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SIYE Time:13:31 on 29th March 2024
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Path Diverged II
By hp_fangal

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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-HBP
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance
Warnings: Disturbing Imagery, Mental Abuse, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 220
Summary: The Wizarding world finally knows that Lord Voldemort has returned, and the Second War has begun. As Harry prepares to enter his sixth year at Hogwarts, he is forced to deal with the trauma from his last encounter with Voldemort, the upcoming trial of Dolores Umbridge, Sirius's uncomfortable questions about his childhood, his budding relationship with Ginny Weasley, and the unknown shadow of what lies ahead as the "Chosen One" who must defeat Voldemort once and for all. This is an AU take of Half-Blood Prince following my previous story, Path Diverged.
Hitcount: Story Total: 92322; Chapter Total: 4252
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Ginny and Molly POV chapter for you guys! As a mother myself, I couldn't help but want to get into Molly's headspace just a bit, and I hope you enjoy it.




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Two: The Realization



Ginny settled down next to Ron in the back of the taxi her parents had rented (with Tonks’s help, Arthur still had trouble with the bits of paper money Muggles used) to drive them back to their home in Ottery St. Catchpole from Kings Cross station. It was a quiet drive for the most part. Molly and Arthur already knew much of what had happened the previous school year since they had come up to Hogwarts to sit with Ron and Ginny as they had been interviewed by two Aurors about what Umbridge had done to Harry. Thinking about it sent a rush of anger coursing through Ginny every time. She had seen Harry go through so much over the last few years, but she had never heard him scream like that and desperately hoped that she would never have to witness such a thing ever again.

Thinking of Harry, however, brought a smile to her face. Ginny had fancied Harry as a child, but it had grown into love as she had come to know him better. She had made herself move on and had dated Michael Corner for some time, but now…

Probably the most incredible part of being with Harry was that her unfortunate adventure with him in the Department of Mysteries had left her with no choice but to admit that she loved him in order to save him from Voldemort. She had thought for sure that, if he even remembered what she had said, he would simply tell her that he saw her as only a friend, and she would have settled for that; she had already been doing just that, to be honest. But no, instead he admitted that he did have feelings for her, and now…

“How long have you been telling Harry you love him?” Molly spoke up abruptly. Ginny blinked and looked over at her.

“Sorry?”

“You told Harry today that you love him at the station,” said Molly. “How long have you been saying that?”

Ginny felt her face warm and looked down. “I actually saved his life at the Ministry by admitting it,” she answered. “Voldemort was killing him, and he wasn’t –” She broke off, remembering once again how Harry’s face had been so pale, starting to turn blue at the lips as his life had… He had been running out of time, and it had been terrifying to sit there, watching him slowly ebb away and not be able to do anything about it.

Ron shifted uncomfortably next to her.

“He was dying,” said Ginny, looking up to meet her mother’s eyes. “Nothing was getting through to him, and I do love him, Mum, I’ve loved him for years, and I just remember thinking that… I had nothing else to offer, nothing else to try or to lose and –” She halted, blinking hard several times. “I couldn’t lose him,” she whispered.

“I’m glad you said it,” said Ron unexpectedly. “Honestly, I’m glad you keep saying it.” He turned to face their parents. “Mum, Dad, have you seen the way Harry looks at her?” he asked. “I’ve never seen him like that before. He’s so… happy.”

Maybe Ron didn’t really have the emotional range of a teaspoon like Hermione claimed, Ginny thought idly as her parents exchanged looks. “That’s very observant of you, Ron,” Arthur finally said.

“He’s my best mate,” Ron defended himself. “I might not be a fan of watching them kiss or anything, but the way he looks at Ginny, the way he talks to her…” He shrugged. “It was never like that when he was seeing Cho.”

Ginny smiled at her brother. “That’s probably the highest praise I’ll ever get from you, isn’t it?” she said fondly.

Ron shoved her lightly as he muttered, “Shut it, you,” but he was grinning, all the same.

When they arrived home, the house was oddly quiet. Without Fred and George about, it was almost a different place altogether. Ginny and Ron were ordered to unpack their trunks and set aside anything that needed to be washed before getting ready for supper. Ginny quickly followed her mother’s orders and went to head outside for a bit of flying before her mother stopped her.

