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SIYE Time:7:08 on 29th March 2024
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Black & Red
By CharmHazel

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Category: Alternate Universe
Characters:Dumbledore, Harry/Ginny, Minerva McGonagall, Sirius Black
Genres: Drama, General, Romance
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Reviews: 76
Summary: Raised by his godfather, following the events of Halloween 1981, Harry spends his childhood, hidden from the Wizarding World, preparing to face his destiny. However, his world is turned upside down when he reunites with the beautiful redhead he rescued down in the Chamber.
Hitcount: Story Total: 30485; Chapter Total: 2031
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hopefully this year will be much better than last year. I am really pleased to let you all know that I am putting this story into a three rotation with two other brand new stories (10/1 and 17/1). Barring no problems or delays, the next chapter will be published on 24/1. Thank you to Arnel for your brilliant editing skills as always! (Edited - 20/07/2021)




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“Your shields look good to me,” Sirius said as he pulled out of Ginny’s mind. “I cannot get through them, but I am also not the best at Legilimency. However, considering I could not get through them like I could when we first started, I think it would be safe to say they are good. I just don’t know if they would be strong enough to go up against someone like Albus or Snape.”

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. If Ginny’s shields were strong, then, he could finally tell her the full wording of the prophecy and the fake one that they had placed in the Department of Mysteries. The switch had happened with no problems and with no one else being aware of what he and his dad had done a couple of weeks ago. The Order was still doing guard duty and Death Eaters were still attempting to gain access. How long that would last though, Harry didn’t know; he just hoped it would be for as long as possible to keep Voldemort and his minions distracted.

“I have asked Snape to check your shields himself once you return to school,” Sirius continued, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. “He has already checked over Harry’s and given him the all-clear. I suspect he will arrange for you to have detention, given the Ministry official who has taken the Defence post.”

“Why would anyone care about Ginny having one short meeting with Snape?” Harry asked, not recognising how harsh the words could possibly sound to his best friend.

“Harry’s right,” Ginny said in agreement. “As harsh as it did sound, the Ministry is only there to interfere and cause problems for Professor Dumbledore. Harry has not given any statement about the return of Voldemort, nor do they know he is my best friend. One meeting with Professor Snape shouldn’t cause suspicion.”

Harry was certain his dad knew that they were right. He had only left Grimmauld Place once since they had brought him back from the graveyard as his dad had made clear he was not chancing his safety until he knew what had happened to allow for Harry to be captured that night. Therefore, Harry had not spoken to anyone, outside a select few people, about what had happened, and he certainly had not gone on record in public about Voldemort having regained his body. He was grateful that his dad had prevented him from doing so as Dumbledore had been crucified in the press for announcing it without firm evidence. Given that no one had seen Harry or Sirius in public since that fateful night, as far as they were aware of, the press would have been happy to destroy his name as well for suddenly making a return to only cause panic.

“You are both right,” his dad confirmed, “but only to a certain extent.”

“What do you mean, Dad?”

“The Ministry has no reason to believe the pair of you are friends, but, thanks to Lucius Malfoy, they will be aware of the fact that you, Harry, were the one to rescue Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets. They may potentially question her to your whereabouts, to draw you out as a way of discrediting you, like they have done to Dumbledore. On top of that, it is well known that there are children of Death Eaters currently attending the school, many of whom will be happy to send home any information that could be of use to Voldemort himself.”

Harry noticed Ginny glance at him, looking as though something had occurred to her. It was the look in her eyes, though, that let him know that whatever it was, could not be a good thing.

“Do you think they may monitor all my post?” Ginny asked.

Harry gasped, shocked that he had not even thought about that possibility. It would mean that he would not be able to remain in contact with his best friend. He could admit, probably not out loud, that he had come to depend on the letters they exchanged on a regular basis. The idea of losing that contact between them after Ginny returned to Hogwarts was honestly devastating to him. He didn’t want to hear his dad telling them that they could no longer write, so he stood up and headed for the door to leave the training room.

“Harry, don’t leave,” his dad called out to him. “I am not going to leave you two in a position of having no contact.”

Harry paused, his hand on the door handle. He couldn’t possibly imagine how that was going to happen without the need for writing.

