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Demons In The Dreams | ||||||
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Category: Post-OotP, Post-Hogwarts Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama Warnings: Death, Extreme Language, Violence Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 156 Summary: Ginny and Harry are Aurors and together they struggle to survive their inner demons. Dreams plague the pair as they try to deal with the past and survive their future. Why does Ginny dream of her past as if it were the present? This is a puzzle/mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. Hitcount: Story Total: 127624; Chapter Total: 6323 |
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“That’s him.” Harry muttered darkly to the tall blonde man who was leading the raid. He had introduced himself to Harry and Ginny that morning at the restaurant as Kevin Parker. “Are you sure?” His voice was mild as he asked. Ginny nodded. “That is definitely Walden Macnair. I’d know that ugly face anywhere.” “Okay.” He pushed the button on the window to roll it up. He then made a motion to the Aurors that had taken up position around the house. Slowly they moved in and surrounded the garden where Macnair was working. “I still can’t believe he lives in a muggle neighborhood.” Harry mused. “I agree.” She said as she studied the coordinated movements of the seven Aurors through her Omnioculars. They had already cast the Anti-Disapparation wards and muggle repelling charms so that the neighbors would not notice anything. She didn’t think it would matter anyway. The houses were fairly spread out in this area. Harry grabbed Ginny’s hand and squeezed it. They were both hoping that Macnair would lead them to Malfoy. She watching in fascination as the duel started. Spells were shot rapidly at the man who drew his wand and returned fire. The temptation to leap from the BMW and help in the fight was almost overwhelming. “Just relax, they know what they’re doing.” Kevin said from the front seat. “We may not have had the war that you did but we are certainly capable of taking in pieces of shit like him.” “I just want to be out there!” Ginny exclaimed although she could see it was not needed. With a sigh of relief she saw that Macnair was being bound and levitated to a waiting car. Harry grinned at her. “Now comes the fun part. Paperwork.” “Bah! You don’t really have to do much. A few papers signed and he’s all yours.” Kevin said evenly. Ginny studied him closely. “I’m surprised that you weren’t out there.” “I’d been given orders to baby-sit you two.” He chuckled at their looks of revulsion. Ginny did not appreciate being compared to a child. “It makes us Americans look bad if you get hurt and both of you have a reputation for diving in to a fight head first.” “We have a reputation?” She probed indignantly. “Yup.” He looked in the rear view mirror before starting the engine and pulling out to follow behind the other cars. “We’ve all heard stories of Harry, you know, with the whole Voldemort thing.” She hid her smile when she saw Harry’s disgust. “You’ve heard of me? Even over here?” “Of course we have! But mostly we hear about this pretty red head who kicks ass.” He turned the car on to a main road. “I was really glad to see that the stories were right. Well at least about you being pretty, and all.” Ginny felt her face flush and she looked out the window, uncomfortable with the attention. She had learned to blend in to the background at home and the men in her life treated her that way. She had stopped liking the attention after Harry had killed Voldemort and although she had tried to ignore it but the feeling had only grown stronger. She only enjoyed attention from Harry and the men in her family. Kevin seemed to have noticed her withdrawal. “I hope I didn’t offend you.” He told her and she could feel the sincerity of his words. “No.” She turned back to face him and noticed from the corner of her eyes that Harry’s hands were clenched in his lap. She reached over and took one of the tight fists in her own. He seemed to relax more but his posture was still rigid. He was always protective of her and he had been ever since that horrendous day when he’d finally beaten Voldemort. He also knew that it annoyed her when he acted like her older brother. He usually refrained from cursing someone who was trying to flirt with her. “Good.” They had stopped at a light. Kevin turned around and immediately grinned when he saw their linked hands. “So that’s how it is.” He winked conspiratorially at them. “I had no clue. You two hide it well.” She opened her mouth to contradict him but Harry beat her to it. “We try and keep the manner of our relationship quiet. It’s unprofessional to discuss it while working and also there is the press to consider. In England I’m a bloody celebrity and they are always trying to get a story on