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Without a Trace
By potterfan2008

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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-Hogwarts
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley
Genres: Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Mild Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 59
Summary: Months after the Battle at Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny disappeared. Eight years later, the investigation into their disappearance is re-opened. Amid the rumours of love potions and Dark magic, the story slowly emerges.
Hitcount: Story Total: 22054; Chapter Total: 4550





Author's Notes:
Thanks to my betas Arnel and StephanieO as well as my Brit picker Mark.




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December 1998 — Seven months after the fall of Voldemort

“Are you sure about this?” Harry asked.

Ginny nodded. “Positive.”

He grinned for the first time that evening. Leaning close, he kissed her deeply. Resting his forehead against hers, he said, “I love you, Ginny.”

“I love you, too,” Ginny said as she ran her fingers though his hair. The couple held each other tightly for a few minutes.

“Let’s go,” Harry said. He looked at the bag Ginny had brought with her. “Do you need anything else?”

She shook her head. “No, I brought everything I want with me.”

A few strategically cast glamour charms altered their hair and eye colour and covered Harry’s scar. Harry examined her critically for a minute.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked.

He blushed slightly and shrugged. “I’m just not used to seeing you without your beautiful hair. You are still beautiful, just in a different way.”

“Thank you,” she said as her own colour mounted. She didn’t get many compliments and it still thrilled her to hear Harry compliment her.

“Do you have a handbag?”

She nodded and pulled her green dragon skin bag from her larger bag. “Charlie gave me this for my birthday.”

“Okay, just remember from now on it’s a leather handbag,” Harry laughed.

She laughed a bit nervously. The Muggle world was very different from the wizarding world, what if she messed up? He must have seen the confusion on her face for he said, “Don’t worry so much. If you say something wrong, I’ll help you out. One thing I’ve learned is the wizarding world seems to think that the world will end if they say the wrong thing, but it won’t. If you let something slip, don’t freeze, just laugh it off.”

She nodded as she thought over what he’d said. It did make sense. He reached into his own bag and pulled out a zippered pouch. Opening it he showed her the contents — her birth certificate, some sort of photo ID card, and a red British passport.

“Where did you get these?” she asked in wonderment as she examined the documents. She didn’t think she’d seen her birth certificate before and she was certain she’d never seen the other documents before.

Harry grinned. “That is an official copy of your birth certificate — I ordered it from the General Register Office. Once I had that, I applied for your passport. I just copied your signature from the copy of Bill and Fleur’s marriage certificate. That’s the only place I’ve ever seen you sign your full name. The driving license is the only thing that’s not legitimate. It’s official — we learned how to create them in Auror training — but of course you’ve never applied for a driving license.”

A warmth filled her, he really had planned this out and wanted to take her with him. He wasn’t going to leave her behind again. Impulsively she hugged him. “Thank you.”

He looked pleased if a little confused. “You’re welcome.” He glanced at his watch. “We better get going.”

Several minutes later after Harry had Apparated the two of them out of the Shrieking Shack, the couple were walking hand-in-hand towards a large ship. Harry leaned down and explained quietly, “This ferry goes to Holland. I booked tickets for us under the names of James and Molly Evans. I have the documentation to back it up, just keep your real documents out of sight.”

Ginny nodded and held his hand just a little bit tighter. This was going to be quite an adventure. Several long minutes later, they were standing at the rail of the large ship. Ginny watched in fascination as cars, trucks, motor bikes, and even buses drove onto the ship and disappeared into the lower levels.

“That makes so much sense,” she whispered as she leaned into his arm. “So now people have their cars with them wherever it is they are going.”

“Exactly,” Harry said with a warm smile.

Once they tired of watching the loading of the ferry, they turned to explore the boat. There were game rooms, several cafeterias, shopping venues, and other forms of entertainment including a casino and a cinema.

“This is amazing,” Ginny said as she looked around the casino. “I never would have imagined such things took place on a ferry.”

“I know, this is beyond what I imagined as well,” Harry said. “What do you want to do?”

“I’m hungry,” Ginny said.

“Me too,” Harry replied. After looking at the board describing the restaurants, they decided upon a steak restaurant.

Ginny started to relax more as she ate. It was different being among so many Muggles, but looking around at her fellow travellers she saw young couples on romantic getaways and families traveling on holiday. They weren’t so different than wizards after all.

As if realizing that Ginny was finally relaxing, Harry smiled as he tucked into his steak. “What do you want to do after dinner? I saw they have films playing in the cinema. I think you’d like that.”

“Okay,” Ginny said feeling a bit more insecure that she sounded. “That does sound fun.”

Reaching across the table, he squeezed her hand. “I know you’re not used to being in the Muggle world, but don’t worry, I’ll help you.”



May 2006 — Eight years after the fall of Voldemort

On the second morning of their investigation, Seamus and Terry were strolling down the path from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. Seamus grinned. “Damn, this brings back some good memories, doesn’t it?”

“I loved Hogwarts,” Terry admitted. “Well, at least until that last year. Have you been back?”

