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After the Horcrux | ||||||
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Category: Post-DH/AB Characters:All Genres: Action/Adventure Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Rape, Sexual Situations, Violence Rating: R Reviews: 138 Summary: Harry and Ginny were meant to be together, but that doesn't mean things will be easy. They must deal with a rebuilding British magical community, fame, and even overprotective family members. Hitcount: Story Total: 76651; Chapter Total: 1394 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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“Arthur, be reasonable,” pleaded her mum. Ginny was watching her parents argue from the old worn sofa in the Burrow’s sitting room. Her father had gone into the Ministry today, even though it was Boxing Day. He came home and said he was going to quit the Ministry, because he knows that Kingsley and Gawain are lying to him. “No! I cannot work with people who lie to me like that. They know where Harry is,” he stated to his wife. Ginny hated that she was causing this fight. She didn’t want her father to resign from the Ministry, but she could also understand his frustration at being lied to by individuals who he had shared secrets with a year earlier. Her father wanted to go to the Ministry ever since Professor McGonagall had hinted that Harry was on a secret mission, but her mother had told him to wait until today. Being that it had been Christmas Eve, he complied with her wish. Christmas at the Burrow yesterday was the most depressing Christmas ever. It was even worse than the year before. Then they had a glimmer of hope that Voldemort would be defeated, and Fred and George had kept everyone entertained. This year everyone was upset over what had happened to her, and Fred wasn’t here. She hadn’t missed him this much since returning to Hogwarts, and even then her grief was for everyone who had died, not just Fred. Yesterday, seeing George sitting there staring at the fireplace, hurt her. She ached to say or do something to take away his pain, but she couldn’t think of anything. Her mother spent most of the day trying not to cry. She was sure it was because of Fred’s death. Ginny remembered that while they were hiding at Aunt Muriel’s her mother had knitted the Christmas jumpers. Ginny was positive that seeing that jumper with the letter “F” on it had cut up her mother’s heart. “And what exactly do you plan on doing to earn gold, if you quit the Ministry?” demanded her mother, her voice ringing off the walls. Her father looked at his wife as though he had been slapped. She had finished pleading with him and now she was using her “boss of the house” voice and attitude. “I don’t know,” he responded. “I don’t like what they are doing. There is no reason to hurt…” he stopped talking and looked at Ginny. “There is just no reason for it, considering the circumstances,” he said, as he crossed the room and sat down in his lumpy old chair. Ginny felt a new wave of guilt fill her up. She hated this, being the centre of problems. She always wanted to be the one solving them, not causing them. She pulled her old quilt around her even tighter. Ever since she returned home she has found comfort in wrapping herself up in her bed quilt. “Ginny, the Ridgebit’s are going to fight the charges,” her father said, without looking at her. “Gawain thinks Walden will still go to Azkaban, but…” He again stopped talking and stared blankly into space. “…the trial could be hard on you. Gordon Ridgebit is smart, and he is a viscous wanker. I want you to know that — well — that I love you no matter what, and you have nothing to be ashamed of,” he finished speaking and stared off blankly again. Ginny realized what he meant by those words. Gawain had hinted that if they go to trial then the Ridgebit’s will try to prove she was a slapper that asked for it. She glanced back over at her father. He truly meant what he had said about her having nothing to be ashamed of. Knowing that her parents still respected her has helped her deal with this horrible incident. She had been so afraid that they would blame her for acting inappropriately and deserved being attacked. “Thank you, Daddy,” she quietly said to him. For some reason she has been calling him that the past couple of days, it somehow made her feel better about herself. It reminded her of the simple days of her youth here at the Burrow. “You’re welcome Pumpkin,” he replied with a smile. Ginny leaned on the arm of the sofa thinking about having a little kip, before going to bed. The past two days she has done hardly anything but sleep. The front door flew open and Ron and Hermione came busting into the house. She had a piece of something that looked like parchment in her hand. In a glance, Ginny could tell this was something important by the look on Hermione’s face. Ron’s expression was one of concern. She could barely believe that her older brother could actually be sensitive and caring, until the past two days. He has been kind and considerate towards her. How he will react when he sees Harry again, was anybody’s guess, but for now he wasn’t being a wanker. Ginny wasn’t even sure how she will react the next time she sees him. “Ginny, how are you?” Hermione asked as she stood in front of her. “Fine, what do you have in your hand, Hermione?” Hermione smiled at her briefly. “An email from Brad Carl to my parents,” she replied and looked at the