leaned in to watch his godson as he teased Ginny about the plush animals. “He isn’t wearing glasses, but he doesn’t seem to have any trouble with his vision.” Hermione gasped. “He must be wearing some type of contacts.” “They don’t seem at all nervous,” Bill observed as the couple discussed sending a post card to Hermione. “Miss Granger, do their bags look familiar?” Professor Dumbledore asked. She shook her head, “No, I’ve never seen them before. Their clothes are different as well.” Hermione watched them in amazement. They looked different, but that wasn’t everything. They were acting differently as well. While she’d heard them described as a couple, she hadn’t really believed them until now. As they left the Heritage Centre, Harry casually reached out and took Ginny’s hand. That really surprised Hermione; she’d never seen Harry being so bold. They followed the group around the battlefield, but as Harry and Ginny had left the building they couldn’t hear anything. The couple stopped under the statue of Robert the Bruce and appeared to be waiting for someone. Both teens set their rucksacks on the ground and to the surprise of most of the group, Ginny wrapped her arm around Harry’s waist while he wrapped his around her shoulders. There was more than one uncomfortable moment as the group watched the young couple flirt and even kiss a time or two. Sirius seemed the least surprised of anyone, he actually smiled as he watched them. The three Weasleys seemed a bit uncomfortable to be intruding on such an intimate scene, while Professor Dumbledore seemed contemplative. They saw Ginny pointing and saying something. Looking where she was pointing, they saw a young man approaching the young couple. Unfortunately, Professor Dumbledore said, “That is all I was able to see before the Death Eaters arrived.” The group exited the Pensieve rather sombrely. Professor Dumbledore looked over at the Weasleys. “Does your daughter know anyone in Scotland who may have helped them?” Mr and Mrs Weasley exchanged a look and shrugged helplessly. “Not that I know about, she’s never mentioned anyone. As far as I know she only exchanges letters with family members,” Mrs Weasley responded. “I don’t think it would be a kid,” Bill put in. “Their clothes looked new and it would be rather expensive to buy new clothes for the two of them. If those bags are full of clothes - that’s a lot of money.” Professor Dumbledore looked troubled. “I don’t like the thought of them being beholden to someone for so much money.” “Ginny couldn’t have had more than a few Galleons,” Mr Weasley said in a concerned voice. “She doesn’t know anyone with that amount of money.” Sirius laughed, “Of course she does. Harry could easily afford to buy entire wardrobes for both of them without even thinking about it.” “Would he have had that much money with him?” Hermione asked. “I don’t think he usually has much money with him.” “He visited his vault over the Christmas holidays,” Remus admitted. “What?!” Sirius and Remus both cringed under the outcry from the Weasley parents and Dumbledore. Dumbledore surveyed them over his glasses, disappointment evident in his face. “Why was he allowed to go to Gringotts?” “He asked to,” Sirius replied evenly. “He went Christmas shopping with Remus and Tonks. He pointed out that we were letting him go to St Mungo’s so why not go to Diagon Alley.” “What?” Mrs Weasley exploded. “What gives you the right to let that boy go gallivanting off to Diagon Alley? He travelled to St Mungo’s with multiple Order members. Diagon Alley?” Sirius’ faced hardened at Mrs Weasley’s rant. “I gave him permission to go to Diagon Alley. They travelled there and back without incident.” “Why would he do that?” Hermione asked. “He should have asked Professor Dumbledore before leaving.” “He wanted to go Christmas shopping,” Sirius replied icily. “Why would he need Dumbledore’s permission? I am his guardian, I gave him permission.” Hermione was taken aback by Sirius’ tone and didn’t respond. Mrs Weasley however was undeterred. “That was completely irresponsible. He could have been captured. Do you not care for his safety?” Sirius stood and glared at the woman angrily, “Of course I care about him. He was travelling with an Auror and another Order member and I would like to point out that no one would have known about it if Remus hadn’t mentioned it.” “Molly,” Mr Weasley said sharply, “this is not helping.” He turned to Remus, “Do you know how much money he may have taken from his vault?” Remus shook his head. “Tonks went down with him. As I recall she said he swept a bunch of Galleons into his moneybag. She might know more.” Bill cleared his throat. “Sirius can find out. He is Harry’s legal guardian, he can inquire at Gringotts.” “That might not be a bad idea,” Remus said calmly. “We would have a better idea how much money he has with him.” Clearly still angry, Sirius nodded in agreement. Dumbledore looked over at Remus. “Will you accompany Miss Granger home? I need to go over to the Ministry. Arthur your presence might be useful as well.” “I can get the forms for you to inquire about his accounts,” Bill said. The room soon cleared out, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts. Something