“I came back one of the Hogsmeade weekends,” Seamus said. “Dean was still at school and I came and spent the day here with him. It was fun. I haven’t been back to any of the memorial services or anything. I know I probably should, but I just can’t bring myself to come.”

“I’ve been back a few times,” Terry revealed. “When I started dating Melanie I came to the Hogsmeade weekends and I’ve been to a few Quidditch matches.”

Seamus nodded. Terry’s younger brother had been a very good Chaser for Ravenclaw and was now on the reserves of the Appleby Arrows. As they approached the gates they saw Hagrid waiting for them.

“Hagrid!” Seamus greeted him joyfully. Terry was a bit more reserved, but was happy to see the huge former groundskeeper.

“How are yeh doin?” Hagrid asked. “Look at the two o’ yeh, Aurors.”

“We just have a few questions for Professor McGonagall,” Seamus explained.

Hagrid nodded. “I have ter get back. Yeh can find yer way ter the castle.”

“Bye, Hagrid!”

As they approached the castle Seamus stopped. On the flat area outside the entrance was a large monument to those lost in the Battle of Hogwarts. It was a large white marble obelisk. On one side were the names of all of those lost in the battle and on the other side was a plaque that read, ‘On 2 May 1998 a group of students and staff joined together in defending the castle from attack by Lord Voldemort and his followers. Lord Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter and the attack was repelled. Our thanks to all of those who gave their lives in that effort and we pray that they did not give their lives in vain.’

Terry looked at his partner. “What?”

Seamus sighed. “I don’t know. It just makes it seem like Harry was just some random person who happened to defeat the greatest Dark Lord of our time. It seems like he doesn’t always get his due.”

“I know,” Terry said. “I heard Granger talking the other day and she never said anything bad about Harry, but she didn’t say anything good about him either.”

“I wish I knew what happened,” Seamus said. “One minute he’s in class with us and everything seems to be going well and then he’s gone. What made him disappear?”

“Maybe we’ll finally get some answers.”

Professor McGonagall was waiting for the young men in her office. “Welcome! Mr Finnegan, Mr Boot.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Seamus said with a smile.

Soon the two men were seated across from the Headmistress with a cup of tea and a tin of biscuits. She looked at them. “Your message was rather vague. What can I do for the two of you?”

“We’ve been tasked with re-opening the investigation into the disappearance of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley,” Seamus explained.

“Thank Merlin,” the older witch said. “It has always upset me that they disappeared like that. I fear we somehow failed them.”

Seamus nodded. “We’ve discovered some disturbing allegations. Hermione Granger claims that Ginny was using a love potion on Harry.”

Professor McGonagall stared down at the desk for a moment. Seamus couldn’t tell exactly what she was thinking. Finally she looked up. Seamus was shocked to see her eyes were bright as though with unshed tears.

“Yes, there were accusations of love potion use,” she said softly. “I didn’t believe the allegations then and I don’t believe them now. Miss Granger came to see me shortly before the ball. She was extremely concerned and she believed that Miss Weasley was using a love potion on Mr Potter.”

“Did she have any proof?” Terry asked.

“No,” Professor McGonagall answered angrily. “She felt she did, but I felt she had strung together unrelated events and come up with the wrong answer. Miss Granger thought that Miss Weasley and Mr Potter were poorly suited for each other and I believe she allowed that to colour her judgement. Miss Granger felt that Mr Potter was attracted to Miss Lovegood and Miss Weasley was threatened by their friendship. Miss Granger believed this was the impetus for the love potion, but she had no proof that love potions were being used. I spoke to Miss Weasley and she denied the use of love potion and she readily let me search her trunk. There were no vials of love potion among Miss Weasley’s belongings. I found no evidence to support Miss Granger’s accusations and I informed both young ladies of my findings.”

“I’m betting Hermione didn’t like that,” Seamus observed.

“No, she did not,” Professor McGonagall replied. “Miss Granger reiterated her belief that Miss Weasley was using an aerosolized form of love potion on the letters she was sending to Mr Potter. I believe it was Miss Granger’s continued and untoward accusations along with Auror Robards’ treatment of Harry that led to their disappearance.”

“What was Robards doing to Harry?” Terry asked.

Professor McGonagall sniffed. “That man was doing his best to denigrate Harry. It was the morning of the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. I was sitting at my desk when Harry Floo called me. He told me what had happened that morning. As I’m sure you are aware, Harry and Mr Weasley were sharing a house. Mr Weasley was looking forward to his date with Miss Granger and was rather surprised to discover that Mr Potter was planning to see his sister.”

Harry had just finished getting ready and headed downstairs when Ron yelled up the stairs. “Harry, there is a Floo call for you.”

“Okay,” Harry replied as he headed for his study. His heart sank when he saw Head Auror Robards in the fireplace. Kneeling down in front of the fire he said, “Yes, sir.”

“Potter,” the Head Auror snapped. “You need to come in today.”

“What?!” Harry was incensed. He had requested this day off as soon as Ginny had sent him the dates of the Hogsmeade visits. “I have the day off. I requested it months ago.”