sheet. “What’s an email and why are you bringing it here? If it was meant for your parents?” “Because I think it was sent to us from Harry,” she said. Ginny sat up. “Give it to me,” she demanded of her best friend. Her mother had come out of the kitchen, and her father was sitting on the edge of his chair. “Ginny, it is rather cryptic. I think it is a warning of sorts,” she said. Ginny could hear pain in her voice, which wasn’t good. Hermione handed the message to her. Looking at it, Ginny furrowed her brow. The sheet had two strange sentences on it. Tell you vacationing friends. Don’t believe everything you hear. Looking up at Hermione, she wanted an answer or at least an intelligent guess. “What exactly does it mean, Hermione?” “You said that Harry left with Carmen. Correct?” asked the bushy haired witch. Ginny felt her heart break again, at the memory of that sight. “Yes, your point,” she bitterly spat. “We are pretty sure that Harry is on a mission. Since Harry and Carmen were partners during training then they are probably partners in the field.” Ginny let out an exasperated sigh, at Hermione’s roundabout method of relating her thoughts. “Ginny, what if the Ministry wants to use a cover story for the two of them by saying that they ran off together. They could say the two of them are in Australia, and you know how big that place is. This email would be one way that they could communicate with us that the majority of wizards in England would be clueless how to intercept it.” Ginny sat there and thought about what Hermione had said. It would seem to make sense. She thought again about what she had seen. The image of Harry in another woman’s arms hurt, but was it an image of passion or was it two friends comforting each other. Harry and Hermione have hugged each other at times, and that has never bothered Ginny. She concentrated on the memory. Recalling everything through the pain, Carmen kissed him on the forehead, not the lips. Harry only hugged her at the end. He didn’t hold her with any passion. Maybe, all she saw was two friends comforting each other, if so, then why does it still hurt her so much. “Ginny, are you all right,” asked Hermione, who was kneeling in front of her. “It’s highly probable that Harry and Carmen are on a mission.” Ginny looked up at her. Hermione and everyone else were looking at her. They all had expressions of concern. “I’m all right. Why are you looking at me like that?” “You look like you are in pain, dear,” said her mother. “I was thinking about Harry and Carmen,” Ginny responded. The entire room went silent at this comment. Ginny noticed their concern, but she was still thinking about her memories. Was what she saw real or was what her fears manifesting themselves making it seem real. Looking back up at her family, who were still staring at her with concerned looks, she sighed. “Yes, it is probable that that is what is happening, but why a message likes this?” “Because, it is probably the only thing that Gawain or Kingsley would allow him to send,” said Hermione. “You said that Harry and Carmen were going to get her family and bring them back to England for Christmas, is that correct?” “Yes, but…” “Harry isn’t in Australia. He is in England with Carmen protecting her family. Do you know anything about her family, Ginny?” “No, she never spoke about them,” Ginny slowly said, as what Hermione said started to make sense to her. “Ginny, whenever I would ask her about them she would always change the subject. I have always wondered why a French citizen would be in England training as an Auror. Didn’t you?” “Yes, and also that Kingsley had practically assigned her to Harry…” Ginny never finished what she was saying as her father stood up and shouted. “I am going to knock that bald head off his bloody shoulders!” “Arthur! Sit down!” shouted her mother. “Ginny,” continued Hermione nervously as she kneeled there and licked her lips. “I think that the Ministry might be planning to cover this all up by having the Daily Prophet post articles about Harry and Carmen running off together. Are you going to be able to stand that?” Ginny’s chest constricted at the thoughts of reading or hearing about Harry running off with another woman. The explanation made sense with the message sent by Brad Carl, but why would they go to such extreme measures. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I,” she hissed in reply. “Now, Molly, can I knock his bald head off?” shouted Mr. Weasley. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Cold water splashed over Harry’s face bringing him out of the foggy dream that he was having. It ran into his nose and mouth causing him to choke and cough. Sitting up and spluttering he looked around and saw that he was in his sleeping quarters in the tent. Monique was kneeling beside him with wet hands while Rostis and Blythe stood behind her smiling at him. “Bloody hell, why are you trying to drown me?” he shouted, at them. “I wasn’t trying to drown you, Harry. I was trying to revive you,” said a smiling Monique. “Yeah mate, it’s good to see you have finally opened your eyes,” laughed Blythe. “How long have I been out?” Harry asked. “Two days,” she replied. “We have all been dousing you with the water from the basin every four hours trying to revive you. You about totally drained yourself out there Harry. We were all concerned.” Harry saw that in her and Rostis’ eyes, but Blythe; well he can’t be sure about that practical joker. He sat up and pulled the