about this scenario seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember why. He thought it might have something to do with Lily. David looked up as the young couple entered the living room. “Blimey, you two look different.” Harry’s hair was a darker brown and it was now long enough that he had it pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing brown contacts. Ginny’s hair was lighter, more of a strawberry blonde and much curlier than it had been. Her eyes were now blue. “Good,” Deena said as she followed the couple into the room. “That is what we hoped to accomplish.” David was still marvelling over the change a bit later in the evening as they dined outside enjoying the chicken he had cooked on the grill. “I wasn’t too sure when Harry suggested I use contacts to change my eye colour,” Ginny explained, “but I like it. I’ve always wanted blue eyes. My dad and two of my brothers have such lovely blue eyes, I’ve always been a bit jealous.” “They look lovely,” David said gallantly. Harry shrugged. “I like your eyes better, but they are pretty.” She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. David listened to the other three tell him about their trip to Darlington. Once they finished eating, David turned to the teens. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, do you two enjoy working out?” “Yes,” Harry answered immediately. “Great.” the older man led the two up to the workshop that he had converted to a home gym. “If you want to use this while you are here, please feel free.” “This is great,” Harry said as he looked around the room. While not as extensive as the one Sirius had set up, it had an exercise bike, a treadmill, and a weight machine. “Thank you,” David replied proudly. “My brother is a personal trainer. He helped me get this set up.” “We helped my godfather set up a home gym this past Christmas,” Harry said a bit wistfully. “I’ve mostly been running while I’ve been at school.” Remus paced nervously outside the conference room in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Sirius had been in the conference room with Amelia, Scrimgeour, and Kingsley for most of the afternoon. They had chosen a day when Fudge was conveniently out of town, having left the day before for a holiday in France. Since the Death Eater attack in Stirling, Fudge had come under increasing public fire. There were rumours that there might be a vote of no-confidence soon. The door opened and Remus turned towards the door quickly. Sirius was leaving the room shaking hands with Scrimgeour. He grinned at his friend. “I’m free!” Remus let out a shaky sigh of relief before he was pounced on by his very overexcited friend. “James had documented the change in Secret Keeper; it was in his papers in the Potter family vault. One of the Death Eaters captured at Stirling testified that Wormtail is alive and in Voldemort’s service. They had me testify under Veritaserum and they believed me.” Amelia left the conference room. “Are you ready to face the press?” “The press?” Remus questioned. “I recommended that Sirius attend a press conference so we can get the word out that he has been cleared,” Amelia explained. “Are you ready for that?” Remus asked. Sirius nodded. “I want to get the word out as soon as possible. I want Harry to know that I am free.” The press conference was wild. Madam Bones and Scrimgeour made their statements clearing Sirius Black of any wrongdoing. They exposed Peter Pettigrew as the person who had both betrayed the Potters and killed the street full of Muggles. Sirius was brought out and posed for pictures with the Ministry officials. He answered a few questions, only refusing to explain how he had escaped from Azkaban. He once again reiterated his belief in his godson’s innocence. Harry looked out over Bassenthwaite Lake. He had never been sailing before, but he had instantly fallen in love with it. The Harpers were members of the Bassenthwaite Sailing Club and kept their boat there. He knew they had told him all about what type of boat it was, but he’d forgotten all of that. He actually thought he was lucky to even remember his name when Ginny had come up on deck in her green two piece swimming costume. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked. It was hard trying not to stare at her, but he was just managing it. “Harry!” David called out. “Do you want to learn more about sailing?” “Sure.” Harry made his way to David and spent some time learning how to sail. By early afternoon, they had stopped to eat. Deena had prepared a lunch and brought it on board in a cooler. She brought out the sandwiches, fruit, and cans of soda. The four of them sat on the deck and ate lunch. The Harpers were calling out greetings to other boaters. “If you are interested,” David remarked, “there is a youth squad. The two of you could learn to sail.” Harry perked up. “That sounds like fun.” He looked over at Ginny who agreed. After lunch, Harry and Ginny decided to go swimming. Harry was a bit nervous at first, his swimming skills weren’t the best, but he was soon paddling around having fun. Ginny, he decided, was part mermaid — the pretty kind, not the real kind. She swam so effortlessly, he forgot to paddle once or twice while he was watching her. Once they tired of swimming the pair pulled themselves back up onto the boat. Harry watched as Ginny dried off and pulled a book out of her bag. He hurriedly dried off and joined her. Peering over her shoulder he wrinkled his nose. “The Far Pavilions. Aren’t you done with that?” Ginny shook her head and leaned her head against his shoulder. “No, I’m not. I don’t know what you have against it. It’s a great book.