Robards arched his eyebrow. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have skipped so much of your training to curry favour with the Minister. You haven’t put in the required hours this month. If you don’t wish to continue with the training then by all means please take the day off. Otherwise I expect to see you here within the hour.”

When Robards withdrew his head, Harry wanted to scream and cry at the same time. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t know exactly why Robards hated him, but he certainly did. It felt like being taught by Snape all over again. He glanced at his watch. It was now half eight. Ginny should be up and getting ready by now.

Biting his lip he tried to decide what to do. Finally he threw some Floo powder into the Floo and after a brief conversation with Professor
McGonagall he was allowed to step through into her office.

“Thank you, Professor,” he said as he dusted himself off.

“Of course,” she replied. “Miss Weasley should be here in a few minutes. I find that I am suddenly hungry and will be headed to breakfast.”

He grinned at his former Head of House who to his surprise smiled at him in response. “I hope to see you during our first Quidditch match,” she said as she prepared to leave. “I hear that Miss Weasley has put together quite a team.”

“I will be there,” he said with a smile.


“I left at that point, but I’ve pieced together what happened from what Miss Weasley shared with me and the stories the portraits shared,” Professor McGonagall said as she gestured to the portraits on the wall.

Harry paced nervously while he was waiting. Eventually, he heard the sound of the stairs turning and suddenly Ginny was standing in the doorway.

“Ginny!”

“Harry!” She squealed as she threw herself into his arms. “You’re finally here! I’ve missed you so much!”

Harry swung her around so as to steady them so they wouldn’t fall over. He looked down into her warm chocolate eyes and felt himself getting lost in them. Before he even thought about it, he leaned down and kissed her deeply.

He threaded his hand through her hair and the other he wrapped around her waist. His heart started racing when her hands crept up his chest and one tangled in his hair. After several long minutes he pulled away.

“What are you doing here so early, sweetie? I haven’t even finished getting ready.” She said as she gestured to her hair that she had pulled into a rather sloppy pony tail.

“You look gorgeous,” he said tenderly. Then he sighed. “Robards just called me in to work today.”

“What?!”

His heart sank when he saw the hurt look flash across her face. “I’m so sorry, baby. He said that I’ve been putting in too many hours with Kingsley and not enough hours in my training.”

“That’s ridiculous!” she raged as she paced across the room. “He’s just being a total wanker and making you do stupid things because he knows you’re a much better wizard than him. He’s such an idiot!”

“Do you want me to quit training?” Harry offered. “I will.”

She smiled gently at him even though he could see unshed tears shining in her eyes. “No, sweetheart, you’ve wanted to be an Auror for a long time and I think you will be very good at it. Robards is an idiot, but don’t let him take this from you.”

He held open his arms. “I need to hold you for a few minutes. I’ve missed you so much.”

Eagerly heading in his arms, Ginny sighed and she relaxed in his hold. “I’ve missed you.” She glanced at her watch. “How much time do you have?”

He looked at her watch and made a face. “Ten minutes.”

Looking around at all of the past Headmasters watching them with unabashed interest, Ginny led him out of the office. They sat down cross legged on the floor of the small landing outside of the door. He automatically reached for her hand as they sat down.

“So what are you going to do today?” he asked.

She thought about it for a minute. “I think I’ll still head into town for a little bit. I love looking around. Maybe I’ll find Luna and we can have lunch together or something.”

“That sounds like fun,” he said trying to be positive. “How was Quidditch practice last night?”

Her eyes lit up as she described the team. She, Demelza, and Dean were the only returning members of the team, but to her delight they had found several younger players who were good and very enthusiastic. Harry listened to her gladly. He loved hearing her voice, but especially when she was so happy.

To their dismay their ten minutes flew by and all too soon Harry was kissing her goodbye and heading to London. The tears Ginny had held back while Harry was there poured out. She sat down on the floor near the fireplace, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees.


“That is how I found her when I returned to my office,” the professor explained. “I felt so badly for her. She was crying her heart out. Once she was able to calm down, she told me that she thought Head Auror Robards hated Harry for some reason. Apparently, he felt that Harry shouldn’t be in the program and was only there for publicity. Miss Weasley felt that Mr Robards resented Harry’s close relationship with Kingsley and he resented the fact that the Minister liked and listened to Harry.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head. “How Robards became Head Auror, I’ll never know. He was never the brightest boy and he always did have a tendency to be a bit petty.”

“He did seem to have it in for Harry,” Seamus agreed. “Professor, do you recall who else was in the dorm room with Ginny and Hermione?”

“I believe Demelza Robbins, Sarah Richardson, and Freya Morrow,” she replied after a moment of thought. “I’m fairly certain that Miss Robbins and Miss Weasley were close.”

The two Aurors stood and shook hands with the Headmistress. “If you discover what has happened to them, will you let me know?” she asked.

Seamus met the eyes of his former Head of House and he could see the toll this had taken on the older witch. “I will, Professor.”