layers of covers off him. Icy cold air hit him as he threw them off him. “I thought it didn’t get this cold in France?” he questioned Monique. “We are not in France. We are in the mountains in Spain,” she replied. “What? Why are we there?” “It is a long story. Why don’t you come to the table and get something to eat, and then we can talk,” she said, while offering her hand to him. Harry took her hand and stood up from his camp bed. His legs wobbled under the sudden pressure of his weight. The cold air assaulted him and made him shiver. Monique pulled blankets off his bed and tossed over his shoulders. He tried to straighten them as he walked, but they kept sliding off one shoulder or another. In the center of the tent sat the dinner table with four chairs around it. There was food and plates sitting around. Three of the plates were already dirty as though they had finished eating a short time before. “What time is it?” asked Harry. His head was spinning with the effort of walking even though he now had an arm around Monique’s shoulder. “A little after noon, mate,” replied Blythe. Harry looked to the kitchen area and saw another person. She was older with black and silver hair tied into a bun. She was average height for a woman, but she was also very sturdy with broad shoulders and wide hips. She saw Harry and let out a squeal of joy and rushed over to him. Harry stopped walking and backed away from her, but that didn’t deter the woman. Monique was shouting something to her in French, while she approached, but she kept coming with her arms wide open. The next thing Harry knew he was being crushed with a massive hug as this woman enveloped him and Monique with her strong arms. She started kissing him and speaking frantically to him. Harry noticed that she had grey eyes like Monique and something he had never seen before, a slight moustache. It felt strange and a little unnerving to be kissed by someone with a moustache. Monique pushed her away from Harry. She turned and gave him an apologetic glance before speaking rapid fire French with her. Rostis took Harry’s arm now and helped him into the chair. Rostis filled the plate up for him, while he watched the exchange between the two women. The older one finally threw her arms up into the air and acted as though she was pleading to the gods about something, while Monique returned to the table. Her face was bright red as she sat down to the right of Harry. “Eat!” she ordered him. “You need to regain your strength.” Harry looked down at his plate. There was bread, cheese, and some meat that looked like beef ribs on it, he picked up the meat and took a bite. “This is good, what it is?” he asked the table. “Roasted goat,” chirped Blythe. “I am sorry about my mother, Harry,” Monique apologized ignoring Blythe’s comment. “I wasn’t clear enough when I told her you were my partner.” Harry choked on his bite of food. “She thinks we are married?” he said excitedly. He must have had a horrified expression on his face, because Monique looked offended. “Am I that ugly to marry?” she snapped back at him. “No, it’s just that…” Harry stopped talking as everyone started to laugh at him. “Eat, Harry, goat is good food,” joked Blythe. Harry hesitated but decided that it actually tasted good. He recognized the taste of the cheese as goat cheese. He took some of it and a hunk of bread. There was a large glass of water for him to drink. His throat was dry and the food didn’t seem to go down at first, until he took a drink. After finishing the entire plate of food, he felt as though he could eat more. It was actually rather good. He picked up some more cuts of meat, cheese, and bread. “So how did we end up in Spain?” he asked the three people around him. They all looked at each other before Monique spoke. “The French were tracing our Apparitions. We had to move the safe zone.” “Blimey mate, when I took Rostis back to the safe zone, three of those blighters appeared. I had my hands full trying to fight them off. Luckily Ed here finally revived enough to help me. I am really sorry about leaving you up there, but I thought a quick pop to the safe zone, and I’d be right back,” explained an apologetic Blythe. “I brought you here, after a quick stop on the side of a cliff,” said Monique. Her voice sounded funny. It was sad or remorseful, and her expression seemed to have become dark. “I went to get these other two, after I had you here and safe. I brought my family through the caves.” “The caves?” Harry asked. “These caves all interconnect,” said Monique suddenly excited. “You can go from one cave to another without leaving their safety. There are portals in each one. I brought my family here, but they have no idea that they aren’t in the same cave as before.” “Could they wander back through them and get lost?” “No, Harry, you need to use magic to activate the portals. They are safe here until we are ready to move. I also found chests of books on magic. It is written in an ancient dialect, but I think that I could eventually translate it. The old wizards must have hidden all their spell books in the caves when they were being attacked. We must take them back to England so I can translate them.” “That’s sounds exciting,” Harry said trying to sound enthusiastic, but failing miserably. “What about the attackers and our plans to return to England. If I have been asleep for two days then we are late already, Kingsley will be worried.” “The attackers were French Aurors, Harry,” stated Rostis. “They