me.” Ginny’s mouth fell open at his words and she gaped at him. He had just implied that they were a couple but he hadn’t actually lied to the other man. Impressed, despite herself, at his cunning she decided not to hex him for being an overprotective git. “Where are we headed now?” She asked Kevin. “A city about twenty minutes from here called La Mesa. We don’t have our government in one location like you do in London but it still works for us.” He answered. “Macnair’s extradition papers will be processed there and then we will send you downtown and on your way back to England.” “Good.” Harry said under his breath. “It’s a shame you didn’t get to see the beaches or some of the local sites. We have a ghost that lives in a muggle hotel and as far as I know she is the only one in the world that does not reside in a magical building. It’s called the Hotel Del Coronado.” They were now speeding along a large muggle road that Kevin told them was called the interstate. The mountains surrounding them were barren except for sparse shrubbery that looked dead. “Why do you use muggle transportation?” Harry posed. Kevin’s face darkened. “September 11th.” “Oh.” They both said together and she nodded in understanding. Most of the world had been shocked by the events that had transpired a year earlier. “Since the attacks the muggles have become more cautious and weary. Rather than risk getting caught by them we’ve switched a few things over to the muggle way, even if it is slower.” He switched lanes to pass a rusting auto that Ginny thought looked like a ball on wheels. “You two really should go and at least see the beach down by Coronado.” “Our portkey leaves at 5:00pm.” Ginny informed him. “We don’t really have time and neither of us can drive well enough to manage on the wrong side of the road.” He laughed. “You can Apparate there so don’t worry about driving on the right side. Our government has a huge house on the beach for housing foreign dignitaries and there is an Apparation point in it.” He smiled as he looked in the rear view mirror at them. “It’s going to take us several hours to process Macnair and you don’t need to be there for it. You should go and enjoy yourselves.” BREAK “It’s so beautiful!” Ginny cried as she watched the waves crash on to shore. Harry laughed and grinned down at her. “Yeah it is.” He walked forward towards the water, his shoes in his right hand and his jeans rolled up but he stopped before the waves could reach him. She followed closely behind before dropping her own shoes and running forward to stick her feet in the cool water. The sand ran pleasantly through her toes and for a moment she felt the weight that constantly rested on her lift. She spread her arms wide and twirled around, enjoying the feeling of the wind whipping around her and the waves splashing at her ankles. “You look like a kid doing that.” Harry said and she could see he was smiling. She beamed at him and ran towards him before she could stop herself. She jumped and flung her arms around his neck and he caught her about the waist and spun around with her. They both shared a laugh and fell on to the dry sand, Ginny resting on top of him. She put her head on his chest and enjoyed the feeling of being held and for that moment being free from the pain and not having to wear a mask. “We have to go soon.” Harry reminded her. “I know.” She murmured against him but she tried to bury herself deeper in to his arms. He obliged and held on to her even tighter. “I don’t want to face it yet.” “It is peaceful here.” He agreed. She looked up at him, losing herself momentarily in his amazing eyes. “Why can’t we always feel like this?” He glanced away for a second before returning to her gaze. “We will someday. We’ll figure out what happened and then we’ll be able to stop the nightmares.” She pushed herself up and he sat up as well but she did not move from his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arms around her. “It isn’t just the dreams though. I think I could handle the bad dreams if they were it but I always feel like the world is such a horrible place for me and that I can’t ever be happy.” She felt him sigh heavily. “I feel it too. It’s worse than before I killed him. Even when I was missing Sirius there were still moments when I could laugh and feel happy but now… I have to pretend. The only time I feel even vaguely content is when I’m holding you.” Ginny nodded in agreement. She only felt content when she was in his arms as well but for a different reason since she was in love with him. “Do you suppose that is because of our bond?” She tried never to think about the Chamber of Secrets but now the thoughts filtered in to her mind and she shuddered in revulsion. “I’ve already thought of that.” He said dismissively. “But the debt has been repaid. You have saved my life as many times as I have saved yours.” “Then why do we feel so…” She