“Did you know that Robards was dogging Potter like that?” Terry asked as they left the school. While he’d known Harry from school and the DA, he had never had the relationship with the man who had saved them all that Seamus had. “I thought he’d cancelled a weekend off, I didn’t realize he’d specifically targeted a Hogsmeade weekend.”

Seamus shook his head wordlessly. He seemed a bit lost, but he pulled himself together. “The first Hogsmeade weekend that year I was supposed to work. It was just reviewing testimony, nothing big. I didn’t really care, Dean had invited me up, but it wasn’t that big a deal. That morning I get a call from Robards giving me the day off. He took away Harry’s day off and gave it to me.” He looked over at his partner. “Why the hell would he do that?”

Terry shrugged. “I thought Robards resented Harry because…well, because he’s Harry Potter. I had no idea he’d taken it that far.”

Without really discussing it, the pair made their way down to Hogsmeade.

“What do you remember about that weekend?” Terry prompted.

Seamus frowned as he thought back. “It was Halloween. The shops were all decorated and Dean was going on about the Halloween feast. I saw Ginny briefly that afternoon. I remember that she seemed a bit down, but she didn’t mention Harry was supposed to be there.”

“What about Ron?”

Seamus snorted. “He and Hermione were all over each other. He certainly wasn’t broken up over the fact that Harry wasn’t there.”
Seamus thought back to that crisp Halloween afternoon. “Ron was acting a bit proud of himself. I thought it was because he had finally screwed up his courage to ask Hermione out.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never understood the pair of them. They were crazy about each other for years, but neither one wanted to make a move on the other.”

Terry laughed. “I know. There were a few blokes in my house who had a little crush on her, but none of them made a move because of Ron.”

“Really?” Seamus smiled. “I never…I never got the attraction. She can be pretty at times, but she’s always struck me as very abrasive and bossy. Poor Neville was a bit scared of her when we were second years.”

By this time the two had reached the village of Hogsmeade. It had been largely re-built since the end of the war and, as at Hogwarts, there was a war memorial at the centre of town. Seamus led the way to Honeydukes.

“I heard that Demelza was working here,” Seamus said by way of explanation. “I don’t know if she still is, but I figured it’s a good place to start.”

It turned out that Demelza was indeed working at Honeydukes. She remembered the two Aurors when they introduced themselves.
“Demelza, we are re-opening the investigation into the disappearance of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley,” Seamus said once they were seated in the small employee tea room.

“Good!” Demelza replied. “I hate that they had to leave and I really miss Ginny. She and I were very friendly.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Terry asked.

“That day,” Demelza said unhappily. “Would either of you like something to drink? I’m going to have some hot chocolate.”

Seamus could tell she was thinking about what to tell them as she bustled around the tea room. She prepared a pot of hot chocolate and a pot of tea which she served with some pastries. Once she was settled at the table once again, she looked over at Seamus.
“Have you heard Hermione’s version of events?”

“That Ginny was using a love potion?” Seamus asked. He nodded. “We did, but we don’t believe it.”

“Thank Merlin,” Demelza said. “Ginny was always so nice and she really cared about the rest of us. She never minded helping us with homework or explaining things. She really loved Harry. I don’t know why Hermione didn’t like her, but she hated Ginny.”

She sighed and sipped her hot chocolate. “I entered the dorm room as Hermione was leaving that day. She was all dressed up in a beautiful gown. Poor Ginny was sitting on her bed looking devastated. She’d really hoped to go to the ball with Harry. When she’d come back from Hogsmeade with the dress for the ball, she was so excited. It just wasn’t fair.”

“Where is she going?” Demelza demanded as she entered the room that Hermione had just left.

“She’s going to the ball,” Ginny snarled. “Apparently, it’s okay for her to go to the ball with Ron, but I’m too young and immature to go with Harry.”

“What?” Demelza sat down on the end of Ginny bed. “That’s ridiculous.”

“It gets worse,” Ginny said as she wiped away angry tears. “She thinks I am using a love potion on Harry.”

Demelza started laughing. “For Merlin’s sake, how ridiculous can you get? It is obvious to anyone with a brain that Harry is crazy about you.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong,” Ginny said sarcastically. “It seems that Harry is in love with Luna. I couldn’t stand it and started using a love potion on him. I’m such a potions whiz that I’ve developed a spray that I spray on my letters and that is what’s keeping him under my control.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

Ginny shook her head. “Hermione broke into my trunk and found my notebook with love potion recipes. I have those because he’s been targeted by love potions in the past, not because I wanted to use any of them on him. She even reported me to Professor McGonagall. The worst part is Hermione has managed to convince at least two of my brothers that she’s right and even George is on the fence. Some love potions from the shop have gone missing so now they think I stole them and I’m using them on Harry.”

“Can’t they test him?” Demelza asked. “Or test his letters?”

“I hope so,” Ginny said. “I just…I don’t know why she hates me so much! She’s always held my first year against me. I’ve apologized a
million times, but she…she won’t accept that I’m sorry and I’m not evil.”