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s really long and not that interesting.” She hit him on the shoulder before settling back against him. “I think it’s romantic and I find India fascinating. My great-grandfather served in India...my mum’s grandfather or great-grandfather, I can’t remember exactly when. My grandmother used to tell us tales about India.” Harry wrapped his arm around her as she sat against him reading her book. He knew he should probably be reading as well, but he was enjoying the gentle motion of the water, the warmth of the sun, and the lovely feeling of Ginny leaning up against him. He lost track of time as he enjoyed the afternoon. As they headed back towards the Sailing Club, Harry leaned over and said softly, “This is brilliant.” “What do you mean?” Ginny asked as she kissed him softly. “Spending time with you and my biggest worry being if we get sunburned,” Harry replied. “This is so much better than what I usually do over the summer.” Ginny smiled up at him. “I’m glad. You deserve to have fun.” Ron lazily circled the paddock on his broom. This had to officially be the worst summer ever. He missed Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. After talking to his father, he did realize that Hermione had a point and he also had a right to be a little offended that she dismissed his feelings so easily, but that was not a reason to end a five year friendship. He had finally apologized to Hermione, but they had only exchanged a few letters. He knew from a long history of arguing with her it would take a while before they got back to normal. Unfortunately, Hermione was now in Spain with her parents and wasn’t expected back until the middle of August. With Fred and George spending most of their time in London starting up their shop, Ron was left on his own a lot. “Ron!” He turned to see his mother waving him down. He quickly landed and hurried into the house. He’d learned the hard way to come quickly when his mother called him. Two weeks ago, he’d ignored her and she had used a charm he had never heard of to stop his broom. She’d stunned him and dragged him into the house. It had been a humiliating experience and not one he wanted to repeat. “What’s going on, Mum?” “We need to go to Headquarters,” she replied. He followed his mother and soon found himself being sent up to the drawing room on the first floor. “Ron!” “Neville, what are you doing here, mate?” “I’m not really sure,” Neville replied with a nervous laugh. “My grandmother brought me here and told me to wait up here. I’ve heard a bunch of people coming and going, but I haven’t really talked to anyone.” “Your gran joined the Order of the Phoenix?” Ron questioned. Neville nodded. “She told me about it last week. I guess my parents were part of the original Order of the Phoenix. Have your parents been in long?” “Since the night of the third task,” Ron explained. “My uncles were part of the original Order, but my parents weren’t.” Neville looked around the rather dark room. “This place is really creepy.” Ron laughed. “I know. It’s Sirius’ family’s place. His house elf really let this place go while he was in Azkaban.” “Former house elf,” came a voice from the doorway. “Hi, Sirius,” Ron said. “What do you mean former house elf?” “It turns out Kreacher was giving information to my lovely cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa. That’s why the Death Eaters turned up at Bannockburn,” Sirius explained. “When I confronted him, he admitted it and he died.” “He died?” Ron was shocked. “House elf magic,” Sirius said, “he betrayed his master so he had to die. I’m glad he’s not here, but the house is worse than ever.” “You should get Dobby to help you,” Ron said with a laugh. “I bet he’d love to help you out.” “Who’s Dobby?” “He’s the Malfoy’s old elf. Harry freed him after our second year. He works at Hogwarts now,” Ron explained. “I might have to check into that,” Sirius said. “We’re expecting more people soon; we might be sending some up here. I wanted to let you know.” After Sirius left, Neville told Ron about his summer so far. It hadn’t been much better than Ron’s. Soon the sound of people rushing up the stairs was heard. Ron and Neville hurried down to the dining room, where people were gathered. “Susan!” Neville exclaimed. He hurried over to the girl who looked rather shaken up. “Are you okay?” “Death Eaters attacked my aunt’s house,” she replied in a tone that said she still couldn’t believe it. “Oh, Merlin, is she okay?” Neville asked. “I think so,” Susan replied. She looked over at Ron. “Your brother, Bill, was amazing. He and Professor Lupin fought the Death Eaters. A woman, Hestia, I think, was injured and my aunt has