“Do you really think I would be willing to return to Hogwarts with no possibility of being able to talk to you until Christmas?” Harry heard as two soft arms wrapped around his waist from behind him.

“No, you wouldn’t,” Harry replied with a sigh as he turned round in Ginny’s arms to hug her properly. “You are one of the most stubborn people I know. Even if my dad didn’t have a plan, you would somehow find a way.”

“Yes, I would,” Ginny proudly told him. “Now, let’s go and sit back down and hear what your dad has to say.”

The two teens pulled apart and walked back to join Sirius, where he sat on an array of cushions they used for when they were training in the Mind Arts. Harry ducked his head, refusing to look at his dad, who he knew would be ready to tease him about the moment he had just shared with Ginny.

“I felt the need to prepare for this possibility, immediately after the first article came out about Dumbledore,” his dad said, choosing to ignore the moment between the two best friends. “While they have yet to try to discredit Harry, there has been rumblings around the Ministry about his whereabouts. Luckily, I have avoided having any conversations with the Minister whenever I have met with Kingsley about the investigation into your kidnapping, Harry.”

“You know I am going to have to eventually appear in public to speak out about what happened,” Harry responded. “I understand why you have kept us hidden all these years, Dad and why we only go to public places using glamours or Polyjuice Potion. I know that will probably remain the case until Voldemort is defeated, especially if it allows me to train and find these Horcruxes without Him knowing. But don’t you think that the odd appearance here and there may be of use to the public, especially once the wizarding world knows and actually believes Voldemort is back?”

Sirius looked at his son, wondering why it was only now that he was beginning to complain about the restrictions in his life. Harry had never been one to rebel against what was asked of him, but he had always made sure to explain why they couldn’t take any risks, except when it was absolutely necessary. Yet, sitting there, watching his son sitting close to his best friend, he realised he already knew the reason “ Ginny Weasley. Harry had fallen for his best friend and had spent the entire summer together, only for them to have to say goodbye to one another when she returned to Hogwarts. Even so, the point of being seen in public once it was revealed that Voldemort was back made complete sense.

“Fine,” Sirius confirmed. “However, I am not making any promises about when or where. The decision will be last minute to make sure there are no plans for Death Eaters to disrupt where we plan to go.”

“That’s fair, Dad,” Harry replied with a sigh of relief and happy to know he would not necessarily have to wait until Christmas to see Ginny.

“Right, back to what I wanted to explain to you,” Sirius stated as he stood up. “The only reason I did not give these to you earlier was because I had to create a new one for Ginny and add some additional spells to Harry’s.”

Sirius picked up two packages from a shelf before turning back to the two teens. He checked each package carefully before handing each teen a package, which they discovered had their names on.

“Open them,” he told them, excited to see their reactions.

Harry and Ginny glanced at one another before ripping the packaging open to discover a small, square mirror. Both teens were confused by what they found, not understanding how these could possibly help them to remain in contact.

“These are two-way mirrors, which will allow you to communicate with one another. Harry’s mirror used to belong to his father, and I have one as well. James and I used to use them when we were stuck in separate detentions at school.”

Ginny chuckled at the reason for their original use as Harry stared at the mirror in awe, grateful to have yet another item that had once belonged to his father.

“All you have to do is say each other’s names into your mirror,” Sirius explained as he recognised the look on Harry’s face. “When the other person picks up their mirror, you will see each other’s faces, which, in turn, will allow you to talk. I added some additional spells to make sure no one else can use your mirror. The moment your fingers physically touched the mirror, it read your magical aura and registered it. When you use it, if anyone attempts to look into it, they will only see your reflection and theirs if they are at the right angle. They will also not be able to hear your conversation as I added the Muffliato Charm to the mirror as well.”

“This is amazing, Sirius,” Ginny exclaimed as she stood and hugged the man, grateful for the gift he had given her and Harry. “Thank you so much for this gift!”

“You’re very welcome,” Sirius replied as the pair pulled apart. “Just remember to be careful where you use it though. Even with all the additional charms I have added, I still don’t want you take any chances. Also, I would advise that your letters only contain basic information if you choose to continue writing to each other. Anything important you can pass onto Harry through the mirrors, and we’ll make sure to get the message to right person.”