“Ginny, dear,” she called out just as Ginny reached the back door, “come here for a moment, please.”

Molly was in the kitchen, clearly in the middle of making supper, and Arthur was sitting at the kitchen table. “Yes, Mum?” asked Ginny.

“Have a seat, dear,” said Molly, and Ginny felt the first inklings of wariness settle in. She sat down next to her father and waited cautiously.

“Ginny,” said Arthur after a moment, “we understand that you care about Harry very much –”

“Love,” Ginny gently corrected him. “Dad, I love him.”

“But you’re both still so young,” said Molly quickly.

“You didn’t even finish school before marrying Dad,” Ginny reminded her mother. “You were what, two years older than I am now?”

“Well, your father and I were obviously meant to be,” said Molly dismissively.

“And you think Harry and I aren’t?” Ginny questioned incredulously. “You can’t judge our relationship when you’ve barely even seen us together!”

“He saved your life four years ago,” said Arthur carefully, “and he worked so hard to keep you safe at the Ministry two weeks ago, but to go from just friends to telling him you love him in such a short time… we just worry that it’s just a bit fast.”

Ginny stared at her parents. “You think I’m pushing him into something that he doesn’t want,” she stated numbly. Her parents said nothing, and she leaned back in her chair. “Tell me,” she said, seizing on a sudden thought, “what do you both know about the prophecy?”

Her parents froze. “You know what it says,” whispered Arthur. “Albus told you after you left with Harry and Sirius that night.”

“Yes,” answered Ginny firmly. “We all got to hear the exact wording, and Harry and I told Ron and Hermione what it said. So, what do you know about it?”

“We know that You-Know-Who attacked the Potters because of it,” replied Arthur slowly after exchanging a significant look with Molly. “We know that he doesn’t know the full prophecy, that he sought it out to better understand why he has been unable to kill Harry after all these years. I was among those who stood guard to make sure he didn’t get it.”

“And you almost died because of it,” said Ginny. “I remember that.” She sighed. “Look, Harry was scared when we learned what it said. He still is, honestly, but the first chance he got to talk to me alone, he asked me about telling him I loved him. He… he wanted to know if I meant it, and he said…” This part still broke Ginny’s heart when she so much as thought about it. “No one has ever told them they love him before,” she finished, blinking away the tears that wanted to fall.

“I’m sure his parents said that many times,” said Molly quietly.

“He doesn’t remember that, though,” responded Ginny. “It’s just three little words, and out of all of us who care about him, I’m the first person to say those words to him? You think I don’t realize how monumental that is? Or how much it meant to him?” She shook her head. “He fought off Voldemort after I said it, Mum. He was dying, but love – the idea of it, my saying it to him, the way he felt about me and Sirius – that’s what did it, that’s what allowed him to break free of being possessed, and I wouldn’t ever take it back.” She looked up at her mother. “I love him,” she said simply.

Molly sighed. “And Harry?”

Ginny glanced at her father, who was watching her silently. “What about him?”

“How does he feel about you?”

“He does notice you, you know. Harry has always noticed you.”

And she realized in that moment just what she had done.

“I… I love you.”

She had said it to Harry, but Voldemort had been possessing Harry at the time. He knew. He’d put the pieces together in Harry’s mind about his developing feelings for Ginny, and then she’d gone and confirmed exactly how she felt. As foolish as Voldemort believed love to be, he was more than capable of using the idea of it to his advantage, like when he had tried to trick Harry into going to the Ministry to save Sirius.

“Ginny?” her mother asked as though from a great distance, but Ginny ignored her as her thoughts continued to race. Voldemort didn’t just have Harry’s love for Sirius to use against him, anymore. He had Ginny’s love for Harry, as well. He had the pieces he’d put together in Harry’s mind to see how much Harry had grown to care for her. Given that there were multiple students at Hogwarts whose parents were Death Eaters, the news of them getting together must have surely reached Voldemort by now. He probably hadn’t been the least bit surprised by it, either.

“I might as well have painted a target on my back,” she breathed in astonishment.