a broken leg.” “That’s awful,” Ron said sincerely. He sat down next to her as his mother bustled in with a tea tray. “Here you go, dear,” she said as she handed Susan a cup of tea. “It has a weak dose of Calming Draught in there.” Susan nodded and mechanically began to drink. After a few minutes, Ron could tell she had calmed down. Neville explained to her about the Order of the Phoenix. “Thank Merlin they came,” she said. Looking over at Ron, she asked, “Is there any news about Harry and your sister?” Ron shook his head. “Not since the postcard he sent Hermione.” “I heard about that,” Susan said. “My aunt is looking into Umbridge’s death. I told her Harry would never do that.” “Thanks,” Ron said. “Does Professor Dumbledore still think Harry killed her?” Neville asked. “I don’t know,” Ron sighed. “I think he still thinks it’s possible You-Know-Who is controlling Harry — maybe not all the time, but he can control him. I guess it’s possible, but I just don’t see Harry killing anyone and I know my sister wouldn’t just sit by and watch.” “I can’t believe no one knows where they are,” Neville said. “If anyone can make that situation work, it would be Harry. He’s pretty fearless.” Ron nodded. “He is.” Ginny gasped when she saw the zebra galloping across the field at the wildlife park. “That is so pretty.” Reaching out she linked hands with Harry. “This was a great idea.” He replied by dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” “This is much better than where my brother works,” Ginny said. “There are so many different kinds of animals.” “This is a lot cooler than the one we went to for Dudley’s birthday,” Harry remarked. “Of course,” she replied. “We are here for my birthday and I’m much cooler than Dudley.” “Very, very true,” he laughed. It was mid-way through August and the summer had flown by for Harry and Ginny. They had done a lot of studying, but they’d also had a lot of fun. They’d learned to sail, attended theatre in the park, hiked through the mountains, and generally enjoyed themselves. Harry thought it was the best summer he’d ever had — even better than the year they’d gone to the World Cup. News of the deaths of the people at Bannockburn just days after they had been there had shaken both of them. It had been reported as a terrorist attack, but both Harry and Ginny thought it was a bit too coincidental. They suspected a Death Eater attack, but were unsure if it was related to them or not. Harry was afraid that somehow their postcard to Hermione had been intercepted. They had decided it was too dangerous to try to reach out to anyone else right now. “Are we going to see the otter show?” Ginny asked consulting the brochure they’d received on arriving at the park. “If you would like to,” Harry said with a smile. He loved how enthusiastic Ginny was about everything. She wasn’t embarrassed to say she wanted to do or see something as he sometimes was. He figured a lifetime of being told he didn’t count made him a bit reticent to share his opinion. After the otter show, they walked by the reptile house. Harry looked at her in concern. “Are you okay going in there?” “Will you hold my hand?” she asked. “Of course,” he replied. She leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Then I will be fine.” They entered the dark and cool reptile house. Ginny laughed at the frogs and lizards, but gripped his hand tightly as they passed the snakes. There was a large python that was lazily watching the people wandering by. Looking around to make sure there was no one around, Harry said, “Hello.” The snake reared back immediately and looked at Harry. “Hello, ssspeaker.” “Are they treating you well here?” Harry asked, remembering how the snake in Little Whinging wanted to leave. “Yesss, it is nice here. They have lotss of mice.” Harry laughed as they continued through the house. He noticed all of the snakes seemed to sit up and take notice of him. It made him slightly uncomfortable, but he smiled and said hi to most of them. Ginny held his hand tightly the whole time, but seemed more relaxed by the time they left. “I guess snakes aren’t so bad,” Ginny remarked. “I never minded them before…you know, but I’ve been so scared of them for the last four years.” “That’s understandable,” Harry said. “Thank you for being so understanding,” Ginny said, exchanging another kiss with him. She smiled as she caught sight of the new pearl and onyx bracelet he’d given her for her birthday. “And for this, it’s so pretty.” “I’m glad you like it,” Harry said. “I found it in Keswick, but I wasn’t sure if you’d like it.” “It’s beautiful,” Ginny replied with a smile. “Good,” Harry said. “I love my picture.” Ginny had given him a framed picture of the two of them that Betty had taken at Loch Ness. The rest of the summer passed in much the same manner. They studied and played and in general just had fun. But all too soon, the summer was drawing to a close. Ginny had decided she wanted to try to go to secondary school and see what happened. Plans were made to send Harry and Ginny to Sheffield at the end of August so they would be in place to start school in September. |
| Reviews 314 |
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