I was sitting in the Great Hall with the rest of the Order, making my usual scan of Hogwarts by way of the Marauders Map. It was a normal evening, until I saw two names that caught my attention outside of the Great Hall. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. I swore and rushed over to Dumbledore, showing him the names.
He quickly stood up and told every Order member to go into the Great Hall, prepared for an attack, when the doors opened. In stepped Ginny and Harry. I stood motionless, staring at my son. The rest of the Order was probably just as shocked, but they reacted immediately. They shot stunners at Harry and rushed to grab Ginny. Harry fell to the floor and Ginny looked stunned. Molly ran up to her and put her arms around her.
"Ginny! You're alive! I thought you died!" She sobbed.
Ginny didn't answer. She turned around in her mum's arms to see Sirius and Remus dragging Harry out of the room. "Hey! Let him go! Harry!"
Why would she want him back? Hadn't he kidnapped her? For some reason the sound of her voice seemed to wake Harry from the spells. He looked at the two people holding him, then turned to Ginny.
She broke away from her mum and ran to him. We tried to stop her, who knew what Harry would do? But she was too fast. She ran into him and put her arms around him, sobbing. Remus and Sirius tried to get her off, but they couldn't. Before anyone else could reach her, she kissed him on the lips.
"Ginny! Get away from him! He'll hurt you!" Arthur demanded.
Ron came up to her and pulled her away. She struggled. "LET ME GO! HARRY!" Fred and George both managed to help Ron hold her back.
"Ginny, don't tell them anything, okay?" Harry said as he was being dragged off. "We have to figure this out first."
She nodded, tears running down her face. "I love you," she mouthed to him. I think I was the only one to notice.
When Harry was gone she stopped struggling, but she was still crying.
"Ginny, what did he do to you?" Molly asked as she sat Ginny down at a table.
"He didn't do anything to me! Why'd you take him away?!" She demanded.
"He's a Death Eater! He could have killed you!" Ron yelled.
"I want to go home," she muttered.
"You are home," Molly said softly, stroking her hair.
"No I'm NOT! Home isn't here! It's with Harry!" Ginny cried. "It was four years ago when Voldemort was still gone, and when everyone was alive." She said the last part to herself, but everyone could hear her. It made us very confused, because Voldemort was never gone, and there was always someone who was dead.
"Gin, he obviously messed with your head," Fred said. "Why the bloody hell did you kiss him?!" George shouted at the same time.
"Because he's my boyfriend?" Ginny said, but it came out as more of a question.
"Like hell he is! There is no way you're dating a Death Eater!" Ron yelled.
"Ugh, he's not a Death Eater!"
Before I got to hear the rest of the conversation, Lily came over to me and took my hand. "James?" She said softly. "Are you okay?"
I shook my head. I turned to look at her face and noticed that she had silent tears running down her face. I pulled her into my arms. "It's okay, flower. Everything will be okay." I carefully guided her out of the Great Hall, and into an abandoned classroom.
"How can everything be okay when my first born son is a Death Eater?" She asked. Her tears were running more freely now. "He was supposed to grow into a nice boy, an Auror, working for the Order. Where did we go wrong?"
"Lily, no matter what Harry does, it is not because we did something wrong. That's just the way he is. You have to stop blaming yourself for his actions. No one could have known he would turn out like this."
"But James, he's my son!" She argued.
"And so is Tyler. And Maddie is your daughter. And I think they turned out pretty good, don't you?" She smiled when I mentioned our kids. I continued "If it had been our parenting, don't you think some of his sibling would have followed in his footsteps? Well they didn't, so don't blame yourself any more, okay?"
She nodded. "Lets head back, see if Ginny is okay," she said softly. Always caring about everyone else before herself.
Back in the Great Hall, Sirius was sitting at a table with our kids. He was obviously making jokes, because they were all laughing. I didn't know how he could joke around at a time like this, but I was grateful that he was making sure the kids didn't think about Harry too much. They had all been devastated when Harry had left to join the Death Eaters, especially Tyler, who had been the closest to him.
I walked up to them and sat down, Lily sat down next to the kids. "Hey Padfoot." I said quietly.
"Prongs," he replied.
"Where's Remus?" I asked.
"Watching him," he said. He didn't need to say who he meant when he said him.
"How...how did he act?" I asked.
"Weird...he didn't struggle, or insult us, or any of the normal stuff. He was like a completely different person," Sirius looked utterly confused. I can understand why.
"Did he say anything?"
"Yeah, he mumbled something about irony. Then asked where we were taking him, and why. Told him we were keeping him locked up and if he didn't know why then he had a twisted mind. He laughed and said that people always thought he was twisted, in his own way. Then, nothing." He shrugged and looked away. "I'm sorry James."
"Not your fault," I said, and laid a hand on his shoulder.
I looked around and saw Ginny surrounded by her family. They were arguing about something. I decided I needed to do something to help, so I got up and walked over.