“Ginny?”

“Sorry,” said Ginny, coming back to herself. “Look, Harry cares about me. A lot. Maybe it’ll grow to be love, and maybe it won’t. Either way, he’s willing to give us a chance, and I’m happy with that.” She pushed away from the table and rose. “May I be excused, please?”

Her parents exchanged worried looks, but nodded. Ginny raced outside, grabbed an old broom from the shed, and was on it a moment later, soaring over the paddock as she breathed in the fresh summer air and tried not to think for a bit.

But the thoughts came, anyway.

She had unintentionally placed herself in mortal danger.

Her family was likely already a target just because they were in the Order and cared for Harry, but this… this individualized target she had managed all on her own. Had Harry realized this yet? What would he do when it occurred to him that Voldemort might deliberately target her to get to him? Obviously she would have to be more careful in the future, maybe take the same precautions Harry would be expected to take.

Most importantly, though, would be avoiding any discussion of this revelation. She knew Harry well enough to know he might do something stupid like push her away to try and protect her, but that wouldn’t change how she felt about him, and she was certain Voldemort had already realized that. No, she would do better to keep mum on this realization unless it came up somehow. Then, and only then, would she deal with it. Having decided this, Ginny was able to fly in relative peace until supper was ready.



Molly watched as her daughter practically ran away from her and Arthur, and her heart ached for the young girl. Already in love and not even fifteen years old?

“I think she’s realized what she did that night,” Arthur spoke up quietly. “You heard what she said?”

“‘I might as well have painted a target on my back,’” repeated Molly faintly. “Yes, I heard. Albus was correct that she would figure it out quickly. She’s such a bright child. But that Albus told her the whole prophecy!” she fired up. “I should never have let her leave us that night!”

“Harry would have just told her later, anyway,” said Arthur reasonably. “She admitted that both Ron and Hermione know the full contents, as well.”

“They’re all too young to have to deal with any of this!” Molly couldn’t help but fret. She looked over at her family clock. Starting from the day the Daily Prophet had officially declared the You-Know-Who’s return, every single hand on the clock now constantly pointed at “mortal peril” and only changed briefly for “traveling” when one of them was on the move. It was nerve-wracking to see that at all times and not know for sure if her babies were truly safe.

Arthur looked over at the clock, as well. “We already knew that You-Know-Who believes that Harry’s the only one who could truly defeat him,” he said, rising and walking over to his wife. “No matter how we feel about it, the man will stop at nothing to make sure Harry dies rather than he. And as much as we want to, we can’t shield our children from the horrors of war that are coming our way. Probably the only thing that could have made us any safer would have been Ron not befriending Harry.”

“I wouldn’t change that for the world,” said Molly at once as Arthur put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him. “He is the best thing that has ever happened to our family, Arthur.”

“I agree,” said Arthur with a small smile. “He’s been so good for Ron, and… well, the twins finally admitted to me last night that Harry gave them his winnings from the Triwizard tournament a year ago.”

“What?” Molly gasped. “But, he –”

“Insisted the twins take it, said we could all do with ‘a few laughs’ and only asked that they buy Ron those dress robes they got him last summer,” Arthur finished with a small grin. “I have to say, it was a clever and kind thing Harry did for them.”

“They are doing rather well for themselves, I will admit,” said Molly grudgingly. “I was starting to worry that maybe they were up to no good with Mundungus –”

“He probably did supply them some with some questionable ingredients,” said Arthur, his grin getting larger, “but no, financially speaking, Harry was their backer.”

“I should have realized the money came from him,” sighed Molly. “He told me he didn’t want it, that it should have been Cedric’s. The poor boy has been through so much and has somehow remained so kind.”

Arthur nodded. “I don’t think I could’ve chosen anyone better for our daughter to love.”

Molly had to agree. Harry was certainly reckless at times, but his heart was always in the right place, and she knew he’d do anything to keep her baby safe.