“I take it my mother knows about these, then?”

“She breathed a sigh of relief knowing you could securely communicate with at least one person outside of Hogwarts.”

Sirius turned to look at his son, realising the boy had yet to respond verbally about the mirror. He had known that the mirror would probably cause this kind of reaction in Harry, given how little he had from his parents. Neither of them, nor Remus, had had the courage or strength to return to the cottage in Godric’s Hollow to visit and attempt to salvage any more items from the ruins. All they had was what Sirius, himself, had managed to secure that night, plus a selection of items James had chosen to leave at the back-up house and the odd few items they had obtained since then. Harry had reacted the same way when Albus had returned James’ Invisibility Cloak to them. It didn’t matter what the item was, it would be precious to his son if it had belonged to one of his parents.

“Harry?”

The boy finally looked up at his dad, a small smile on his face and whispered, “Thank you, Dad.”

Sirius knelt down, took his son into his arms and hugged him tightly, grateful for the close relationship they had.

“Why don’t you take the next few days off from training?” he suggested as he pulled away from Harry. “There isn’t much more I can teach Ginny now and I would much rather you two enjoyed yourselves during the last few days she has here before returning to Hogwarts.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Harry replied as he jumped up and grabbed his best friend’s hand before dragging her out of the training room, no doubt heading for one of their bedrooms.

Sirius couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at the sight of his son with his best friend. Harry was growing up fast and was blatantly falling head over heels for Ginny. Things were about to worsen for the wizarding world and Sirius knew he would give anything to keep that smile on his son’s face. He just wished he knew how much longer it would be before it became impossible to do so.

HP&GW

The next several days passed in a blur of laughter, pranking and packing. The adults, whether living there or passing through, took great joy in hearing the sound of the teens laughing, despite knowing that the darkness of war was fast approaching them. It was something that Harry had chosen to make sure would continue.

“I have a proposition for you two,” Harry said to the twins, a couple of days before the Hogwarts Express was due to depart for another year.

“What sort of proposition?” Fred asked as Harry took a seat opposite him and George, who had a number of books laid out before them.

“I want to invest in your joke shop dream.”

The twins said nothing as their jaws dropped in shock. Harry couldn’t help but smirk at leaving them speechless and quickly whipped out his camera to take a photo for evidence and potential blackmail.

“I would like to give you a thousand Galleons,” Harry continued, “and my dad has said he would match my investment, which would therefore give you a total of two thousand Galleons.”

The twins looked at one another, shock and glee both evident on their faces, and appeared to have some sort of silent conversation with one another.

“That’s a lot of money, Harry,” George said.

“Why invest in us and in our dream?” Fred asked.

“My dad told me just how bad things became during the first war, and how finding a reason to laugh and smile was important, even if it only lasted for a fleeting moment. Voldemort is back and war is coming, no matter how much the Ministry wants to deny it. We are all going to need a laugh every now and then, and I believe you two can help make that happen.”

“Ok, we accept your offer to invest in our joke shop,” Fred said on behalf of the two of them. “However, we are not going to have time to go to Gringotts to set anything up.”

“My dad is sorting that out. We’ll either send the documents to you or wait until we can see you in person. I do, however, have one stipulation on giving you this money.”

“Who do you want us to prank on your behalf?” George asked eagerly.

“Sadly, no one. I just want you, without letting her know that I have asked, to keep an eye on Ginny for me once you return to Hogwarts.”

“We can do that,” the twins replied together.

“Good, but if she finds out, I will be taking you down with me.”

Harry knew he was risking being hexed to within an inch of his life for asking the twins to help him out, but he had not been able to stop thinking about potential problems for Ginny. It was one of the many things that had kept him from sleeping the night before the Weasley children were to return to school. Admittedly, he was grateful that their return also meant that he would be going home to the cottage, a place of familiarity and security for Harry. The problem was that it also meant not spending all day, every day with his best friend as he had done for the past two months.

Yes, he knew they would be able to talk every evening via the mirrors, but it wouldn’t be the same. He liked having her there with him, willing to listen whenever he needed to talk. Her reaction to the prophecy had not been one he had been expecting either. She had not cried or panicked, but had, instead, remained calm and made clear that she believed in him and that she was completely certain that Harry, when the time came, would face Voldemort and win. Her belief and faith in him had been overwhelming.