"-crazy, the lot of you," Ginny was saying. "Don't see how Harry could ever be a Death Eater. Bloody hated Voldemort. Killed everyone we knew."
"Obviously put a spell on you," Ron, the over-protective brother, said.
"NO! Have Dumbledore try and find any! Or ask me a question or use Veritaserum or whatever!"
"Ginny, calm down, okay? You look tired, how about you go lie down. We can talk more later," I said calmly.
She looked up at me, surprised. She slowly nodded and I called a house-elf to bring her to a room on the second floor.
After she left I walked back over to my family. "Hey kids, how are you?" I asked. I was worried how they were taking Harry being back.
"Okay," Maddie said softly, but Tyler didn't say anything, he just looked at the table.
"James, can you talk to Tyler?" Lily whispered to me.
I nodded. "Ty, come take a walk with me," I said.
He slowly looked up at me and nodded. He got up and followed me out of the Great Hall. I walked outside and around the lake slowly. It was a while before I said anything. "I know you're upset."
"No, I'm fine!" He said strongly. I knew it was hard for him, though.
"Tyler, you don't have to be strong. He hurt you, he hurt all of us," I hated to see him like this. It was horrible.
"NO! I don't care about him! He didn't hurt me! I always hated him, even before he became a D-death Eater," he stopped walking and sat on the ground. I saw tears falling down his face.
I sat next to him and put my arm around him. "Hey, it's okay."
"No it's not! My brother is a Death Eater! He wants me dead! He wants all of us dead. I hate this! I hate him! Why did he have to be so stupid? Why couldn't he have stayed with us?" He put his head in his hands and cried. The only other time I had seen him this upset was right after we told him Harry had joined Voldemort. After that he always hid his feelings.
I let him cry until he was out of tears. By then it was getting dark outside. "Want to head in?" I asked quietly.
He nodded and stood up. We walked silently back to the castle. Before we went inside I stopped him. "Hey, I know it's hard. I know how you feel, he is my son after all. And it's okay to be upset and cry. I don't think you'll believe me, but I've cried quite a few times. But it's best not to think about the past too much. It's better to think about your sister, your mum, all your friends. And if once in a while you need to think about Harry, then do it, but don't let him control all of your thoughts."
Tyler nodded, not looking at me. He didn't say anything, but walked into the Great Hall and sat next to Maddie. Dinner was just being served so I followed him and sat next to Lily. We ate dinner in silence, then after saying goodnight to everyone walked back to our rooms with our kids. After we made sure they were fine and in bed and went to our room.
"How's Tyler?" She asked as we laid down and turned out the lights.
"Upset, but no more than I expected. It's hard for all of us," I pulled her into my arms. "Lets sleep, and think more of this in the morning. I have to check on him later, anyway."
She nodded against my chest. After a few minutes I could tell she was asleep. That's what I hated. She always fell asleep in minutes, but it took me forever to get to sleep. I just laid there and thought about every memory, good and bad I had of Harry before it was my turn to check on him.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
What the bloody hell was going on here? Everyone thought Harry was a Death Eater! I had to see him. Luckily I had the Marauders Map. I found where he was and quietly made my way out of the room they had me in.
When I got to him I unlocked the door and rushed to him. "Harry!" I put my arms around him and sat on his lap.
"Ginny, do you know whats going on? It obviously worked, Sirius and Remus are alive, but why did they lock me up here?" He looked scared. This is the first time I've ever had to comfort him. It's probably because his two father figures think he's a Death Eater.
"They think you're a Death Eater. Asked me if you had hurt me," I put my head on his shoulder. "Didn't believe me when I said 'no'."
"So much for a better world," he mumbled.
"I know, the Harry here must've been a Death Eater. Don't see how you could be one, though," I said.
"Maybe that's how I would have turned out if my parents hadn't died. Sucks both ways," he said sadly.
"No! No matter what this Harry did it was because he was a different person from you. I think that even if you had grown up with your parents you would still be the same guy you are today, if not happier and less war torn. So don't say that, ever!" I argued. He can't think like this!
"Well what are we going to do about our situation?" He asked. Never, ever has he asked my advice for something like this! How much did this really effect him?
"We'll convince them tomorrow. For now I just want to sleep," I said. "Lets go to my room. More comfortable," I looked around the bare room that held a chair, and a bed.
He nodded and we walked to my room slowly. Luckily we encountered no one. We made it to my room and fell asleep in each others arms.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
I got out of bed, making sure not to wake Lily, and got dressed. I hadn't gotten any sleep and I really didn't want to see my son, the Death Eater, but what choice did I have? I worked for the Order and I had to put my personal feeling behind me.
When I got to his room where we locked him up, I found it wide open. I freaked out and ran to the door. The room was empty. I sent a Patronus to everyone in the castle and ran to get the Marauders Map.
Everyone was in the Great Hall when I arrived with the map. Lily came up to me and asked "What is it, James?"