Dinner was as a quiet affair, Ron and Ginny having little to say about their last year at Hogwarts. Not that Molly could blame them; between Umbridge and You-Know-Who, the end of the school year hadn’t exactly been pleasant. After the food was eaten, Arthur headed outside to his work shed, Ginny settled down by the fireplace with an issue of Teen Witch Weekly, and Ron quietly joined her with a book on Quidditch. It was interesting to see them together without their other siblings around. Molly hadn’t had just the two of them home since the twins had left for Hogwarts seven years ago, and they hadn’t gotten along like this back then.

Eventually, Ron spoke so quietly that Molly almost missed him as she cleaned up from dinner. “He’s been having nightmares again. I heard him almost every night after he got out of the hospital wing.”

“I’m not surprised,” responded Ginny in an equally quiet tone of voice. “I’ve had a few, myself. I keep getting it all mixed up between what happened at the Ministry and what happened with the diary.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s just – when he possessed Harry the first time, it was still Harry’s face, but it was Tom’s expressions, instead, his body language, way of speaking… He never looks like Harry in my dreams, though, it’s always his face the way he looked back then, or sometimes the way he looks now. How Harry could look at that face and still think straight…” She trailed off for a long moment. “It was just like Harry described in the interview he gave to Rita Skeeter, but it’s worse to actually see it. I could go the rest of my life without seeing Voldemort again and be perfectly happy.”

“Do you… I know you were seeing a Mind Healer when we went to Egypt three years ago –”

“I’m fine,” Ginny cut him off.

“Now you sound just like him,” said Ron, sounding amused.

“Shut it,” replied Ginny, but she didn’t sound angry so much as sad. “I got all the help I could from her that summer, Ron, I really don’t think I need it again.”

“Harry could use it.”

“He’d never spill his guts to a stranger and you know it.”

“True enough,” sighed Ron.

There was a moment of silence before Ron spoke again. “Do you think Dumbledore will really teach Harry how to defeat him in those private lessons he’s going to give him next year?”

This was new, something Molly hadn’t heard about at all. Did Sirius know?

“I expect so,” answered Ginny. “Voldemort’s basically immortal, isn’t he, coming back from practically nothing last year and all. You can’t do that if you’re just mortal, right?”

“Yeah, I reckon so.”

“Well, there must be a way to do it, something other than the Killing curse, of course, since that obviously didn’t work like it should have.” Ginny blew air out through her lips. “Harry’s really scared, Ron, despite what he told us the other day. To know that you’re the only one capable of…” Her voice faded, and Molly peeked into the room to see her daughter leaning against her big brother.

“He’s got us, no matter what,” said Ron firmly as he wrapped an arm around Ginny’s shoulders. “Whatever he has to do, we’re with him every step of the way.”

“I know,” said Ginny softly. “And I’m sure Harry knows it, too.”

Molly retreated, blinking back tears. Somehow she had raised such incredible children who were willing to take a stand in the face of You-Know-Who’s endless determination to kill someone they cared about. Molly had to thank her lucky stars that Ron had asked Harry to share a compartment on that first train ride to Hogwarts. Harry had brought so much good into their lives, and he was worth every trouble that had come along with him, as well.

Her son now had a wonderful friend, and her daughter had chosen a very good soul to love.

Molly finished cleaning up from dinner just as Bill came home. “Hello, Bill,” she said, pulling her eldest into a tight hug. “How are you? How was Harry? Did he get home all right?”

“I’m fine, he’s fine, everything’s good, I've already checked in with Sirius to update him and everything,” said Bill with a grin as Ginny and Ron came into the kitchen to greet him. “He was actually unloading his trunk out of the boot of the Dursleys car all by himself.”

“They didn’t help him at all?” gasped Molly.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” said Ron with a scowl. Much as Molly didn’t like it, Ron was right. It was not surprising at all, but still frustrating to have to hear.

“I helped him get it up the front door,” said Bill, “but he insisted he could get into the house by himself.” He paused. “I may have pushed the issue about how they treat him, though.”

“What did you say?” asked Ginny at once, and Molly knew her daughter was feeling as fiercely protective of Harry as she.

“He said his relatives were upset with being confronted at Kings Cross station,” said Bill, looking troubled. “He just wanted to go inside and be left alone, but said that wouldn’t happen if he went and invited me in an hour after learning about Sirius coming to visit every day for the next two weeks.”