When Ginny looked up, Demelza could see the pain in her friend’s brown eyes. “She doesn’t think I’m ‘worthy’ of Harry. I don’t know if Ron convinced her or she convinced Ron, but both of them think I’m not worthy of Harry and I don’t really love him. Hermione is convinced that I don’t know him and I still have a fan-girl crush on him. She can’t decide if I’m after Harry for his money or the fame, but she is certain that it isn’t because I love him.”

“I am so sorry,” Demelza said gently. “Do you want to come down and listen to the Wireless with us?”

Ginny shook her head. “No, thank you. I just want to be alone for a while.”

Demelza nodded and reached out to hug her friend. “You know that we don’t think that, right? Harry is crazy about you and there is no potion involved.”

“Thank you.”


“You didn’t see her leave?” Terry asked.

Demelza shook her head. “I was trying to keep an eye out for her, but I never saw her leave the girls’ dorm. I’ve always wondered if she flew out the window. Ginny was a great flyer and she could have easily done that.”

Seamus nodded in agreement. “Demelza, Professor McGonagall just told us how Harry had to cancel the morning of the Hogsmeade visit. Did Ginny say anything about that?”

“It wasn’t a one-time thing,” Demelza replied. “He had to cancel the morning of our first Quidditch match as well. Ginny was really upset about it. I guess Harry’s boss really had it out for him and called him both mornings and threatened his job if he didn’t go into the Ministry. He offered to quit, but she kept telling him not to. I’ve always wondered if something else happened.”

“What do you mean?” Seamus asked.

Demelza took a sip of her chocolate and shrugged. “It’s just always seemed strange that Hermione starting rumours could chase them away. It would be easy enough to prove that Harry isn’t under a love potion. I wondered if maybe something else happened or if they just got tired of the scrutiny and left.”

“Did she ever complain about the rumours?”

Shrugging, Demelza said, “Not exactly. I know she was aware of them. Hermione would happily read aloud any rumours about Ginny. She got really indignant if there were rumours about Harry, but she didn’t mind the rumours about Ginny.”

Demelza told them everything she could remember about Ginny’s last few months at Hogwarts.

“I understand that she took most of her things with her,” Seamus commented. “Did she take her trunk?”

“No,” Demelza replied. “She took her private things — her books, journals, photo albums, letters, and most of her Muggle clothes. She left all of her robes. Actually she left a note on top of them that anyone could have the robes if they needed them.”

“So it makes sense that they planned to head to the Muggle world,” Terry said.

She nodded. “That’s what I always thought.”

“What about the gown she bought for the ball?” Seamus asked curiously as they were getting ready to leave.

“She took it with her,” Demelza said. She smiled. “I hope she found the opportunity to use it.”




Seamus and Terry returned to the Ministry both thinking about everything they’d learned that day. Before returning to their office, they stopped by the Floo Network Authorities and picked up Harry’s Floo records for October through December of 1998.

Once in their office, Seamus cast privacy and security spells. Terry raised an eyebrow and Seamus explained, “Something is going on and I don’t want to take the chance that we’ll be overheard.”

Seamus looked through the Floo records and swore softly when he found the records for Halloween.

0815 — Floo call from 12 Grimmauld Place to Percy Weasley at 25 Victory Lane London

0820 — Floo call from Head Auror Robards to 12 Grimmauld Place

0830 — Floo call from 12 Grimmauld Place to Professor McGonagall’s Office Hogwarts

0831 — Floo transport from 12 Grimmauld Place to Professor McGonagall’s Office Hogwarts

0900 — Floo call from 25 Victory Lane London to 12 Grimmauld Place

0930 — Floo Transport from 12 Grimmauld Place to the Three Broomsticks Pub in Hogsmeade

1730 — Floo Transport from Three Broomsticks Pub in Hogsmeade to 12 Grimmauld Place

1830 — Floo Transport from the Ministry of Magic to 12 Grimmauld Place


Flipping through the documents, he found the records for the next week and found a similar pattern on the day of Gryffindor’s first Quidditch match.

“Please tell me there is some other explanation,” Seamus said.

Terry looked at him sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, mate. It appears that Ron called his brother who then called Robards who cancelled Harry’s day off.”

“Why the bloody hell would he do that?” Seamus wondered angrily. “Harry was crazy about Ginny and he has been since the beginning of sixth year. It drove Dean nuts the way Harry looked at her. I mean Harry didn’t make his move until after Ginny had broken up with Dean. Dean grumbled, but even he knew they would end up together.”

Terry continued to flip through the file in front of him. Troubled, he looked up at Seamus. “Do you know anything about Williamson? He was in charge of the search for Harry and Ginny.”

Frowning, Seamus tried to remember everything he’d heard about Williamson. “I don’t know much about him. He left the department shortly after the end of the war. I think he had a hard time dealing with all of the changes and rumour had it he hated working with Muggles.”

“Not exactly the best person to be put in charge of a high profile case where he would be required to work with Muggles, is he?”
Seamus swore. “We probably need to go back and review everything.”

“We might be better off starting all over again,” Terry said. Seamus agreed and Terry said, “I’m going to check the papers and see if I can find anything. Why don’t you put in the request to search their passports?”