were highly trained and experts at dueling. I would guess that the French will either: not acknowledge the fight, or reword it so it sounds like they were attacked. I am guessing that they will make it out as an ambush, since so many died.” Harry looked from Rostis to Monique, who turned ashen in front of him. “So being in Spain is the safest place to be right now?” he asked “For now it is,” Rostis said gravely. “The problem is getting out of here. The French have sealed the border and the Spanish realizing this are moving people into this area from the south to protect their country. We in the mean time are stuck between them trying to find our way out.” Harry upon hearing this let out a sigh, Rostis smiled at his reaction. “Exactly, Harry, we are stuck.” Harry gave them a questioning look, before speaking. “If we would use the carpets with their capability of becoming invisible…” “The French have detection wards set up all along the border leading north. This idiot,” Rostis said while pointing at Blythe who smiled at his comment. “…and I have been flying along the border trying to find an opening.” “There are hundreds of kilometres of border to protect, certainly…” “Harry, I think the French have every citizen with magical abilities down here now. We have activated some of the wards and every time we see twenty or thirty wizards or witches appearing on brooms within seconds. We are in very sticky situation here. As long as we are here, we are safe, but we need to find a way home and that is not going to be easy.” Harry looked down at the food on his plate. He was no longer hungry. He was stuck in Spain with the possibility of making it back home getting worse every day. Certainly there must be some way out of this mess. If Ron, Hermione, and him could avoid the Death Eaters all last year than there must be some way of getting past all the wards and getting home. As he thought about his predicament, his head started to hurt. “Harry,” Monique said while placing her hand over his. “You need to rest now. I want you to drink something and go back to bed.” She stood up from the table and walked to the kitchen section of tent. She poured him a large glass of something and returned to the table and sat it down in front of him. “Here drink this!” she ordered. Harry looked at the glass. It was an amber colour and smelled citrusy and sweet. Picking it up and cautiously taking a sip he was surprised at the taste of it. It tasted like it smelled. It was actually very good. “What is this?” “It is something that will help restore your magical core. Drink it, all of it, and then go back to bed. I am going into the caves to spend some time with my relatives.” “What’s in it, or don’t I want to know?” asked Harry again. “Nothing that bad mate,” offered Blythe, cutting off Monique. “There is honey, lemon and orange juice, and goat pee. These people use everything from the goat, I must say.” When Blythe said that there was goat pee in the drink, Harry was taking a sip and nearly sprayed the table with it. Monique slapped the young Auror’s arm, who was now laughing along with Rostis. “No, there isn’t goat pee in it. It is a strong sweet tea with citrus juices in it. That’s all,” stated Monique. She stood up and collected all the dishes then walked into the kitchen. “Had you going there didn’t I,” laughed Blythe. Harry just smiled at him. The humor did take him out of the depressing thoughts of his present situation. “All right Gavin, I think it is time for Harry to go back to bed and the two of us need to go out and try to find a way out of this mess,” Rostis stated, as he stood up from the table. Blythe also stood up and nodded towards Harry. “Drink up, Harry!” He turned to Rostis who was almost out of the tent, and called. “Coming there Eldred!” Rostis shot him a glare at the use of his first name, while the jovial Auror laughed at him. Harry watched them leave then Monique and her mother left after finishing the dishes. He drank the rest of the glass. He could feel it filling him with energy, but he still was tired. Standing up and delighted to find his legs supporting him. He walked over to his bed and flopped down on it. He laid there, looking at the fabric moving in the cold mountain winds, worrying about how he will be able to get out of here and back to Ginny. The thought of her sitting at the Burrow all alone and probably hating him, made him even more depressed. He will win her back. It doesn’t matter how angry she was with him. He will let her know that he’s sorry for abandoning her. It won’t matter if it takes the rest of his life. He will eventually be with her again. With these thoughts, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Harry’s stomach woke him, with a loud rumble. He was starving, even though he had eaten a good lunch. Taking in his surroundings, he pulled back his covers and sat up in his bed. The smell of food was in the air. He looked out from behind the partition in his sleeping area and saw Monique’s mother busy in the kitchen. Monique was sitting at the dinner table reading some old tome, and writing notes on parchment. He stood up without help this time. His legs were regaining their strength. He felt much better than the last time he awoke, but he was still weak. He was half way to the table when Monique’s mother saw him and started to fuss over him until he sat down. Once down at the table she went to the kitchen and returned with a bowl of stew and shoved in front of him while