“And you said…?” prompted Ginny.

“I asked if they’d hurt him for that,” Bill admitted.

“I bet he didn’t take kindly to that,” said Ron with raised eyebrows. “You don’t pry into his life with those Muggles easily. The most I ever got out of him was that first train ride together, and when we rescued him with Dad’s flying car the following summer. Otherwise, he won’t talk about them.”

Molly remembered Ron telling her in his various letters home that first year that the famous Harry Potter was not only his best friend, but that he always wore his cousin’s hand-me-downs and had never had a proper birthday, let alone presents. Her heart had ached so fiercely for the boy she had barely met as she read those letters.

“No, he didn’t take too kindly to it at all,” Bill answered dryly. “He wanted to know why I’d ask him something like that, and I explained that only abusive people put bars on a child’s window and lock them up, and he shut down on me completely. All he’d say was that they’d never liked each other and hurried inside before I could say anything else.” He sighed and sat down at the kitchen table heavily. Molly quickly grabbed the leftovers she’d had sitting on the counter in a stasis charm and brought them over for him to eat. “Thanks, Mum,” he murmured, digging in.

“I think you might be the first person to actually use that word in front of him,” remarked Ginny, sitting down next to him as Ron joined them and absently grabbed a spare roll from Bill’s plate.

“What word?” asked Bill, fork pausing halfway between his plate and his mouth.

“Abuse,” said Ron between bites of roll. “I know we’ve discussed it before, but never when he’s around.”

Molly sighed and sat down, as well. “Sirius says that children who are neglected and abused frequently deny that anything is actually wrong,” she said. “We’re very lucky to know as much as we do about his life there.”

“There’s still so much we don’t know, though,” Ginny pointed out.

“Sirius has been saying he’s going to start pushing Harry for more details over the next two weeks,” Molly informed them. “He grew up in an abusive home and says Harry exhibits a lot of the same behavioral patterns that he did before Harry’s father figured out what was going on and encouraged him to get out.”

“It’s disgusting that Sirius’s family held to the old ways of childrearing,” said Bill with a scowl. “The child abuse laws have been around for a solid century now to do away with that kind of thing, but… even if we prove that Harry was abused, it’s not something we could go public with.”

“Why not?” asked Ron hotly. “I think the Muggles deserve some punishment for what they’ve done to Harry!” Molly had to admire Ron’s loyalty to Harry.

“It’s not that simple, Ron,” sighed Bill. “Everyone knows it was Professor Dumbledore who insisted that Harry be placed with the Dursleys. Everyone also knows that it was Professor Dumbledore who insisted that Harry’s aunt would raise him well until he was ready to join the magical community. If word were to get out that Harry was potentially abused instead of cared for by his relatives –”

“Anti-Muggle sentiments will rise rapidly,” came Arthur’s voice as he returned inside from his shed. “The information could actually bolster You-Know-Who’s ability to gather supporters. People would be less likely to trust Dumbledore or the Ministry if they thought the abuse had been allowed to happen.”

“But Voldemort saw everything in Harry’s head that night,” said Ginny, face pale. “He told me that in the hospital wing. If – if Harry really was abused, he already knows. Has Professor Snape said anything about it in your Order meetings?”

Arthur met Molly’s eyes for a moment before shaking his head. “No, he hasn’t.”

“Which still leaves us guessing,” said Bill heavily. “Anyway, I’m exhausted, I’m going to head up to bed.” He rose, and then paused. “Oh, I’m bringing over Fleur for dinner tomorrow,” he said with a smile. “She’s been wanting to come and visit for a while now, meet you and Dad and see Ron and Ginny again.”

“That sounds lovely, dear,” said Molly at once, mind already whirring with food possibilities. She’d have to go shopping in the morning; Ginny and Ron could help her gather what she needed. She ushered everyone up to bed after that, but lay awake for some time after she turned in for the night, worrying about her family, about the war, and, as always, about Harry. How she longed to wrap him in her arms and keep him safe from the horrors of his life. She hoped he was sleeping easily tonight, free from the nightmares Ron had told Ginny about, and finally allowed sleep to claim her for the night.
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