A little over an hour later, Seamus was in the office of the Magical liaison of the National Missing Persons Bureau. Detective David Pitts frowned as he listened to Seamus’ request.

“You want me to search our records for a couple who have been missing for almost eight years? You do realize we probably won’t find much information.”

“I know it’s a long shot,” Seamus agreed, “but we don’t think the original investigation was conducted properly.”

Detective Pitts nodded. “I can understand. I will certainly do my best. Let me start by running their names and seeing what pops. I’ll let you know what I discover.”




Terry looked up as Seamus entered the tiny conference room they’d been assigned for the duration of their investigation. He smiled when he saw Seamus had two cups of coffee from the café down the street.

“Thanks, mate,” Terry said as he took the cup. Taking a sip of the fragrant drink, he said, “I don’t know why Potter left, but after the crap I’ve been reading I really don’t blame him. The level of scrutiny he was put under is ridiculous.”

“What do you mean?” Seamus asked.

“He was in one paper or another every day. Some of the stories in the Prophet and Quibbler were fairly complementary and seem fact based, but as the summer wore on and Potter wasn’t giving any interviews the articles grew more and more crazy. Ginny was portrayed as a gold digger and trust me that was the nicest thing they had to say about her. Poor Harry — he was accused of being a new Dark Lord in training or he was cheating on Ginny or he was gay and in love with anyone from Ron to Draco.”

“What?” Seamus was shocked. “I never saw any of that.”

“Most of it was in the scandal rags, but sometimes ‘rumours’ made their way into the Prophet,” Terry said. “When he moved out of the Burrow it was speculated that he was planning to have wild parties or start a harem or the ever popular Ron caught Harry and Hermione together and kicked him out. I think the fact that he wasn’t giving interviews and wasn’t seen out much, people felt free to make up whatever they wanted about him.”

“He must have hated the scrutiny,” Seamus said.

“I’m starting to wonder if he just didn’t want to deal with it anymore,” Terry said.




Seamus and Terry spent another week interviewing those in their Auror class and in Ginny’s class without discovering anything new. Hermione’s antipathy towards Ginny had seemingly increased when the two had been in a dorm together. While Hermione’s spot at the top of her classes was safe, Ginny was also smart and wasn’t intimidated into silence by Hermione’s reputation.

“I spoke to St Mungo’s,” Terry said. “First, I discovered from the Apothecary that an aerosolized version of love potion wouldn’t be stable. They didn’t see how one could be created. The Aurors’ Apothecary agreed. I also spoke to Professor Slughorn. He said that of the two of them, Harry was the better Potions student, but Ginny was good. He also didn’t believe an aerosolized love potion was possible.

“Even better luck, we found a letter from Ginny to Harry in his desk. It had slipped behind the drawer and he must not have realized it was there. It was analysed in the Questioned Documents division and they found it was lightly scented with a floral scent, but there was no love potion or even any type of magic used.”

“Brilliant,” Seamus said. “That will hopefully quiet the love potion rumours.”

“Hopefully,” Terry agreed. “I spoke to some of the Healers and nurses who cared for the Weasleys. Harry and Ginny were the most frequent visitors with Bill and Fleur coming in a close second. Harry actually saved Mr Weasley’s life. Mr Weasley had a stroke from the stress and grief after the war. He was visiting his wife and luckily Harry arrived just as he collapsed.”

“I didn’t realize that,” Seamus murmured. “Harry told me about Mr Weasley’s stroke, but of course he didn’t mention his part in saving him.”

“That seems very typical of Harry,” Terry remarked. “I spoke to the billing department and as Bill told us, Harry paid Mrs Weasley’s bill. He also donated over twenty thousand Galleons for research and to help those who needed expensive treatment as Mrs Weasley did.”

“That sounds like Harry,” Seamus agreed. He sighed. “I don’t know what to think. I’m certain the love potion accusation was baseless, but why did he leave?”

“No idea,” Terry sighed.




Seamus nervously knocked on the door to the Burrow. He’d never been to the Weasley family home before, but he really felt it suited the unusual family.

The door was answered by a man he recognized as Ron’s father. “Mr Weasley, I am Seamus Finnegan and this is Terry Boot. We would like to ask you a few questions.”

“You are conducting the investigation for Kingsley?” Arthur Weasley asked shrewdly.

Taken off guard by the man’s knowledge, Seamus faltered for a moment before he realized what was happening. “You requested that the Minister re-open the investigation.”

Mr Weasley nodded. “I would appreciate if you would keep that to yourself.”

“Of course,” Seamus said. “We would like to interview you and your wife.”

“Certainly,” Mr Weasley replied. He opened the door wider and gestured for them to enter even as he called to his wife.

When Molly Weasley entered the room, he introduced the two Aurors. “They are here to ask us a few questions.”

Mrs Weasley hurriedly put on a kettle and in short order brought a tea tray with cakes to the table. She smiled as Seamus. “I remember you, dear. You were in Ron’s dorm.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Seamus said. “I shared a room with Ron and Harry. Terry was in our year as well, but he was in Ravenclaw.”