handing him a spoon. He didn’t need to know French to understand that she was telling him to eat. She stood there with her hands on her hips, until he took a spoonful of the stew and ate it. He nodded appreciatively at her. Smiling she turned back to the kitchen. His reaction wasn’t faked, because the stew was delicious. He wasn’t sure where they got the vegetables and potatoes, but they were delicious. “Sorry about my mother, Harry. She has always been one to feed everyone who came into the house. No matter what time of the day, they appeared,” Monique apologized to him. “That’s all right, she reminds me of Mrs. Weasley. Every time I went to their house during the summer, she took it as her responsibility to fatten me up,” he laughed. They sat and talked while he ate the stew. Night time was coming, as the light outside of the tent was waning. He looked at the tome that she was reading. The paper or parchment was old, yellow, and looked like it would fall apart at the slightest touch. She looked up at him, and saw where his stare was directed. “It is one of the books from the chests that I have found. It will take me a long time to translate all of them,” she said, as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She reminded Harry so much of Hermione when she studied. Rostis and Blythe entered the tent several minutes later when Harry was eating his second bowl of stew. Mrs. Arana produced a helping of stew for each of them, as they tried to thaw out. Their jackets were coated with ice and snow, and even their eyebrows looked to be caked with it. They shrugged off their jackets and sat at the table. Both had grave expressions as they started to shovel the warm food into their mouths. “I take it things didn’t go well this afternoon?” asked Harry. Rostis sulked while Blythe shrugged his shoulders. “We headed east and west without finding an opening in their Wards. I have no idea how many different people we saw waiting on their side of the border. They must have the entire French magical population down here,” gloomily stated Rostis. “The Spanish side isn’t much better, and we are stuck here in the middle. If we don’t get out of here soon, we will be caught.” Harry lost his appetite, with this news. He may never get back to Ginny. He pushed his bowl away and sat there staring off without focusing on anything. The rest of the evening was like that with everyone being quiet and sullen. Later, Rostis got the maps out and tracked the places that he had found wards in place. It did look hopeless for them as the areas that were Warded expanded to nearly half of the mountain range. They didn’t check every gap between the mountains, because they assumed that the gaps between the ones where they located wards were also Warded. Rostis and Blythe went to bed early that night, leaving Harry and Monique awake. Harry had barely spoken most of the night. With each area that he saw blocking his return to England he became more and more depressed. He was trapped and there was nothing he could do about it. He started to wonder if Monique couldn’t go into the caves and move her family around to keep them from being detected, so that he, Rostis, and Blythe could escape. He wasn’t even sure how he would do that. The French and Spanish would most certainly be monitoring Apparition in that area now. They could hardly walk out of the mountains without being detected. The feeling of being trapped started to extend to the very tent that he was in. It seemed to be closing in around him. He grabbed his jacket from his sleeping area and headed outside. The bitter cold air assaulted his lungs as he stepped out of the tent. The snow was almost knee deep as he pushed his way through it. The sight that met him, as he gazed across the mountain tops, was absolutely beautiful. They were in a ravine of sorts. The three sides extended up nearly vertical and in the darkness he couldn’t actually see the tops of them. The opening in the fissure showed him mountain tops and starry skies. The air was so thin and crisp that the stars looked close enough to touch. As he stood there enjoying the breathtaking view, Monique stepped up beside him. “I’m sorry Harry for dragging you down here,” she apologized. He almost yelled at her for causing him to be away from Ginny, but he held his tongue. He remembered how much it hurt him last year when Hermione and Ron doubted and blamed him for their troubles. He needed to stay positive about the situation. “It’s all right, you didn’t force me. The Minister did,” he bitterly said. The words weren’t comforting and actually were probably a little too caustic to be reassuring, but it was the best he could do at the time. They stood there in silence for some time. Harry was regretting sounding like he did, but unable to muster much reassurance to his partner. He looked over and saw that she was crying while staring out at the horizon. He started to feel sorry he was so nasty to her. She was just as much of a victim in this as he was. “How did you feel when you killed Voldemort last year, Harry?” she asked. Harry was caught off guard by the question. He had to think about how he had felt. He actually felt elated that it was over, but he was remorseful because so many had died. “It was complicated. Why do you ask?” “The man that was pointing his wand at you when I…” she stopped talking to wipe her eyes. “…I killed him. That was the wizard that killed my father and brother.” “Oh, I see.” Harry silently kicked