couldn’t even begin to think of a word strong enough to describe the oppressive darkness that always surrounded her. “Maybe we should seek help.” He finally replied but he didn’t sound enthusiastic about it. She shook her head. The idea of telling anyone else about it made her feel ill and paranoid. She had tried to explain it before and she had been told repeatedly that time would heal her. When she insisted that it wouldn’t, the Healers had started looking at her like she was crazy. They could lose their jobs if they talked to the wrong person. “Let’s go back.” She stood up slowly and held a hand out to help him up. BREAK “He is all yours.” Harry said with a yawn to the Hit Wizards that were waiting for them at the Ministry. Ginny signed one last piece of parchment. “We’ll be back in the morning to question him and then he can be remanded to Azkaban. I want two guards on him at all times and he should not be woken for any reason.” “Yes Ma’am.” The man replied. He appeared to be in his forties and he spoke with a Scottish accent. “Thank you.” She smiled gratefully at him and she and Harry both Apparated back to their flat. It was just after 1:00am and they were both exhausted from traveling. “That went well.” Harry commented as he walked down the hall to his room. Ginny dropped her bag in her room before moving down to his room. She sat on the bed and watched him unpack the few clothes he had brought. “I agree. Sometimes it is questionable whether or not someone is going to die when we are bringing in a Death Eater and other times I have to wonder how it is that we feared them when they can’t even put up a decent defense.” He grinned and pulled out his pajamas. “Are you sleeping in here tonight?” She got up and gave him a small smile. “I might as well. I can’t seem to go one night without a nightmare anymore.” She walked out to change in her own room before returning to join him in his large bed. BREAK “Dear Tom,” Ginny saw herself write. “I saw Harry play Quidditch today and he was amazing. I wish I could play like that.” “I know you do.” Tom Riddle’s distinctive handwriting appeared when her words had vanished. “Tell me more about Harry.” “He’s so brave.” Ginny informed him. “He defeated You-Know-Who as a baby.” “I am unfamiliar with ‘You-Know-Who’. Can you tell me more?” Tom asked her. “He’s this evil wizard that tried to kill all the muggle born witches and wizards.” Ginny wrote quickly. “He killed my uncles.” “I’m sorry to hear that.” Tom wrote back consolingly. “Does this evil man have a name?” “I can’t spell it… but it starts with a V.” She wrote. “That’s all right. Tell me more about Harry.” “He’s just so wonderful! I wish he noticed me.” “What makes him wonderful?” Tom asked. “He saved the Sorcerer’s Stone last year from You-Know-Who. Well, my brother and Hermione helped him but he got through a bunch of protections set out by the professors to save it.” Tom did not respond immediately. “Do you think he would risk his life to save a friend?” “Of course he would!” She told him. “He’s a hero.” Ginny woke up sobbing hard at the memories she had just relived. It was the time when she had given Voldemort all he needed to know about Harry and she still berated herself over it. “Shh.” Harry soothed her with his voice as he pulled her on top of him and ran his hands along her back. “I’ve got you.” It only made her cry harder. She didn’t deserve to have him and yet she didn’t think she could survive without him. “I saw myself betraying you to him… with the diary. I told him you’d save me if he made me go down to the Chamber.” “It isn’t your fault Gin, you were a kid.” “You wouldn’t have been so stupid.” She uttered the words and her hatred for herself intensified. “Maybe if we hadn’t ignored you all that year you wouldn’t have felt the need to write to him.” He said quietly. Ginny could hear that he was angry. “If we would have listened to you then nothing would have happened but neither Ron nor I even noticed that you were in trouble. I look back and I want to hit myself for not getting to know you sooner.” “You did what you could. I had that stupid crush on you and I couldn’t talk when you were near me. I just kept making a fool of myself anytime I was around you.” He was silent for a whole minute before he spoke again. “I was dreaming about the Chamber too but it was me now looking at my twelve year old self fight off that ruddy snake. Except I wasn’t watching the snake; I just kept watching you grow paler and it was making me sick to see you dying. I wanted to save you so badly and I kept yelling at the younger me to hurry up or you’d be dead. I was so scared.” She felt him shake slightly and when she looked up she saw tears coming from his eyes. “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you.” She put her head back down. “I know Harry. I feel the same way.” |
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