“It is nice to meet you,” Mrs Weasley said to Terry with a smile. “What can we do for you?”

“Mrs Weasley, we are re-opening the investigation into the disappearance of your daughter and Harry Potter.”

Mrs Weasley gasped and covered her mouth with her hand even as her eyes filled with tears. “Do you think there is a chance of finding them?”

“We hope so,” Seamus replied honestly.

Dabbing her eyes, Mrs Weasley smiled tremulously and reached for her husband’s hand. “How can we help?”

“I understand that both of you were still in hospital when they disappeared,” Seamus said as he looked at his notes.

Mrs Weasley nodded. “I was still in a medically induced coma. By the time I awakened, they had been gone for several months.”

“I was aware a little,” Mr Weasley said, “but certainly not of any details. When I woke up enough to realize what was going on, they’d already been gone for a month.”

“Do you have any idea why they may have left?”

Mrs Weasley shook her head helplessly. “I don’t and I can’t imagine why they haven’t contacted us in eight years. The only thing I’ve been able to come up with is there must have been some danger. They both visited us regularly whilst we were in hospital. They were the most faithful visitors we had.”

“Mrs Weasley, what can you tell me about the relationship between Harry and Ginny?”

She smiled automatically as she thought back. “Ginny started mentioning him more seriously during her fifth year. She was so torn because she thought she was over him and suddenly he starts showing interest in her. She didn’t really trust her feelings at first. Once she and Dean broke up, she and Harry started dating. She was so happy.

“Ginny told me that she never really considered them broken up. She worried over him during the year they were apart. Of course I didn’t see them back together, but Bill and Fleur told me they were quite happy together.”

The older woman frowned. “I know that Hermione and Ron have some reservations about their relationship, but I think they are wrong.”

She shook her head sadly. “I wish my Ginny and Ron had gotten along better. They never had a close relationship even as children. Once they arrived at Hogwarts, their relationship deteriorated badly. Ron felt that Ginny was trying to intrude on his friendship with Harry and he resented that.”

“I don’t believe Hermione helped matters much,” Mr Weasley spoke up for the first time. “She and Ginny never really got on well. They are almost two years apart and they don’t really have much in common. Hermione has always held Ginny’s part in the Chamber of Secrets against her so they never really developed a friendship.”

Seamus looked between the two parents. “It seems as though Hermione disapproved of the relationship between Harry and Ginny.”

“For some reason, Hermione had it in her head that Harry fancied Luna,” Mrs Weasley explained. “Harry told me about taking Luna to that Christmas party and how Luna was a good friend, but there wasn’t more to it than that. Luna lost her mother and I know she and Harry talked about that. I don’t think that poor boy was ever really given a chance to grieve for his parents. I know talking to Luna helped. Luna and Ginny were such good friends.”

Seamus nodded. “Yes, ma’am. We’ve tried to get in touch with Luna, but we haven’t had any luck so far.”

“I believe that she and her father are on an expedition in India,” Mr Weasley spoke up. “I can’t quite remember what they are searching for — some kind of rare red elephant or something.”

Seamus laughed. “That sounds like Luna.” As he looked over at Mrs Weasley, he could see the toll this had taken on her. She was much slimmer than he remembered and her vibrant red hair was liberally sprinkled with white and she had a careworn look on her face.

“Did Ginny have any experience in the Muggle world?” Seamus asked.

The Weasleys exchanged a look and slowly shook their heads. “Not really,” Mr Weasley explained. “Ginny loved going into town, but she didn’t have any Muggle friends or anything like that. She took Muggle Studies, I think, mostly because of me. She did well, but Hermione told me the class wasn’t entirely accurate.”

“Is that what you think happened?” Mrs Weasley asked. “Do you think they are in the Muggle world?”

“That is one possibility,” Seamus allowed.




Seamus watched impassively as Ron nervously entered the room and sat down.

“Thank you for coming in,” Terry said smoothly.

“Of course,” Ron replied. “Anything I can do to help.”

Looking at his former roommate, Seamus raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Swallowing nervously, Ron nodded. “I may be upset at my sister for what she did, but I want to see Harry. My mother wants to see my sister.”

“We’ve discovered that there was no love potion,” Terry revealed. Seeing Ron about to protest, Terry continued, “We’ve found a letter from your sister to Harry and there was no love potion on the letter. Additionally we’ve discovered that there is no such thing as an aerosolized love potion. I’ve spoken to our Matron and Harry was checked for potions several times in the months before he disappeared and he didn’t have a trace of love potion in his system.”

Ron opened his mouth and closed it. He looked between the two Aurors. “Are you sure?”

“Are we sure?” Seamus exploded. “What the hell, mate?! You betrayed Harry and treated your sister horribly and all you can ask is are we sure?”

“I never betrayed Harry!” Ron yelled, outraged. “He’s been my best mate since first year. How dare you say that I betrayed him?”

“What do you call telling your brother that Harry was going to Hogsmeade with your sister so he’d get called into work?”