himself at his response. She must be in pain at the memory of losing someone so close to her; a pain that he was actually quite familiar with. “He deserved to die,” she stated with cold resolve. “They all deserved it, Harry.” She stopped talking again as she tried to gain control of her emotions. “Why then, do I feel so terrible for killing them? Why do I feel so dirty?” Her cry became racking sobs. Harry understood what she was asking earlier. She had split her soul, and the horrible grief of the act of murder was tearing her up inside. He had never felt that since he didn’t actually cast the curse that killed Voldemort. He had been saved that agony. He suddenly felt sorry for her. She had saved his life buy doing that, and now she is suffering because of it. Harry turned and took her in his arms and hugged her allowing her to cry on his shoulder. They stood in a fissure high on a mountain in Spain, while he tried to comfort his Auror partner. Under these beautiful starry skies, he held her to help take away the pain that she must be feeling. However his mind kept drifting away to England. He wanted to be holding someone else. Taking her pain away, as he held and comforted Monique, he couldn’t stop thinking and worrying about Ginny. [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Ginny was sitting outside of the Burrow on the bench that she and Harry had claimed as their spot this summer. It was after supper so it was dark outside, though she did not know the time. She was wrapped in her ever present quilt against the cold winter air. It had snowed earlier today, but now the sky was clear as she stared up into the heavens wishing that Harry could be here beside her. She was holding the email that Hermione brought yesterday. She kept thinking about it. Was it sent for the reasons that Hermione said or was it just sent for some other reason? She wanted to believe that Harry still loved her and he was only working. There were so many conflicting pieces of evidence floating around in her head, yet her heart told her that he still loved her. “Achoo!” “Bless you, Kreacher,” said Ginny quietly. The sneeze had come from behind the dead and dry stalks of her mother’s Flutterby bush. The one thing that had puzzled her was Kreacher had been watching her the past four days. He won’t call her his Mistress anymore, because Harry forbid it, but he was always there watching over her, unless someone else was near. Ginny thought to herself. Why would Kreacher be here and act like that? “Kreacher?” she asked politely. “Why have you called me Mistress in the past? I am not Harry’s wife, so I am not your Mistress.” Ginny heard some grumbling from behind the dead bush, before he finally spoke. “We House Elves do not know what marriage is. I only knows that you and Master Harry love and are dedicated to each other. That makes you my Mistress.” Ginny listened intently to his explanation. When she heard Kreacher say “love and are dedicated”, her heart jumped a little. “Don’t you mean Harry used to be in love and dedicated to me? Harry doesn’t care for me anymore. I heard him tell you not to call me your Mistress.” She again heard Kreacher grumble before speaking. It sounded like he was fighting with himself about something. “Miss... Ginny, Master Harry told me not to call you by your title. He also told me to watch over you, but I couldn’t be seen by anyone.” Ginny squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath, before slowly exhaling causing a cloud of steam to form in front of her. She thought about what Kreacher had said, and the way he said “Miss... Ginny”. He said it as though he was actually saying “Mistress Ginny”, but he was leaving the last syllable off the “Mistress”. He also referred to her title, and what he said about being ordered to watch over her. She took several more breaths to calm herself. She had to think clearly now. She doesn’t want to be imagining things because she wants them to be true. “Kreacher,” she demanded with authority. “Did Harry ask you to tell me these lies, so that I won’t be angry with him?” She bit her lip while keeping her eyes closed. She didn’t like talking to Kreacher like that, but she had to find out. “No, Miss... Ginny, Kreacher can’t lie to you,” he wailed from behind the bush. “Kreacher would have to punish himself for doing that. Kreacher don’t lie to his Miss... Ginny. It is not allowed for a House Elf…” “I believe you, Kreacher,” Ginny apologized to him. “Don’t punish yourself I forbid it. I needed to know the truth.” Ginny smiled a genuine happy smile, as she realized that Kreacher had told her the truth about Harry’s feelings for her. “Thank you, Kreacher. I will forever be grateful for what you have told me,” she said, with a happy cheerful voice. It seemed as though all the troubles and pain from the past five days had been lifted off her. She had reason to be happy, again. Harry still loved her. “Kreacher, I am fine now. You can go and get warm. I don’t want a good servant like you getting sick because I want to be outside. So please go home and get warm.” “I can’t, Miss... Ginny.” “Kreacher, I am fine. In fact, I am better now than I have been in several days, so please go get warm. It is very cold out here,” she pleaded with him. “I can’t Miss... Ginny. You are being watched.” Ginny’s eyes opened wide at his comment. Every muscle in her body tightened and she did a mental check to see how fast she could get to her wand. She readjusted the quilt and slowly