"Harrys not in his room. I got my map, hang on a second," I opened the map and quickly searched for him. There. "Oh no," I said.
"James what is it? Where is he??" Lily asked.
"With Ginny in her room," I said slowly, not looking at any of the Weasleys.
Everyone ran out of the Great Hall to Ginny's room on the second floor. When Arthur opened the door what he saw made him stop in his tracks. I looked over his shoulder and saw that Ginny was laying on top of Harry in the bed, and he had his arms wrapped protectively around her. I don't know why he hadn't run, or even why he was with Ginny, but I guessed that it was the same reason she kissed him before. He must have given her a love potion, or put her under the Imperius Curse.
"Ginny! Wake up!" I said, my wand pointed at Harry, as much as I could seeing as Ginny was on top of him.
She stirred and opened her eyes. She saw me with my wand and everyone behind me and Arthur and her eyes widened. She elbowed Harry and hissed "Now would be a very good time to wake up."
He did wake up. When he looked at me, his jaw dropped. "Dad?" He whispered.
"Harry. I don't know how you got Ginny with you, but it ends now. Ginny, come over here. We can protect you," I said.
"Protect me?! From Harry? You're funny. I think I need more protection from you than from him!" He must have put a really strong curse on her. No way would the normal Ginny ever say that.
"What the bloody hell did you do to my daughter, Potter?" Arthur demanded, also pulling out his wand.
"Nothing!" Harry said. Like we'd believe him...I can't believe I'm saying this about my own son. Where did we go wrong? "Look, we're not the Harry and Ginny that you know. I don't know how I can explain it and make you understand." He continued. What the bloody hell was he talking about?
"Mr. Potter, please step away from Miss. Weasley and come with us. I'm afraid we have no choice but to turn you into the Ministry," Dumbledore stepped forward and pulled out his wand. He didn't have his usual twinkle in his eyes.
"Harry," Ginny said. "I don't think this was a good idea."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Look," he said after he opened his eyes again. He looked Dumbledore right in the eyes, "If I was really a Death Eater would I have stayed in Hogwarts, or would I have taken off as soon as Ginny opened the door? Would I be sitting here calmly," Ginny coughed, smirking at Harry, he ignored her "Or would I be taking out my wand and hexing everyone insight? Would I be able to say Voldemort without fear or obsession or whatever in my voice? I'm not a Death Eater and I never will be, okay?"
"You're very convincing, , but a few words can't make me believe you," Dumbledore said. "Now, before I have to use force against you, please step away from Miss. Weasley."
Harry looked down and ran his hand through his hair. Suddenly, he looked like the twenty year old man he was supposed to be. The one who loved his family, and hated Voldemort. I hadn't noticed it yet, but he did look a lot different from the last time I saw him, during a Battle at the Ministry two weeks ago. He was thinner, less muscular, his hair was longer, he wore glasses, and he had a strange scar on his forehead.
"Gin," he said quietly. "Go with your family." He looked at her with pleading eyes.
I thought she was going to listen, since obviously he had control over her, but she shook her head. "You are my family, Harry," she said. I could tell that her saying this pained all the Weasleys.
"Ginny, please don't make this harder than it already is. I'll figure it out, okay, but I don't want you to get caught up in this," he argued.
"NO! I'm staying by your side. I thought you promised me that no matter what happens you won't leave me again!" Again? When had they been together the first time? When he was still with us? Why had no one known this? And had he convinced her to turn to follow Voldemort? That was too scary to consider.
"I don't want you to get hurt!" They had obviously forgotten we were there. I would have called attention to us, but I wanted to see how this played out. Apparently, so did everyone else, because no one moved except for the two in the room.
"One, I can take care of myself, and two, who's gunna take care of you, because no matter how well you hide it, I know that this hurts you more than me," she took his hand in hers, then turned to face Dumbledore. "If you want to take him anywhere, you have to take me too."
"Ginny! Get away from him! There is no way you are following him anywhere. Who knows what he could do to you!" Mrs. Weasley cried. It hurt to have them talk about my oldest son like this, but I knew he deserved it after all he had done.
"How many times do I have to say this?! Harry has never hurt me. He will never hurt me. And I'm not under a spell!" Ginny said. "And he is not a Death Eater!" She added.
"Yeah and I was born on Mars," Fred mumbled.
"Well then you were born on Mars! You sure act like it, anyway. Look, I don't know what your Harry did, but my Harry would never support Voldemort!" Ginny said. Then so quietly that only myself, Arthur, and Dumbledore could hear her, she added. "Harry, just get us out of here, we'll figure out whats going on somewhere else, since they won't listen to us."
Harry nodded, and before we could cast a spell, they twisted and Apparated.
"Did he just Apparate?!" Sirius swore. "How is that possible with all the wards around Hogwarts?"
"For some reason Hogwarts let him. He didn't touch the wards, they just opened up for him," Dumbledore said, and I swear it was the first time I've ever seen him confused about something.