He knew he could admit to himself that Ginny had become the person who meant the most to him. Ever since she had encouraged him to fall asleep on her lap the day she had arrived at Grimmauld Place, he had known that she would remain a permanent fixture in his life. She knew how to make him laugh, was not afraid to give him a piece of her mind, and never pushed him to talk until he was ready. He knew now that he was falling for her and the idea of her not being in his life was not one he was willing to entertain, even if it did mean them just being friends. However, he was definitely not ready to confess his feelings to the red head.

Harry sat up, pushing the bed covers off, when he heard a knock on his bedroom door that was accompanied by a voice saying his name.

“Come in,” he called out, moving across the bed to make room for the person he knew was about to walk in.

“Did I wake you?” Ginny asked after popping her head round the door. Seeing that Harry was awake in his bed, she walked in and closed the door behind her.

“No, I couldn’t sleep,” Harry admitted as his best friend climbed into bed with him. “I’m not looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Neither am I,” Ginny replied, shifting across the bed to curl up against Harry. “I feel torn about returning to Hogwarts. I cannot wait to see Luna, Hermione and Neville, to play Quidditch and be back at the castle, but, at the same time, I am worried about being there and something happening like Sirius suggested.”

Ginny left out how she didn’t particularly like the idea of being away from Harry until Christmas. Even though, Sirius had agreed to take Harry out in public, she was not holding out hope that it would be one of the school’s Hogsmeade weekends. For some reason, returning to Hogwarts felt like stepping into the unknown. Yet, somehow, she felt like that everything would change this coming school year, but she just didn’t know how.

“Promise me that we will speak every night, even if it is just for few minutes or just to say good night?” Ginny pleaded with Harry, not caring if she sounded desperate at that moment.

“You know I will, no matter what. You need to promise that you will keep yourself safe and away from whomever this Ministry person is where possible.”

“I’ll do my best,” Ginny promised, much to Harry’s indignation. It was all she could promise him, because if this Ministry puppet said anything horrible about her best friend without him being there to defend himself, she knew she would stand up for him.

“Do you want to stay in here, tonight?” Harry asked, knowing he wanted to spend every spare second with her until she departed for King’s Cross Station.

Their night spent talking was evident for the occupants of Grimmauld Place to see the next morning. The two teens looked like they were sleep walking as they came into the kitchen for breakfast. Thankfully, no one said anything to the pair, knowing they would have to say their goodbyes to each other for the next three months.

At ten o’clock, the time came for the two best friends to say goodbye and part ways as a select few members of the Order arrived to accompany the Weasleys to Kings Cross. No words were exchanged, except for the agreement for Ginny to call Harry on their mirrors after the welcoming feast, as they hugged each other tightly. Then, she was gone.

“I know you are going to miss her,” Sirius said as he approached Harry, “but, do you really think I am going to make you wait until Christmas to see her?”

Harry’s eyes finally left the front door as they shot to look at his dad.

“I was thinking about letting you meet her in Hogsmeade at the start of October,” he told his son with a smile.

“Thank you, Dad,” Harry said as a smile finally crossed his face.

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s head home.”

HP&GW

Being back at the cottage brought mixed feelings for Harry. It was the place in which he had been raised by his loving godfather, but it was, now, also the place from which he had been lured and kidnapped from. He couldn’t help, therefore, questioning whether he would still be safe in the one place he had always believed he would be.

“It was never the wards,” his dad explained as they sat down at the kitchen table. “The goblins confirmed that they remain strong, and they even took the time to fix any minor issues they found while strengthening them further.”

“That’s all well and good, Dad, but how did I end up outside the wards? I know where the boundaries are like the back of my hand and would never purposefully leave them. I would only do so if we are going out somewhere.”