Ron faltered. “I just didn’t want him hanging around with me and Hermione. Honest, it wasn’t anything else. I knew if Harry came Hermione would have endless questions about his classes and how he was doing and we wouldn’t have any time alone. I just wanted some time with Hermione.”

“I might buy that if it was only that once,” Seamus said scornfully. “You also called your brother the morning of Gryffindor’s first Quidditch match. Do you know how hard he worked? He really deserved the time off and you made sure he didn’t get any. Didn’t you notice he was working late most nights?”

“He worked a lot, but he never complained about it,” Ron said defensively. “Percy didn’t think it was appropriate that Harry and Ginny were seeing each other and he asked for my help. Harry never complained or asked me about it so I figured he was okay with it.”

“So you betrayed Harry,” Seamus restated calmly.

“He didn’t care about her! I don’t know why you don’t believe me,” Ron said. “He never mentioned her the whole year we were on the run. He and Luna spent plenty of time together.”

“For Merlin’s sake,” Seamus exploded. “Your sister is gorgeous and Harry was watching her all of sixth year. Dean hated it. Everyone noticed it, except for you and Hermione. Of course he’s not going to mention Ginny to you and Hermione — all the two of you did was complain about her!”

Seeing the look of shock on Ron’s face, Terry spoke up. “Ron, try to think of it from his point of view. What would happen if Harry decided you and Hermione weren’t right for each other?”

“He would never do that!” Ron said outraged at the suggestion.

“Why did you?” Terry asked quietly.

Ron sank back in his chair, deflating under Terry’s word more than Seamus’ accusations. He sat quietly for a minute appearing to think about his actions. “Do you really think he liked her?”

“Yes!” Seamus and Terry replied emphatically.

“Mate, he watched her all year. Luna is a good friend to him, but they were never involved,” Seamus said more calmly. “That last year at Hogwarts was…awful, but we all became very close. Ginny talked to us — they broke up because he didn’t want to put her in any danger. She never really considered them broken up. Luna thought of him like a big brother. He looked out for her from those who made fun of her and they talked. She’d lost her mother and especially after his godfather died they spoke frequently.”

Ron frowned. “He never talked to us about Sirius.”

“What would you have said?” Seamus asked. Seeing the discomfort on Ron’s face, he pressed on. “Ron, I know you, you hate talking about emotions and feelings. What would you have said to someone who’d lost his parents and godfather?”

Grimacing, Ron agreed, “I would have hated to talk about it, but I would have listened to him if he wanted to talk.”

“Ron, if there was no love potion, why would they have left?” Terry asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“He had no reason to leave!” Ron protested. “That’s why I thought Hermione must be right. Harry was working as an Auror, which is what he always wanted to do, You-Know-Who was no longer after him — he had no reason.”

The two Aurors exchanged a telling look. “Ron, did Harry ever mention Robards to you?”

Frowning Ron thought about it. “He didn’t like him. I guess Robards was on his case, but Harry’s used to that.”

“Maybe he was tired of putting up with it,” Terry suggested.

Ron shook his head. “No, he wouldn’t have left for that reason. Besides, he had enough money that he probably could have not worked for a while — he could have changed jobs if it was really too much for him.”

“Did you ever talk to Robards?”

“Me, no,” Ron said. “Except the night Harry went missing, I never actually talked to Robards.”

“What about your brother, Percy?” Seamus asked.

“Percy?”

Seamus nodded. Ron shrugged. “He asked me about Harry, but he was just concerned. Percy’s like that. He’s a real stickler for the rules and he doesn’t like the fact that Harry doesn’t always follow the rules. He wanted to make sure Harry didn’t perform any Dark magic or anything. I told him that Harry wouldn’t do that.”

“Percy accepted that?” Terry asked.

Ron nodded. “Percy’s a bit of a prig and he’s not a huge fan of Harry’s, but in the end he just wanted to make sure Harry hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Standing, Seamus and Terry shook Ron’s hand. After Ron left, Seamus looked over at his partner. “What do you think?”

“I remember rumours that Robards was looking to bring charges against anyone using Unforgivables who wasn’t already an Auror,” Terry said thoughtfully. “Remember how he and Percy kept grilling us about what went on at Hogwarts?”

“Like that came of anything,” Seamus said contemptuously. “Zabini, Harper, Goyle, Crabbe, and Parkinson all used Unforgivables. Malfoy may not have had the stomach for torture, but the rest of those little Death Eaters did. What did they all get? A slap on the wrist — a fine. Did any of them even serve any time?”

“I think Zabini served six months and Malfoy served eight months, but the others just paid a fine,” Terry said. “They all should have been thrown in Azkaban for life. Harper’s a little sociopath — he loved torturing them. When I think of Michael spending the night chained in the dungeons…it doesn’t seem like enough.”

“I know,” Seamus sighed. “At least they are barred from the Wizengamot and most Ministry jobs.”

“True,” Terry said. He grinned. “The first day I saw Malfoy working at the Apothecary was great! He always acted as though he was going to rule the world.”

Seamus laughed. “I will admit there was a lot of satisfaction in watching him slice up dandelion roots.”
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