gripped her wand. “Who is it, and where are they?” she whispered to the House Elf. “I not know, Miss... Ginny. He is outside the Wards and he stands straight out from this bush,” whispered Kreacher. “Is it someone that Harry sent?” “No! Kreacher doesn’t recognize him. He is in scarlet robes. He waits and watches. He be there all day,” Ginny sat there and thought about what to do. The wizard could be anyone. He could even be a Death Eater. Standing up, she adjusted her quilt and drew her wand under the cover of it. “I am going inside to warn me parents. Tell me if he leaves,” Ginny told Kreacher, while trying not to look at the bush. She tried to move as calmly as possible so as not to reveal her intentions. She entered the kitchen looking for her parents. They weren’t in the kitchen, so she went into the sitting room. They were sitting together on the sofa. Her father’s arm was around her mother. She was starting on next year’s Christmas knitting while he snored softly in her ear. “Mum wake Dad,” she stated firmly. “There is someone outside the Wards watching us.” “Arthur!” Mrs. Weasley said in her husband’s ear at the same time she elbowed him in the ribs. While he was waking up she looked at Ginny. “How do you know that, and where are they.” “He is across the road, and I can’t tell you how I know. You will have to trust me,” she replied to her mum. “Contact Ron and Hermione tell them about it. Maybe we can set a trap. I am going back outside.” She turned and left the room while her parents protested. She didn’t want the person leaving before Ron and Hermione could catch them. She walked back out and sat down on the bench. She tried not to stare in the direction of the wizard. “Kreacher, is he still there?” she asked without looking at the Flutterby bush. “Yes, he hasn’t moved.” The House Elf stopped talking as her dad stepped out the back door. He walked over and sat beside Ginny. She listened to hear if Kreacher would Disapparate away, but he didn’t. Ginny started to get nervous about her father being here, what if the wizard got nervous and left. “I Flooed Bill, and told him to get the rest of the Weasleys. Your mum will be out with some hot chocolate, my dear,” whispered her father. He put his left arm around her shoulders and he had his wand in his right hand. “I see you are still carrying that note from Hermione’s parents around. Do you believe…” “Yes,” quietly stated Ginny cutting her father off. “I believe that Harry is on a mission.” Mr. Weasley sighed and looked out at the starry sky. “I just hate seeing you hurt, Pumpkin,” he said as he tightened his grip on her shoulders. Ginny leaned in to his embrace. She truly appreciated having two loving and caring parents. It was something that growing up she never truly appreciated, until the past two years. “I need to get used to this type of thing Daddy. If I am going to be with Harry, I must get use to him taking off to save the world.” “But, doesn’t it bother you that he might do this at anytime, dear?” Ginny smiled to herself, at his question. “Yes, it does. However, he is Harry Potter.” She kept on talking in hushed tones over top of her father’s attempt to comment. “When Voldemort came back to life and killed Cedric Diggory, Professor Dumbledore made a speech to the school. He said that ‘if a time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy’*. At that time he was only talking about the war with Voldemort, but in reality, he was also talking about Harry. He will always be put in the situation where he must choose between what is right and what is easy. I know that it will hurt me every time he leaves to help rid the world of darkness, but that is who he is. I love him Dad. I love him with all my heart. I must get used to this.” She stopped talking to help gain control over her emotions. “I will never like it, but I will support him, and trust him, and love him in spite of it. He has been so supportive of me and my aspirations to play professional Quidditch. It would be hypocritical of me not to support him, also.” When Ginny finished talking, she leaned back to look at the stars. She didn’t know where all those thoughts came from. They seemed pop into her mind as she spoke, but they were true and she meant every word of it. She saw her mother looking at her with moist eyes, while holding a tray with a pot of hot chocolate and three cups. Steam was slowly rising from the spout on the cold night air, while she stared at her daughter. “Ginny, dear,” her father whispered. “He left you when he should be here for you, and you are all right with that?” Ginny looked at him and her mother thinking about what he said. Her mother broke the tension by pouring hot chocolate for them, then pulled her wand and extended the bench so she could sit down on the other side of Ginny. Ginny noticed that she discreetly placed her wand under the tray on her lap. The three of them quietly sat there sipping hot chocolate with their left hand. “Harry was there when I needed him most,” stated Ginny after a couple of sips. “Ginny…” “Dad,” she quietly cut him off. “He wasn’t supposed to be there that night. He was supposed to be home. Even if he was home and knew about me being attacked, he could have never reached me before Walden could have…” she stopped as the thought of being so close to being raped sickened her. “He would have raped me. I was helpless against him. Harry must have been coming to see me. It is the only explanation I can think of. He must have