Sirius sighed, knowing he could no longer delay telling Harry what had happened that evening. He had held off for the entire summer mainly because he had wanted to give his son all the facts at once, especially if the Aurors came across something they had not picked up in their initial investigation. The other reason was because he had not wanted to bring down Harry’s mood. His son had been in a bad place in the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping, which was understandable. However, by the time the goblins and the Aurors had begun to piece together what had happened, Harry was smiling more often than not and that was mainly thanks to the presence of his best friend, Ginny. He had not wanted to destroy that piece of happiness. He was grateful, though, that he had held off as they finally figured out the final piece of the puzzle a couple of weeks previously “ how Harry had been able to be lured out of the wards and into the trap waiting for him.

“How much do you remember from before you were kidnapped?” he asked, already knowing that Harry’s memory of the events had been hazy.

“The last thing I remember was sitting down to have dinner at this very table,” Harry replied, closing his eyes to picture that evening in his mind. “Just before you served up the food, an owl arrived with a letter for me. I remember removing it from the owl and then… nothing.”

Harry opened his eyes and looked at his dad, “It was the letter, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Sirius confirmed. “I didn’t realise immediately because you didn’t act any differently. We had dinner as normal, we talked and then, after dinner, you went out to go for a fly on your broom. I had no reason to believe the letter was a problem as you receive letters from Ginny at all times of the day. Plus, you have received letters from her at dinner time before, so I had no reason to think otherwise.”

“Dad, it wasn’t your fault, you know,” Harry told him as he reached out and grabbed his dad’s hand. “I opened the letter thinking it was from Ginny as well.”

“I know you did. Anyway, it didn’t click into the place that the letter may have been the problem until after the goblins confirmed the wards were never the problem. Thankfully, the letter was still on the table where you had left it, so I was able to take it directly to the Aurors, who confirmed it had a number of spells on there to make sure you continued to act as normal, to force you to walk outside of the wards and to not fight against what was happening to you. It was very Dark magic; most of these spells are unheard of.”

The many meetings Sirius had been to, over the course of the summer, had been with the goblins and the Aurors. Both had handled the kidnapping and the return of Voldemort differently. The goblins had accepted that the Dark Lord was back, having helped Sirius to make sure he had taken control of any vault belonging to those who were part of the Black family, especially those that had connections to Voldemort. The Aurors, however, had not gone beyond investigating how Harry had been kidnapped and had not looked into who had done it, stating there was no evidence or leads to suggest who they needed to arrest. That had angered Sirius, but he had kept his opinion to himself and had made sure to cooperate fully to, at least, find answers to how Harry had managed to be lured off the property. This, in turn, had led to another meeting with the goblins about additional wards to stop this from potentially happening again.

“The goblins have updated and added to the wards to make sure this can never happen again,” Sirius continued, desperate for his son to feel safe in the one place that had always felt that way for them. “The Aurors, on the other hand, feel there is not much more they can do in terms of investigating your kidnapping. They claim there are no clues as to who is behind what happened. Your case has been downgraded to non-essential for the moment.”

Harry sighed in defeat. He may not have spoken out about what had happened that night and the fact Voldemort had regained his body, but he felt like that the Aurors could have at least tried to go further in their investigation. If they did, perhaps the news of Voldemort being back would be taken seriously and accepted by the Ministry. His memories of that entire evening still remained hazy and now, with the news of the spells on the letter, the Aurors would claim his mind had been manipulated into believing Voldemort had returned, when, in their opinion, he had not. He pushed those thoughts aside for the moment, remembering that he was now safe and needed to concentrate on working towards taking down the man who had destroyed so many lives. However, one thought still lingered.

“Why did my parents not use the same wards we have around their own home?” Harry asked. It was something that had bothered him for a long time, ever since his dad had explained the magic that was keeping them safe from those who wished to harm them.

“I honestly don’t know why they didn’t, Harry,” Sirius said earnestly. “I know they had their reasons for not choosing to. I know they didn’t want to be hidden so well that no one could find them. For them, it had to be a last option. I have always wondered if the prophecy played a role in their decision, but I feel like they would have just moved in here if it had. All I know is that they wanted this place here and set up as an additional safe house and a place to raise you if the worst-case scenario came to pass.”

“I wish they had done more,” Harry confessed. “I love that you are my dad, but I miss my parents.”

“I do, too, kid,” Sirius said as he stood, walked around the table and pulled Harry into a hug. “I do, too.”

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