wanted to tell me he was leaving, or talk to me about something before he left on a mission.” She felt her parents fidget slightly with the last comment. “Harry stopped it! He saved me from that horrible experience,” she whispered. Her voice was barely audible as the emotions from her experience were causing her pain. “I want him here terribly, but since he can’t be, then I am satisfied with what he did. He saved me and took me to a place where I could be safe. Even if he did leave me, which I don’t believe, I am still grateful to him for what he did that night.” “Ginny dear,” inquired her mother. “Why do you believe so strongly now that Harry still loves you, you seemed so certain that he had left you?” Ginny smiled at her question. It was a reasonable one, but easily explained. “When this all first happened, I saw and believed my greatest fear that Harry would leave me for someone else. I have had time to think about everything, and I believe in him. There are other reasons …” The area outside the Wards erupted with spell fire, causing Ginny to stop talking. It was a quick flurry of spells, and it was over as quickly as it had begun. She was going to ask her parents if they thought it went well when a silver otter Patronus appeared in front of them. “We have him and are bringing him to the house,” stated the voice of Hermione. They sat there sipping on hot chocolate, while watching somebody being frog hopped across the garden. It looked like Ron and George had a hold of him, while Bill, Percy, and Hermione walked behind the tied up wizard. She didn’t finish her statement as the tension of the moment increased as the wizard came closer They all stopped in front of Ginny and her parents. Ron and George had hold of the wizard. Ron’s facial expression was a scowl, while George seemed to be smiling. The wizard was wearing scarlet robes as Kreacher had said. He was bound with rope around his torso so that his hands were to his side. There was some type of a chain and ball attached to his ankle, and his face was covered by a translucent bubble occluding his features. “What is all that stuff?” asked her father. He stood up and walked over to the captive. “The ball and chain around his leg is a new item Ron developed at the shop,” stated George happily. “You curse it onto someone’s leg and they can’t Apparate. The privacy bubble on his head is mine. He can’t hear or see us, but he can still breathe. Those unimaginative ropes were Percy’s. The other two were along as spectators.” Hermione and Bill stared at him. “All right they helped a little,” he laughed. “Dad,” said Bill. He stepped forward and looked at the wizard then at Ginny. She could feel her throat tighten. “I think Percy should take this bloke to the Ministry, because he is on better terms with Kingsley and Gawain right now. George can help him. I need to talk to the rest of you.” Percy and George looked at him with a hurt expression. “I will get you two back up to speed later.” Ron let go of the captive and Percy took him with George into the Burrow, while the rest of them stayed outside. When the windows of the kitchen were illuminated with green light, a small pop was heard from the Flutterby bush. Everyone except Ginny turned and pointed their wands at the bush. “No!” shouted Ginny. She stepped between her family and the bush. “It was Kreacher. It must be safe now,” she told her family. They looked at her like she had grown a second head. “Harry, ordered Kreacher to watch over me and make sure I was safe. He wasn’t supposed to be seen by anyone. I was afraid to mention how I knew the wizard was here, because he might punish himself for being exposed.” “How long has Kreacher been doing this?” asked an excited Hermione? The rest of her family looked totally confused. “Ever since he left, he ordered Kreature to do that before leaving.” Ginny smiled at her family as they processed what this indicated. Hermione hugged her. “I am so happy for you,” she whispered in Ginny’s ear. “You must feel much better about everything?” “Yes, Hermione, I do,” replied a happy Ginny. “Well, then I have some bad news for you,” interjected Bill on this mini celebration. When everyone turned to look at him, he swallowed hard before speaking. “Fleur Owled her parents when we thought Harry might be in France. They were to find out if anything strange has been going on. Well, with seeing that French Auror here…” “What do you mean French Auror?” shouted Ginny. “That wizard was a French Auror, I recognized him by his robes,” stated Bill. “Fleur received an Owl back from her parents today.” He stopped again and looked gravely at everyone assembled there, before settling is gaze back on his little sister. “On Christmas night, the entire French Magical Law Enforcement Department was summoned and sent to the south of France. They have been down there ever since. There has been no official word about why they are there, but their presence has made the Spanish nervous so they moved many of their MLE’s north to the French border. Ginny, Carmen is from that area of France that is the only thing that Fleur is sure about her. If Harry is there, then he is surrounded by hundreds of highly trained wizards, and he would be treated as an invader. I am sorry Gin, but Harry is in a lot of trouble.” Ginny looked at him then at her parents. Her legs became weak as she fell back onto the bench. *From Goblet of Fire page 724 — American Version |
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